Consumer driven marketing strategy focuses on the needs of the customers. It can be advantageous to businesses by offering an edge over competition (Anderson, et al., 2004). As such, companies utilizing this strategy may focus their marketing efforts only on consumers who directly benefit from the product. Beiersdorf, the company that manufactures and sells NIVEA, utilized this strategy of marketing. Several elements of consumer driven marketing can be identified from the NIVEA case.
Targeting a specific segment of the market is the first element. After conducting a market research, the company realized a gap in the market. Young girls between the age of 13 and 19 were in need of beauty products which would maintain their normal skin. They were not interested in using medicated products. In order to meet this need the company came up the NIVEA VISAGE. This product line is only aimed at young women between the age of 13 and 19.
Another element of consumer driven marketing evident in the NIVEA case is the focus on meeting the needs of customers (Clow & Baack, 2007). As such, the company responded to the market gap by launching a range of products which target to satisfy the needs customers. With the launch of NIVEA VISAGE young, the company not only optimized its position in the market, but also created a solution to the skin problems experienced by young girls.
The company got the right balance of market mix elements. It defined a gap within the market and came up with a product that fills it. Using an effective balance of place, promotion, price, and product, NIVEA VISAGE young made successful launch into the market.
Marketing management orientation focuses on the techniques of developing, producing, and marketing goods to consumers (Hooley, et al., 2008). The orientations are used to support campaigns for marketing. NIVEA assumed a marketing orientation that focuses on the production and marketing of the new product. With regards to market orientation, the company created a gap in the market and created a product that would fill this gap more efficiently than what its rivals offered.
Another approach that the company could have used is the product oriented approach where the company could have first created a product that is perceived to be good and introduce it to the market without first developing a need within the market (Hooley, et al., 2008). The main difference between the two approaches lies on market research. Product orientation uses innovation in the production of a good and service. It is efficient for industries that rely on high product features to satisfy consumer demand.
A market mix involves the four ‘p’, product, price, place, and promotion. With regards to product, the first step for an effective mix is to develop an understanding of the market. The company relies on information from comprehensive market research to develop a product that specifically targets a segment of the market.
The information retrieved from the market research study is used to develop a product that suits the needs of consumers. The company conducts market research with direct involvement of consumers. For instance, it can use a focus group to engage with consumers, listen to them, gather data, and conduct testing for products before launching the products into the market.
From the market research, the company was able to establish that young female consumers needed a beauty product that maintains their normal skin and not a medicated product. From this information, the company developed the NIVEA VISAGE young to meet their needs. Product offered by rival companies were also medicated and aimed at solving the teenage skin problem. This information gave the company an advantage over its rivals in the development of NIVEA VISAGE young.
With regards to pricing, the company used a strategy that offered consumers a value for their money (Clow & Baack, 2007). It realized that the product could only be bought by teenage girls or by mothers buying for their teenage daughters. The pricing was made to reflect product range, packaging, and formulation.
Place may refer to the point of sale (Clow & Baack, 2007). The concern is the distribution strategy that will ensure the product reaches the point of sale at the right time. The company has used a wide range of distribution channels to ensure that NIVEA VISAGE reaches all the places where it is supposed to be sold.
This includes the use of major retail outlets and high street shops. The company knows, that the teenagers love to shopping in malls and high street shops. As a result, NIVEA VISAGE is shelved in all crowd pulling shopping malls and high street shops.
Promotion entails the communication aspect of the product (Clow & Baack, 2007). Customers need to be aware of the availability of the product in addition to being persuaded to buy the product. There is a wide range strategies used to promote a product.
This includes the use of events such as product launch, direct mails, public relation, branding, and sales promotion. During the product launch, the company invited celebrity artistes with a huge teenage following. Associating the product with celebrity artiste is strategic in luring teenagers to buy the product.
The NIVEA brand has a wide range of products that target various demographics of the market. For men, the product has a wide range of products to meet number of consumer needs for both boys and men. They include hand and body lotion, roll-on deodorant, spray deodorant, shaving foam, and lip care product.
These are the NIVEA product that I have used as a man. I have personally experienced benefits from use of these products. The value compares the cost of purchase. The deodorants for instance have had a lot of benefits to me. In addition to the obvious benefit of hygiene, the products help to keep someone fresh for a prolonged period of time. This is beneficial because it reduces the need to constantly spray oneself after a few hours. At the same time, the sprays can last for a pretty long time and thus helping to save money.
It is important for consumers to get a value for their money when they purchase any particular product or service. If purchase of a particular product helps to save money that could have been spent elsewhere, the product gives consumers a value for their money. For instance, if a lady was to spent money on several medicated products to address skin problems and she buys a single NIVEA skin product that solves this problem, the NIVEA product gives her a value for her money.
A customer need is a basic requirement. Companies making products that fall under customer need do not have to push to sell the products (Anderson, et al., 2004). The only need for pushing may be resulting from the competitive nature of the market environment. Customer wants are drawn from customer needs.
For instance, if students need to wear shoes, the shoes may require polishing. The polishing aspect is the want, and it is generated from the need to wear shoes. Customer demands are the things he or she desires. For instance, the need to live a luxurious life may be classified as a demand (Hooley, et al., 2008).
References
Anderson, E, Fornell, C & Mazvancheryl, S 2004, ‘Customer Satisfaction and shareholder value’, Journal of Marketing, vol 2 no 1, pp. 172-185.
Clow, K & Baack, D 2007, Integrated Advertising, Promotion, and Marketing Communications, Pearson Education, Boston.
Hooley, G, Peircy, N & Nikolaud, B 2008, Marketing strategy and competitive positioning, Pearson Prentice Hall, United Kingdom.