Dove is a well-known producer of body cleansers and soaps and has a worldwide recognition (“Dove: Bar Body Wash” par. 1). Dove’s goods are recommended by dermatologists, as the moisturizing effect is one of the main features of the company’s products (“Dove: Bar Body Wash” par. 1). This matter differentiates Dove from its competitors and highlights that the firm’s soaps and gels belong to a high-quality product segment. In this case, a comparison and evaluation of Dove’s prices with the competitors and key defining factors are described. Furthermore, pricing strategies are evaluated to understand the principles of Dove’s marketing tactics. Finally, the conclusions are drawn to summarize the findings of the paper.
It could be said that the evaluation of the prices of rival firms of gels and soaps will affect the understanding of Dove’s positioning positively. On Walmart’s shelf, the primary competitors of Dove are Softsoap, Neutrogena, Ivory, and Aveena with the prices $2.97, $4.97, $4.02, and $6.68 respectively (“Walmart: Beauty Cleansers” par. 1). Meanwhile, the prices for Dove’s gels are higher such as $5.47 for a single item and $9.01 for a twin pack (“Walmart: Beauty Cleansers” par. 1). In this case, Dove differentiates itself from the competitors by focusing and quality and highlights its exceptional features by concentrating on premium pricing.
As for the pricing strategy, it could be said that Dove tends to combine various strategies to ensure the company’s profitability. For instance, it has a tendency to apply the basic principles of the cost-plus approach by emphasizing the importance of outweighing costs with the revenues, but it is not the main strategy of the firm (Paley 322). Currently, the majority of enterprises including Dove focuses on other factors such as supply and demand curves and consumer buying behavior (Rao 115).
This aspect underlines that the company applies the concepts of prestigious pricing, as it uses price as an instrument to create an association of high quality with the brand, and it is strongly tied to the brand and marketing campaigns (D’Antonio 187; Hoyer, McInnis, and Pieters 254). Following this approach is rational for Dove, as it has a well-established brand image, which has a positive impact on the development and maintenance of the customer’s base.
Despite the significance of prestigious pricing in Dove’s profitability, the elements of psychological pricing are present. For example, the company asks $5.47 for a single gel, which is perceived lower than the price is, and this approach makes the product more attractive to the consumers (“Walmart: Beauty Cleansers” par. 1; Paley 321).
Thus, the loss-leader pricing is not applicable in the case of Dove, as it does not tend to lower the prices to become a market leader and does not have complementary products to rely on (Paley 329). Lastly, the penetration pricing strategy is not employed by Dove since the prices are lower than competitors’ ones, and the company has extended years of operations (D’Antonio 187).
In the end, it could be said that choosing a suitable pricing strategy for the company’s success is crucial. In the context of the presented topic, the ‘shelf’ analysis revealed that Dove’s products have higher prices than the firm’s competitors. This difference is present since Dove uses a prestigious pricing strategy. It focuses on the quality of its products and ensures safety, and these aspects are the principles values of the brand. Additionally, the company uses the concepts of other marketing tactics such as psychological and cost-plus approaches, but these strategies are only a compliment to the initial mission.
Works Cited
D’Antonio, Laura. “Pricing.” Solutions: Business Problem Solving. Ed. Frank Fletcher. Abington: Routledge, 2016. 177-195. Print.
Dove: Bar Body Wash. 2016. Web.
Hoyer, Wayne, Deborah McInnis, and Rik Pieters. Consumer Behavior. Mason: South-Western Cengage Learning, 2008. Print.
Paley, Norton. The Manager’s Guide for Competitive Strategies. London: Thorogood, 2006. Print.
Rao, Vithala. Handbook of Pricing Research in Marketing. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar, 2009. Print.
Walmart: Beauty Cleansers. 2016. Web.