AE1 Portfolio: The Body Shop Marketing Strategy and Analysis

This portfolio provides a detailed analysis of The Body Shop's marketing strategies. It begins with an introduction to the company and the reasons for the investigation. The main body includes a PRESTCOM analysis of the marketing environment, examining political, regulatory, economic, social, technological, competitive, organizational, and market factors. The portfolio then delves into consumer behavior, exploring the consumer buyer decision process and the factors influencing it, including the current user base and their expectations. The STP framework is also analyzed, emphasizing market segmentation, target markets, and competitor analysis. The portfolio concludes by summarizing the key findings, highlighting the influence of the marketing environment, consumer behavior, and the importance of the STP framework in achieving marketing objectives. The report uses the provided references to support the analysis.

Portfolio

Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................................3
MAIN BODY.................................................................................................................................................3
Analysis....................................................................................................................................................3
Consumer Behavior.................................................................................................................................4
STP framework........................................................................................................................................4
CONCLUSION...............................................................................................................................................5
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................................6

INTRODUCTION
Marketing refers to the activities which are undertaken in order to increase the revenues
earned through the selling of goods and providing of the required services (Atwal and Williams,
2017). For this portfolio, The Body Shop has been chosen which a British Company is dealing in
cosmetics and other related products. The reasons due to which investigation will be made in the
marketing department of the company are to know how it can acquire a strategic edge over its
competitors and maximize its level of profits.
MAIN BODY
Analysis
The marketing environment refers to the different external as well as internal forces
which can influence an organization’s decision-making. The Body Shop is also affected by its
marketing environment.
PRESTCOM analysis-
A PRESTCOM analysis is quite helpful in the analysis of marketing environment of an
organization (Felix, Rauschnabel and Hinsch, 2017). In the context of The Body Shop, it is as
follows-
 Political factors- These factors influence the marketing decision-making of a company
because it the political situations are very ever-changing in nature and can change rapidly
and dynamically. Therefore The Body Shop is also affected by them.
 Regulatory factors- These factors can influence the marketing decision-making because
the rules and regulations of the government have to be followed. Therefore The Body
Shop is affected.
 Economic factors- These factors can influence the marketing decision-making because
the economic conditions can change. Thus The Body Shop is affected by these factors.
 Social factors- These factors affect the marketing environment because social customs
can change affecting the profitability of the company. Therefore The Body Shop is
affected by these factors.
 Technological factors- These factors can affect the technology used by a company. The
Body Shop is affected by the influence put by them.
 Competitive factors- These factors can influence a company because competition’s
strategies have to be watched. The Body Shop is also affected by these factors.
 Organization factors- These factors can influence a company because there are various
factors inside it which influence its marketing decision-making. Thus The Body Shop is
affected.

 Market factors- These factors influence market decision-making because the forces of
market can change the plans. Therefore an influence is put on The Body Shop.
Consumer Behavior
Consumer Buying Behavior refers to the actions which are taken by the consumers before
they buy a particular product or a service (What is Consumer Buying Behavior?, 2020).
There are various factors which can influence the buyer behavior. These factors are as
follows-
 Consumer Buyer Decision Process- Consumer Buyer Decision Process is undertaken by
the customers after they have analyzed the utility of a product or service which they are
considering to buy (Järvinen and Taiminen, 2016). For The Body Shop it is important to
understand this because it has to be analyzed how the consumers come to the decision of
purchasing a particular product or a service.
 Influence on Consumer Buyer Behavior- The influence can be put on the Consumer
Buyer Behavior because of various factors. In the context of The Body Shop it is
necessary to understand this because it is crucial to take the right decisions.
 Current users of products and services- The current users of products and services of
The Body Shop are mid-range and high-range customers.
 Hope of achievement- These customers target to achieve reasonable satisfaction level
from the products and services which they are using.
 Payment for products and services- The prices which have been set by The Body Shop
for its products and services are reasonable and can be afforded by the customers easily
without any problems.
 Looking at other providers- The Body Shop is big brand name in cosmetics and other
related products in Britain the customers generally do not look forward to other
providers.
Thus, after analyzing all these factors the managers of The Body Shop can take a
reasonable and measured decision in order to make sure that they are able to maximize
their level of profits in the future.
STP framework
STP framework is used in order to find out more about the market which a firm wants to
target in order to meet its various marketing objectives effectively and efficiently (Kotler and
et.al., 2017). It is important for The Body Shop.
Market segmentation is done by the companies so as to ensure that they are able to target
specific customers in the market for their products as well as services. STP can be used by The
Body Shop so that it is able to target specific customers for increasing its profits.

The companies like The Body Shop need to know that by segmenting their market
properly they will be able to easily achieve their marketing objectives. There are varied benefits
which it offers to a business such as-
 More sales
 More revenues
 More profits
 Achievement of marketing objectives
 Strategic edge over competitors
Market trends- The market trends show that there are various premium customers of
The Body Shop who like to visit its stores and make purchases from it.
Market segments- The market segments which are present in the market of The Body
Shop are High-Income, Middle-Income and Lower-Income Customers.
Target markets- The target markets of The Body Shop are its high-income and premium
customers from whom revenues can be increased.
Competitors- It is important to analyze the competitors in the market (Sajid, 2016).
Brands like Illamasqua, The White Company etc. are its competitors.
The Body Shop can position itself effectively as compared to its competitors. It
can do so because its brand name, goodwill and massive customer base offer it a strategic
edge over its competitors. Therefore it is good for the company to make sure that it offers
premium and good-quality products and services to customers to maintain its competitive
edge in market.
CONCLUSION
From the above report, it can be concluded that marketing environment can influence a
company’s decision making. A PRESTCOM analysis helps in identifying factors affecting it.
Consumer Behavior is influenced by many factors. STP framework is quite useful for
segmenting the market according to requirements and making sure that the required objectives
are achieved.

REFERENCES
Books and Journals:
Atwal, G. and Williams, A., 2017. Luxury brand marketing–the experience is everything!.
In Advances in luxury brand management (pp. 43-57). Palgrave Macmillan, Cham.
Felix, R., Rauschnabel, P. A. and Hinsch, C., 2017. Elements of strategic social media
marketing: A holistic framework. Journal of Business Research. 70. pp.118-126.
Järvinen, J. and Taiminen, H., 2016. Harnessing marketing automation for B2B content
marketing. Industrial Marketing Management. 54. pp.164-175.
Kotler, P. and et.al., 2017. Marketing for hospitality and tourism.
Sajid, S. I., 2016. Social media and its role in marketing.
Online
What is Consumer Buying Behavior?. 2020. [Online]. Available
through: <https://www.demandjump.com/blog/what-is-consumer-
buying-behavior>