Strategic management analysis - Ariel

STRATEGIC
MANAGEMENT

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
This report explains the full marketing audit of the Ariel by the way of SWOT Analysis and the
PESTLE Analysis as these are the two Analysis which evaluate the external and internal
environment of the organization. Further this report explains the competitive advantage which
has been enjoyed by the Ariel by the way of USP as it elaborate the difference or the uniqueness
of the organization product as compare to the other organization product. Further this report
explains the current marketing strategy of the Ariel in the way of their impact on growth, sales
and profitability. After that this report explains the objective of the organization on the basis of
all the information from the above part objective which are developed are the SMART objective
and also STP is has been used to derived the objective and In the end report explains the new
marketing strategy of the organization with on the basis of the marketing mix.

Table of Contents
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY.............................................................................................................2
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................4
TASK 1............................................................................................................................................4
Explain the marketing audit of the organization including SWOT, PESTLE and USP and also
explain the evolution of current market strategy.........................................................................4
SWOT Analysis..........................................................................................................................4
PESTLE Analyses.......................................................................................................................6
Competitive Advantage (USP)....................................................................................................7
Evolution of Current Marketing strategy of the Ariel.................................................................8
TASK 2............................................................................................................................................9
Based on the task 1 finding please explain STP, organization SMART objective and the new
marketing strategy.......................................................................................................................9
STP Strategy................................................................................................................................9
SMART Objectives...................................................................................................................11
New Marketing Strategy for the Ariel......................................................................................11
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................12
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................14

INTRODUCTION
Strategic management is the process which includes planning, monitoring, analysing and
assessing of all the necessary organization need to achieve the organization goal. Ariel is laundry
detergents made by Procter & Gamble (P&G). Ariel was first introduces in the UK market in the
year 1967, it was a first detergent with stain removing enzymes. Ariel is most sell detergent
brand of the UK in current market. This report highlights the marketing audit of a chosen
organization. Further this report highlights the Competitive advantage in the form of the USP
and the organization current market strategy including relevant market performance data. Further
these report highlights the STP of the organization and SMART objective of the organization on
the basis of the above evaluated information from PESTLE and SWOT. In the end report
highlights the recommendation of new marketing strategy for the organization on the basis of the
marketing mix.
TASK 1
Explain the marketing audit of the organization including SWOT, PESTLE and USP and also
explain the evolution of current market strategy.
SWOT Analysis
Situational analysis can be defined as a collection of methods that managers utilize to analysis of
internal and external surrounding of the organization in order to understand consumer,
capabilities and the whole business environment (Ansoff and et. al., 2018). It is essential for
analysing the brand competitive position as well as strength and capabilities of the company.
SWOT analysis assist manager of Ariel to identify internal strength, weakness, external
opportunities and threats that enable the brand to meet the satisfaction level of consumers and
beat the intense competition.
Strengths Brand name- Ariel is one of the strongest selling washing detergent brand across the
world and hails from the house of Procter and Gamble. In UK it has 20% of market share
for the detergent powder over other competitors. Unique selling proposition- The brand is in the market of more than 20 countries. The
USP of the product is that the detergent reduce water consumption that is the biggest
strength o the brand (David and David, 2017).

 Innovation- This element build a strong base in the consumer's mind through various
innovation in products and marketing. The brand invest 60% in R&D and try to add
various features in the products that add value.
Weaknesses Competition- Ariel has a strong competition in the market of UK like Surf, Henkel,
Persil, etc. The strong competition can be seen from mainly the Unilever products. Low recall significance- The advertisement recall significance is one of the weakness of
the brand. The company is required to update their marketing strategy (Wheelen and et.
al., 2017).
 Lack of control in the market- The distribution channel of the brand is followed is;
Manufacturer>regional stockiest>retailer>consumer. The regional stockiest element is
capable to create conflicts arises between HUL that might affect the company as they can
lose the whole region market for the products.
Opportunities New Taxation policy- Government of UK bringing new policy of taxation that enhance
the profitability of the brand and provide an opportunity to the brand to invest in
extended product segment. Innovation and technological development- As innovation is the strength of the
company thus, with the technological advancement, Ariel have opportunity to experiment
and provide new added feature that assist in increasing the brand image (Lasserre, 2017).
 Penetrative variants- The brand have opportunity of capturing great market share
without hampering brand value. Ariel have opportunity to come up with low cost
detergents for those households that are living in rural areas.
Threats Increased in labour and production cost- After decision of Brexit, Ariel is facing threat
after increase in the cost of production and labour (David and David, 2017). It put
pressure on the brand to maintain their price as the brand is known for consumable
product. By a slight change in prices can result in huge reduction in the market demand.
 Legal effect- The company is facing threat from the legislative effects as the chemical
used for the production of Detergent are harmful for the environment as well as for the

human body. UK law established a strict law for the protection and limits the area of
manufacturing plant in the country.
PESTLE Analyses
Political Factor: Factor that affect the organization due to the government policy and the
legislation. Government stability in the UK has helped the organization in many ways as they did
not need to change their policy now and then and as the Ariel has able to maintain the good
relation with the Government it has helped the organization in getting the government support in
the UK which has played a big hand in getting the competitive advantage. At the same time Ariel
was affected by the taxation policy and the employment policy of the Local government which
has resulted in increasing of rate of the product which has eventually affected the growth of the
business in the negative way (Rastogi and Trivedi, 2016).
Economic Factor: Economic growth rate of the UK is stable and does not fluctuate much which
helps the organization in going forward with one policy which helps the organization in the long
run of the business. Increased recession has also played a crucial role in the Ariel success as it
has affected the business in the positive ways. At the same time as Ariel is also affected by the
macro economic factor as there are many competitors of the Ariel in the market as a result Ariel
is required to change the policy at a timely basis to be competitive in the market. Some big
competitor of the Ariel are Surf, Omo, Persil etc.
Social Factor: This is the factor which has been successfully defended by the organization
which has helped the organization in earning a good reputation in the market. Ariel always uses
the recycle products in packaging of the product which has helped the organization in
contributing toward society and also Ariel has his tie with number of NGO as a result Ariel
contributes the part of sales to the NGO which has helped the organization in earning the
goodwill in the eye of the consumer and the market. P&G manufacturer of Ariel product is
planning to re-evaluate the Logo of the Ariel which shows the care to the society (Čirjevskis,
2016).
Technology Factor: This is the factor on which Ariel company is over depended as Technology
is the one factor through which Ariel is able to offer a good quality of the product to the
consumer not only this Technology helps the business in increasing the efficiency of the work in
the organization has technology helps the business in introducing the new and innovative way to
complete the task in the organization but at the same time it also hurts the Ariel company as in

the frequently changing technology market it is very difficult for the organization to evaluate
each and every technique and adopt the change to get a competitive advantage as wrong
technique adaption can laid to lose in the market share.
Environment Factor: This is the factor which is successfully defended by the organization as
the product which is developed by the organization is able sustained the development and the
usage of the renewal resources as a result organization is able to earn the good name in the
production of the environment friendly product. Ariel is also trying hard to develop the era of the
environment friendly product and to some limit the organization is able to do the same but at the
same time as the raw material which is used by the Ariel in manufacturing the environment
friendly product is very high which eventually increase the price of the product and which hurts
the organization in the competitive market (Perera, 2017).
Legal Factor: As the Ariel operated in many country Ariel has to make sure that they follow the
rules and regulation of all the country which force them to change the policy depending upon the
rules and regulation of the country in which Ariel is operating. At the same time as UK
government offers the benefit for the local business entity it has helped the Ariel in growing their
business in the local market.
Competitive Advantage (USP)
USP stands for the Unique selling proposition as the name suggest these models relates to the
uniqueness which organization is having as compare to the other companies in the competitive
market (Wensley, 2016).
In the case of the Ariel, Ariel has a unique manufacturing formula which helps the organization
in getting the competitive advantage this is the big reason behind Ariel giving the promise of
removing the dirties and toughest strain from the cloths and Ariel is able to promote the same
awareness in the society that no one can remove the strain and dirtiness better than Ariel in the
market.
As Ariel detergent is well-known for consuming less water and time to give a good result and
which has proved the good USP for the business to sell the product in the market.
Ariel also uses many promotional platform to promote the Arial which helps them in getting
competitive advantage as in the market Ariel is the only company who promotes the product at
these large scale. Promotional platform which is used by the Ariel are TVC, RDC, billboards,

quick game show, powering TV shows, lottery, giving away gift hampers, promotional offers etc
(JAIN, 2017).
Goodwill which has been developed by the Ariel in the market also known as a USP of the
organization as the customer has build a good trust on the Ariel product which has helped the
Ariel in product acceptance by the customer very easily.
Evolution of Current Marketing strategy of the Ariel
Growth
Ariel is categorized as the best detergent in the UK market and it is the most expensive detergent
available in the market. Company has now introduced some mid priced brand in the market to
compete with the other competitor in the market. The main reason behind this was to compete
with the low priced detergent providing company and to attend the wider area of the market but
This has reduced the sales revenue of the business, improper advertisement and promotional
offering is the main reason behind the sales performance (Saidani and Sudiarditha, 2019).
Sales trend
As Ariel is facing the tough competition in the market they have to share their market share to
the other organization in the industry and the high price of the Ariel product is proving difficulty
for the Ariel as all the other organization is selling the product at a lower rate which is eventually
affecting the sales of the product in the negative way but at the same time the goodwill which has
been made by the Ariel is helping them to sell their product as people are trusting the product of
the Ariel irrespective of their price.
Profitability
In term of the profitability company has done a very good work as the price and the profit margin
on the Ariel product is high it has reflected on the profitability of the organization, as Ariel is one
of the leading detergent seller in the UK market. Ariel profitability is high as compare to the
brand like surf, Persil, fairy and tide etc (JAIN, 2017).

TASK 2
Based on the task 1 finding please explain STP, organization SMART objective and the new
marketing strategy
STP Strategy
Segmenting, targeting and positioning is a process of performing a marketing objective
into reality (Ariel, 2019). This strategy will help Ariel to identify the desired market and strategy
that will assist them in target the market.
Segmenting
Demographic Size of family- small, medium, large
Upper and middle class income groups
Advantage Income, quality and services
Type of Market Niche marketing
Geography Existing segment of the brand was Urban and
semi-urban and the new segment added is
semi-rural.
User status Potential user, regular user and non-user.
In the segmenting strategy, marketer of Ariel will segment the market of UK on the basis
of demographic and geographic type of market and status of user (Lasserre, 2017). The new plan
added to the strategy is to providing the product into semi-rural area as this is the immense scope
for the brand. For successfully executing the plan, brand also required to making proper strategy
of marketing and reducing the price for the semi-rural areas. The segmentation strategy also
focuses on quality consider consumers. Organization in it need to make sure that the segment
which are made by the organization is on a relevant basis so that all type of the customer can be
attained by the organization.
Targeting
Target audience
House wives and working women
Sensitive regarding colour of the clothes
Washing machine user

Consumers who want washing powder with
good fragrance
General consumers
It is the second step in which company used to select the segment which company can
effectively target to sell the product. Company has to see each and every aspect of the segment
before selecting it. In the case of the Ariel, The targeted market and consumers for the product of
Ariel is based on the new strategy that is entering into the semi-rural market (Wheelen, and et.
al., 2017). The main target audience of the brand are those people who want quality products that
maintain the quality of the clothes are willing to pay more for the product, thus, the strategy
focuses on the differentiated strategy. But as per the new strategy, focus of the brand is on semi-
rural areas who are upper or middle class group.
Positioning
In the strategy of positioning, the brand focuses on the change the perception and mind
set of rural and semi-rural consumers. The strategy focuses on implementing by the brand is
value-based strategy in which brand position the products in the UK market under various price
points on the basis of value and it allows the consumers to select from various segment as per the
value. Position the products through promotional message and campaigns that will provide an
understanding of the benefit of products (David and David, 2017). The main emphasise of the
campaigns, advertisements is on environmental friendly products with standard quality and
affordable price range. In converting the position from premium to new marketing group,
positioning strategies includes;
 Implementing superior technology for removing the toughest stains
 Environment friendly and sustainable products.
 Emphasis on high quality products
 In semi-rural areas, the positioning strategy is to reduce the price.
Thus, Ariel is customer-centric brand that use geographic, demographic,
Psycho graphic segmenting strategies and P&G utilise differentiated targeting
strategy in order to meet the changing need of consumers (Ansoff and et. al., 2018).

For positioning the brand in the market of UK, Ariel utilise Value-based
positioning strategy.
SMART Objectives
The main goal of the Ariel is to attend all the customer in the market and to make the Ariel the
household name for all the housewife all across the globe irrespective of the location where they
reside Ariel will launch the new product in the market. Ariel will start targeting the small village
ladies of the England first and on the basis of the result will plan to diversify the functioning at a
bigger stage, the targeting will be done by the way of marketing and promotion. The objective
which has been set by the Ariel is the SMART objective because of the following reasons:
Specific: The objective which has been set up by the Ariel is clearly determining that the ladies
from the small town or villages will be targeted by the organization by the way of introducing
new product in the market which will be having something new. As the objective describes the
public to be targeted and how to target it can be said that the objective is the specific.
Measurable: Ariel has set a deadline that the objective can be measured in the 3 years with the
expected profit of the 25 million, which tells that the objective is the measurable.
Achievable: This Goal is achievable by the help of the high brand of the marketing and
promotion and the activity which is performed to promote or market the product should take care
that it targets the Housewife's of the small town in the country (Rastogi and Trivedi, 2016).
Realistic: For achieving the goal Ariel has to make sure that they have the best level of resources
to achieve the organizational objective.
Timed: For achieving the organizational objective there is a time limit that Ariel has to achieve
the organizational goal by the end of the year 2020.
New Marketing Strategy for the Ariel
Product
Product is the tangible good which is offered by the organization to the customer. Ariel has to
make sure that the product which will be developed by the organization should be of the best
quality so that the customer is attracted toward the product. As the target of the Ariel is to attract
semi rural town ladies Ariel has to make sure of the quality and quantity both at a time as it is
very difficult to change the semi rural town people choice.
Price

Penetration pricing strategy is the strategy which can be used by the organization in the case of
the new product in which company has to lower down the price of the product for the starting
stage so that the customer are attracted toward the product and company is able to attend wider
area of population. This strategy will be good for the organization because the leaving standard
of the semi rural area will be not that good as compare to the other area so the low price of the
product will help the organization (Wensley, 2016).
Promotion
It is the process through the need and awareness of the product is promoted in the targetted
customer. Ariel has to make sure that the promotional activity which is used by them should
have the face to face interaction as these will help the organization in promoting the awareness to
wider area of population as the other platform such as social media or newspaper will not able to
reach the customer as it is not surety that this resource is available at the semirural area.
Place
As already explained that the organization has to make all the policy in keeping in mind that all
the policy can be successfully applied in the semi rural area of the England.
Packaging
Company has to make sure that the packaging of the product is so attractive that the people of the
area is attracted toward the organization product. Company also has to make sure that company
uses low financial resources in the packaging as company is using the penetration pricing
method it will cut down the profit margin of the organization with very good aspect. (Perera,
2017)
Positioning
Company has to make sure that they participate in different social program and uses environment
friendly raw material in the manufacturing process so that the company is able to take a good
position in the market and in the eyes of the customer.
People
Ariel has to attract the housewife's of the semi-rural area for the selling of the product as it will
help the organization in getting better result as the detergent is generally purchased on the basis
of women purchasing power behaviour. (Morgan And et.al.,2019)

CONCLUSION
After going through above report it has been summarized that the Ariel is the biggest brand in
the detergent industry of the UK and also doing well in the International market but faces a
quality of competition from the other company in the detergent market, as a result company has
decided to attend the larger area by decreasing the price of the product of a new product which
was introduced as the product of the Ariel was too expensive in the past and that was the big
reason of company facing competition in the market. It was also found that company should
target ladies of a semi-rural area and should manufacture the product according to that so that
they are able to attend the larger number of people in the local market but for doing that
company has to change their marketing strategy and the new marketing strategy has been
recommended to the organization.

REFERENCES
Books and Journals
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Approach. Pearson.
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Marketing Science. 47(1). pp.4-29.
Perera, R., 2017. The PESTLE analysis.
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Saidani, B. and Sudiarditha, I.K.R., 2019. Marketing Mix-7Ps: The Effect on Customer
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Wensley, R., 2016. The basics of marketing strategy. In The marketing book (pp. 75-107).
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Wheelen, T. L., and et. al., 2017. Strategic management and business policy. (p. 55). Boston:
pearson.
Online
Ariel. 2019. [Online]. Available Through:<https://www.ariel.co.uk/en-gb>