International Marketing: Unilever's Strategy Development Report

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of Unilever's international marketing strategies, focusing on the critical evaluation of market focus, product and service offerings, and the company's international strategy development. The report delves into two key strategies: differentiation and innovation. The differentiation strategy aims to distinguish Unilever's products and services from competitors, while the innovation strategy focuses on creating new products and services to enhance profits and market share. The report also explores the key decisions involved in the strategy development process, particularly regarding the standardization of products and offerings. It examines how Unilever adapts its strategies to local markets. The report concludes by summarizing the findings and emphasizing the importance of understanding market trends, competition, and consumer behavior for successful international marketing.

International Marketing
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Table of contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
MAIN BODY..................................................................................................................................3
Critical evaluation of market focus, product and service along with company’s international
strategy development...................................................................................................................3
Key decisions in the strategy development to standardize the products and offerings...............5
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................6
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................8
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INTRODUCTION
Standardization is defined as the framework of agreements in the organization or company
which ensures the process to be running in smooth and effective along with the performance to
be effective within set guidelines on large scale on formal basis (Naß and et.al., 2020).
The key trends affecting the operations of Unilever especially the target market like the
economic political, cultural factors and the competition affects the business and these are the key
considerations which are mentioned and which the company faces on large grounds for
delivering products and services in market in an effective and efficient manner through the trends
to be followed.
MAIN BODY
Critical evaluation of market focus, product and service along with company’s
international strategy development
For critical evaluation of market focus, product and service along with the company’s
international strategy development there are two main international strategies which are
described as follows –
Differentiation Strategy – Differentiation strategy is the strategy which helps in aiming the
services and the products to be different from the other services and the products which are
displayed in the market. Through differentiation strategy, the market focus of the Unilever is to
produce the products and the services which are different from the other competing MNC’s
(Semuel and et.al., 2017). The differentiation strategy being followed by the Unilever helps in
knowing the market base and the structure through which the company is able to make the
products and the services reach the customers by satisfying the needs and requirements by
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making available them available what they demand of. Along with this Unilever also provides
better margins through the differentiation strategy being followed on large scale. Customer brand
loyalty is also analyzed whether the customers are interested in buying the products and services
of Unilever or not. This helps in engaging them towards what they require and are in need of. By
following the differentiation strategy the company is able to provide no substitutes as the
products and the services of the Unilever are unique in its nature and the MNC’s is able to
provide best to the customers through it. Therefore, differentiation strategy helps Unilever to
make their position in the market and deliver the products and services which are best suited to
customers effectively and efficiently on large scale and encouraging growth and development on
overall basis.
Innovation Strategy – Innovation strategy is the plan which helps in growing the profits
and the share through creating and forming services and products in the market. Innovation
strategy is the best strategy when it comes to improving and enhancing the products and services
of the company. And this strategy, Unilever can take this step which will help in creating and
forming new products and services through which everything will be denoted and this will help
the company in framing the products which are in requirement of the customers as per their need
(Chen and et.al., 2018). The innovation in the products and services will only be done when there
are different innovations strategies which are framed on large scale and this provides the
customers the basic and new form of how the products are to be displayed to the customers so
that they are actively engaged in buying those products which Unilever offers them. Innovation
in the products and services will also help Unilever to compete with competitors in the market
and through this they will be able to ensure what are key strengths and weaknesses which the
MNC incurs while competing in the market. Along with this various opportunities will be
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available to the company in the market and this will help in grabbing them on enormous scales.
Therefore, Unilever will be in profits if the company takes long dig in innovating its products
and services on large scale. This also helps in inculcating growth and development on scales of
how the company is making and initiating of how products and services can be formed
effectively.
Key decisions in the strategy development to standardize the products and
offerings
Strategy development is the process identifying and researching strategic options and
deciding how the resources will be allocated and through this the goals and objectives are also
achieved. By developing the strategy, it helps in creating the effective work process and
procedures which initiates how the decisions are taken in the strategy formulation (Liedtka and
et.al., 2019). The development of the strategy is taken place on the grounds to develop and
standardize the products and services which are being provided to the customers in the market on
large scale. This helps in making the frame through which the Unilever is able to take the
effective measures through which they are able to provide the standardized products and services
on large scale.
The key decisions in the strategy development help in standardizing the products and the
market which helps the company in initiating the major work and the process through which the
company is able to take the steps and decide the major aspects through which decisions for the
development are taken place (Weissenberger-Eibl and et.al., 2019). It is very important to
standardize the products and offerings which helps in making the market strategies and this will
also help in developing what are the major ways and techniques through which Unilever
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processes its functions and the products in the market are being processed through which the
company overall takes and initiates the process of how the marketing of the products is done and
how the target customers are engaged in utilizing the services and the products which are there in
the market. There are various strategies which helps in the strategy development and the key
considerations are – partnering, people and talent, operational improvements, customers, new
product or service development, technology and information management etc.
Unilever provides the products and services and its offerings which helps in analyzing the
market through which effective and efficient process can be followed and through this the
company will be able to deliver the products and the services to the customers on large scale.
Through this, the company is able to identify what are the key essential services and the products
which initiate the techniques and the tools by identifying the trends running in the current market
structure (Reza, 2019). This also helps in gaining the competitiveness through which the
company is able to diversify the products and services on large scale and on that verge they are
able to identify the key strengths and opportunities available to them on the scale of how the
company and the process of the companies are initiated on large basis.
Therefore, the key decisions in the strategy development helps the company Unilever in
working and developing the process through which the company can take the steps and ways
which creates different trends and techniques in the market in an effectively and efficiently
manner (Tien, 2017). The strategies are developed to form and create the ways in which the
products and the services of the company can be made available to customers on large scale and
through this Unilever is able to differentiate and identify measures which helps in developing
market strategies and to withstand in the competition with other companies in same field as of
Unilever.
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CONCLUSION
Thus it can be concluded from the above report that critical evaluation of market focus,
product and service for the company’s international strategy development was being done with
the help of two strategies which were differentiation strategy and innovation strategy. Along with
this, key considerations in the strategy development to standardize the products and services
offerings or needs to adopt them to the requirements of local markets was being analyzed which
helped in evaluating scales of how the company Unilever was functioning by defining its
services and products on large scale to be more effective and efficient on significant basis.
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REFERENCES
Books and journals
Naß, A. and et.al., 2020. Standardization Definition Document.
Semuel, H. and et.al., 2017. The effect of leadership and innovation on differentiation strategy
and company performance. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences.237.pp.1152-
1159.
Chen, Z. and et.al., 2018. Fit between organizational culture and innovation strategy:
Implications for innovation performance. Sustainability.10(10).p.3378.
Liedtka, J. and et.al., 2019. How design thinking opens new frontiers for strategy
development. Strategy & Leadership.
Weissenberger-Eibl, M.A. and et.al., 2019. A systems thinking approach to corporate strategy
development. Systems.7(1).p.16.
Reza, M.H., 2019. Marketing Strategy and Sustainable Plan of Unilever.
Tien, N.H., 2017. Comparative analysis of multi-domestic strategy of P&G and Unilever
Corporation.
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