Management Of Customer Relationships In Europe | Reckitt Benckiser Group PLC Essay.

About the Organization and Chosen Unit

Discuss About The Management Of Customer Relationships In European.

Startegic Positioning plays a key role in an organization and in order to be successful in the business domain, the company in question needs to ensure that it is able to maintain a commendable strategic positioning in the business environment.  Hence, for this reason, it needs to make use of various tools and techniques to analyze the environment in which it operates and understand the current position. This goes a long way in strategyformation and decision making.

The given report will be discussing the strategicpositioning of one such company named Reckitt Benckiser Group PLC (RB – Healthier Lives, Happier Homes. ,2018). The company is based in Britain and is a brand working into the hygiene and personal products range (Kotler, 2015).  One of the company`s strategic business units will be discussed and its market strategies will be analyzed. The report will be discussing about the organization, its marketing strategy, Relative strength of the marketing strategy, product strategy and the lifecycle it is currently present at. Relative theoretical concepts with practical examples will be discussed to present a string argument.  The use of two strategic development tools shall also be made and their uses will be provided.

The Reckitt Benckiser Group Plc is a British multinational goods company withits headquarters in Slough, England. The company is mostly a producer of the hygienic, home products along with health items. The company was formed back in Reckitt & Colman and Benckiser NV. The company has various brands under its name which includes companies like Dettol, Strepsils, Clearasil, Durex, Lysol and Vanish (West, Ford& Ibrahim, 2015). The company is also registered on the London Stock Exchange and is also a part of the FTSE 100 Index.The chosen sub unit is the brand Dettol. The Dettol brand under the company is an antiseptic liquid company which produces hygienic products that are famous for killing germs. The company is a very popular operating in 124 countries with a good brand positioning.Refer to Appendix 4

A strategic thrust can be defined as a statement which lays down the intended strategic actions which a company aims to take. The strategic thrust of the company needs to provide a compelling theme which brings together different activities of an organization and focuses the groups towards the objective. It is based on a planning direction of 2-5 years. The different strategic thrusts which can be used by the company are differentiation, cost, innovation and growth.

The strategic thrust which is adopted by detail is a growth strategy. Having positioned itself as a germ fighter brand, the company aims to extend itsproduct line and ensure success. Refer to Appendix 5

The marketing strategy can be defined as a strategy of the organization which tends to combine all the marketing goals into a single comprehensive plans.  An efficient marketing strategy should need to ensure that there exists market research and the right product mix is utilized to ensure maximum availability of profit.

Strategic Thrust

The marketing strategy which is followed by Dettol is a very comprehensive one whereby the different aims and objectives of the company are stated down effectively (Mooradian, Matzler& Ring, 2013). The company has the objective of maintaining its position in the market as the number one germ killer and thereby makes use of the promotional techniques of television and magazines thereby targeting the younger audience who is likely to be exposed to such infections involving bacteria. The company has priced the product accordingly and uses an effective distributionthroughout the globe to give out items.

The business environment of Dettol as a company is very competitive. In various countries, there are many companies who act as a competition and provide a different sets of threats for the company (Keller& Kotler, 2016).  The industry analysis of Dettol has been done using the Michael Porter`s Five Forces Analysis:

Very often people prefer using cheaper options to avail the facilities as provided by the Brand. This includes the use of Mud, homemade solutions, water and other subsidiariesespecially in the rural areas where the people cannot afford to purchase a soap. Hence, the threat can be termed as Moderate (Proctor, 2014). 

Rivalry

The threat of rivalry is quite high with various competitors present in the industry like Lifebuoy, Palmolive and other brands.

The power of buyers

The power of buyers is considerably high as they are the ones with the options and choices. If the prefer buying a particular commodity at a particular quantity then in that case, the company has to design the products in that way (Armstrong et al., 2015).

The power of suppliers

The power of suppliers is not very high for the Dettol sub unit because, the company is a relatively large brand and thus their market share is quite high.

Threat of new entrants

The threat of new entrants is low because Dettol already has a high market share which will be difficulty to capture.

Over the past few decades, Dettol has created a strong and distinct association with its trademark smell (Turnbull& Valla, 2013). The smell of the Dettol products can be described as its point of differentiation. The competitive strategic positioning can be popularly defined as the property which is setting the given brand apart from its competitors and create a positive image in the minds of the different consumers.

The next characteristic which sets the company part is the amber gold color and the clouding impact when the liquid is immersed in water. These characteristics are hard to find in other products present in the market. Lastly, the company has been largely successful in creating a positive image in the eyes of the consumers as the brand has always been successful in proving that it can clear and clean all jobs. This positioning in the minds of the consumers, is the key aspect of the strategicpositioning (Malhotra& Peterson, 2014).  The distinct packaging also acts as an advantage as the symbol signifies strength against the bacteria. The broad product portfolio under each of the categories which helps the business to capture the larger market share.Refer to Appendix 2

Marketing Strategy

The thrust options which are available with Dettol are as follows:

• Allianz- theCompany can form an alliance with different companies in the different countries to ensure that it has a greater market share.
• Differentiation- theCompany has already adopted the given strategy and has differentiated itself as a germ protection company whose products provide 100% protection against germs and its liquid is one of its kind (Bresler& Lubbe, 2014).It can further differentiate by getting into a new line.
• Cost- The Dettol Company can try and achieve cost differentiation by selling products lower than its competitors.However, at present the company already sells its products at a low cost.

The product strategy can be defined as the blueprint of all the products and the end to end vision of the product which the company aims to sell and what it wants the outcome to be as. The companies make use of their product strategy in the market by ensuring that it can be utilizes in efficient strategicplanning and helping the firm to identify the  correct direction of the activities of the given company.Refer to Appendix 1

The product strategy comprises of various processes which are essential to attain the vision. The company must be possessing a clear idea of where they want to be and the kind of the vision it sees for itself.

The product strategy of Dettol has comprised of various processes, however the company has always envisioned itself a leading brand in the markets, which tends to provide valuable predicts to the customers that are effective, kills the germs and establishes itself as a one stop solution. The company has always itself in an effective pricing strategyand thus, it has been success in forming a product strategy which is unique (Sheth& Sisodia, 2015).

The product life cycle can be defined as the different stages through which a product goes through in order to establish itself in the market and be successful gain the demand of the consumers (Zimmerman& Blythe,2013).  The product life cycle has four different stages starting from introduction to growth to maturity and finally the decline. The product strategy is the first step and this is followed by the lifecycle.

At present,the brand Dettol is under the Maturity stage of the product life cycle. The company has become one of the biggest anti-bacterial brands and thus is at its peak in the maturity stage.Refer to Appendix 3

A competitive strategy can be defined as a strategy which is adopted by the firm in the long run to gain a competitive advantage over the competitors. The given is used to create a defensive position in the industry and in order to generate a high Return on Investment. The three main competitivestrategies used by companies are the Operational Excellence strategy where the company looks out for procedural efficiency in order to ensure effective utilization of resources. The product leadership strategy is a strategy which is used by a firm to achieve success with respect to the product it provides to the customers and the effective characteristics of the product. Lastly, some companies make use of the customer intimacy whereby exceptional services are provided to the customers.

Dettol follows an operational excellence strategy at its core whereby it aims to attain cost leadership. All the manufacturing procedures are automated and all the tools are utilized effectively by Dettol and this is the reason behind its high market share.

In order to determine the product leadership for Reckitt Benckiser, it is important to identify the market position of their current product portfolio (Rudnicki & Vagner, 2014). In order to do so, BCG matrix will be used to identify the current market position.

Relative Strength of Dettol

Cash cows are the products that are having higher market share but the market growth is lower. This denotes that cash cow products are established products in the market and they are in the saturation level in the market. Thus, the chance of increase in the market share for these products is lower. In case of Reckitt Benckiser, Dettol can be considered as the case cow. This is due to the reason that Dettol is in the market for long years and is the segment leader. In addition, the market penetration of Dettol is huge and there is very less chance of enhancing the market share further (Douglas & Craig, 2013).

The next element in the BCG matrix is dog. This refers to the products that are having both lower market share and lower market growth rate. In case of the Reckitt Benckiser, the medical sector such as the first aid components market is dog (Srivastava & Sharma, 2013). This is due to the reason that Reckitt Benckiser is trailing in this sector against their main competitor Johnson & Johnson.

Star refers to the products that are higher market position as well as higher market growth rate. In the case of Reckitt Benckiser, sanitary items such as liquid soaps can be considered as star. This is due to the reason that Dettol liquid soap is marker leader in this segment but the market is at the growing stage and thus potentiality is huge (Kaur & Pandit, 2014).

Question mark refers to the products that are having lower market share but having higher growth rate. This refers to the relatively newer products that are in the growth stage in the market. In the case of Reckitt Benckiser, newer offerings such as hand sanitizer from Dettol and kitchen washing gel can be considered in question mark.

Benchmarking is one of the major factors that should be considered by Reckitt Benckiser in implementing their strategies. This is due to the reason that benchmarking will help Reckitt Benckiser to evaluate their strategies in terms of industry standards. One of the major benchmarking strategies will be targeting the maximum performing player in the industry (Shamma & Hassan, 2013). This will enable to follow the strategies of best performing players. Another benchmarking strategy will be the rate of the market share. This is due to the reason that the more will be the market share, the more will be the business effectiveness.

The strategies discussed above will help in effective implementation due to the fact that porter five forces will help to determine the competitive forces in the industry and initiate the targeting strategy accordingly. In addition, competitive strategies can help Reckitt Benckiser in implementing their market expansion and penetration strategy. BCG matrix can help in implementing the strategies in the gap areas rather than targeting the entire business process. Application of PESTLE analysis will help in determining the external factors and will enable to initiate the strategies in accordance to the external market trends.

Conclusion 

Thus, it can be concluded that Reckitt Benckiser is having effective and efficient marketing aspects covering different elements of their business operation. This report discussed about the competitive of the industry where Reckitt Benckiser is currently operating and it is identified that market competition is high and intense. In addition, this report also identified the major external factors for Reckitt Benckiser that will have future influence on their process and performance. The strategies discussed in this report will help Reckitt Benckiser to effectively operate their business in enhance their business potentiality.

References

Armstrong, G., Kotler, P., Harker, M., & Brennan, R. (2015). Marketing: an introduction. Pearson Education.

Boddewyn, J. J. (2015). Political aspects of MNE theory. In The Eclectic Paradigm (pp. 85-110). Palgrave Macmillan, London.

Bresler, M., & Lubbe, I. (2014). Marketing management.

Douglas, S. P., & Craig, C. S. (2013). Dynamics of international brand architecture: Overview and directions for future research. DYNAMICS, 21, 916-932.

Joshi, Y., & Rahman, Z. (2015). Factors affecting green purchase behaviour and future research directions. International Strategic Management Review, 3(1-2), 128-143.

Kaur, H., & Pandit, A. (2014). Consumer evaluation of brand extension: Empirical generalization and comparative analysis. Journal of Empirical Generalisations in Marketing Science, 15(1).

Keller, K. L., & Kotler, P. (2016). Marketing management. Pearson.

Kotler, P. (2015). Framework for marketing management. Pearson Education India.

Malhotra, N. K., & Peterson, M. (2014). Basic marketing research. Pearson.

Mooradian, T., Matzler, K., & Ring, L. (2013). Strategic marketing: Pearson new international edition. Pearson Higher Ed.

Proctor, T. (2014). Strategic marketing: an introduction. Routledge.

RB – Healthier Lives, Happier Homes. (2018). Retrieved from https://www.rb.com/

Rudnicki, W., & Vagner, I. (2014). Methods of strategic analysis and proposal method of measuring productivity of a company. Zeszyty Naukowe Ma?opolskiej Wy?szej Szko?y Ekonomicznej w Tarnowie, (2 (25)), 175-184.

Shamma, H., & Hassan, S. (2013). Customer-driven benchmarking: A strategic approach toward a sustainable marketing performance. Benchmarking: An International Journal, 20(3), 377-395.

Sheth, J. N., & Sisodia, R. S. (2015). Does marketing need reform?: Fresh perspectives on the future. Routledge.

Sila, I. (2013). Factors affecting the adoption of B2B e-commerce technologies. Electronic commerce research, 13(2), 199-236.

Srivastava, K., & Sharma, N. K. (2013). Consumer attitude towards brand extension: A comparative study of fast moving consumer goods, durable goods and services. Journal of Indian Business Research, 5(3), 177-197.

Turnbull, P. W., & Valla, J. P. (2013). Strategies for International Industrial Marketing (RLE International Business): The Management of Customer Relationships in European Industrial Markets. Routledge.

West, D. C., Ford, J., & Ibrahim, E. (2015). Strategic marketing: creating competitive advantage. Oxford University Press, USA.

Zimmerman, A., & Blythe, J. (2013). Business to business marketing management: A global perspective. Routledge.