The concept of the marketing mix is one of the most basic concepts of business, and yet it plays a paramount role in success or failure of a company. The marketing mix defines a set of factors that a company can influence in order for the customers to buy their products (Palmer, 2009). Nowadays, many beginning and even advanced enterprises neglect the in-depth study of the market, dismissing it, and the techniques of the marketing mix as common knowledge. Many of these businesses fail, having committed to a wrong marketing strategy (Palmer, 2009).
Natio Cosmetics is an Australian company that was created from a family business that produces cosmetics for local and international companies for over 75 years. It specializes in skincare and other cosmetic products (“Natio,” 2016).
The brand is spread throughout Australia and Oceania, which is known for the rural lifestyle and special connection with nature. The company appeals to that sentiment by making herbal-based products and ensuring that their merchandise is produced with the latest ecological concerns in mind (“FAQs,” 2016).
The majority of their products revolve around skincare, as the company produces lotions, toners, sun protection, lipstick and other products that help preserve the skin against multiple natural hazards. The company keeps in touch with its clients by having a customer-dedicated fan-site and a Facebook group, where everyone interested could find out about their products (“FAQs,” 2016).
The purpose of this paper is to see the concepts of the marketing mix in effect by observing and analyzing the products, prices, and promotional products of Natio Cosmetics.
Marketing Mix
As mentioned before, the marketing mix is a set of measures and options that a company can take in order to advance its merchandise on the market. It is very closely related to marketing strategy. The typical marketing strategy consists of four Ps, which are Price, Promotion, Product, and Place (Kamaleddin, Korosh, & Reza, 2015).
Advanced market mixes contain more than these four positions, but the ones mentioned above are the core. The price policy determines many things – mainly the product placement, marketing segment, supply and demand, and many other factors. Understanding for what segment to aim is paramount to a successful pricing policy (Kamaleddin et al., 2015).
The product policy refers to the product and qualities that it is supposed to have. Every product should be able to deliver something of value to the client. Otherwise, it will not sell, and the whole marketing mix will fall apart (Kamaleddin et al., 2015).
Promotion policy refers to activities that have the purpose of establishing a loyal customer base, advancing the brand, and claiming a piece of the market share. This step is very important, as the customer needs to know of your product before buying it (Kamaleddin et al., 2015).
The place policy refers to the location of product distribution. Depending on the supply lines, general demand, and other factors that come into play when considering a product distribution strategy. Direct sales, retail sales, shipping and e-commerce all fall into this category (Kamaleddin et al., 2015).
Natio Company
The company’s name derives from the Latin name for the goddess of Nature. It reflects on the company’s products and policies, as it tries very hard to retain its face as an eco-company, which supplies herbal-based products and cares about the environment (Leonidou, Katsikeas, & Morgan, 2013).
The company exists on the Australian market for more than 75 years. In the beginning, it was a small family business that specialized in skin care and cosmetics manufacturing for companies in Australia and abroad. It grew into an independent company when, in 1993, its owners launched an array of beauty care products that brought the brand its name and popularity. The company is led by Max and Vivienne Ross, who still maintain a hands-on approach in their business (“Natio,” 2016).
Nowadays, the company sees much success in the Australian market as a leading natural beauty brand. It managed to expand to markets in other countries in the Oceania, such as New Zealand, Thailand, and other countries. It is noted to have penetrated a market in Great Britain, with possibilities of expanding further into Europe (“FAQs,” 2016).
Natio’s products are comprised out of natural ingredients and oils, in accordance with the company’s policy and product strategy. However, the company does not ignore the advances of modern science and does use certain chemical ingredients as part of their compounds. The company opposes the use of palm oil and excludes it from the majority of their products. However, they admit to using certain derivatives from palm oil (“FAQs,” 2016). The company’s skin care products vary in price between 7$ to 25$ for most of their products (“FAQs,” 2016). They also sell bundles of products at a discount. The products are aimed at customers with medium to low income and are sold at affordable prices. In Australia, Natio’s products can be found solely in pharmacies and department stores. The customers trust this brand due to affordable prices, adequate quality of products, and natural ingredients, which are trusted more when compared to advanced and aggressive chemical compounds used in other cosmetics (De Bryun, 2010).
Marketing Series in Natio Company
The price policy for Natio Cosmetics is aimed at the low-to-medium income customer. The price range is between 7 to 25 dollars for a piece, with the price tag growing with the product’s volume. Typically, most of the skincare solutions such as lotions, toners, exfoliators and cleansers, have the volume of 200 ml. The products are meant to be used daily, which is why the company is aiming for a lower price tag and comfortable volumes, earning their income through massive sales rather than high-priced purchases.
Promotion policy for Natio Cosmetics includes distribution of tester packages – small-volume examples of products that the potential customers could try out in order to assess the product’s qualities. In addition, the company employs all available sources of media in order to promote its brand. The methods include leaflet distribution, advertisements on the web, TV advertisements and others. The company has a Facebook group and a dedicated fan-page, where everyone can register in order to stay informed about their latest products.
In order to make its product successful, Natio exploits the population’s natural preferences towards herbal-based cosmetics and its distrust towards chemical compounds used by its competitors. While Natio does employ some of those in its products, most of their merchandise is predominantly herbal-based (De Bryun, 2010). The fact that their skin-care products are made out of herbs and natural components ensures that their price remains relatively low and available to the customers.
Conclusion and Recommendations
As our analysis shows, Natio Cosmetics clearly employs the marketing mix strategy in order to keep its business relevant. They have a solid promotion policy, which involves the use of all available information outlets, testers, and customer benefits. In addition, they have a working product strategy, which earned them a leading role in the Australian cosmetics market and their pricing policies are fair and contribute to their overall success.
Still, there is some room for improvement. During the investigation of the customer site and the Facebook group, it was discovered that the site was down and the group had not been maintained for a long time – enough for Facebook to consider it inactive. This indicates that the company did not give enough attention to maintaining its social media outlets, which is potentially harmful to business. In order to project an image of a successful company that maintains contact with its customer base, Natio Cosmetics should invest time into turning their barely-active Facebook group and customer information site into bustling online communities.
References
Natio. (2016). Web.
De Bryun, S. (2010). Mineral makeup: back to nature. PS Postscript, 4, 58-60.
FAQs. (2016). Web.
Leonidou, C.N., Katsikeas, C.S., & Morgan, N.A. (2013). “Greening” the marketing mix: do firms do it and does it pay off? Journal of the Academy of marketing science, 41(2), 151-170. Web.
Kamaleddin, R., Korosh, E., & Reza, Y. (2015). Quality function deployment and new product development with a focus on marketing mix 4p model. Asian Journal of Research and Marketing, 4(2), 98-108.
Palmer, A. (2009). Introduction to marketing: theory and practice (2nd ed.). Oxford, England: Oxford University Press.