MARKETING REPORT

Name of the student: George Oancea

Name of the univeristy: Canterbury Christ Church University

Student’s ID:

Module Title: Marketing Management

Module Leader: Anand Walser

Course/Programme: BA (Hons) Business Studies with Foundation

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Executive summary

Implementation of various changes to enhance existing products requires different marketing

strategies and innovative ideas to take place. Report the different aspects of the market in how

they can be analysed in detail have been discussed. In the beginning of this report different

business environments have been discussed in detail along with the marketing makes that can

have positive or negative impacts as per the implementation procedure. In the next section, a

brief description of the organisation and the product is discussed. The report also says the current

marketing mix in how they can improve the operating area of any organisation. In the end,

different marketing strategies have been discussed along with an evaluation of these digital

marketing strategies.

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 Contents

Introduction......................................................................................................................................4

Body.................................................................................................................................................4

Literature......................................................................................................................................4

Research.......................................................................................................................................9

Discussion..................................................................................................................................15

Findings......................................................................................................................................16

Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................18

References......................................................................................................................................20

Appendices....................................................................................................................................22

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Introduction

Product revamping is a process that refers to the implementation of changes in existing products.

The revamping improves brand identity by making a product more appealing to the new target

audience. This involves different aspects of product designing, changes in features packaging

technology adaptation and marketing process. By enhancing product competitiveness, revamping

addresses the evolving customer preferences. This particular report will shed light on the product

revamping of Domestos by Unilever. In the literature review section, a brief overview of

different literary concepts of digital marketing strategies, business environmental analysis and

product revamping will be provided. Further, the research section will conduct a marketing mix

of Domestos and identify the areas of improvement with the analysis of the strengths. In

addition, recommendations will be provided to Unilever that can help improve the marketing mix

and focus on the revamping of the product. With a brief determination of the digital marketing

aspects, the report will summarise the importance of revamping strategies to ensure product

acceptance worldwide.

Body

Literature

Business environmental analysis

Business environmental analysis refers to the assessment of the external factors impacting

business operations. The analysis ensures the making of strategic decisions to benefit plans

effectively (Henry, 2021). It is also associated with the gradual adoption of changes in strategies

to accommodate the changing business environment. PESTEL analysis is an eminent framework

that helps in evaluating the impact of macro environment factors on business. With the

assessment of different factors like political, economic, social, technological, environmental and

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legal, companies are able to gain insights into the influences of the drivers on business

operations. As opined by Hill (2022), Porter's five-force analysis is also conducted to evaluate

the competition within a particular industry. The market environment is determined by

identifying the current trends over size and growth potential of the market. Apart from external

analysis, environmental analysis evaluates internal capacities and resources. Different

frameworks like VRIO, SWOT, and value chain analysis are conducted to evaluate the internal

business functions. Business environment analysis therefore provides a strong foundation for

businesses to make informed decisions (Puyt, 2023). This helps organisations to conduct risk

management and proactively respond to the changing external and internal context.

Marketing mix

A market mix is a strategy that provides a fundamental guideline to companies in accomplishing

objectives. This strategy sets strategic ideas to influence the target market and improve

functional capabilities (Olson et al., 2021). There are several elements of the marketing mix.

While up 4p is used for evaluating the strategies for a product, 7p reflects upon the services.

These involve-

Product: The product strategy overviews the tangible that a company offers to customers for

meeting the demands of the target market. This involves product designing, features, branding,

packaging, quality etc.

Price: This is the amount that determines product sales and demand in the market. The pricing

strategy involves discounts, payment terms and other financial aids that help the companies to

attract a large number of customers (Hill, 2022).

Place: The place strategy refers to the methods and channels that are utilised by products to

make them available to the target customers. This strategy refers to the distribution channels,

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including online platforms, direct sales and retailers, inventory management, logistics and supply

chain management.

Promotion: The communication strategies for a product or service using different

communication channels is referred to as the promotion. As stated by Herhausen et al. (2020),

this strategy is associated with the influence on potential customers to increase brand visited

visibility. Public relations, advertising, promotion through social media and online marketing,

personal selling, and direct marketing are a few forms of promotion.

People: People are the important stakeholders who are associated with making effective business

decisions. This can be the customers, employees, managers etc. By developing employee training

programs and managing effective customer interaction, companies are able to focus on this

particular strategy.

Process: For a service, the process involves the mechanism and flow of activities to deliver

efficient products and services. In the words of Grant (2021), this process is also associated with

the key service delivery along with the quality control processes to manage efficient business

functions.

Physical evidence: Reflecting upon the intangible measures of a business including the

cleanliness, store layout, design and others helps companies to determine the strategies for

physical evidence. It also comprises visual elements that help in enhancing business visibility to

strengthen brand image.

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 Figure 1: Marketing mix

(Source: Grant, 2021)

Digital Marketing

Digital marketing refers to a fundamental concept that utilises different digital channels and

platforms to promote a particular product or service. The channels help the brand reach a target

audience by encompassing a different range of online marketing activities. By leveraging the

power of electronic devices and the internet, digital marketing is evolving the promotional

aspects of the business to make brands expand business worldwide (Wedel et al., 2020). Search

Engine Optimisation (SEO), social media marketing, Search Engine Marketing (SEM), content

marketing influencer marketing email marketing with analytics and commercial marketing are

various aspects of digital marketing strategies that have gained worldwide recognition. SEO

improves brand visibility to increase organic traffic. SCM, on the other hand, develops

advertising campaigns to ensure product promotion. Facebook, X (formerly known as Twitter),

LinkedIn, and Instagram are the other social media platform that promotes products to engage

audience and build brand awareness (Li et al., 2021). Influencer marketing involves different

influencers to promote a product to the audience with unlighted on the other hand improve the

effectiveness of websites to manage users experience.

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 Figure 2: Digital Marketing

(Source: Li et al., 2021)

Revamping strategies

Product revamping is the fundamental process that enhances product competitiveness and makes

it appealing to the target market. For evaluating the need for revamping a product, companies

need to conduct market research (Henry, 2021). This will ensure the analysis of competitors and

the identification of the gaps in the market. Further, the defining the objectives and focusing on

the aspect of revamping, the companies need to decide on the specific changes in the product.

This includes quality, reducing costs, improving features and others to address the market needs.

The successful revamping strategies therefore involve rebranding, price optimisation, target

audience, refinement distribution channel optimisation etc (Grant, 2021). This strategy also

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involves the need for developing cross-functional collaboration to ensure that the objectives are

linked with the contribution.

Research

Brief description of the organisation

Unilever is a limited group company in the UK. The company offers a wide range of products for

various requirements of the consumers. The company was established as a soap manufacturer

firm in the 19th century (Méndez, 2020). Over time, it has merged with other organisations like

Margarine Unie and Lever Brothers. Now the company is in more than 190 countries and one of

the largest consumer goods companies. The prime goal of Unilever is to provide a healthy and

hygienic product for the overall betterment of their consumers. The organisation deals in

different categories of products like food, home care, personal care, beauty products and many

more. Brands like Dove, knorr, Lipton, and domestos are on Unilever's extensive list of products

(Leleux et al., 2019). The company does not only focus on its profit but also has applied

strategies like the Unilever Sustainable Living Plan to reduce the negative impact on the

environment. The progress and success of the company are due to its innovative ideas,

adaptability to new technology, and tenancy of keeping commitment towards the public and

environment.

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 Figure 3: Logo of the company

(Source: Unilever PLC, 2023)

Background information of the product

Among many other brands of Unilever, Domestos is a popular product cleaning brand, which

offers cleaning solutions like bleach sprays, surface cleaner, toilet bowl cleaner etc. Generally, it

is correlated with products based on bleach. The product is available in numerous countries and

targets individual households for its commercial establishments, thus it faces strong competition

from its rivals (Veringă and Veringă, 2019). Products of domestos are commonly used in the

sanitization of toilets and bathrooms and are designed to provide powerful cleaning solutions for

users. It is a globally prevent brand that focuses on hygiene and safety mainly. Application of

various technologies and innovation has been applied to enhance the quality of the formulated

product over the years. Being aligned with the changing customer needs and environmental

preferences they have also tried to diminish carbon footprints and to take care of other

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environmental factors. As the brand is associated with cleaning and hygiene, its choice of

packaging and branding is also different from others.

Current marketing mix

The prime functioning area of domestos is cleaning and hygiene. It uses Sodium Hypochlorite in

its products which has the potential to remove viruses, bacteria and fungi to keep the surfaces

clean (Unilever PLC, 2023). Therefore, it faces strong competition from its rivals like Harpic and

Kiwi. Currently, the organisation is dealing with more than one lakh. With an efficient

manpower facility, Unilever also uses 4P’s as their marketing mix to promote their products

among people.

Place: the products of domestos are available in South Africa, Poland, the Netherlands, Hungary,

the Philippines and many other countries. To acquire a wide range of markets this firm keeps its

products updated by collaborating with different scientific bodies available within the country. It

uses extensive marketing strategies and maintains a strong distribution policy so that the

products are always available at the stores. The company also believe in cultural marketing this

is why it sells its products in different places under different names (Yarimoglu, 2022). In Japan

under the brand name domestic, in the Netherlands the products are known to be Gloria, in

Argentina and many other countries the products are sold under the name Vim. The brand also

believes that local production makes it easier to reach the local customer. This is why they built a

factory in 2003 in Iran's market after receiving the data of huge product imports in 2001.

Price: due to high competition in the market, the brand has considered a competitive pricing

policy to beat its rivals. Domestos has penetrated at such a reasonable price to the market so that

it can make a mark in rural as well as urban areas (Tleane, 2020). However, to make the product

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reasonable they have not compromised with the quality of their product. This way it has become

a signature product of its quality at a reasonable price.

Product: The company also focuses on reformulating existing products and introducing new

sustainable products as per the requirements of the consumers. The company has branded its

product in a way that it can become a one-stop solution for everyone’s cleaning purposes. The

marketing team of the product has made sure that people using this product can feel that the

germs are eradicated from the surface (Yarimoglu, 2022). Initially, the product was used by

homemakers but later due to its germs-killing property through sodium hydrochloride people

started using it for other cleaning purposes. Apart from this domestos also has variances of its

products available within the same reasonable prices. Overall the company focuses on

sustainable productivity and diverse product offerings.

Promotion: to deal with strong competitors and a variety of products available in the market

Unilever has adopted strong advertising strategies (Méndez, 2020). Unilever itself is quite

popular for its promotional activities of safety and hygiene. They use media channels like

television and other digital platforms to promote environmental awareness among people along

with promoting their own brand. Their quality of product has also built a strong relationship with

their customers based on faith. With the help of a promotional policy, domestos has also

connected with hotels and restaurants for the regular use of their products.

Identifying the strengths and areas of improvement with the marketing mix

As Unilever say, domestos is one of the most useful and premium quality disinfects at a

reasonable price. For the removal of germs and bacteria, it has to make sure that the quality and

price of these products remain equivalent to each other. To have an overall idea about the

strengths and weaknesses of the organisation a SWOT analysis of Unilever can be helpful.

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Strengths: Unilever focuses on providing a hygienic and disinfecting environment for all its

consumers. Unilever focuses on the production and innovation of new products. Having more

than 400 brands under a single name has made it even easier for Unilever to access a range of

customer markets. They use different activities to get public feedback so that they can enhance

the quality of their products as per market needs. With more than 6,000 professional experts,

Unilever’s R&D laboratories are constantly trying to develop new technology (van Zanten and

van Tulder, 2021). As a result of this strategic laboratory, the company launched 10 new brands

in the financial year 2011 in the segment of home care (Morgan et al., 2019). Due to strong

marketing leadership, the brand portfolio of Unilever is also strong. Their variety of segments of

products includes home care, food, refreshments, personal care and other products that are being

sold in many different countries. Their70% of earnings of sales come from the top 20 brands of

this group, which includes brands like Knorr, Ben & Jerry’s, Lipton etc. Apart from strong

leadership quality Unilever group also makes sure that the team members remain motivated and

have a positive approach towards their work.

Weakness: with the increasing number of products manufactured the cost and financial needs

also rise. For example, the incident that occurred in the financial year 2011 can be considered

where their net debt rose but the cash flow declined (Saleh, 2020). This scenario can be very

dangerous for investment activity and future funding for the organisation. The overall growth of

the revenue is also in a stagnation position which can give the competitors a motivational boost.

Another limitation of Unilever is that it has to depend upon the retailer as the product of these

organisations has a direct influence on consumers. The products of Unilever can also be

substituted with other products from rival groups. Many of these products can also be imitated in

places where rules and regulations are not followed properly (Schiuma et al., 2022). Lastly, the

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reputation of the Unilever corporation was affected by several controversies in 2011 the

corporation was charged 104 million euros as a fine for fixing prices in 8 countries of Europe.

Opportunities: Being present in a constantly developing market Unilever always focuses on

developing and emerging economies. This economics are a prettier domain for consumer good

product producing companies like Unilever and others. Having good infrastructure, market

experience, distribution channels and investment sources Unilever can also pursue new business

opportunities in terms of products or services. They can also Implement diverse strategies to

explore different segments of the market. In today's generation of busy lifestyles people are

always looking for healthier products to maintain their physical health (Leleux et al., 2019). This

allows Unilever to develop innovative products and reach the global market.

Threats: Being a globally recognised company the biggest challenge that Unilever faces is the

competitors, be it global or local. Brands like Nestle, Johnson and Johnson and other personal

and home care brands can have a great impact on the pricing strategies and profit of Unilever.

They might even pressure Unilever to reduce their prices as per market standards. Incidents like

the debt crisis in Europe due to different National and political issues can also be a matter of

threat for global organisations like Unilever.

To overcome these threats and challenges once and all Unilever have to acquire different

marketing strategies and research through the market to understand the different needs of the

consumers (Tan et al., 2020). First, they have to make sure that they are not vulnerable to the

competitors' products. In other countries, they will have to follow all the rules and regulations so

that their products cannot be banned or they can not be charged with a fine, because this kind of

incident gives a negative message to the buyers. The overall innovative success of any company

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depends upon their employees and the leaders. Therefore, it is also important to make sure that

creativity and innovation are always appreciated.

Discussion

Strategies to improve the marketing

The multinational corporation of Unilever dealing with consumer courts was founded in 1930.

Since then the company has served different requirements of its customers. In 2020 it became a

complete British company and 5th largest FMCG company worldwide (van Zanten and van

Tulder, 2021).

Audience: Due to the variety of products the targeted audience of Unilever is quite large. Though

the headquarters of the company is in the UK the majority of its profits come from the different

ends of the world. The brand has products for different age groups, for both men and women and

a variety of geographic and democratic groups of people. In such a way it can be a matter of

problem to reach every consumer separately for their feedback. However digital media has made

this process very easy for any organisation to conduct surveys and have proper feedback.

Through this, they can improve the quality of their products.

Partnership: Collaborating with relevant organisations can influence brands' quality of products

and their market value. The eco-friendly practices of Unilever and the high commitment of

Domestos to germ removal can influence many investors to invest in their projects (Stones et al.,

2022). To fetch their brand commitment and maintain social responsibility they can also

collaborate with organisations focused on hygiene and sanitization which are non-profitable. It

gives the message of sustainable advancement by maintaining a good environment.

Marketing Mix: With the proper usage of marketing mix any organisation can achieve its desired

goal. The 4Ps of these mixes are product, price, place and promotion. With an extensive portfolio

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of 400 brands, Unilever serves a variety of products with a maintained quality. Other than quality

and availability they will also have to take care of the prices so that they remain competitive as

per the market demand. Considering the location and affordability of people the farm has to set a

price for the product so that everyone can be capable of using them (Veringă and Veringă, 2019).

Again promotion is also important for any brand to enhance their brand value. Through digital

marketing channels, Unilever makes sure that the ad campaigns for their products are always

optimised and have a good SERP rank.

Branding: the marketing experts of Unilever have a wider knowledge of branding that they

understand brand loyalty can be driven easily through emotions. Thus they apply a strong

emotional drive to connect with their consumer. The other branding, due to the wide range of

products can enter into different markets and tap into different sets of consumers to access their

feedback and fulfil their needs.

Findings

Evaluating the appropriateness of digital marketing strategies

Unilever needs to emphasize digital marketing strategies to revamp the product. The e-marketing

strategies involve website Optimisation social media campaigns online advertising and email

marketing. The marketing strategies involve the optimisation of mobile applications, mobile

advertising, location-based marketing etc.

E-marketing

The website optimisation involves the improvement of the product page of Domestos to provide

a user-friendly informative and seamless online purchasing process for the customers. Using

different social media platforms to increase awareness, companies need to develop visually

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appealing content (Li et al., 2021). To gain competitive advantages over brands like Harpic,

Domestos needs to utilise interactive channels that will ensure eco-friendly packaging. Further,

the company needs to outline the efficient revamping strategies that have been conducted to

lower the harmful impact of the product on humans. Investing in online advertising to reach out

to a wide audience, Domestos should develop high-quality content regarding cleanliness and

hygiene. Through block posts and articles, the company will be able to position the brand and

gain comparative advantages over the competitors in the market.

M-marketing strategies

With the increased use of mobile devices, people across the globe are making effective

purchasing decisions. Unilever needs to design the website for users using smartphones and

tablets this will provide a seamless browsing and purchasing experience to ensure effective

branding aspects. Development of an efficient mobile application companies are able to provide

personalized recommendations to remind users of the revamped products (Herhausen et al.,

2020). Domestos should also implement strategies to notify customers regarding new features

and limited-time promotions of the brand. Location-based marketing strategies can also be

formulated to evaluate the proximity of the stores.

Another advanced form of marketing strategy can be considered by Domestos to provide a

seamless customer experience. With the effective integration of messaging and branding, the

integration strategies can help Unilever keep track of its business performance. With digital

media campaigns, this will also understand customer preferences and optimizing future

marketing effects to manage effective productivity (Wedel et al., 2020). Domestos can

implement Augmented reality and Virtual Reality aspects to provide the customers with the

virtual exploration of the benefits of the revamped product.

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Analysing the contribution of the strategies entertainment organisation success

The contribution of any strategy to a successful business involves various elements of

examination and detailed analysis (Tan et al., 2020). The first thing to consider for business

enhancement strategy is the quality of the product and its diversity. As the number of brands

more than 300 that function under Unilever, the diversity of products cannot be questioned,

however in terms of quality, if not taken much care of, the other rivals can have a better impact

on the consumer's loyalty and some users may switch to other brands.

Adaptability and creativity are also important for brand promotion as well as the overall success

of an organisation. The brands that are more adaptable to new trends and technologies are more

likely to connect with the audience. Organisations' adaptability towards innovation makes the

consumers have faith in their products. It also enhances the brand image and the reputation of the

products.

With the proper application of the marketing mix the brands can also reach new customers

globally (Schiuma et al., 2022). Entertaining New Markets, adapting content from the

competitors, and having a better idea about the ongoing trends can help an organisation establish

its presence in the global market. Lastly, technology integration is also very important for

expanding any business digitally. Services like virtual reality augmented reality or other

interactive platforms can engage audiences and organisations one step ahead of their

competitors.

As Unilever mainly deals with hygiene and healthier products they should make a better social

and cultural impact on their employees, so that the team members can co-operate in collaboration

to produce healthier products by maintaining good quality and without doing any harm to

nature.

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Conclusion

Unilever is a global powerhouse for consumer goods, it is one of the fast-evolving FMCG

industries. Since 1930 through the merger of different companies this farm has grown so much

that now it operates in almost every country in the world. Through constant monitoring and

adapting new strategies for market feedback, they have made an effective approach to acquiring

a wide range of consumers. The journey of Unilever reflects innovation, adaptability, and their

commitment power of making a positive impact on the world. Their cleaning and germ removal

product Domestos have made a strong hold in the market as a cleaning brand. However, for any

business, it is very common to face challenges like strong competitors, financial issues and other

marketing obstacles. With proper marketing strategy and good analysis of their products, they

can overcome these issues and create a sustainable business environment.

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Appendices

Figure 1: 4Ps marketing mix

(Source: Olson et al., 2021)

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