Marketing Strategy for GSK's Flu Vaccine

The provided content discusses a marketing plan for GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) to launch a flu vaccine. The plan involves analyzing human resources, pricing, and following regulations to overcome the barrier of finance in the marketing process.

MARKETING
PLANNING

TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
TASK 1............................................................................................................................................1
1.1................................................................................................................................................1
1.2................................................................................................................................................2
1.3 and 1.4....................................................................................................................................2
TASK 2............................................................................................................................................5
2.1................................................................................................................................................5
2.2................................................................................................................................................5
TASK 3............................................................................................................................................6
3.1................................................................................................................................................6
3.2................................................................................................................................................7
3.3................................................................................................................................................8
3.4................................................................................................................................................8
3.5................................................................................................................................................9
TASK 4..........................................................................................................................................10
4.1 and 4.2..................................................................................................................................10
4.3..............................................................................................................................................10
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................11
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................12

INTRODUCTION
Marketing planning is the broad concept in which the company plans out all activities
which are required for launching the product in the market. This concept became popular in these
days because of the increasing competitors and different needs as well as desires. In this report,
GSK which is one of the successful pharmaceutical Companies has been discussed. The
organization is planning to launch a new Flu vaccine in the market for old age people. For
launching product, a company has made a proper marketing plan which will focus on all the
areas that require to be stressed by the company. The report will describe the changing scenario
of the marketing planning and further it emphasizes on the tools and techniques which can be
used by the organization for analyzing the environment. Besides this, the document stresses on
the techniques for the new product development which are used by GSK for developing the
vaccine.
Company’s profile
GlaxoSmithKline plc (GSK) is the British pharmaceutical organization and it is known
for the medicines which are manufactured by the company. The organization has been earning
huge profits by selling different types of drugs which are not manufactured by other firms.
Besides this, the GSK has been proved guilty of promoting the drugs which for the unapproved
uses. For that, the firm had to pay the huge penalty to that particular organization. The
organization provides drugs for Asthma, Cancer, Diabetes; mental health etc. besides this, in
2006, the GSK acquired the US healthcare company. This was the successful move for the firm
because the company manufactured the Breathe Right Strips and other products which were not
produced by the GSK. On the other hand, the organization is famous for performing the
corporate social responsibility in the country. In 2009, the organization said that it would reduce
the price of the drug by 25% for the benefit of the society.
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TASK 1
1.1
With the changing scenario as well as environment the perspective for the marketing
planning is changing. New technology and changing taste and preferences of the customers have
forced the GSK organization to change its marketing plan according to the need of the hour. The
changing perceptions are as follows:
 User’s perception- In the past needs of the customers arise by seeing the products of the
company. But in the today’s time, the organization makes the products according to the
needs and demands of the users (Perreault, 2010). Like in case of GSK, they have made
Flu Vaccine for old people because of the increasing demand. Further, now the firm has
to make its market plan so that they can make the customers aware about the product. But
in the past time, the company did not focus on promotion they directly sold to the
retailers and the customers purchased it. With the increasing competition, it is required by
the GSK to make the old people aware about the product so that they can use it. Changing strategies- Earlier, marketing mix was used as a main tool for developing
marketing plan. GSK used this tool to focus on the attributes of the product and further,
pricing and distribution information was given by using this tool. But now, different
methods are used to identify the needs of the customers and after developing the product
marketing mix is used as a substitute tool for promoting the product (Wilson, 2010). The
techniques as well as the way of making marketing plan have been changed because of
the excessive competition in the industry.
1.2
For making the organization successful it is important for the firm to possess efficient
ability in the form of physical, human, financial for developing the marketing activity. As GSK
is the renowned organization it has these abilities which can help in making the marketing plan.
The organization has made the strategy for merging and acquiring the firms of the same industry.
This is one of the ways of marketing its products and making the customers aware about it
(Hollensen, 2010). Even the human resource makes the marketing plan by consuming less
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financial resources this makes the GSK cost effective and assist in developing a successful
marketing plan. With this, it helps to identify the ability of the organization to carry out its
marketing activity effectively. Further, through the cost effective human resource the firm can
plan to adopt the latest technology which will help in effectively marketing their products.
Regarding its financial resources, it has huge funds which can assist the firm in developing
effective marketing activity for the product. Finance is essential because, the marketing activity
requires huge expense as planning and promoting of the products. For this, the firm has finance
to promote their Flu vaccine effectively. The main advantage of the organization is its brand
name. Due to this, the product will be become successful without focusing majorly on marketing
activities. Besides this, the GSK have best market analyst who can identify the threats and
opportunity effectively. According to that only, they can plan its marketing activity (Moutinho,
2011).
Further, for planning the future marketing activities, the company has organized training
for their employees for making them competent enough to carry out the marketing plan
effectively. Further due to its effective R&D, the company is known for the medicines which are
made by them. So the brand influence on the public is more which will help the firm to
effectively sell the medicine. This is the main ability of the organization as through their brand
loyalty and the trust they can attract people effectively. Due to this reason, they will not face any
issue in launching new product in market. Besides this, the Flu vaccine for old people will assist
the firm to attract more number of customers. The firm has made the product as per the needs
and preference of the customers (Nijssen and Frambach, 2013).
1.3
The techniques which can be used for organizational auditing is SWOT analysis. This
tool is effective because it helps GSK in analyzing as well as evaluating the strengths which are
possessed by the firm. By evaluating it, they can make further tactics which can help the
company to sustain their strength in the market. On the other hand, by identifying the weakness,
the organization can make certain strategies which can help in converting the weakness into
strength. Besides this, to operate in the competitive world, it is required by the firm to identify
the opportunity and grab them. Further, for successfully implementing the strategy, the GSK
needs to analyze the strength. By carrying out the SWOT analysis, the firm can easily identify
these areas and make plan according to that.
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On the other hand, Pestle analysis assist the organization in evaluating the external
factors which will directly affects the operations of the firm. Through identifying the social and
technological factors, the organization can make the products according to the current needs and
preferences of the users. Besides this, by knowing about the economical and political factors,
GSK can work according to the policies of the government. So these tools are helpful for the
corporate to perform the effectively in the organization.
1.4
Organizational auditing is basically identifying the strengths and the weak areas of the
company which require improvement. This even helps in making strategies according to the
opportunity and threats which are prevailing in the environment. For analyzing the external
factors GSK is required to adopt PESTLE analysis as a tool which will help the company to
identify the aspects which impact the operations of the firm. SWOT is used for carrying out the
organizational audit.
Strength
 The company is counted among the
best pharmaceutical organization in the
world.
 The R&D department of the
organization is strong and the firm is
making plans to capture new markets
with this strength (Chaffey, Smith and
Smith, 2012).
 Besides this, the operations of GSK
are expanded to vast areas and it is
serving many countries.
Weakness
 As it is the drug organization, it is
surrounded by the controversy
regarding the materials used in the
drug. This impact the brand image of
the firm.
 Another weakness of GSK is that it
does not manufacture new drugs and
always tap new markets by selling the
existing medicines (Steinberg, 2011).
Opportunity
 Emerging new diseases so GSK has
new opportunity to make new vaccine
to cure disease.
 UK is having more ageing population
Threat
 Major threat for the GSK is the
competitors prevailing in the country.
 Further, in making the new medicines,
research involves huge funds and
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so the GSK has the opportunity to
manufacture the existing drug as this
will help in increasing the sales of the
firm(McDonald and Wilson,2011).
 Even another opportunity is that the
firm can expand its operations in
different countries through merges as
well as acquisitions.
sometimes, if it fails then the company
will have to incur loss.
 Another threat is of the emerging
genetic industry and increasing
preference of customers towards it (Dib
and Carrigan, 2013).
Pestle analysis will be adopted by GSK to evaluate the factors affecting the marketing
planning of the company
 Political analysis- This generally includes the rules and the regulations which are made
by the government regarding the pharmaceutical industry. As it is the sensitive industry,
so fluctuations in the trade laws as well as policy regarding ethics affects the operations
of the company. With the modifications in law, the GSK will be changing its working
pattern (Fillis 2010).
 Economic analysis- this factors is related with the price and the purchasing power of
consumer. Like in the developed country UK, the economy is stable and people have the
power to purchase flu vaccine if it is costly. But in the developing country, if the vaccine
is costly, then people will search the substitute to meet their demand (Luther, 2011).
 Social analysis- This include customer life, fluctuating attitude of the public living in the
nation. As the people demand more for the generic medicine, then GSK products have to
suffer. It depends upon the behavior which is possessed by the public. So this factor will
impact on the sales of the company.
 Technological factors- The major effect of the technology is on the pharmaceutical
industry. With the upgrading medicines as well as technology only, GSK is able to make
medicines which are for the old people. Through the up gradation of technology, the firm
has to make new vaccines so that they can retain their position in the market (Madsen,
and Pedersen, 2013).
 Environmental factor- The material used in making medicines directly affects global
warming which has become a major concern for the society. Due to this, the firm is
required to establish its industry in remote areas which will help in keeping the people
5

safe from the danger. They are planning to market its vaccine by keeping in view the
environment in which they are operating their business (Mohr, Sengupta and Slater,
2010).
 Legal factor- It includes the patents which are required by the every pharmaceutical
industry to compete with the competitor. The effective marketing planning will be of no
use if the firm does not renew its patents timely (Mothe and Thi, 2010).
TASK 2
2.1
There are several barriers of marketing planning which hinder the process as well as the
progress of the firm. These are as follows:
 Lack of in-depth analysis- The major barrier is lack of knowledge in making the plan.
The firm is required to have proper data regarding the recent trends and preference of the
customers. In case of GSK if there is no proper information then the organization needs
to collect the data first and then make the plan. This will extend the time period of the
plan and will have huge impact on the marketing activity (Smart and Conant, 2011).
 Lack of finance- In the present case, GSK requires finance to launch its new flu vaccine
for old people. Inadequate money pause the operation of the action and this directly
affects the promotional activity. So it is advisable for the organization to arrange finance
for the marketing planning so that it can be carried out effectively (Vasigh, Tacker and
Fleming, 2010).
 Inadequate skilled human resource- For the successful functioning, the company is
required to have skilled human resource which can implement the effectively. For
launching flu vaccine, the workers should be skilled in their work so that in the minimum
cost the marketing planning can be successfully implemented. But if there are unskilled
workers then the process will take time as well as consume more cost (Fleisher and
Bensoussan, 2003).
 Lacking in systematic approach- Marketing planning has to be systematic so that it can
effectively achieve the goals and objectives. There are several steps which are required to
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be followed systematically regarding promotion, sales etc. in this case, if GSK eliminates
any one step then it will affect the end result as well as the output.
 Technology- One of the significant barrier in the marketing planning is related to the
technological advancements. If the organization is technological upgraded then it will
become strength. But with the obsolete technology, the firm will incur more cost and the
impact will not be effective on people.
 Resistance to change in employees- For launching the flu vaccine, according to the
changing environment, the GSK will adopt new technology. There has been witnessed
that the employees resist the change which directly affects the marketing planning.
2.2
It is important for the organization to overcome the barriers which arise at the time of
marketing planning. For the company, it becomes easy for them to overcome the barriers if they
are identified. Solutions for overcoming the hurdles which can be adopted by GSK are as
follows:
 Appropriate tools and techniques- GSK is required to use proper tools and techniques
which can give correct information regarding the scenario of environment. This will help
in solving the lack of in depth barrier of the organization. Besides this, the organization
can use the Pestle model for scanning the environment. There are several marketing tool
which can be adopted to derive proper information. This will help to collect all data
which can be used by the firm (Glynn and Woodside, 2012).
 Proper planning for distrusting finance- As it is renowned organization in the world and
possess high amount of finance. But for the marketing plan, the firm has to plan its
finance so that the marketing planning can be carried out effectively and the workers do
not face any issue related with finance. In this, the firm can use the cost effective
techniques which will help the organization in managing the finance. Cost benefit
analysis, value analysis etc can be adopted to overcome the measures.
 Recruiting skilled workers- It is essential for the CSK firm to have skilled employees so
that marketing plan can be implemented effectively. The organization is required to
skilled employees so that problem of workers can be solved. Further, it will help in
making activity faster and even productivity of the company can be increased (Perreaul,
7

2010). For recruiting the skilled employees in the organization, it is needed by the GSK
to adopt various recruitment strategies. They can hire from the social networking,
employee referrals etc.
TASK 3
3.1
It is important for GSK to make the marketing plan so that operations can be carried out
effectively. Through the marketing plan, it becomes easy for the employees to perform the
activity and further the company will be able to provide proper finance.
MARKETING PLAN FOR THE LAUNCH OF GSK
CRITERIA PLAN FOR THE PRODUCT
Service description Launching Flu vaccine for the old people.
Competitor analysis By using the appropriate tool, it has been analyzed that
there are many competitors, but still the company has not
made a specific medicine for the particular segment. So
through the evaluation, it has planned to make this
product.
Marketing mix Product- Its features are that it is mild as it is for the
old age group.
Price- The price is set low because the income of the
old age group is less. The price will set around 8-9
pounds. The company does not want to make it
expensive because it is utility medicine for the
patient.
Promotion- The product will be advertised on the
television so that old people can be made aware of
that. They generally watch television. Regarding the
communication strategy, GSK will give
advertisement on the newspaper so that most of the
individual can come to know about it.
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Place- The flu vaccine will be available on all
medical stores so that it is easily available to old
people. As per the distribution channel, the GSK will
provide free samples to the doctors so that they can
recommend it to the old people as well as they can
give them.
Target market The old age group above the age of 60.
Segmentation The segmentation is done on the basis of
demographic and old age group has been selected.
Human resource plan For launching the product in the market, around 30
staff will be required to implement it.
Brief budgeting Around 3000-4000 pound will be required to launch
the product.
Implementation timeline The plan is to launch Flu vaccine this year.
Evaluation measures It can be evaluated by analyzing the demand of the
old age people as well as according to the sales of the
product.
3.2
Marketing planning is significant in the strategic planning process it create a base for the
strategies. Further, with the help of marketing plan, the company can allot human resources the
task which they have to perform. This makes the process of the organization easier. Besides
this, with the help of marketing plan, all things are clear in the mind of employees. In case of
GSK for launching the Flu vaccine they are planning to take loan from the bank. So the amount
of money can be identified (McDonald and Wilson, 2011). The GSK is required to make the
strategic plan for the human resources that will be required in launching the new product. The
marketing plan will help in identifying the number so that the organization can recruit the
workers that are needed. This will help in minimizing the expense required for recruiting the
employees. Besides this, with the help of marketing plan the company gains different
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information which is utilized for developing diverse strategies for various areas. Marketing plan
is basically the plan for retaining and sustaining competition and for the future activities of
GSK. This plan will help in carrying out various operations of the company. So it can be said
that, marketing plan plays an important role in the strategic planning process (Dibb and
Carrigan, 2013).
3.3
There are several techniques which are used for the new product development. As the
GSK is the pharmaceutical company so they have to make proper plan for developing the new
product. The medicine can be harmful for the individual. The techniques which can be adopted
for the new product development are as follows:
 Generating ideas- This session is used by the organization so that new ideas can be
generated from the employees. In this, all the employees of R&D department sit together
and from the market analysis plan the product which can be developed to cure the
diseases (Fillis, 2010). The brain storming session is adopted by the GSK to make plan
for developing new medicine which can provide relief to them. This is the common
method and the meeting is held when new cause or diseases arise in the market.
 Screening the idea- In this, the market analyst observes the behavior of the customers and
takes the details of the trend which is going on in the market. If GSK identifies the need
and demand of the customers then they plan for the new product development.
Sometimes, it has been observed that the existing medicine is not giving relief to the
customers. In this case, the company plans for making new product (Madsen, and
Pedersen, 2013).
 Development and testing- After the screening, the nest step is development and testing.
As it is the pharmaceutical organization, the product is tested in the lab to analyze and
identify the reactions of it.
 Business analysis- The organization is required to evaluate that the flu vaccine will be
profitable or not. To function in the competitive environment, the firm requires profit.
 Product development- in this stage, GSK will develop the new product and in this the
methods for manufacturing etc will be analyzed.
 Test marketing-In this stage, the GSK will release the new product in the small area to
know the reaction as well as response for the same.
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 Launch- In this stage, the organization launches the product in the market.
3.4
It is important for the organization to develop proper pricing strategy, distribution and
communication mix which can help the company in earning profit. For the GSK which is a
pharmaceutical organization the strategies are as follows:
 Pricing strategy- According to this strategy, the price of the product is kept low so that
maximum people can use this product. The strategy which will be followed by GSK for
flu vaccine is market penetration strategy because the vaccine is made for the old age
group. This segment does not have much income to buy the medicine. By focusing on
the condition, organization has planned to keep the price lower (Mothe and Thi, 2010).
Further, the organization can adopt the cost plus pricing as the GSK is serving the niche
market so it requires more profit to run the company successfully. According to the point
of view of the organization, to compete with the competitors, the firm requires finance to
execute the strategy and expand their operations.
 Distribution strategy- As for the old age people, the do not have proper medium to travel.
So the GSK has planned to make the flu vaccine available in all medical stores. Majorly
retail stores and hospitals are targeted. This will be easy for this segment to purchase
from the store. Further, the GSK will give samples to the MR so that they can give them
to the doctors. Through the distribution strategy, the GSK will be able to provide easily
availability of the medicines to the needy people.
 Communication mix- The best medium which can be used to make old age people is
through television. As the only entertainment medium is the television. So it will help
them to know through this source (Fleisher and Bensoussan, 2003). On the other hand,
newspaper as the communication medium will be adopted by the organization to make
them aware about the benefits of the Flu vaccine. This is cheap as well as it serves large
audience.
3.5
There are various factors which impact the successfully marketing planning of the
organization. Some barriers which are identified are overcome by the company earlier. But there
are some hurdles which arise at the time of implementation. Changes in the rules and regulations
11

of the government affect the marketing planning. GSK is the pharmaceutical organization, so
new rules and regulations are made easily. For example, if the company ban the use of ingredient
used in the vaccine (McDonald and Wilson, 2011). Then the firm has to change the product and
according to that whole marketing plan will be changed. Besides this, sometimes, the employees
find it difficult to implement the plan. This factor makes it difficult for the organization to
implement the marketing plan and even the firms become late to execute it. Another factor that
majorly affects is the competitor’s action. Sometimes, before implementing the plan, it can be
seen that GSK rivalry can market the same medicine before the launching of the product. In this
case, revised plan is made so that the company can launch it effectively. In implementation of the
marketing plan, the firm gets short of the finance and the tools and techniques used to implement
it becomes obsolete this has negative impact on the plan. Further, the major steps are taken by
the firm to overcome this issue (Dibb and Carrigan, 2013).
TASK 4
4.1
Ethical issues have negative impact on company. Especially, at the time of marketing the
product it is important to focus on the ethical issues. In case of GSK, the firm is required to
properly advertise its product as it should not give false information to the viewers which can
create negative impact on that. All the information regarding the vaccine should be given
because it can affect the life of the individual. The organization is required to respond positively
on the ethical issues so that the image of the company does not get affected. Besides this, many
ethical issues arises inside the organization (Glynn, and Woodside, 2012). The GSK should
equally treat their employees by following all the rules and regulations as this will help in
making proper marketing plan. Further, the firm is required to not directly or indirectly point to
their competitors in the advertisement. It is not allowed by any of the firm to use their rivalry
name.
4.2
It has been said that if any of the organization is involved in the ethical issues then it has
respond positively to the situation so that it can maintain the image in the market. In case of
china bribery case, the organization was found guilty for bribing the doctors for promoting their
12

products. The GSK response was not ethical because they denied their mistake. But through the
investigation, it was seen that they did unethical thing in China. Few years back also, the GSK In
past, GSK experienced this kind of issue but in a short period of time it changed the
advertisement and made new one. The effect of unethical behavior of the organization negatively
impacted the consumer, government which ultimately affects the sales of the firm. GSK
organization ethically makes advertisement by considering social aspects of the nation and gives
proper information on package as well as communicates in the advertisement (Fillis, 2010).
4.3
With the increase the consumer purchasing power and concept of customer centric
business that firms are adopting nowadays, customers have come in the position to influence the
growth and success of business. However, these powers are being misused sometimes that highly
affects the company’s strategic and marketing planning. With respect to GSK that is a
pharmaceutical company, there are many ways in which consumers can take the advantage over
business (Madsen and Pedersen, 2013). As the firm is going to launch flu vaccine, it is the
responsibility of consumers to use it in the right way as stated on the packaging and do not make
any wrong claim on the organization. Sometimes, it happens that consumers make returns of
merchandise without having any logical reason behind the same. They intentionally return the
products after making some use even when the offering is not having any fault in it. Thus, they
should not do these kinds of acts as it is ethically wrong as put a huge impact on the marketing
planning of GSK (Ethical legal framework in marketing, 2015). In case if these situations occur
in business, whole process of the firm would get affected and again the strategic plan has to be
developed by which all marketing activities will get disturbed. Further, it has been seen that even
if the customers have used it, the firm did not accept it. As they say the organization will not take
back the product in case of default. In that case, it is required by the company to entertain these
types of problems of customers. On the other hand, it may seem that the organization is also in
fault so in that case the firm should agree and respond positively to the issue.. Even a little
change in the marketing plan involves a huge cost and company has to suffer a lot. Thus,
consumers should maintain their ethics and avoid such behavior that they possess just because of
lack of moral constraints or unfulfilled aspirations (Hollensen, 2010).
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CONCLUSION
From this report it can be inferred that, GSK is launching Flu vaccine on the needs and
demands of the consumers. Before launching the vaccine, GSK has analyzed that it requires
human efficient human resource for making the marketing plan. Further, it has been concluded
that price of vaccine has been kept normal so that more old patients can use this. Besides this, the
company is following all rules and regulations which are required to launch vaccine. Lastly, for
overcoming the barrier of finance in the marketing plan, GSK firm is taking loan from bank
which can help to effectively carry out the marketing process.
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