MKT302: Digital Marketing Strategy Report - The Body Shop Analysis

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of The Body Shop's digital marketing strategy. It begins with a website review, examining its design, functionality, and target audience engagement. The report then delves into customer segmentation, identifying three key market segments based on demographics and product preferences. A critical component of the analysis involves assessing the effectiveness of various social media platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Twitter, and Pinterest, in reaching these segments. The report evaluates how well The Body Shop utilizes each platform and proposes a prioritized order for these platforms, justifying the recommendations based on their suitability for communicating the brand's value proposition and engaging with target customers. The analysis highlights the strengths and weaknesses of The Body Shop's digital presence and offers insights into how they can enhance their online marketing efforts to drive customer engagement and achieve business objectives. The report concludes by summarizing key findings and offering recommendations for the company's future digital marketing initiatives.

Running head: DIGITAL MARKETING STRATEGY
Digital Marketing Strategy
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Notes:

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Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................2
Website Review...............................................................................................................................2
Customer Segmentation...................................................................................................................4
Social Media Platforms and Priority................................................................................................5
Unsuitable Platforms.......................................................................................................................6
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................6
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................7

2DIGITAL MARKETING STRATEGY
Introduction
The modernisation of industries regardless the nature of the same has led to the
development of various forms of activities that traditional businesses would not have carried out
while operating in the industry. It can be said that regardless of the industry that a company is
operating in, they have to carry out strategies through which the latter can increase the viability
of the sales that the company is subject to (Noe et al. 2017). Digital marketing is an activity that
is carried out by companies in order to gain effectiveness in operations, reach the masses, and
communicate the value proposition of the company to the latter which ultimately determines the
sustainability of the company in the long run (Royle and Laing 2014). It has been found that
“The Body Shop” has been carrying out effective digital marketing as a result of which the
company expects to incorporate the latter with brick and mortar marketing. The aim of the papers
is to identify the customer segments that the company caters to along with the utilisation of the
digital platforms from the part of the company. Furthermore, the paper will justify the reason
behind the applicability of one digital media platform over the others.
Website Review
The Body Shop is a company that has been recognised for their large product portfolio.
The company mainly caters to the needs of women of different age groups (Thebodyshop.com
2019). Cosmetics, body and skin care products are the main products that are offered by the
company while they operate in a global stature. From the first visit in the website it is evident
that the target group of the company is women.
There are different tabs in the website which has been clearly segmented in a functional
basis. Offers, new products, face, body, make-up, body, hair, fragrance, gifts, tips and others

3DIGITAL MARKETING STRATEGY
(Thebodyshop.com 2019). Furthermore, one tab of the company is dedicated for products
targeted at men. The latter displays that the company is clear in terms of communicating their
value proposition to the consumer community. Apart from this there are live banners that display
the recent offers, the trendy programs and the sustainable initiatives of the company. The aim of
the company is to keep the visitors of the website informed about the value proposition of the
company. The top products that are offered by the company are highlighted apart from that, the
website of the company has detailed information regarding the contact information of the
company along with locations of the nearest body shop outlets which helps inn easing the
purchase decision of the customers. The website is easy to use, not complex and a visitor in the
page can be informed about the products, services and motives about the company. Furthermore,
the company has been found to have incorporated digital platforms such as Facebook, Instagram,
YouTube, Twitter and Pinterest. The Facebook community of the company helps in informing
the consumers about the latest deals and products offered by the company. Moreover, it can be
said that the company has been able to effectively use the network of Facebook in order to
inform the community regarding the sustainable initiatives that have been adopted by the
company. Instagram highlights the refelct6ion on the use of the products from the perspective of
users of the company’s product. Pinterest has similar usage where the picture of the users and the
products itself are highlighted and uploaded by the users of the products. YouTube is the
medium through which the company aims to help ten users of the products with tutorials
regarding effective methods to use the array of products offered by the company. Furthermore, it
is also medium through which the new product are pitched to the viewers in descriptive or brief
ways. Twitter is used to generate threads through which the company aims to generate publicity
regarding a specific product or service that is offered by the company.

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Customer Segmentation
Segmentation is an approach that helps companies in terms of carrying out their
operational activities by segregating groups of customers (Stanford 2014). In order to effectively
carry out marketing activities for a particular group, one must identify the nature of the customer
by analysing which the consumers will be able to gain effectiveness in terms of targeting said
sections of the population. The main line of products that are offered by the company are
cosmetics and an array of skin care products mainly catering to the needs of the female section of
the population (Thebodyshop.com 2019). However, it has been found that there are three
segments that the company is catering to. The segmentation that has been carried out by the
company is on the basis of demographics. Following are the sections of the populations that have
been segregated to segments on the basis of which the company has developed products and
strategies;
1. Women aged 20-40: Through this segment the company offers products that offer styling,
skin protection, make-up and an array of cosmetics that help in terms of development of
activities through which the latter group can gain utility. The products are supported by
campaigns that help in engaging the said community with the help of campaigns that are
considered to be fun and exciting.
2. Women aged 40 plus: Along with provision of services to women of 20 to 40, the company
also aims to cater to the needs of women aged 40 plus. As a result of this concern, the
company has products in their portfolio that caters to the needs of the latter group. Anti-aging
products and array of products aimed at the latter group help in satiating the needs of the said
group.

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3. Men: Although the company is inclined toward women, they do not aim to neglect the men
of the society. Thus, the company also have a product line that is aimed towards the
metrosexual men of the population. Hence, the company can be considered diverse who are
serving the needs the diverse customers of the population.
Social Media Platforms and Priority
The aim of the company in terms of incorporation of the digital marketing tactics with the
needs of the said segments of the population is realised through platforms such as Facebook,
Instagram, YouTube, Twitter and Pinterest. Out of the mentioned digital platforms, the platforms
that is deemed to be most suitable for communicating the motives of the company are YouTube,
Instagram and Facebook. Through You-Tube the company can provide detailed product
demonstrations, reviews and instructions for use of the same. The latter is perceived to a method
through which the company can engage the consumers with their company, thus, generating the
willingness that the latter have to opt for products from the company. Furthermore,
transformations after using the products can be highlighted through Instagram which also offers
a service known as IGTV through which video demonstrations can be developed. Facebook can
be informed to keep the said segments engaged through communities on the social media
platform. The use of technology such as smartphones is on the rise and it has been found that 9
out of 10 Australian own smartphones and thus, have access to the internet (Bursztyn et al.
2017). This, makes Facebook, YouTube and Instagram the most suitable platforms for
communicating the value proposition of the company. Following is the order of priority that has
been invested by the company in accordance with the said media platforms;
Facebook: It is a platform that offers a widespread network apart from the ability of the
company to convert members of their online community to actual users of the product.

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Furthermore, it is incorporated with video, photo and community services. Almost member of
the said segment is expected to have Facebook Accounts.
YouTube: Video streaming of tutorials and product demonstration puts YouTube high on the
priority list of the company.
Instagram: Community engagement through photo uploads and tutorials through IGTV.
Pinterst: Effective Placement of Products and users of the products.
Twitter: Sustainable engagement and trend generation.
Unsuitable Platforms
Twitter and Pinterest have been found out to be the least suitable out of the digital
platforms used by the company. Unlike Facebook, YouTube and Instagram the former platforms
cannot help in engaging the consumers or turn prospective customers to actual customers.
Facebook, YouTube and Instagram are platforms that are considered to be the most popular
among the target segments unlike Twitter and Pinterest. Although it can be said that it is good to
diversify the scope by incorporation of different social media platforms, the latter are deemed to
ineffective in comparison with the former.
Conclusion
On a concluding note, it can be said that companies need to diversify their strategies in
order to gain sustainability in operations in the long run. Digitalisation is such as strategy that
can be integrated into brick and mortar marketing. Same has been incorporated into use by The
Body Shop. Engagement through YouTube, Facebook and Instagram are perceived to be the

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most effective platforms that can help the company in converting prospective customers to actual
customers.

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REFERENCES
Bursztyn, N., Walker, A., Shelton, B. and Pederson, J., 2017. Increasing undergraduate interest
to learn geoscience with GPS-based augmented reality field trips on students’ own
smartphones. GSA Today, 27(5), pp.4-11.
Noe, R.A., Hollenbeck, J.R., Gerhart, B. and Wright, P.M., 2017. Human resource management:
Gaining a competitive advantage. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Education.
Royle, J. and Laing, A., 2014. The digital marketing skills gap: Developing a Digital Marketer
Model for the communication industries. International Journal of Information
Management, 34(2), pp.65-73.
Stanford, D.J., 2014. Reducing visitor car use in a protected area: a market segmentation
approach to achieving behaviour change. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 22(4), pp.666-683.
Thebodyshop.com, 2019. About Us | The Body Shop Australia. [online] Thebodyshop.com.
Available at: https://www.thebodyshop.com/en-au/about-us [Accessed 5 Sep. 2019].
Thebodyshop.com, 2019. The Body Shop Australia | Cruelty Free Skincare & Beauty. [online]
Thebodyshop.com. Available at: https://www.thebodyshop.com/en-au/ [Accessed 5 Sep. 2019].