Marketing Analysis And Identification Of The Gap: An Essay On Palmolive Hand Wash.

You are required to undertake your research from ibisworld.com.au and other sources of information such as, other data bases, company websites, case studies, journal articles, industry reports, company’s annual reports…etc.

Briefly, your task is to prepare an entrepreneurship report addressing the following essential tasks:

1.Marketing analysis   

Critically analyse the brand’s current marketing activities together with two of its main competitors in the Australian marketplace: 

Analyse the current brand’s application of its marketing mix, identify the target market/s which the mix is aimed at, evaluate the overall marketing effort.  Apply similar analysis to two of its main competitors. What is the positioning effort of theses 3 brands and why? Create appropriate perceptual maps, construct SWOT analysis …etc. 

2.Identification of a gap/problem   

Identify a gap (i.e. hypothesis a problem based on your analysis/research in steps 1-3) facing the brand in the Australian marketplace: Refer to Chapters 1 & 2  

Analyse and critically think about what you have learnt from your research in steps 1-3 about the industry, the brand and its competitors. i.e. What is the research telling you in terms of what is missing from the marketplace?  Is there a gap, is there an opportunity facing the brand? If yes, then you need to justify it by relating it to your research.

Product Analysis of Palmolive Hand Wash and Its Competitors

The product that has been selected for writing this assignment is Palmolive hand Wash in the Australian market. There are a number of varieties of hand washes listed by the brand. Following is a marketing mix of the brand.

Target Market

The target market of the product is middle income group people who are looking for an easy-to-use solution to their hand washing problem. These people are concerned about the hygiene but also do not want to spend a lot of money on the products.  

Competitor analysis

Positioning

The positioning strategy that Palmolive undertakes is that the product offers the customer with soft and supple skin. The product is positioned as a nourishing treatment for the hand (Ibisworld.com.au 2018). On the other hand, Dettol positions the product as a hygienic alternative to bar soaps; it is also promoted as a product with a medicinal value (Leonidou et al. 2013). However, the Unilever positions the product as one of the necessary items that will provide more than the value of the product it will add to the personality. All the companies use various positioning strategy in order to be different from the other players in the market and to cater to the requirements of the target market (Davcik & Sharma 2015).

Figure: Perceptual Map

Source: Author’s Creation

SWOT Analysis

Hand wash is an FMCG product, the problem that the brand is facing with the product is the saturation of the market. There are a number of brands in the market that has established itself in the industry and has also built loyal customer based. Some of the indirect competition of the Palmolive hand wash is the luxury brands like Mr and Mrs Smith etc. the intense competition in the industry has made the brand reach a position where the management has to come up with innovative marketing strategies in order to reach out to a larger group of people (Gummesson et al. 2014). There are a number of companies in the industry that establishes as a luxury brand and provides their customers with exclusive ingredients. The pricing of these brands are also on the higher end and their target market is also different.  The two competitors that have been discussed above have their own set of target market; Dettol is a brand that is used in the hospitals, nursing homes and other healthcare centers as well. This gives a company an edge over the other Palmolive as the positioning of the product is more related to skin care and makes it fit for the home-like environment. On the other hand, Unilever is a brand that is used by the loyal customers and the company focuses on the quality of the product and ensures the customers regarding the utility and the value of the product aligned with the price that is being charged (Armstrong et al. 2014).

Marketing Mix of Palmolive Hand Wash

Therefore it can be said that the gap that is being determined in the marketplace is the focus on the quality of the product. The company has the opportunity to bridge this gap with the help of promotional strategies or the management can come up with strategies regarding launching a luxury hand wash line (Sharma 2013). The company can focus on the development of a special ingredient list which shall corroborate for the quality of the product, the packaging and the look of the product should be different from the other line of Palmolive hand washes (Wensley 2016). For example, the company can position the product as an organic luxury item that has a number of exotic ingredients and can take away from the time that is spent on a manicure for the customers. The target market is niche and focuses on people who do not mind spending on a luxury item. These people are conscious about their health and well-being and thus does not mind a luxury hand wash. The competitors Dettol and Unilever do not have a luxury line of hand washes and thus this strategy can give the company an edge over the competition.   

Reference list:

Armstrong, G., Adam, S., Denize, S. &  Kotler, P., 2014. Principles of marketing. Pearson Australia.

Baker, M.J., 2014. Marketing strategy and management. Macmillan International Higher Education.

Davcik, N.S. & Sharma, P., 2015. Impact of product differentiation, marketing investments and brand equity on pricing strategies: A brand level investigation. European Journal of Marketing, 49(5/6), pp.760-781.

Gummesson, E., Kuusela, H. & Närvänen, E., 2014. Reinventing marketing strategy by recasting supplier/customer roles. Journal of Service Management, 25(2), pp.228-240.

Huang, R. & Sarigöllü, E., 2014. How brand awareness relates to market outcome, brand equity, and the marketing mix. In Fashion Branding and Consumer Behaviors (pp. 113-132). Springer, New York, NY.

Ibisworld.com.au., 2018. Colgate-Palmolive Pty Ltd - Premium Company Report Australia [online] Airbus. Available at: https://ibisworld.com.au/australian-company-research-reports/manufacturing/colgate-palmolive-pty-ltd-company.html [Accessed 25 Sep. 2018].

Khan, M.T., 2014. The concept of'marketing mix'and its elements (a conceptual review paper). International journal of information, business and management, 6(2), p.95.

Leonidou, L.C., Leonidou, C.N., Fotiadis, T.A. & Zeriti, A., 2013. Resources and capabilities as drivers of hotel environmental marketing strategy: Implications for competitive advantage and performance. Tourism Management, 35, pp.94-110.

Londhe, B.R., 2014. Marketing mix for next generation marketing. Procedia Economics and Finance, 11, pp.335-340.

Sharma, N., 2013. Marketing strategy on different stages PLC and its marketing implications on FMCG products. International Journal of Marketing, Financial Services & Management Research, 2(3), pp.121-136.

Unilever.com.au., 2018. Personal care [online] Airbus. Available at: https://www.unilever.com.au/brands/?category=408114 [Accessed 5 Oct. 2018].

Wensley, R., 2016. The basics of marketing strategy. In The marketing book (pp. 75-107). Routledge.