Marketing at Dove

The marketing mix 

Marketing can be a difficult term to define but overall it is based on the benefits that a company provides its customers in an exchange. Dove and many other brands use extensive amounts of marketing to sell their products or services through many techniques. Marketing is about satisfying not only the customers needs but also their own profibility given their resources. The most important factor of marketing is the marketing mix. 

The marketing mix is the method behind marketing as a whole. It is the structure that is followed to produce successful marketing campeigns. The marketing mix is the planning used in every company to decide the best route to market a product. Companies such as Dove will first start their marketing by carrying out market research this is mostly done through the use of focus groups to gain knowledge of what the customers expect from a product or service. Once they have this knowledge they can develop this into their finished marketing mix. The marketing mix consists of the 4p's these are the four elements that will form a product and its selling process.

The 4p's 

The 4p's consist of price, product, promotion and place.

The first thing they will consider is product. To create their product they will consider many elements such as 

• Branding - To provide and identity to the brand and item.
• quality- The higher the quality the higher the cost.
• Features- What is an added bonus to the product or service

They will hopefully finally create a product that provides all three in a way that will benefit the customer.

The 2nd p is pricing. Pricing is a difficult step for a company as they have to balance the supply and demand relationship. They have to make a small profit whilst not making the product expensive.There are many pricing strategies including ;

1. Penetration pricing 
2. product line 
3. Skimming 
4. Bundle 
5. competition 
6. Phycological

Promotion has to carry out a multitude if tasks as they need to inform new customers pursuading them to but the product. They may do this by showing the benefits of the products whilst maintaining a good image.They will also tailor the promotion to their traget audience that would be earlier decided from the feeback given in the focus groups. To get the promotions to the public they may use multiple way such as :

• Advertising 
• public relations 
• sales promotion 
• personal selling 
• direct mail
• internet- e commerce

I the final P I think is the most important. Place, this is how they are going to distribute their product they could do this is two ways eaither through direct distrubution or indirect distrubution, Direct distrubution is just how it sounds it is where the product travels direct from the manufacter to the consumer where as indirect will sell through a relater such as a supermarket.

 

The 4p’s- How do the 4p's work within dove ?

Product

The main product that I will be focusing on is the specially formulated dove soap bar. First created in 1950 the bar gained its difference by formulating a bar that consisted of not only soap but also was 25% mosterizing cream. The soap bar has now been launched in more the 80 countries.

The most important technique to remember when dove was creating the product was the many options that are available and the many brands that people may prefer. Potential customers may buy a product  for a particular reason whether this be the price or the qualities that the customer may provide.

To gain further knowledge in the market they would have carried market research to show what the target audience want from there product whether this be good ethics or improved science they needed to discover what would appeal there audience the most.  

Dove chose to use the idea of body Image. This is a hugely controversial subject that appeals to most of women kind. It debates that idea that companies such as dove should be realistic and should use real women to advertise there products so the product should appeal to these people. This is what they have done in there most recent campaign for their popular soap bars that now have an established audience. 

Their products stick to a basic formula that has kept them selling for many years this allows the audience to grow because the name has become realiable growing an audience that are mostly made of mainstreamers although they also try to appeal reformers. They do this so that they can spread there audience hopefully appealing to a larger audience.

Price

Dove over the years has become highly sort after this often means it has a higher price but this is because it is seen as higher quality. This is where the connection in the publics heads is used as it is often seen that anything of higher price must mean they have put more into it and it must be a improved or better quality product.

 Some of Doves most famous soap bars are at a higher price they have recently tried to change their strategy by creating a cheaper range that can appeal to the typical family this has less quality  but carries that brand name making it sell.

They have tried to alter the prices many other ways by adding less packaging or trying to alter their price strategies. They often try to bring the price down for limited times to grasp peoples attention after they have tried the product and liked it they will hopefully carry on buying the product even though the price may change.

There are many ways that dove could price their product. They might use cost plus pricing this is the basic way of calculating the price of a product,  to complete this they would take the total cost of producing the product and adding the needed profit margin and this will give you a final price that the product could be sold at without making a loss.

Every company including Dove will have many compititors for example Nivea which provide a simlair product possibly at a cheaper cost. To compete with these other companies Dove may change its price or they might also change the quality of the product. To make their product sell above competitors they will also focus on their unique selling point this is the one this that tears the product away from the rest in the case of Dove this is the added moisteriser in their soap bars to make the bar softer for the skin.

They may also use penetration pricing which is commonly used for higher quality products. Penetration pricing in basic term is when the price is dropped for a short period of time commonly when it is first being introduced to consumers and this may mean there be losing money for a short period of time but this will be fixed later when the price resumes to normal. This attracts a buyer who possible would not buy the product because of the higher price to try the product and then they will hopefully become hooked and will still buy the product at a higher cost.

This can be done the other way round when the product may be put in the market at a higher cost to get a reaction this also makes the product seem eaither of high quality or as something unique this will cause a high demand once this goes down the price will also lower. This is used commonly to create an appeal to people that like a higher quality of product who may not of tried it at the lower rate.

The last kind of pricing that is needed more in todays age is destroyer pricing this is when the price is lower then any other product on the market. This can mean a lot of cuts when creating the product as the price must still cover the producing costs and have a small profit. This pricing is also commonly used to knock away other competitors as they may not be able to take this risk.

Overall I think the Dove uses a range of pricing techniques which allow the price to be higher to become known as a higher quality and more stable brand. 

Promotion

Doves main aim when trying to promote the brand is to make an easily reconisable brand that has an identity. They will try to make the products unique appeal attractive to the audience of which are mostly female. 

To market a product in these modern ages they will cover all media including print, online and social media. Dove heavily relys on there TV adverts to market its product. These commercials have become widely known because they discuss the controversial subject of body image. This makes it seem that they have empathy with audience and are supporting their beliefs. 

The brand uses images not of professional stereotypical models but of what they state are "real people" these are supposed to represent the wide audience in which they are trying to sell to. They have supported these beliefs throughout their advertising including in a series of events such as classes held to help people gain confidence in themselves this interactive way of advertising allows the brand to get involved with its audience and learn what they really want from the brand.

Dove like many other brand rely on direct advertising for example they will use sales counters in stores to show how the product works. They also use their followers to advertise by allowing them to comment on their products which in the modern age is easily accessable with social media. 

This personal touch can also be done through celebrity endorsements. This is when they get a recognisable face or character to advertise their brand. This can be done in many ways they may pay the person to speak about the brand on platforms such as TV interviews or even social media or they might get the celebrity directly involved by getting them to star in the commercials and on their print media including posters and possibly they might be featured in the product itself. 

Doves main promotion slogan stated on their website is to produce and promote products which "feel good, look good and get more out of life". This slogan is shown in the way they promote as you can see that they are taking care to make a good product that is promoted with good ethics whilst also providing more to their consumers.

Place 

The placement if a product is the direct route its going to take from being the raw ingredients to becoming the final product in a store. This route will be mapped out by the company in a way that  allows the product to be quickly produced and distributed. 

Doves placement all starts under the roof of the main company called Unilevers these are the company that own all of the dove company. This company work in a unique way in which they do not outsource products but instead house all of their products in the same warehouses and then distribute them from here. 

There are several warehouses which also make the ingridents that are placed into the basic bar of dove soap. They cover all stages by doing so leaving no connection between bringing the raw products to the maufactring process by doing this they not only save time but also cut down on expendatures. 

To sell there product they do have to get it to the many locations in which it is sold to for example dove sells soap not only in England but also in Australia, Asia Pacific, Eastern Europe, North America, Western Europe, Latin America, Africa and the Middle East. To get their products to this wide audience they use multiple ways of transport mostly thought trucks and shipment boats. 

Then in the last step of the journey they will be taken to many stores in trucks. This is where they will be sold to the main public. To sell to their target audience the product will be sold at suitable stores including super markets like ASDA and middle market drug stores such as Boots. 

Marketing - definition

What is marketing?

Marketing- Marketing is working out the psychology that makes a consumer buy a particular product. To do this you have to understand the consumers needs and for filling these needs using key techniques such as low prices, quality products, convenience and service and also a reputation which can be created by having a strong brand.

The definition of marketing according to the sources that I have researched an have made a definitions in my own words.

Marketing – The process of planning and executing the conception, pricing, promotion and distribution of ideas, goods and services to create changes that satisfy individual and organizational objectives.

Marketing- is an approach to doing business that focuses on identifying the customers needs and preferences. Using this information, a company can shape the goods and services it provides, as well as the strategy it uses to bring these goods and services to the public, based on  

What is Marketing ? - Questions

1)   What is marketing ?

Marketing- Marketing is working out the psychology that makes a consumer buy a particular product. To do this you have to understand the consumers needs and for filling these needs using key techniques such as low prices, quality products, convenience and service and also a reputation which can be created by having a strong brand.

The definition of marketing according to the sources that I have researched an have made a definitions in my own words.

Marketing – The process of planning and executing the conception, pricing, promotion and distribution of ideas, goods and services to create changes that satisfy individual and organizational objectives.

Marketing- is an approach to doing business that focuses on identifying the customers needs and preferences. Using this information, a company can shape the goods and services it provides, as well as the strategy it uses to bring these goods and services to the public.

2)   What is Involved in a marketing campaign? ( Tools and Techniques)

The definition of a marketing campaign is specific activities designed to promote a product, service or business. To start creating the activities you have to start with a marketing strategy this consists of several stages that research your audience and the market.  The first stage is ‘understanding the customer” this is just how it sounds you carry out research into your target audience find out there likes and dislikes of advertising and similar products. The next stage is “analyzing the market” this is your basic market research seeing what is selling at that moment will allow you to see what the public wants at that moment. After you have completed this and know what product your selling you need to “analyze the competition” you need to see what prices and problems the competitions products are at so that you can hopefully provide a improved product for an affordable price. Now you have a product and a target audience you need to know how your going to distribute this product this means you need to “research distribution channels”  this is basic terms is how are you going to sell your product for example is it something that you are going to retail online or in a store if its in store how are you going to get it there.

The last three stages in a marketing strategy all come together to complete the details. Now that all the research is completed you need to define what you selling and complete a “marketing mix” this is four key details being product, price, place and promotion. When this is done the last important step is to “analyze the financials” this is the step where you see if that your product will survive in the market place and at this point you need to put together a marketing budget covering all of the costs that your marketing may cost. The final step is to “ review and revise ‘ all you have completed evaluating the overall effectiveness of your chosen marketing strategy. To show how this strategy would be used in a company I am going to use the example of coca cola. Firstly they would have to understand what the public wants in this case a refreshing pop drink from here they would see how pop drinks were selling in the market. If this was all successful they would need to see what competition they have in this case brands like Pepsi and Tango. From here they need to chech where they can sell the product so with coke its mostly is supermarkets and corner shops so they will need vans to reach its destination. Now the next step is the largest what is there marketing mix  so lets start with product coca cola is obviously a cola pop drink, price so it needs to be about the same as the competition about £1 a bottle, place its going to be sold in supermarkets and last of all promotion coca cola often sell there products using posters and TV adverts. Next they sort there financials this is there marketing budget which for a company like coca cola is most likely to be fairly large. The last step review and revise allows them to see how this has been affective which in the case of coca cola will most likely be.

Marketing campaigns can be designed with different ends in mind including to create a brand image, to introduce a new product, increase sales or even to reduce the impact of bad news.  There are 9 main functions of marketing including :

·      Product/service management

·      Marketing information management

·      Financing

·      Purchasing

·      Pricing

·      Distribution

·      Promotion

·      Selling

·      Risk management.

There are also 4 main utilities these are the key stages in developing the product and how you are going to see them these 4 utilities are :

·      Form Utility- A product must be processed into a form e.g Potato into chips

·      Place Utility- The transportation of the product e.g In vans or through rail.

·      Possession Utility- This establishes legal ownership of a product.

·      Time Utility- This is described as being in the right place at the right time when a customer is trying to purchase a similar product.

The places you can see marketing is in/at:

·      Print media

·      Social media

·      Publicity

·      Direct media

·      Email

·      Radio

·      Television

·      Telemarketing

·      Events and trade shows

·      Search engines

·      Outdoor media

3. What is PR? ( What is distinctive about these activities/ relationship with news forms)

The term PR extends to be the words public relations this is the system used to persuading people to buy a product or service. This is not an advertising company instead of selling the product using the relationship between the public and the company this is done by dealing with the customer directly for example at an event directly being held for the public to help the consumer. PR companies often help by influencing a products target audience so that the product is directed to the right people for example it is a new iphone it will need to be directed a younger audience so it will be featured mostly online. This means they heavily rely on media to share the word allowing the news to spread but not actually advertising this is often done through news stories about companies doing positive things like giving money to charities. This way of selling the product done leave the company with less control then advertising but is more believable as it creates an image for the company. There are many ways you can spread PR  this is mostly done using celebrity endorsements, charity donation or support e.g Fairtrade.

Public relations as job realys on maintaing a public image this may be carry out in many ways but will always be tailored to suit the brand or celebrities target audience. To do this they use a strong branding this is not only through a logo but is also connecting an idea or image to a specific product or service this can be seen through example such as when looking at the times logo people connected words such as Traditional and male. These word can also be used to describe their stereotypical reader  creating an image for the company. The role of public relations is to ideally create a 'positive' image. To create this image they may use many techniques such a celebrity endorsements where they connect a social celebrity to their brand. They may also use stories within the media for example a celebrity may be trying to correct their image by holding a helpful event for the community sharing the news through the media. Their is also the main technique which is advertising this can be overpowering the bad news or rebooting and rebranding the company to attract a different audience. sponcership is another powerful technique as they can help events or possibly assist on edjucation a good example of this is currently Barclays who are assisting young people to get jobs by holding workshopss to assist them with a multitude of needed skills. The final method is typically used by celebrities and companies to grow a positive image it is donating to charities this is stereotypically through large events such as social galas e.g. The other ball. 

4. How has marketing strategy/technique evolved over the past 10 years?

On a basic level marketing had developed over the last 10 years due to newly evolved technology and the associated medians such as social media although we still do use print based media it s not as popular.  In the modern age we use basic marketing medians these include :

·      Social media pages

·      Viral campaigns

·      Pop ups e.g online cookies

·      Links shown on webpages

·      Company apps

·      Tv Interviews

·      Radio

·      Print commercials

Not all these medians are common place anymore as they have been replaced for example a decade ago we used to read newspaper nearly everyday due to the younger population and technology we now use apps and webpages to see the normally printed adds. This technology has not only changed the way we see adverts it has also changed and widened the audience. They now have grown to have higher expectations because the quality has risen this has raised what we as an audience want from an advert.

5) How has our understanding of marketing audiences changed in the 21^st Century ? 

This is shown on my Pinterest board at : http://www.pinterest.com/sophiekipper/marketing-in-the-21st-century/  . The point I am trying to prove is that overall we have began to interact with marketing on a daily basis. The companies in todays age are now using interactive ways of contacting the audience this is done mainly through technology by starting to use apps and social media they can grasp a larger and wider audience and it also helps them to receive feedback . This change in technology has not only changed the way things are sold but has also changed us as an audience as we used to take a back seat and be passive just taking in the information handed to us through older methods such as print adverts or radio commercial but in the modern age this has changed as we have become more active as we download apps or talk to the brand over social media. It has become second nature to us to use brand names in everyday life where as before technology the marketing experience was a lot less submersive and seemed like it was more direct telling the consumers to buy the product this has started to fade out today isn the modern society we are sometimes even hit with adverts without even realizing it for example through viral videos like “First kiss “ which most people didn’t even realise was a campaign till being told. Overall media had advanced beyond anything we could dreamed of last century and has now taken over our lives by changing the way that a product can be sold.