Evaluating Marketing Strategy and Recommendations Assignment Sample

Evaluating Marketing Strategy and Recommendations

Executive Summary

The main purpose of developing this business report was to carry out a deep and thorough analysis of the marketing mix, segmentation, and targeting, branding, and positioning strategies of an Australian brand ‘Jurlique.’ The 8P's of the marketing mixes, such as product, product prices, people, promotion, processes, partnerships, and physical evidence. The report featured that due to consistently changing demands of the market, businesses are constantly under high weight of manageability in the market. In this report, a discussion of the marketing mix of an Australian corrective brand named 'Jurlique' was done. Moreover, the analysis of competitors was also done along with the comprehension of their techniques. Some recommendations have been provided in the report:-

• It is recommended to the Jurlique that it should make a portfolio of products for a particular age group in order to keep their interest alive in the brand.
• The company should start the skin-care consultancy for their customer who uses anti-ageing products.
• In order to keep its position maintained in the market, the company should think of using a lean approach in its processes. This would help in reducing the cost of manufacturing the quality product and will also increase the efficiency of the process.
• For the promotional purpose, the company should go for an unsolicited brand endorsement from famous celebrities.
• For a better understanding of the customer needs, the company should make use of customer relationship management (CRM) tools.

Introduction

Breaking into a market is not a cakewalk as companies have to put their huge funds and resources in doing so. Due to ever-changing demands and technology, organizations are always under high pressure of sustainability in the market. In this report, an analysis of the marketing mix of an Australian cosmetic brand named ‘Jurlique’ will be done. The market segmentation, branding, and positioning will be elaborated in the context of an ‘anti-ageing' products. In addition to this, the competitor's analysis will also be done for an understanding of their strategies. Furthermore, a discussion on crucial factors, such as contemporary issues, technology and social media, and most importantly corporate social responsibility (CSR) will be done. The report will end with the recommendations for the marketing mix and other factors affecting the products of Jurlique.

Company & Product Overview

Jurlique is an Australian organisation that research, develop, and retails the purest luxurious, and one of the most effective natural skin care products. The company was founded in 1985 in South Australia. The company employs one of the unique approach ‘biodynamic and organic farm system’ that makes its product a bit differentiated in the market. In its farms, the company harvest herbs and plants that are used to manufacture the chemical-free products. The company extracts the benefits of botanical approach as it holds the patent for its ‘bio-intrinsic process.’ The company offers a wide range of products that are purchased not only by locals but also the global customers. The organisation claims that it is ranked second in luxurious skincare brands in Australia. The company sells its products from online and offline platforms as well. Currently, there are more than 58 Jurlique’s concept stores out of which 18 are in Australia.

Talking about the ‘anti-ageing product’ of the company, Jurlique offers a wide range of such products and they are one of the best-sellers of the company. These include anti-ageing serum, gel, cream, face mask, scrub, etc.

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Target Market Overview

Segmentation

It is important for the company to form segments of its customers based on various factors, such as geographic, age, etc. Segmentation is important for the company for better consumer analysis (Armstrong, et.al, 2014).

Geographic: The segmentation is based on geographic characteristics of the regions of the customers as they have a different type of skins and by providing anti-ageing products based on the fact that not every product suits everyone, the company can address the needs of its customers and outclass its competitors.

Demographic: Jurlique provides a wide range of products based on the demographic characteristics of customers, such as age, sex, etc. The company is targeting the women over the age of the 30 for its anti-ageing products as this is the age at which wrinkles in the women's face begin to show up. However, the largest section of the customers comprises women between 40-55 years of age.

Psychographic: These comprise the section of the people who are mature enough and are concern about the ingredient and composition of the cream and other anti-ageing cosmetic products. However, in the past, this section was very small but in the past 10 years, there has been a remarkable growth in such people.

Socio-economic: This segment is based on the social and economic status of the women. The office going and corporate women along with models and actors are more concerned about the ageing symptoms as compared to housewives. Hence, the company would like to put more focus on such women and provide a huge variety of products for them.

Targeting

It is also important for the company as it has limited resources and it is important to make use of such resources and spend them wisely. Hence, targeting can help the company to develop products based on the market segments’ demand. Most of the customers of Jurlique’s anti-ageing products are women who are possessive about their growing age and ageing symptoms (Baker, 2014). Hence, this section should be catered with a wide range of anti-ageing products that should include creams, masks, scrubs, gels, and massage oils. Women have the perception that better the product higher will be its price. Hence, the company should focus on the quality and effectiveness of the product in order to impress its consumers as they are willing to pay higher prices for the products (Cavusgil, et.al, 2014). The targeting should be done throughout the year and all the weathers as ageing do not depend on the weather conditions.

Brand positioning

Jurlique aims at providing not only quality skin care products that are made up of purest herbs and plants and are manufactured from the biodynamic process. This brand story is being conveyed to each and every customer segment of the company. This has brought large confidence in the mature women who are concerned about their skins and health and want to try natural, herbal, and chemical-free product (Armstrong, et.al, 2014). The creams are being produced with natural oils instead of animal fats and the same is highlighted on the packaging of the cream. In addition to its stores across Australia, Jurlique's can go for a spa treatment that would be beneficial for reducing the ageing process. The loyal customers will be highly attracted if this happened. The product development is important for brand positioning. Following quite a while of enhancement and advancement, Jurlique is seen and acknowledged by a more extensive consumer base. Extending all inclusive and effectively taking activities on enhancing the conditions better, Jurlique advances into a standard brand as a pioneer in natural healthy skin items and spa business (Cavusgil, et.al, 2014).

Marketing Mix Concept

In order to sustain at the top position in the market, the company needs to consider its marketing mix so as to fulfil the consumer’s demands and needs in an effective way. Using marketing mix as a tool, organisations can persuade customers who they are targeting to purchase their products. The marketing mix of Jurlique has been discussed below (Ferrelland Hartline, 2012):-

Product: Jurlique has a wide product portfolio and is the second most popular brand in Australia. The anti-ageing products are designed based on the demands of the different customer segments. It offers over 50+ anti-ageing products for women above the age of 30 years based on their age, skin type, and socioeconomic status.

Productivity:In order to provide the quality, it is important for the company to keep a check on the productivity of the processes so as to be in line with the aim of cost-effectiveness. The benefits will be high if the productivity is high, otherwise, the company will have to bear unnecessary load (Khan, 2014).

Prices:It is the major aspect of the marketing mix as higher prices may discourage the majority of the customers. However, based on its quality and customers' trust, the company was able to develop an image of a luxury brand. The products are expensive but customers are happy with the products. Hence, the price is not an influential factor for the company but it should be kept comparable with competitors in order to increase the market share.

People:Within the marketing mix, it is important to consider people who are employed for checking quality, service, and customer satisfaction. The company believes in making employees happy as they will further make the customer happy. With regular and proper training and staffing, an organisation can improve quality and processes of its products. This will improve their accuracy and enhance their abilities to handle varying customers' need (Khan, 2014).

Promotion:It is important for the company to communicate its product’s characteristics to the customers. For that purpose, the organisation needs to promote the anti-ageing products by any medium. For that newspaper, magazine, social media, and other platforms can be used in order to create brand and product awareness.

Processes:The Company is using one of its kind biodynamic technology which is patented by the company. This process can be outlined in the campaign in order to build the confidence of the customer and brand image for the company.

Partnerships:In order to mark its presence within Australia and other countries of the world, it is important for the company to form partnerships with various wholesalers, distributors, online and offline retailers. Currently, the company has 58 stores around the world these should be increased (Khan, 2014).In addition to this, global partnerships should be promoted in order to increase the presence in the overseas market.

Physical evidence:This consists of three important aspects, namely the company's environment, customer interaction, and product delivery. For Jurlique, physical evidence comprises online and offline stores and social media platforms. The proper display of products characteristics and physical attributes can help the company in reaping benefits.

Competitive Analysis

It is important for this section to first list down the strengths and weaknesses of Jurlique in order to compare it with the competitors. Some of the strengths of the organisation include its organic farms that provide the raw material for the manufacturing of natural skin care products. It provides a cost-cutting advantage to the company. In addition to this, the company holds the patent for its unique biodynamic process for extracting the important elements from plants. Being a natural beauty products brand, it has a high brand value and a good brand image among the target market (Grönroos, 2013). The strong commitments towards the environment and nature reflected in the mission statement of the company and its processes as well that build up its positive image. With its position in the market and global presence, the company is able to compete with the local brands in the down under. However, outside Australia, the company has low brand appearance due to poor brand awareness. In addition to this, the differentiation in products is reduced in the global market due to the availability of a large number of similar products. There is a large number of brands that compete with Jurlique, such as Aveda, Body Shop, L'occitane, Origins, etc.With its offline and online stores, the company is trying to connect the remote customers with its service line (Looand Leung, 2016).

Crucial Factors Affecting Marketing

Contemporary Issue of Environment

The contemporary issues comprise political, economic, social, legal, technology, and environmental issues that can be positive and negative for the business. For instance, the taxation policy of the country might be beneficial for the company to open up its manufacturing plant there. However, the legal obligations and guidelines have to be followed by the company in order to manufacture and retail its product in that particular company. This might be a major setback for the company as it cannot sell all of its products (Solomon, et.al,2016). Economic factors such as inflation and economic recession can severely affect the businesses. Since the company focuses on middle and high-income strata of the society, a decrease in the income of the people will discourage them to purchase expensive beauty products. This would directly affect the business profit line. Talking about environmental issues, the company is criticised for harming nature by producing products from herbs and plants. In China, the company has to take a test in order to provide the report for proving that its products are chemical-free as it is necessary as per the law in the country. The most important is the social factors that include the brand image and people's perception. Earlier, people were not much in buying natural products for enhancing their beauty as they provide results at a slow rate. However, the demand of the natural products has increased immensely in the past two decades. This has benefitted the company in terms of monetary benefits.

Social Media and Technology

Social media is crucial in today's day and age's marketing and is used by mostly all of the big brands. Jurlique, in order to create brand awareness, is putting a lot of efforts in creating global presence and awareness. For that purpose, they are leveraging various social media applications, namely Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, etc. The creative campaign and interactive content in order to grab the attention of the consumers towards their wide range of products (Baker, 2014). It helps the company to do a lot more with a specific product. Using these number of platforms, the company can convey their brand stories, news, new products, best-sellers, and benefits and facts about the skin in order to make customer engage and keep following them. These would build trust among the customers. It has been seen that majority of the customers of Jurlique comprises sophisticated women who are very picky in selecting any product. They apply their experience, knowledge, and rationales while selecting a beauty product. Hence, just by conveying brand story and benefits to them and educating those about a particular brand can make a lot of difference. The company can actually beat their competitors just by making use of social media (Grönroos, 2013).

Corporate Social Responsibility

Corporate social responsibility is one of the crucial aspects that can help a company in improving its image.In addition to this, it also helps in enhancing media coverage and also boost employees’ engagement. They will be happy to work for the environment who is not into just profit-making but also contributing back to the community as well. Being a multi-million company, it is important for Jurlique to take care of the planet and the human community while keeping itself in a sustainable and profitable position. The CSR objective of the company is "To Care for Planet and People." At present the company is protecting nature and supporting women across the world, thereby taking its corporate social responsibility that is designed to make the world a better place for everyone. Under its CSR policy, it is contributing to the environment by planting nearly 10,000 trees annually. The main aim is to reduce the carbon footprint of the company and enhance the biodiversity area. In addition to this, it is manufacturing chemical-free, natural creams and beauty products that are organic and symbolise the importance of nature for the human body. In addition to this, the company is making women self-sustainable and helping them to achieve their goals. The company always looks forward to the partnership with women across the world in an initiative taken for women empowerment (Looand Leung, 2016).

Conclusion

Marketing is the most important aspect and the backbone of the business. Here, it was seen that no matter how effective a product is, poor marketing can make the product a mere failure. The report highlighted that due to ever-changing demands and technology, organizations are always under high pressure of sustainability in the market. In this report, an analysis of the marketing mix of an Australian cosmetic brand named ‘Jurlique’ was done. The market segmentation, branding, and positioning were elaborated in the context of an ‘anti-ageing' products. In addition to this, the competitor's analysis was done for an understanding of their strategies. Furthermore, a discussion on crucial factors, such as contemporary issues, technology and social media, and most importantly corporate social responsibility (CSR) was done. The report ended with the recommendations for the marketing mix and other factors affecting the products of Jurlique.

Recommendations

• It is recommended to the Jurlique that it should make a portfolio of products for a particular age group in order to keep their interest alive in the brand. It has been seen that women get bored by using the same product for a longer time. By improvising one particular brand within 6 or 10 months can help the company to keep the customer with them (Armstrong, et.al, 2014).
• The company should start the skin-care consultancy for their customer who uses anti-ageing products. This would be very helpful in resolving the issue and doubts faced by the customers while using the products. This would ensure better customer satisfaction. The consultation service can be available both on social media and on phone.
• In order to keep its position maintained in the market, the company should think of using a lean approach in its processes. This would help in reducing the cost of manufacturing the quality product and will also increase the efficiency of the process. Jurlique needs to attain the cost advantage in order to secure the top position in the Australian market.
• For the promotional purpose, the company should go for an unsolicited brand endorsement from famous celebrities. This would help in reaching the global customers quickly and will help in building the brand image in the international market (Baker, 2014).  
• For a better understanding of the customer needs, the company should make use of customer relationship management (CRM) tools. This would provide the data and current market trend and will help in better product development. In addition to this, such tools will strengthen the relationship with the customer as they will be valued and addressed properly by the company. In addition to this, CRM can help the company to gain competitive advantage a company can customise the anti-ageing products as per the demands of the customer and mutually benefit itself and the customers as well (Cavusgil, et.al, 2014).

References

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