Marketing Plan Critique - Essay Example

Marketing Plan Critique: Colgate-Palmolive Company Marketing Plan Critique: Colgate-Palmolive Company Introduction Colgate-Palmolive is a multinational enterprise that operates in several countries across the globe. The company deals primarily with oral care products that it produces and sells in different local, regional and global branches. The company is the leading toothpaste producer with a market share of about 35% in US and 50% in the UK. In Mexico and Brazil, Colgate has over three-quarters market share in the oral care industry.

The brand sells quite well in Africa and Asia with a considerable customer response. The performance of this company emanates from its marketing plans and strategies. However, these marketing plans have some shortcomings that should be identified and corrected if greater success is to be achieved. This essay is a critique of some marketing plans of Colgate-Palmolive Company. It seeks to provide some recommendations that address the solutions to the issues identified.The Marketing Plan of this company is structured to focus on promoting the brand in overseas market as well as ensuring product differentiation and positioning in order to best serve its customers and at the same time beat both its local and regional competitors.

To meet these objectives, the company has used the technique of market segmentation in which it has sectioned its products as oral, personal care and household items. Although the company has made efforts to diversify, its major competitors such as Unilever have trimmed their products much more giving them greater advantages over Colgate. Consequently, Colgate has sought to promote its brand through advertisements. Unfortunately, the company does not do these adverts in local languages, unlike its competitors.

Advertising in local languages makes the companies identify themselves with the target audiences (Cadogan, 2009, p. 112). Its geographic segmentation strategy in which it has sought to extend its operations to more than two hundred nations has not been so beneficial because it has adopted a style in which it restricts sales of the same commodity in every country. Every country has a distinct product. This creates a gap as most customers are cut off from accessing products they could have seen or heard of in other countries.

Conclusion and RecommendationsColgate-Palmolive is a distinct profit-making organization that has got most of its plans and strategies right except a few that needs to be reconsidered. With such an incredible market share in top economies, the company can achieve more than what it has if the following recommendations are taken into consideration. First, the company should understand market segmentation is not complete if proper product diversification is not done. The company should, just like its competitors, utilize the innovation skills it has to come up with as many diverse products as possible.

Secondly, it should abandon its policy that restricts it from marketing the same products in every country. This will help it improve in selling its brand in virtually every country. Finally, the company should conduct its market promotions in local languages as this will help it achieve a larger customer base.ReferenceCadogan, J. (2009). Marketing strategy. London: SAGE.