The Success of Rexona Company - Case Study Example

MARKETING AUDIT REPORT FOR REXONA WOMEN DEODORANT Introduction Rexona deodorant for women which is my product of research is a product of Unilever Company. Unilever is the biggest company known in world for production of anti-perspirant and deodorants. Originally, Rexona was first made in Australia in 1960s and now it’s sold all over the world. Rexona deodorant is for both men and women because they both have different deodorant needs. About 22% of women in Australia are using the product. These women are of middle age. The product competes with dove brand which is used by 16% of women in Australia. Rexona deodorant is mostly used by women who love sports as they say it’s useful in keeping them fresh. It is in various forms which include roll-on which are applied under the armpits and sprays which can be used in various parts of the body. Figure s1: source: http://www.unilever.com/brands-in-action/detail/Rexona/292102/ 1.0 Target market Unilever appreciates the fact that the consumers of its Rexona product are significantly different in terms of their taste and appeal and as such has targeted each category of these consumers differently. Rexona deodorant is mainly used by female aged 14 and above and specifically those whose lifestyle is sports oriented. This is because Rexona helps them feel fresh and away from smelling sweat. The deodorants contain antibacterial ingredients that keep away the bacteria that cause good odour. They too have perfumes that make one smell good. The target market for Rexona and the targeting strategies have been informed by the various segments attributes as discussed below. 2.0 The market segment profile According to Tynan & Drayton (1987), market segmentation is the process of identifying the various sets of the company’s customers by their various attributes and classifying them by these attributes to facilitate their targeting. These homogenous sets of customers otherwise referred to as segments allows the company to design specific market plans to address the unique needs of each segment at a very economical way. The benefit of segmentation also entails the fact that the company is in a position to predict the reaction of each segment to the various company’s actions like change in price, packaging among others. According to research I did especially in the supermarkets where the deodorant is bought by many, most female who use Rexona deodorant are about 14 years and above. Australia being the first place Rexona was first made, it has the biggest market for the deodorants which later spread to other parts of the world. For people who sweat a lot, the antiperspirants have been designed as remedies which are mostly available in supermarkets and chemists. They contain certain amount of aluminium that helps prevent excessive sweating which causes lot of wetness. Many people prefer Rexona because it provides various deodorants with different scent and hence one would choose which pleases him or her. The company has segmented its market under the following categories to facilitate the market targeting: 2.1 Demographic attributes: 2.1.1 Gender of customers The company recognises that men have different requirements for deodorant from women and as such has designed both Rexona deodorants for men and those for women. The women deodorants are scented with very attractive packaging both in terms of colour and design of the packages making them slightly different. 2.1.2 Income of customers The Rexona deodorants are packaged in different sizes and packages with obviously the big packages selling at higher price than the small ones. This makes the product affordable to both the high income earner who can afford the big packs as well as the low income earners who can afford the small size packs. 2.2 Psychographic attributes 2.2.1 Activities The Rexona deodorants have been designed to suit the active people in Australia mostly the sports people. It is designed to ensure that despite their rigorous daily sessions, they remain fresh and comfortable the whole day. 2.2.2 Lifestyle True to the Rexona slogan “it won’t let you down”, the company has positioned Rexona deodorants as the deodorant of choice and a mark of class for every customer hence ensuring that they remain competitive and appealing especially to the women customers. 3.0 The marketing mix Marketing mix entails the combination of the four elements referred to as 4P’s that include product, price, promotion and place. According to Khan (2011) these elements can be altered by the company so as to suit the organizational goals of the company as well as meet the specific needs of the target market. 3.1 The product Product refers to the range of goods or services that a company offers to a target market. According to Goi (2009), the product may be designed to have different features, packaging sizes and designs as well as a range of product mixes to meet the unique needs of each market segment. Rexona deodorant is made in different sizes which are priced differently. They are also in different packages that have different ingredients. This different type of deodorants gives the customers an easy time to choose their taste and size depending on their economic status. It also helps them meet their needs when they are buying the product because different people buy for different reasons. There are those who buy to prevent themselves from bad odour and others to prevent excessive sweating. There are also products for teens because they might have different taste from those of the adults. The Rexona deodorants can be found in most of the Australian supermarkets and this makes it convenient for their many customers. The Rexona products have been in the Australian market since 1960s and have reached their maturity level. The company has also been able to realize their customers’ needs and hence they produce different products that meet their needs. Also due to their long time experience in the market they easily know how to market their products and make it remain the best. The branding of the product is unique and one can easily identify the product even from far. The different container colours are also very attractive since they use bright colours that attract mostly their women customers. 3.2 Promotion Promotion entails the process of creating awareness about the presence of a product in the market. It also encompasses the work of the company to persuade the potential clients of the superior attributes that the company’s product possesses over those of the competitors as well as going ahead to influence them to purchase the product Khan (2011). Rexona is a well known brand and popular especially with the female customers. Due to this reason most of the company’s promotion activities are geared towards maintaining the already existing customer base as well as retaining the company’s market shares. The company carries out its promotion for the Rexona product through advertisements on television during breaks when soap opera programs are being aired. This is because the programs are popular with the women and the young people and as such the adverts are bound to capture a significant viewership. In this digital era, the company has ensured that its Rexona product has a big online presence. This it has achieved through advertisements on social media like the face book where the company has a page for both the male and its female customers. The company also advertises through its corporate website as well as on you tube to capture the young potential customers who are on internet for long hours. Rexona products are also packaged in different containers of various sizes that are very attractive and are re designed over time to eliminate monotony. The company has equally strategized itself to tap into the potential of its employees especially the ones that are directly involved in sales to attain the benefits of personal selling. According to Smith & Hansen (1996), the role of the sales people in any organization have changed over the years from just receiving and processing the customers orders to engaging in more value creation services to facilitate the achievement of the company’s overall objectives. A visit at some of the major supermarkets like the Woolworths and Coles where the staffs were making promotion for the Rexona products left a lasting impression to most customers that Rexona products were a level above other competing products. 3.3 Price Price as a component of the marketing mix refers to the set price at which the product or service is selling at or other price related incentives like the quantity and price discounts that are aimed at placing the company’s products at a competitive advantage over other products Tellis (2006). Since Rexona product has reached maturity state it’s pricing does not fluctuate often. Prices are similar in various supermarkets and other major retail outlets. One can also buy Rexona deodorants online where prices are also given. You can also shop online on their chemist warehouse which will provide you with all products. According to Kanagal (2009), while a competitive edge of a product can be attained through varying the prices of the products from those of the competitors, this is normally not the ideal avenue of gaining a competitive advantage. The reason for this is that the competitors can always match the prices of the company’s products hence wiping off the intended competitive edge. This has been the case with the Rexona deodorants as most of the competing products either were selling at the same prices with Rexona deodorants or slightly below. Notwithstanding the above, a high price for a product may make the product unaffordable by the majority of the target market whereas a very low price in comparison with other products may be construed to mean that the product is inferior to the other products and hence fail to capture the intended market. It is therefore important to strict the right balance in setting the prices. Below are the average prices of the Rexona deodorant for women in a number of retail outlets. Product name Price Rexona clinical antiperspirant sports women 150g $3.99 Rexona for women antiperspirant crystal clear 40g $3.39 Rexona impulse deodorant glamour 75g $4.69 Rexona girl Roll On 50ml $3.39 Rexona antiperspirant pump sport 150ml $3.99 3.4 Place According to Ahmed & Rafiq (1995), place as a component of the marketing mix refers to all distribution channels and coverage, outlet locations, sales territories as well as stock levels and locations that have been put in place by the company with the aim of ensuring that the customers get the required goods and services when they need them and where they can access them. In case of the Rexona deodorant, the product is sold in all supermarkets in Australia as well as some outlets dedicated for the sale of health products only. The choice to sell their products to retailers has been informed by the need to ensure that the product is easily accessible to the customers whenever they require the same. There are also a number of stockists who sell the products on what they refer to as online chemists. Once a customer places an order online and makes the payment, the products are delivered to the customer’s specified location. According to (Morgan 2011), (82%) of the Rexona deodorants are sold mainly in the supermarket, 6% from chemists, 5% from discount stores and 11% other channels. Their different varieties and colours make them more attractive especially on supermarket shelves as seen below. Figure 2: source: http://www.rexona.com.au/en/women/products/ Below is a screen shot from an online chemist selling a number of the Rexona deodorants where the customers selects the size and type of deodorant he/she requires and makes a payment on order. Figure 3: Source: http://shop.mychemist.com.au/category.asp?id=1204 4.0 Competitive advantage According to Beal & Ardekani (2000), competitive advantage can be defined as the company’s consistent ability to earn returns than its competitors. It is the summation of all the factors that put one company at a position of added advantage over its competitors and as such the competitors have to put extra efforts in terms of investments and marketing to be at par with the company. In Australia, Rexona is the most popular deodorants and it’s used by many (22% of women). However, it receives lot of competition from dove which is used by 16% of women (Morgan 2011). One of the advantages that Rexona has over its competitors is that it has been in the market for many years hence creating strong brand loyalty. It has developed a strong loyal base with its customers and its market which is not easy for the competitors to erode in the foreseeable future. The company has tried as much as possible to keep their products as original as possible which has helped in endearing them to their customers. According to Roy Morgan research, Another advantage that the company has over the competitors is that it has succeed in convince the sporting fraternity that Rexona deodorants are the most suitable for the active people active and now it’s is slowly as well gaining ground to the in active population that forms the bulk of the market for its competitors. Dove one of the main competitors attracts less sport oriented women and more of those who are fashion oriented a market that Rexona has also gained a foothold. They have also maintained their prices all over the supermarkets with very little fluctuations. Rexona too have produced a variety of deodorants to cater for various different customers needs and likes and this has continued to make it most popular. They have understood their clients’ very well and what they need and according to their age group. Figure 4: source: http://www.roymorganonlinestore.com/News/1294---Rexona-deodorant-the-choice-for-men-and-wom.aspx 5.0 The success of the company As per the figure above, Rexona enjoys a leading role as the market leader in Australia in terms of the deodorants for women and to a large extent for men. The popularity clearly shows that it has successfully met customers’ needs and they are happy about it. Rexona has too maintained its good quality and provided many varieties which are of good quality. This has made it survive successfully in the market for all those years and sell well compared to Dove products. Rexona provides its clients with all their requirements to make them feel fresh and comfortable. Unilever supply their product in the supermarket in great amount where they can easily get them. The price of Rexona deodorant is reasonable to all levels of people and that’s why their clients have accepted it easily. Their way of promotion on TV programs, websites and YouTube have made them more popular since they capture areas where women are more interested in and programs that they love watching most. Rexona deodorant is a great product and despite of it being common in Australia, the company can try too to make it popular in other countries by adjusting products ingredients that suits that particular country. Market survey can be done overseas to provide them with a clear picture of what those customers are most interested in. They can adjust their way of promotion to try and capture more customers. Photos below show varieties of Rexona deodorant. References Ahmed, P., & Rafiq, M. (1995. Using the 7Ps as generic marketing mix: an explanatory survey of UK and European marketing academics, journal of marketing intelligence & planning, Vol.13, Is.9, Pp 4-15. Beal, R., & Yasai-Ardekani, M. (2000), Performance implications of aligning CEO functional experiences with competitive strategies, journal of management, Vol.26, Is.4, Pp.733-762. Deodorants vs. antiperspirants 2011 http://www.choice.com.au/reviews-and-tests/food-and-health/beauty-and-personal-care/cosmetics/antiperspirants.aspx Goi, C. (2009). A review of marketing mix: 4Ps or more? International journal of marketing studies, Vol.1, Is.1, Pp 1-15. Kanagal, N. (2009). Role of relationship marketing in competitive marketing strategy, journal of management and marketing research, Vol.2, Is.1, Pp 1-17. Khan, S. (2011). Marketing mix strategy adaptation: a real organization’s response to the global economic downtown, dissertation for master of technology marketing, faculty of business, Cape Peninsula University of Technology. My chemist. (2013). Personal care: life’s necessities at discounted prices..., retrieved on 30th August 2013 from http://shop.mychemist.com.au/category.asp?id=1204 Rexona 2013 http://www.unilever.com.au/brands-in-action/detail/Rexona/305116/ Rexona clinical protection deodorant (2011). Retrieved on 30th August 2013 from http://beautychattette.wordpress.com/2011/09/04/ Roy Morgan 2011 http://www.roymorganonlinestore.com/News/1294---Rexona-deodorant-the-choice-for-men-and-wom.aspx Smith, R. & Hansen, E. (1996). Marketing forest products: personal selling, Oregon State University, Extension service Tellis, G. (2006). Modelling marketing mix, the handbook of marketing research: uses, misuses and future advances, thousand oaks’, CA. Tynan, A. & Drayton, J. (1987). Market segmentation, journal of marketing management, Vol.2, Is.2, pp. 301-335. Read More