Marketing Plan Research Project Task 2 Sample Assignment

The demand for cosmetic skin care market is on the rise with growing interest in grooming among the young generation in different countries across the world. Youngsters opt for skin brightening or skin whitening creams or lotions. The changing lifestyles of consumers in developing markets, increase in per capita income, and rising awareness about beautification are contributing to the growth of overall cosmetic skin care industry, which in turns provide enormous benefits to cosmetic skin care product manufacturers. The trend toward natural products are projected to create more market opportunities for natural and active cosmetic ingredients such as botanical extracts, enzymes & amino acid. In addition, rising number of retail outlets and strengthening retail network has enhanced the cosmetic skin care market.  Competitors

Competitors include luxury brands like David Jones and Myers, Sephora, La Prairie, Dior, Clarins, Guerlain, Clinique, Lancôme, Estee Lauder that have entered into Australia to represent a living standard and a correspondingly high purchasing power. L’Oréal Australia remains the leader in skin care in 2012, with a 10% value share. The manufacturer’s brand portfolio is extensive and reaches all skin care product types. L’Oréal Paris, Garnier and the Body Shop cater to the mass market, while Lancôme and Biotherm provide good coverage of the premium skin care market. Other prominent and emerging competitors with a creative portfolioinclude Procter & Gamble, Avon Products, Revlon Inc., Oriflamme Cosmetics, Unilever, The Estee Lauder Companies., etc.

In addition, an analysis of the prominent competitors of NatureCare Products is as follows:

• Jurilique: founded in 1985, it is an Australian cosmetics manufacturer specializing in natural botanical-based skincare and cosmetics. The mission of the company is to “strive to review our process from seed to skin to make our operations more sustainable and environmentally friendly. The products ranges from hand creams, face mists, makeup removers and a variety of serums and anti-ageing and hydration essential. The company has centres in over 19 countries in the world. An online website is made to sell products.
• Botani: founded in around 1994, Botani offers award-winning skincare for the whole family that is proudly Australian made, clinically verified and ethically conscious. The key ingredient used is Olive Squalene which can be found in most of the products. Botani formulates organic skincare and natural therapeutics using skin-biocompatible plant actives and nutrient rick beauty foods, with products free from toxins and chemicals.

Current Customer Profile

NatureCare Products focus solely on the female market. The current report for the Company’s Cosmetic Customers shows the following demographic of the customer’s profile:

• 46% of customers have some college
• 39% are college graduates and youngsters
• 63% are married women
• 32% have an annual income between $40,000 and $79,000
• 26% have an annual income less than $40,000
• 70% of professional woman aged 25 to 55.
• 10% of professional men aged 20 to 45
• Health Stores and Lifestyle Retailers
• Customers who want to try eco-friendly and natural ingredients based products.
• Customer who value ethical and sustainable practices and organic attitudes.
  

SWOT Analysis

PESTLE Analysis

Political Factors

The political factors include the rules and policies of the government in which the company is working. As the manufacturing company is based in Brisbane, Australia, so the governmental policies of Queensland, Australia affect the company. With the attempt of globalization, the political factors have a positive role in the cosmetic industry for NatureCare Products. The relevant legislation to NatureCare Products includes WHS, Cosmetic regulations and policies, Packaging and Labelling Laws, GFC, Environmental Law, Funding Laws, Equal Employment Opportunity, Product Liability Regulation, Anti-Discrimination, Australian Consumer Law, Privacy Law, Spam Law and Intellectual Property Law. Ethical practices such as fair trade.

Economic Factors

This includes the purchasing power, the income of the consumer and the overall economy of the state. The price of products at the company are higher than that of the competitors. The GDP of the state is the main factor contributing the business of the company and the expansion of the products to Japan will also provide more opportunities and affect economy. Consumers want to pay for products that have superior quality and follow sustainable practices. The Australian economy remains cautiously optimistic but growth is forecast across the economy at a modest 2-3%. Victoria, Queensland and Melbourne are forecast to grow. In Japan, there are more chances of the product’s sales and will positively affect the business as a whole.

Social Factors

The social factors encompass the technical trends in the society, which are more interested in fashion trends and ethnic products, and have increased preference for vegan, organic and natural beauty products to mitigate harmful effects of pollution, sun, dust, and harmful ingredients. Youngsters opt for skin brightening or skin whitening creams or lotions. The changing lifestyles of consumers in developing markets, increase in per capita income, and rising awareness about beautification are contributing to the growth of overall cosmetic skin care industry, which can provide benefits for NatureCare Products. Ethical issues are obligatory which include use the use of natural and herbal ingredients to make the skin care products.

Technological Factors

Technology can increase the ways of work, organizing and increasing productivity. New market opportunities created by the Internet, information and technology, and social networking technologies can continue to evolve and provide new challenges and opportunities for the company. NatureCare Products will continue with its effective website for e-commerce and will focus on social media presence and establishing SEO to reach its target markets. Technological trends such as Big Data, Social media campaign, etc. provide chances. The company is prone to innovation and will look towards complying with contemporary trends and focus innovation.

Legal Factors

There are several competitors for the company in the Australian and International market. In order to maintain the graph of success for NatureCare Products, it is essential to fulfil all the legalities of the state, Queensland. It will consider all the legal aspects and obligations and ensure that all licences and permits are obtained for the various operations and functions of the business, ensuring it complies with all the relevant mandatory requirements. The necessary licences and permits include Resale Certificate, Australian Business Number, Payroll Tax, Goods and Services Tax, Fringe Benefits Tax, Trademarks and Intellectual Property Rights, and Fair Work Act. It will comply with the ever-changing legal regulations and policies for the state.

Environmental Factors

Environmental concerns include water saving and using sustainable and eco-friendly products and packaging for company. The environmental factors encompass various global environment safety laws that must abide by the global standards. NatureCare Products is obliged to take part in the global action to make the planet a beautiful and pollution free. It is a good strategy to consider this factors while determining the policies for the company, for present and for future contemporary trends. The company already focuses on eco-friendly, high quality natural skin care products, and will also focus on eco-friendly packaging and practices which saves water.

Marketing Opportunities

Three potential marketing opportunities for NatureCare Products that align with objectives are:

1. Establish SEO and create social media page

The company can establish and review search engine optimizations and use social media to generate sales. The company can use social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube to create accounts and pages to update new information, post tweets about the company’s events, post links to the company’s website and information about the products, and upload and share videos releasing the various skin care products for the consumers. The opportunity will provide benefit to reach the objective of increase the number of people making purchase on the online store by 20%, increase product awareness amongst the target market by 20%, increase the market share to 15%, and to increase annual income.

Risks include: identify profile or account hacked, viruses and malwares, lack of control over corporate content, development issues, and scams and frauds resulting from these tactics.

2. Enter international market in Japan

The company can expand the market for its skin care products globally, especially Japan which through research has shown good opportunity for natural ingredients based products and a similar consumer group as of Australian, being middle-aged and older women who seek functionality and higher-value added item. The company can negotiate with a person in Japan or a retail outlet and reach an agreement to export its eco-friendly high quality skin care products to the Japanese economy. It can remove barriers of limited revenue and open new door for market and consumer profiles. It contributes to the objectives of increase the market shares to 15%, expand into at least one international market, and attain annual growth of 10%.Risks include: regulatory obligations, natural hazards, failure to complete project due to failure of financing, design or planning, political unrests, changes to tax and currency/cost fluctuations.

3. Developing new skin care products for company portfolio

The company can use the Ansoff Matrix component of Product Development & Diversification to develop new skin care products for a creative company portfolio like its competitors, and focus on a range of products to meet particular skin needs rather than a one-size fits all. With a good reputation in the Australian market, the company can develop new skin care products and position them in new markets, locally and internationally. The company can hence have a more competitive advantage and attain more values. It contributes to objectives of increase market share to 15%, identify new products and new markets, and to attain growth of at least 10%.Risks include: products having too many features, zero tolerance of failure with projects, losing opportunities by sticking to the development plan & increased costs for Product development.

Marketing Strategies

Feasible Marketing Strategies that can be implemented for the marketing opportunities are:

1. Promote the stores and the company over the Social Media Page
2. Invest in advertising over displays, banners and signs
3. Distribute promotional materials such as products leaflets and brochures.
4. Insert newsletters in local publications.
5. Provide information sessions for clients, suppliers and stakeholders
6. Launch new products at organizational meetings or at trade shows.
7. Media releases, articles and media background information
8. Find new Australia and Japan markets for the existing and new products
9. Provide transactional marketing via shopping coupons, discounts and huge events.
10. Invest in developing new products for the company and launch in the market segment.

These marketing strategies will provide enormous benefits for NatureCare Products which include brand awareness, increase in market revenue and profits and enhanced customer satisfaction for the consumer of the skin care products. The company can also achieve the strategic organizational and marketing objectives and assist the company to increase the market share & attain annual growth of at least 10% with revenue. Furthermore, the company can attain its vision to be a market leader for providing high quality, sustainable skin care products and enable publicity to more customers and allow potential for loyal customer base.

Marketing Tactics

The marketing tactics for the marketing strategies is outlined in Action Plan on the next page.

The actions/tactics will be carried out as per the action plan for the NatureCare Products Marketing Plan. Key Performance Indicators will be set in place to measure the progress and performance of each of the actions and to ensure that they are in line with the organizational policies and marketing objectives. Employees in the overall organization will be provided with effective training and coaching and be given the adequate information of the expectations, standards, policies and procedures via meetings, newsletters and emails to ensure they have the appropriate information about the legislative requirements and constraints and the sustainable practices to follow. It is vital to ensure that the team members have the adequate expertise and knowledge, and understands the tasks, and their position.

Monitoring and evaluation will be conducted regularly and self-monitoring will be encouraged. Employees will be motivated to ensure that the plan and its implementation meets the right criteria and the strategic goals and objectives of the marketing plan and overall organization.

The plan will ensure all the legal and ethical considerations & requirements in implementation.

Marketing Performance

Monitoring and evaluation will be conducted regularly and the action plan will be used to determine timeframes of evaluation to determine the length of implementation and the overall program. Sales reports, deadlines met, increase in revenue customer base and improvement in gaining loyal customer are to be monitored and evaluated regularly on a daily/ weekly basis. Any potential for improvement or development needs will be considered to continue with the work more effectively and reduce issues that are creating a barrier to implementing the plan.

The performance of the plan and the marketing can be measured using these benchmarks:

• Traffic and customer base
• Financial improvement/ sales
• Customer satisfaction/loyalty
• Rate of inventory turnover
• Enhanced corporate image and reputation
• Social media and website analytics
• Customer Acquisition
• Lead Management/ Nurturing
• Entrance in International Market

SMART Goals and key performance indicators will be set to guide employees about their expectation and an action plan will be developed to keep record of job roles key person involved and the budget to maintain. An open-door approach is implemented to encourage employees to regularly communicate and consult with the co-workers and the senior management to gain performance appraisals and feedback. The performance of the marketing strategies and approaches will be reviewed and monitored in formal meeting, every 3 months.

Strategies to increase organizational expertise or resource to address gaps in currently capability and marketing objectives

Employees in the overall organization will be provided with effective training and coaching and be given the adequate information of the expectations, standards, policies and procedures via meetings, newsletters and emails to ensure they have the appropriate information about the legislative requirements and constraints and the sustainable practices to follow, ensuring that customer service and efficient and high quality products are provided to the customers of NatureCare Products. This will ultimately increase market share and improve customer base. Engagement with internal and external customers will focus on eliminating discrimination and providing equal opportunity for staff/ team members and consumer rights for customers.

The company will analyse the organization’s strategic goals, determine competencies required to attain those goals, conduct a talent assessment of employee population, perform a labour market analysis, and identify the gaps between the current capabilities and the needs. The strategies also include budget allocations, introducing products and perform a SWOT analysis.