Marketing Strategy of Unilever: Analysis of Market Position

This report provides a detailed analysis of Unilever's marketing strategy, examining its role in achieving competitive advantage and profitability within the consumer goods market. The report begins with an executive summary outlining the importance of marketing strategy, followed by an introduction that highlights Unilever's position as a multinational consumer goods corporation. The report then delves into a PESTEL analysis to evaluate the external marketing environment, and a SWOT analysis to assess Unilever's internal strengths and weaknesses, as well as external opportunities and threats. The report further discusses Unilever's competitive advantages, including its brand portfolio, global reach, and CSR initiatives. It also covers segmentation, targeting, and positioning strategies, and the evaluation of Unilever's current marketing strategy, concluding with a discussion on its brand equity and future strategies. The report aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of Unilever's marketing approach and its impact on the company's success.

MARKETING STRATEGY

Executive Summary
Marketing strategy play a very crucial role in an organisation to make it competitive and
gain competitive advantage in the business environment. An effective marketing strategy should
be drawn from market research and focus on the product mix in order to achieve the maximum
profit and sustain the business. In other word it can be said that marketing strategy is a
supportive tool through which company can attain effective profitability and sustainability in the
competitive business environment. In this project report, the various marketing strategy has been
discussed in order to increase the sales and earn profitability with respect of Uniliver
corporation. Further, product positioning and market segmenting is also discussed inn this report.
There has developed a systematic SMART objective for the detergent product and design
marketing mix along with marketing strategy. Furthermore, Unilver has successfully analyses its
business environment through which various components has been addressed on this report such
as political, legal, economical, social, environmental and technological. Unilver has a strong
market reputation so as customer have strong trust on its product. This report have major
objective to understand the marketing strategy of Unilever. In order to know the competitive
position of Unilever in the market, a systematic SWOT analysis has also studied in this project
report.

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
TASK 1............................................................................................................................................1
2...................................................................................................................................................6
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................10
References......................................................................................................................................11

INTRODUCTION
In every business organisation a systematic strategic management is very significant role
play in order to develop competitive advantage and growth in the market. Marketing strategy is a
term which can used in a documented plan on how an organisation is setting out to achieve their
goal (Bahadir, Bharadwaj and Srivastava, 2015). In order word it can be said that marketing
strategy is an attribute which adopted by organisation to make business activities successful and
effective. With assistance of excellent marketing strategy, corporation can gain the competency
and strength to survive in the competitive environment. In this project report, the importance and
value of marketing strategy has been effectively addressed (Barrett and Weinstein, 2015).
Further, this report is providing a depth knowledge of internal and external competitive
environment and analyse with respect of Unilever. It is a British Dutch multinational consumer
good corporation which deals with consumers goods like beverage, cleaning detergents and care
products. Moreover, this report has clearly evaluated the marketing environment with use of
PESTEL Analysis. The major objective of this report is to understand the marketing environment
and develop a competitive marketing strategy for cited venture in order to survive in the
competitive environment.
TASK 1
1.
Marketing strategy is play a very crucial role for organisation in order to make company
progressive and completable. With assistance of effective marketing strategy, organisation can
able to develop a core competency in the marker further it can able to develop a strong brand
image in the market (Chen and et.al., 2015). Unilever is a multinational consumer good company
which head quartered in UK. It has dealt with various consumers products such as cleaning
agents, personal care , and food beverage. It is the world's third largest consumer goods company
which have more than 172000 employees.
As per the current market condition, every corporation required to develop their own
marketing strategy and competitive advantage so as it can survive in the competitive marker and
gain effective results from marketing and sales activities (Homburg, Jozić and Kuehnl, 2015).
Corporation need to establish its own brand image and goodwill in the competitive environment
thus it can compete with its rival and earn maximum revenue from its customers. For this
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purpose, corporation needs to focus firstly oj consumer satisfaction level because they are
important part for business unit. If they are strongly satisfied with product and services then
company will automatically climb on the stairs of success. Furthermore, in order to survive in the
competitive market, Unilever firstly look for its market environment and condition. In this
aspect, cited venture is necessary to determine its marketing environment factor and analyse
these factors influence the business activities and function (Jaramillo and Spector, 2015). In the
marketing environment, there are various components which have strongly influenced to
business activities and marketing activities so corporation require analysing these component in
an effective manner. Following are some components of marketing environment of Unilever are
as follows-
 Political factor- This factor determine the extent to which a government may influence
the economy or a certain industry. A government may impose a new tax or duty to which
entire revenue generating structures of the organisation might change. It includes tax
policies, trade tariffs etc. that a government may levy around the fiscal year and it may
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Illustration 1: PESTEL Analysis

affects the business environment to great extent (Kubacki and et.al., 2015). Unilever can
highly influence by this factor because it has dealt in multinational and it’s co-
headquartered in London and Amsterdam (Kumar, 2016). Unilever is subject to local,
regional and global rules, laws and regulation. These rules and regulation cover diverse
are such as product safety, product claims, trademark, copyrights (Loe and Ferrell, 2015).
Patents etc. Such governmental frameworks have important implications for the conduct
of business, for there tend to be policy ebbs and flow over short period of time. Economic factor- These factor are determinants of an economy's performance that
directly impact on the Unilever and have resonating long term effects. A rise in the
inflation rate of economy would influence the way company's price their products and
services (McDONALD, 2016). This factor includes inflation rate, interest rates, foreign
exchanges rates, economic growth etc. Unilever considered this factor in order to gain the
effective competitive advantage. Social and cultural factor- Social and cultural factor has highly influenced to the
Unilever because it is a marketing company and depended upon the customers good. A
per the change in the customers’ demands and requirements, company needs to maintain
change in the quality and price of the product and services (Pavlou and Stewart, 2015).
Change in the population, education level, occupation, culture, region and life style,
company required to change in the product and services. Unilever has to develop a strong
corporate reputation over many years for its focus on social and environmental issues,
including promoting sustainable development. Technological factors-It is very effective factor for Unilver thus it analyse this
component in an effective manner. Technology is continuously changed as per the
requirement of customers (Pels, 2015). High level of automation is one of the critical
success factors of Unilever that differentiate then from their competitors and serve as a
source of competitive advantage. Environmental factor- These factor includes all those that influence or are determined by
the surrounding environment such as climate, weather, geographical location, global
changes in climate environmental offsets etc. Unilever has successfully analysed this
factor and to use fewer resources and produce less waste (Salavati and Karami, 2015).
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 Legal factor- This factor largely affect the corporation operations and activities. In this
aspects various governmental framework has been included such as employment rights.
Customer protection act and certain policies that company need to maintain for
themselves. Unliver has successfully attempted and follow legal framework of the
country which assists in order to protect its business as well as customers (Wright, 2016).
SWOT Analysis of Unilever
Strength
 The Size of Unilever is its major
strength. It manufactures more than 400
brands which sells to more than 190
countries (Liu, 2015).
 Another strength of the company is its
geographical spread. Unilever has
headquartered in two countries, is
floated on two indexes.
 Human capital is the main strength of
cited venture. It has high volume of
skills, knowledge, experience and
competencies.
Opportunities
 Unilver is a multinational corporation
so as it has research facilities in
England, Shanghai, Bangalore, New
jersey etc which are working
continually to develop new product line
and refine existing ones.
 Unilver has a good track record of
social and environmental responsibility
and with the emergence of the ethical
chic consumers who like to buy and
consume products and brands that are
responsibly made and sustainably
complete (Grünig and Kühn, 2015).
Weakness
 The prices of Unilver brands are
generally higher than those of its
competitors.
 The biggest weakness that Unilver
faces is that it operates in an uber
competitive market where the other
global giants like P&G and Nestle in
addition to a host of local players
challenges (Anton, 2015).
Threats
 Regular changing customers demand,
choice and preferences is the major
threat for Unilever because it has to
produce as per customers' requirement.
 A large proportion of Uniliver's
products are premium brands aimed at
customers with relatively high levels of
disposable income.
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 Continously changing technological
advancement is the major threat of
Unilever.
Competitive Advantage of Unilever
Unilever is one of the world top makers of packaged consumer good operating company which
operated its business in 190 countries and have a large brand portfolio of over 400 brands under
two division that is foods and home & Personal care products. USP is a perfect point which
tightly defined the company product line (Grünig and Kühn, 2015). Unilever believes profitable
growth should also be responsible growth. It uses multiple platforms to achieve cut through in a
highly fragmented media. Effective digital marketing is essential and influences shopping at all
stage of the decision making process and through all channels. Its research and development
initiatives to bring to the market innovation and cutting edge products in tune and line with
customers preferences. Unilever's products are globally famous yet retain a distinct local flavor.
Excellent CSR initiative have strengthened its position worldwide. It has 55% in emerging
market place and 45% in developed markets (Bull and et.al., 2016). Unilever associate programs
and purpose to their brands which identity and respond to the local need of people. In vesting in
marketing and advertising is also a competitive advantage of Unilever. It explores new media
opportunities and partnerships to assist the reach more consumers. The major competitive
advantage of Uniliver is its operational and cost efficiency. It building strong network of
distributions and reduce cost by outsource operation (Niederwieser and et.al., 2016). Cited
venture has also invested huge amount on marketing to reduce the power of substitution.
Evaluation of current marketing strategy
As per the above discussion it has been ascertained that Unilever has a strong market position
and competitive advantage which assistance it to survive in the competitive environment. It all
products such as food, personal care and other household products are trusted by consumers
globally (Adar and et.al.,2016). It is also globalised business that has generated more than half of
its turnover in developing and other surfacing markets in the regions of central and eastern
Europe, Latin America, Africa and Asia. As a marketing strategy to win market share in
emerging market, Unilever associate program and purpose to their brand which identify and
respond to the local need of people, For example in Africa in a region with vit A deficient
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children, Rama and blue band margarines are fortified with 7 vitamins including vit A. The aim
objective of Unilever is building brand equity. It derived from the name recognition that it has
earned overtime which translates into higher sales volume and higher profit margins against
competing brand. Unilever strategy is to connect brands with people's live and needs by creating
Brand with purpose (Amran, Ooi and Devi, 2015). Acquisition of high profile food brands, 1500-
400 master brands and stream line the business portfolio is the major current strategy of Unliver
corporation.
2.
Segmentation, targeting and positioning is a process and application of marketing. It
demonstrates the link between an overall market and how a company chooses to compete in that
market. It is sometimes referred to as a process, with segmentation being conducted first then the
selection of one or more target markets and then finally the implementation of positioning
(Anton, 2015). The objective of STP process is to guide the organisation to the development and
implementation of an appropriate marketing mix.
Market segmentation is a process of splitting a market into smaller groups with similar product
needs or identifiable characteristics, for the purpose of selecting appropriate target market. While
targeting refers to an organisation's proactive selection of a suitable market segment with the
intension of heavily focusing the firm's marketing offers and activities towards this group of
related consumers (Bahadir, Bharadwaj and Srivastava, 2015). On the other hand positioning is
the target market's perception of the product's key benefits and features, relative to the offering
of competitive products.
 Market Targeting- Unilver marker is based on every single individual consumers in the
market. These consumers can be from babies to the elderly where everyone can benefit
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Illustration 2: STP model

from their products. Persil Detergent product in household are Unilver and they are
expanding their marketing wider to cover more consumers (Bull, and et.al., 2016). In UK,
the population is divided into 6 categories, poor average, rich, children, adults and elderly
and Unilver products is applicable, Usable and accessible from every one.
 Market Segmenting-Market segmentation is a systematic process of divide the entire
market into the sub-market. The segmentation of market according to the population is
the one of major Unilever advantage over their competitors. With over 130 years of
experience, it is able to know what products and population's best corresponds to each
other. It established good consumer base and has one of the best culturally diverse
companies. In the UK, Unilever's Persil detergent are quality based and its is expanded
for all income group of customers. It has considered to healthier choices with more usage
of detergent.
 Market positioning- Unilever will position their Persil detergents products in almost
every shelve there is so that they can cover a higher percentage of the overall market. By
establishing wider consumer base, it can not only gain higher net profit but also
information on how population taste, expectations, needs and wants change from time to
time (Doeksen and Symes, 2015).
SMART Objective of Unilever
SMART refers for specific, measurable, agreed upon, realistic and time based. With
assistance of SMART objective, corporation can gain the extreme success in future. As per the
Unilever corporation , it required to set some specific goal which provide company to accurate
path for survival. Company should set a specific target in a specific time period which assist in
gaining a large and effective result in the market. In order to expanding the sale of detergent
product in the various country, Unilever have to focus specific and measurable limits under
which corporation can set its competency.
Specific- In order to expand the sales of detergent in the market it should set a specific goal
through which it needs to focus on a specific target. If company really want to gain its objective
than it required to focus on a specific product which is detergent.
Measurable- The success should always in a measurable term. In the context of Uniliver, it
should set some measurable term for gain the success in the competitive market. Unilever can set
the 20% sales of detergent increase in every year. Further company can set the target to reduce
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10 % cost of marketing in every year. In addition to this, Unilever can also set the objective to
reduce the promotional cost expenses by 10% in every 6 month.
Accurate- The target should be accurate and must be measure in some specific percentage. For
example, Unilever can set the objective of increase profitability and sales by 20% every year. It
represent some realistic amount of result by the company.
Realistic- The objective must be realistic or must be true which is completed by given time
period.
Time based- Time based refers that objective should be completed in a specific time period.
Unilever objective is to increase 20% sales in every one year. So one year represent the time base
objective of Unilever.
Marketing strategy based on the application of the marketing mix of Unilever
As per the above discussion it has been ascertained that Unilever can set a specific target
and objective in order to gain its competitive advantage and increase profitability in the market.
On the basis of these specific objective corporation can gain a strong marketing competency.
Marketing mix refers to the set of actions or tactics that can Unilever uses to promote its brand or
product in the market. The 4Ps make up a typical marketing mix that is price , product,
promotion and place.
 Product- In order to gain effective success and profitability, Unilever decides to sales
Persil detergent product i.e. in the market. Corporation can provide an effective quality of
detergent product which provides an appropriate level of satisfaction to the customers
(Grünig and Kühn, 2015). Persil Detergent have a unique quality and feature which
distinguish it from its competitors in the market.
 Price- Unilever can set the reasonable prices for Persil detergent. Cited venture can focus
on the all level income group of customers so as it can provide detergent product on the
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reasonable and average prices so every level income group can purchase it (Grünig and
Kühn, 2015). Place- Unilever can provide Persil detergent product in UK market. It can focuses on all
cities of United Kingdom. In this context Unilever can adopt the online as well as offline
distribution channel. The detergent product can be available at both physical stores and it
can order by online marketing channel (Niederwieser and et.al., 2016).
 Promotion- Promotional activity is very significant in the marketing concept. Through
this activity company can promote its brand and product in the market. Unilever can
promote its product by use of modern marketing and traditional marketing channels. In
modern marketing channel, Persil detergent can promoted by the internet, social media,
e-mails etc. On the other hand, corporation can also adopt traditional marketing channels
such as news papers, magazines and billboards.
As per the above discussion it has been clear that Unilver can adopt various channels of
marketing and distribution tools in order to sale Persil detergent product in the UK market.
Furthermore, it is required to set some marketing strategies so as it can gain competitive
advantage and profitability in the market. As per the marketing mix of Unilever Persil detergent
products, there are various marketing strategies which can provide the strong advantage in the
UK market. Customer focus strategy- As per this strategy of marketing, company focuses on the
specific segment of customers. According to the specific group of customers choice and
preferences, company develop their products. Unilever also can adopt this marketing
strategy under which it can focus on a particular group of customers in the market to sale
the product of Persil detergent. Product differentiation strategy-In the differentiation strategy, firm seeks to be unique in
its products and services along some dimensions that are widely valued by buyers.
Unilever can adopt this marketing strategy under which is includes such unique and
quality feature in the Persil detergent which assists in distinguish from its competitors in
the market.
 Cost leadership strategy- As per the cost leadership strategy, company can set the lowest
prices for its product and services. The firm sells its products either at average industry
prices to earn a profit higher than that of rivals or below the average industry prices to
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