Marketing Principles of Unilever: A Study on Marketing Mix, Rationale of Marketing Decisions, Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning

This report discusses the marketing principles of Unilever, including their marketing mix, rationale of marketing decisions, segmentation, targeting, and positioning. It also provides an overview of the company and its products.

Sales and marketing
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Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION..........................................................................................................................3
Task.............................................................................................................................................3
Marketing principle of Unilever (marketing mix)..................................................................3
Rationale of marketing decisions..........................................................................................6
Segmentation, targeting and positioning of Unilever...........................................................9
CONCLUSION............................................................................................................................10
REFERENCES.............................................................................................................................11
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INTRODUCTION
Marketing is related to those process under which the organization try to increase the demand
of their product and services with the help of different marketing tools and technique.
Marketing is one of the most important aspect of the present business because it helps the
organization to develop effective strategies to achieve competitive advantage in the market.
There is a cut throat competition present in the market under which many companies operate
their business in same industry and creates price war in the market. The impact of price war
has negative impact on the profit margins of the company. It is very important for the
management of the organization that they develop effective marketing strategies in their
organization so that they can deal with these type of competition in the market. This report is
based on the company called Unilever plc which is one of the biggest companies of the
world. This report states brief discussion related to the different principles of market under
which all the factors of the marketing mix are clearly defined. It states brief discussion related
to rationale decision taken by the organization in regard to the marketing and also the
description related to segmentation, targeting and positioning.
About the company
Unilever plc is a British multinational organization which deals in consumer goods industry
of United Kingdom. All the decision of the company is taken from them headquarter which is
situated in London, United Kingdom. The management of the organization has provide
diversified product range in the market such as home care product, skin care and many more.
Unilever was founded in the year 1929 by the merger of Dutch margarine producer
Margarine Unie and British soap maker Lever brothers. It is one of the most successful
merger of the world. (Neeli,2020)
Task
Marketing principle of Unilever (marketing mix)
Marketing mix is related to those frameworks which is used by the management of
organization to advertise their product and services on the basis different factors. There are
seven factors are present in this framework such as product, price, place, promotion, people,
process, physical evidence. It is very important for the management that they actively
analyses all these factors so that the company can develop effective marketing strategies and
becomes success in their marketing plan. The management of the Unilever is one of dynamic
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management which always try to invent new strategies of marketing and the brief discussion
related to marketing mix of the same are given below:
Product
It refers to those factor of the marketing mix which is related to the product and service of the
organization which they offer their customers in exchange of money. The product is one of
the most important aspect of the organization in the market because the success and failure of
the organization are depending upon the growth of the product. It is very important for the
management of the organization that they analyze the needs and preference of the customers
and then develops the product according to the needs of the customers so that the chances of
failure can be minimize. The management of the Unilever has offered diversified product
range in the market such as skin care, beauty care and home care products. All the products
of the company are of good quality and offered at reasonable cost. (Nasiri, Deymeh, and
Miandoabchi, 2021)
Price
It refers to those factor of the marketing mix which is related to the amount charged by the
company from their customers in exchange of their product and services. The pricing strategy
of the company is one of the important aspect because the success of the product in the
market are depend upon their price. It is very important for the management of the
organization that the develop effective marketing strategies so that the product becomes
popular in the market. The management of the Unilever has conduct deep research of the
market to develop their pricing strategy so that the possibility of failure can be minimize.
There are three strategy of pricing are followed by the management of the organization such
as market oriented pricing strategy, premium pricing and product bundle pricing strategy.
Place
It is related to the actual place or market where the business organization has operated their
business. The place of the business plays a major role in the success of the organization so it
is very important for the management of the organization that they analyze various potential
markets and positioned their product. The distribution channels are also covered in this
section. It is essential for the management of the organization that they develop effective
distribution channel so that the goods and services of the organization reached at right place
at right time. The management of Unilever has developed three point of distribution which is
used by them to distribute their products such as kiosk, retailer and stores.
Promotion
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It is related to those method of the marketing mix which is related to the promotion of the
product of the company. It is one of the most important factor of the company under which
the success is depended. There are different types of methods and technique are present in the
market which can be used by the management for their promotion such as sales promotion,
marketing, advertisement, personal selling and many more. The management of the Unilever
has develop effective promotional framework in their organization and uses social media
marketing and television advertisement.
Process
It is related to those factor of the marketing which provides information related to the
process used by the organisation in their production department. There are different types of
products are developed in the organisation. The process used by the organisation in the
production of goods and services plays a important role in profit margins of the company
because it directly impacts the cost structure of the company. The management of Unilever
has developed multiple range of products in the organisation which is required to be
developed with least cost and maximum quality.(Liguori, and Pittz, 2020)
People
This factor of the marketing mix is closely related to the employees working in the
organisation. There are number of employees are working in the organization which are the
most valuable resource of the company because it helps the organisation to achieve
effectiveness and accuracy in the organisation. It is very important for the management of the
organisation that they provide effective support and resources to their employees so that all
the employees becomes loyal for the company. The management of Unilever has huge
number of employees in their organisation as their business are spread in many countries of
the world so it is very important for the management of the organisation to develop
framework in the organisation which has managed the workforce. There are number of
managers are present in the company which provides motivation and support to the
employees so that the deviation in their performances can be increased.
Physical evidence
This factor of the marketing mix is related to those actions and things provided by the
company to their customers as complimentary on their services. The main motive of the
company behind these things is to aware the customers about the services of the company
after some time when the similar need of the customer arises again.
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Rationale of marketing decisions
Marketing is related to increase the demand of goods and services in the organisation
and it is one of the most important aspect of the organisation because it enables the
organisation to achieve their goals and objectives effectively. There are number of decisions
has to taken by the management of the organisation to make their marketing plan possible in
the market. It is essential for the management of the organisation that they develop effective
and efficient employees in the organisation which helps the company in their marketing
activities. (Le Meunier‐FitzHugh, and Johnson, 2021)
Marketing is not simple task which can be developed by the organisation easily. There
are a lots of activities and decision has to take by the company. It is essential for the company
that they conduct deep research of the market so that the chances of failure can be minimised.
The management of the organisation has analysed the marketing frameworks of different
types of organisation in the market and then develop competitive marketing marketing
framework in their organisation so that the number of competition can be minimised from the
market. There are different types of organisations are working in the same industry and
creates competition in the market which negatively impacts the business of the organisation.
Marketing is the only solution to deal with the stiff competition of the organisation.
The management of Unilever has conduct their business in many countries of the
world. It is one of the most popular and biggest organisation of the world. There are many
reasons are analysed for the success of the organisation such as effective and strong
management, long term approach and many more. One of the most important reason which
enables the company to achieve such type of success is their effective decisions in relation to
the marketing. The brief discussion related to the same are given below:
Communication with customers
One of the most important and effective decision taken by the management of the
company in relation to the development of effective communication in the organisation in
their organisation. Communication is related to those aspect of the organisation which helps
the employees to interact different types of employees in the organisation. Communication
helps the management of Unilever to establish effective relations to their customers.
Communication plays an important role in the success of marketing framework of the
Unilever as it enables the company to convey the feature and benefits of the company to their
customers. The management of the Unilever has develop four principles which guide the
company to communicate with the customers. (Lan, 2018)
 The management of the Unilever has developed trust and loyalty of the customers
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towards the company by their responsible practises and transparent communication.
 The management of the Unilever has admitted that it is their responsibility to ensure
the safety of their products, so it provides written warning about the risk present with
their products.
 The management of the Unilever has developed effective framework in their
organisation which deals with the nutritions present in the organisation. The health of
the customers becomes the important duty of the company.
 The management of the Unilever has developed effective combination of labelling,
website and phone calls to established effective communication with the customers.
Responsible marketing and advertising
The marketing approach of the Unilever are not dominating and negative which
provide negative impact on the mind set of their customers. The management of the Unilever
has followed effective and responsible marketing framework in the organisation so that their
customers feels safe about their products and services. As per the management of the
Unilever, marketing and communication plays an important role to influence the mind of the
customers. The advertising campaign of the Unilever has reflects the solution of different
human problems and the brief discussion related to the same are given below:
 The real beauty challenge of Dove soap is one of the important marketing campaign
of the company. This marketing campaign of the company has provide many benefit
to the organisation. This marketing framework of the company are related to the
present stereotype spread in the market about the natural beauty.
 There are number of successful campaign are run by the management of the company
and Omo/ percil's dirt is good is one of them. Under this campaign of the company,
the management of the organisation conveys that being dirty is not the problem of the
children but it is one of the part of their natural growth and performance.
 There are large number of parts are present where the presence of water are very low
and the people faced many problems due to the shortage of the water. The
management of the organisation develops comfort one Rinse's to target this issue of
the public. The advertisement of the company conveys that the product only requires
one bucket of water instead of three or four. (Howlett, 2019)
International self regulatory codes
There are different types of trade bodies and regulators are present in international
market which has their own specialised and effective rules and regulations. These regulatory
bodies ensures that the organisation has done their marketing with ethics and responsibility.
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Whether the interest of any stakeholder of the market may be misused or not. The
management of the Unilever has followed the rules and regulations of some international
marketing regulatory authorities such as world federation of advertisers and international
chamber of commerce. The management of the Unilever always support the development of
principles and also their execution in their marketing framework.
Promoting healthy body images
There are different types of brands and companies are present in the market which
portrays unrealistic images of the models and actors on their advertisements. The models
used in their advertisement campaign are of zero size models which has negative impact on
the minds of the customers because it promotes unhealthy body. The management of
Unilever has followed the global guidelines since 2007, .under which they neglect the size
zero models in their marketing campaign. They always use those model whole body
structure promote the benefits of health. It is essentail for all the advertising agencies to use
those models in the advertisement whose mody mass are lies between 18.5 to 25.
Marketing of food and beverages
The management of the Unilever has provide many food and beverages product in the
market which is used by many customers. The management of the company not only focuses
on the development of healthy and nutrition food in the industry but it also focus on the
development and execute responsible marketing framework in their regards. In the year 2003,
Unilever plc is the first company which applied the principles for marketing foods and
beverages to children. Under these principles the management of the organisation are focused
on different children issues such as obesity and negative impact of social media on the minds
of the children's. (Gentsch, 2018)
The management of the Unilever has becomes the founding member of the
international food and beverages alliances. Under this alliance, Unilever along with other
members perform their business functions along with the promotion of healthy marketing
framework in the market.
It is very important for the management of the organisation that they developed
effective marketing framework in their organisation. There are many benefits are present in
relation to the marketing. It helps the organisation to boost their sales of product and services.
Effective marketing of the organisation has enable to convince their customers about the
usage of their product and services in the organisation. It is essential for the management of
the organisation that they use healthy and ethical marketing practises in the organisation.
There are many rules and regulations are present in international market which is developed
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by some governing bodies for the promotion of ethical practises
Segmentation, targeting and positioning of Unilever
It is related to those framework of the organisation which is used by the company to
target specific group of customers with their product and services. It is very important for the
management of the organisation that they develop effective and efficient segmentation in the
market so that the wastage of time can be minimised. There are three factors are present in
this section such as segmentation, targeting and positioning. The product which is chosen
here to demonstrate this report is Dove soap which is one of the most successful product of
the company. (Chowdhury, 2019)
Segmentation
It is related to those process of the organisation under which the management has
divide the whole market into small parts and develop small segments of the buyers on the
basis of some factors. These factors are age, class, sex and many more. It is very important
for the management of the organisation that they develop effective segments in the market so
that the chances of time wastage can be minimise. The product Dove is related to the soap of
the company which focuses to sustain natural beauty of the ladies. The man agent of
Unilever has conduct segmentation on the basis of age and gender. There are different types
of segments are developed on the basis of age of females such as 14 to 16, 18 to 25 and many
more.
Targeting
Targeting is related to those process of the organisation under which the management
of the company has choose the favourable segment from the available segment in the
company. It is very important for the management of the organisation that they analyse all
the segments effectively and then choose the most favourable one from them. The selection
of the segment should be based on the product and Unilever has target the females of age
group 18 to 25 which are motivated towards healthy life style.
Positioning
It is related to those process under which the management of the organisation has
developed the number of things in the organisation to positioned their product on the minds
of their targeted customers.(Betsan, 2021)
CONCLUSION
This report concludes brief discussion related to the different principles of market under
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which all the factors of the marketing mix are clearly defined. It concludes brief discussion
related to rationale decision taken by the organization in regard to the marketing and also the
description related to segmentation, targeting and positioning.
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REFERENCES
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Betsan, D., 2021. Critical analysis of digital marketing regarding impact on sales and
marketing performance (Doctoral dissertation, Hochschulbibliothek HWR Berlin).
Chowdhury, R., 2019. From Restructuring to Optimisation: Enabling a Sales and Marketing
Function. In Systems Thinking for Management Consultants (pp. 241-267).
Springer, Singapore.
Gentsch, P., 2018. AI in marketing, sales and service: How marketers without a data science
degree can use AI, big data and bots. Springer.
Howlett, R., 2019. Sales and marketing: So you've made a great wine-now what?. Australian
and New Zealand Grapegrower and Winemaker, (662), pp.67-68.
Lan, P.N., 2018. Factors affecting turnover intention among sales and marketing
professionals in fast moving consumer goods (GMCG) and retail industry (Doctoral
dissertation, International University-HCMC).
Le Meunier‐FitzHugh, K., and Johnson, J., 2021. Launching new global products into
subsidiary markets: The vital role of sales and marketing collaboration. Thunderbird
International Business Review, 63(4), pp.543-558.
Liguori, E.W. and Pittz, T.G., 2020. Sales & Marketing. In The Entrepreneur's Guide to Risk
and Decisions: Building Successful Early-Stage Ventures. Emerald Publishing
Limited.
Nasiri, G.R., Deymeh, H., and Miandoabchi, E., 2021. Incorporating sales and marketing
considerations into a competitive multi-echelon distribution network design problem
with pricing strategy in a stochastic environment. Journal of Retailing and Consumer
Services, 62, p.102646.
Neeli, A.K., 2020. Impact and Role of Artificial Intelligence in Sales and Marketing. i-
Manager's Journal on Management, 15(1), p.1.
NEZAMOVA, O.A. and OLENTSOVA, J.A., 2021. Improving the sales policy of
agricultural enterprises on the basis of advanced marketing technologies. Азимут
научных исследований: экономика и управление, 10(3), pp.288-291.
Uddin, B., 2020. Internship Report on “Sales & Marketing Activities of Care Me BD”.
Vadakkepatt, G., Shankar, V. and Varadarajan, R., 2021. Should firms invest more in
marketing or R&D to maintain sales leadership? An empirical analysis of sales
leader firms. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 49(6), pp.1088-1108.
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