Situational analysis
SWOT analysis is the most viable tool for analyzing the situation and developing a marketing plan.
Strengths
The company has a strong financial position and an active research and development department. The strengths of the proposed deodorant include being the first in the market.
There is good scope for scalability of the product acceptance, which would enhance the brand image and market share. The product promises freshness for up to five days besides being presented by the reputable Airmount Company.
Weaknesses
The company has to create a sustainable logistics and distribution channels in order to meet the market demand.
The main weakness is the fact that a brand new idea may be not be convincing for the senior segment of society, as they tend to be reluctant to change. Besides, the narrow product line, with limited distribution channels at the beginning, would restrict the customers from accepting the product.
Threats
The main threats facing the proposed ‘No-Goat Smelling X5’ deodorant is presence of competitors providing similar or nearly similar product at low cost.
For instance, the Procter and Gamble Company controls 37.7% of the beauty products market and recorded an annual turnover of $488.5 million at the end of the 2013 financial year.
On the other hand, the Uniliver Company controls 18.6% of the total market share and recorded an annual turnover of $245.8 million at the end of the 2013 financial year.
In addition, the Lever Brothers Company controls 11.3% of the market share and recorded an impressive turnover of $149.2 million at the end of the 2013 financial year.
In addition, the Airmount Company may not be able to change the product features according to changing external environment and needs of the customers, since the US product patent policy may limit it.
Opportunities
The new ‘No-Goat Smelling X5’ product may facilitate revenue growth for the Airmount Company upon acceptance by the target market.The company may also take advantage of the market demographics to create multiple brands for the male and female customers.
Marketing strategy
Marketing strategy is essential before actualizing projections of a blue print of a marketing plan. As a matter of fact, this plan functions on the margins of informed decision making based on comprehensive research on viability and sustainability.
In the overcrowded cosmetics industry, product positioning is directly linked to the success in the short and long term, especially for a new product such as the ‘No-Goat Smelling X5’ deodorant. Adopting a First-Mover Strategy, the Airmount Company will position this product as the first of its kind in the market.
Through a defined delivery channel and strong media marketing, the company will revolve on quality maintenance to support the leading marketer status. In the process, focus will be directed to the most competitive price and what the customers are able and willing to pay.
Besides, the company may develop multiple brands of the product that targets the adolescents, female, and male market segments (Kotler & Keller, 2012, p. 19).
Despite the crowded market, the product will be marketed as first of its kind. In order to achieve this aim, demographic differentiation will be based on income supported by strategic packaging and series of relevant marketing campaigns, as the best approach towards commanding a price premium.
As a result, the fair pricing mechanism, among other factors, will positively skew competitive advantage in favor of the Airmount Company. In addition, the company will have to recruit distribution agencies across the market regions and well trained marketers for this product (Kotler & Keller, 2012, p. 29).
In order to diversify market operations, the Airmount Company may create multiple brands from the same product with different coloration, scent, sizes, and packaging (Harrison & St. John, 2010, p. 43).
This will create an environment of own competition and block other competitors from encroaching into the company’s market (Dagnino & Rocco, 2009, p. 31). These sub-products will be differentiated by features, prices, and difference in quality.
As forecasted in the market research, this strategy will be successful towards dominance as it offers variety of options to consumers, while at the same time maximizing benefits of economies of scale (Harrison & St. John, 2010, p. 32).
Since cosmetics market has low entry barriers, the ‘No-Goat Smelling X5’ product is likely to reap from the experimenting consumers as the product may appeal to the young generation who are often willing to try new products. The high-end and the low-end varieties will target the high and low income earning consumers.
With the high-end and low-end varieties in the market, little room will be available for competitors to create a third product based on quality (Rossiter & Bellman, 2005, p. 45). Thus, when properly implemented, the company will reap major returns on the upper-end and lower-end of the male cosmetics market.
The Airmount Company should introduce the aspect of appealing to ideals of the target population by contracting a popular celebrity as company’s products image.
Through recommendations of such celebrity or a popular public figure, the target consumers would be persuaded to try out the ideal product recommended by their favorite celebrity.
The marketers of the ‘No-Goat Smelling X5’ product should also include catchy advertisement short messages that appeal to male and female sexuality such as ‘vitality in totality’.
In the aspect of self-concept, marketing strategies for the ‘No-Goat Smelling X5’ should be based on idolizing the male person as an equal user of its products.
Financials
The financial implication of implementing the above marketing strategy includes active advertisement in the traditional media such as television and newspapers. Besides, the Airmount Company will have to embrace social media in promoting the ‘No-Goat Smelling X5’ product.
Controls
In order to move the ‘No-Goat Smelling X5’ brand forward, it is critical to adopt the localization strategy that directly appeals to different target markets. The Airmount Company should remain the organization that has localized its means of production and marketing to capture different customer bases.
The localization strategy will help in triangulation of the “how”, “where”, and “what” of management strategies, since it focuses on a specific market.
It involves the identification of the unmet customer needs, examining and deploying potential enablers in new converging innovative technologies, and identifying capabilities to ensure that the needs are met (Harrison & St. John, 2010).
The above elements should then be integrated in a marketing communication plan that runs continuously within the stipulated marketing timetable.
References
Dagnino, G., & Rocco, E. (2009). Competition strategy: theory experiments and cases (1st ed.). New York, NY: Routledge.
Harrison, J., & St. John, C. (2010). Foundations in strategic management. Ohio, Oh: South Western Cengage Learning.
Kotler, P., & Keller, K. (2012). Marketing management. (14th ed.). New Jersey, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall.
Rossiter, J. R., & Bellman, S. (2005). Marketing communications: Theory and applications. New York, NY: Prentice Hall.