Chp. 2 - Strategic Planning for Competitive Advantage
For any business to become successful, there must be strategic plans put in place first or else it'll be hard for the business to accomplish its intended goals. A strategic plan should cover all bases and aspects of the business and if it is executed accordingly, it'll help the business leader better allocate time and resources in an effective and efficient way. This is in line with the definition of Strategic Planning in the text book MKTG-Principles of Marketing, student edition 8 by Lamb, Hair and McDaniel which states "Strategic Planning is the managerial process of creating and maintaining a fit between the organization's objectives and resources and the evolving market opportunities". Since this is a marketing blog, the main focus would be on Proactiv and their marketing plan which I believe has helped them evolve into the giant success they are today. Elements of a marketing plan include- A Mission Statement; Situation or SWOT analysis; Objectives; Marketing Strategy (Target Market Strategy and Marketing Mix) and Implementation, Evaluation, Control
After Dr's Katie Rodan and Kathy Fields agreed to work together to create a preventive treatment for acne, they came up with business ideas but once developed, their product was rejected by several distributors. Guthy-Renker finally agreed to market it in 1995. Guthy-Renker is an independent direct marketing company and are Known for making award-winning productions and marketing campaigns featuring some of today’s leading celebrities. It has become quite common where inventors make their products and bring on direct marketing companies who have more knowledge of the marketplace, to take on responsibility and deal with marketing strategies.
Celebrity endorsements play a huge part in Proactiv's marketing strategy and making its products more attractive to its users giving them a competitive advantage. While a clinical study showed that Proactiv reduces comedones, inflamed lesions and facial oiliness, an 80-person consumer report concluded that Proactiv is equally effective as cheaper drugstore products. This however, hasn't stopped them from spending between $12-$15 million on celebrity endorsements each year and also spending $200 million a year air-time for commercials. Celebrity endorsers include the likes of Lindsay Lohan, Justin Beiber, Adam Levine, Julianne Hough, Zendaya Coleman, Jessica Simpson and Jurnee Smollett-Bell etc.
With over 60 million Americans having active acne, Proactiv serves a hefty target market and have maintained a marketing mix(the four P's) that provides them with mutually satisfying exchanges with their target market.
Product- the producers of Proactiv have continuously been innovative with heir products .Not only do they have various products for all kinds of skin-care purposes, the directions of applying the products are made easy to understand, there's money back guaranty incase a customer decides the product is not for them and discontinues the use of it.
Place (distribution)- Proactiv is mainly made available via the internet or by placing a toll-free call which saves its customers time from having to go to a physical store to buy it also saving them embarrassment since acne is considered a "social taboo". Products is also available in automated vending machines in some parts of the U.S and shipping is delivered swiftly from date of purchase.
Promotion- as mentioned before, celebrity endorsements play a crucial part in promotions and in addition to that, many stories of real life users are used in commercials. They mostly show before and after pictures of the users once again reminding and persuading existing and potential customers of the effectiveness of the treatment.
Pricing- Great deals are made on the products on a regular basis. They show how much the products would regularly cost compared to how much it is being sold for at that particular time. This I believe boosts sales while leaving the customers feeling like they have value for their exchange.
"Now I can go into any meeting, any situation, and not worry about my skin." Jodi, 33
Sources: Wikipedia, www.proactiv.com, www.guthy-renker,com
No comments:
Post a Comment