Lifebuoy is the world's number one soap that conveys an idea of ​​health and hygiene. This report is based on Unilever's lifesaver. Lifebuoy has more than 110 years of history. This report includes Unilever's mission and strategic objective. The external and internal analysis of the company shows the factors that influence the company. Internal analysis includes technological, government, customer analysis and competitive analysis, which makes the company aware of the external environment of the organization. Internal analytics covers performance analysis and determinants of strategic options, which helps create future strategy from the past. The key success factor of the lifesaver includes the objective of the product which is health and hygiene, the distribution system and meeting customer needs. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Lifebuoy's loyal customer base is the product's main selling point. Lifebuoy is in its maturity stage in the product life cycle, where it requires changes. As a result, Lifebuoy has been relaunched with a new fragrance and a new product range. The new life preserver now not only targets male consumers but also families with the aim that the life preserver helps protect them from germs and makes their lives healthier. Introduction Lifebuoy is Unilever's oldest brand launched in 1894 as a disinfectant soap in the UK to support people in their pursuit of better personal hygiene. Lifebuoy is a truly “global” brand before the term “global brand” was invented. Lifebuoy soap is found all over the world, in some countries such as India, where it is one of the leading brands in the market. This report includes the strategic marketing plan for Lifebuoy, which covers the brand's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. It reflects the internal and external environment, the strategic marketing mix and ends with the recommended medium-term strategy. The strategic marketing plan covers the objectives and strategies of the organization's marketing activity and must be coordinated with company-wide planning. Unilever Company provides 14 different categories of personal care, home and food products under 400 brands; no other company touches so many people's lives in so many different ways. The company's brand portfolio has made them leaders in every field. Some famous brands of the companies are Lipton, Knorr, Dove, and Omo. The company invests 1 billion euros each year in research and development and has five laboratories around the world that explore new ideas and techniques to develop products. Mission Statement: The mission statement describes what an organization does, what market it serves, and what it seeks to accomplish in the future. The mission statement serves as a guide for daily operations and as a basis for future decision-making. A strong mission statement creates commitment, loyalty and motivation. (Lifebuoy, 2010) "Unilever's mission is to add vitality to life. We meet everyday needs for nutrition, hygiene and personal care with brands that help people feel good, look good and get more out of life. " (Lifebuoy, 2010) Values ​​and strategy: The purpose of the organization is the drive to grow sustainably and in this way create long-term value for all those who have a stake in the business. Companies' efforts are guided by their code of business principles that establishes standards of employee behavior. It also outlines commitments to stakeholders, including customers, suppliers, employees, communities and the environment. LifesaverThe purpose of the life preserver is to provide an accessible hygiene and sanitation solution at an affordable price that allows people to lead lives without fear, hygiene anxiety and health consequences. . The lifebuoy was launched in 1894, the history of the lifebuoy has been sustained for over 110 years. Sustaining life through unbeatable protection is at the heart of the brand itself, namely Lifebuoy, the guarantee of protection in case of danger. In the United States in the 1930s the campaign was titled "Clean Hands Help Safeguard Your Health," encouraging the use of lifesaving soap to kill germs on hands that could cause health problems. A similar campaign continues today with the life jacket hygiene program in countries such as India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Indonesia and Vietnam. Internal and External Business Environment Environmental analysis is the process of identifying and understanding emerging opportunities and threats. Internal Analysis Internal analysis provides the detailed understanding of the strategically important aspects of the organization, which covers performance analysis and key driver of strategy. Performance analysis includes profitability and sales which provide an evaluation of past strategies and an indication of the current market viability of a product line. Product portfolio analysis considers the strength of each business and the goal is to generate a business mix with an appropriate balance between new and mature products. The determinants of the strategic option include the past and current product strategic problem. (Mills, 2005, p56-58) Some of the internal analysis points are as follows: 1. Technological, governmental, economic, cultural, demographic. 2. Performance Analysis: Profitability, Sales, Shareholder Value Analysis, Customer Satisfaction, Product Quality, Brand Associations, Relative Costs, New Products, Employee Capability and Performance, Product Portfolio Analysis 3. Customer Analysis : segments, motivations, unsatisfied needs. 4. Determinants of strategic options: past and current strategic problems, organizational capabilities and constraints, strengths and weaknesses. 5. Competitor/industry analysis: identity, strategic groups, performance, image, objectives, strategies, culture, cost structure, 6. Analysis of market characteristics: size, expected growth, profitability, barriers to entry, cost structure costs, distribution system, trends. (Source: Mills, 2005, p51) External Analysis Unilever is trying to make its product accessible to everyone. The company is changing its technology based on trends. People have different lifestyles, tastes, preferences and budgets. The organization is sensitive while designing the soap bars or shower gels because each market has different requirements that depend on the taste and preferences of the consumer. The organization makes its decision based on customer analysis, available technology, and market characteristics such as market size, barriers to entry, and distribution system. (Mills, 2005, p50) Key/Critical Success Factor Critical success factors are the activities necessary for the success of the business. It has been significantly used to present or identify some key factors that organizations should focus on to be successful. The critical success factor refers to the “limited number of areas in which satisfactory results will ensure successful competitive performance for a single department or organization” (Critical Success Factors - Analysis, 2009). The key success factor can be developed based on the company mission, develop five or six high-level objectives, a list of requirements,problems and assumptions and a problem/requirement matrix. Some of the key factors for lifesaver are as follows: Improve health and hygiene. "Swathya Chetana" programs. Sensitivity to market changes. Understanding how and why customers buy Product line coverage Identifying and positioning to meet customer needs. Prevention of price wars Distribution coverage and speed of delivery. Scope and impact of promotion High-quality SWOT analysis of the product SWOT analysis includes internal and external analysis to summarize the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. The standard SWOT framework incorporates four critical components that encompass the company's traits that include strengths and weaknesses as well as the competitive factors it faces in its environment reflecting opportunities and threats. (Novicevic, Harvey, Autry, & Bond, 2004) Dual perspective swot analysis shows the controllable and uncontrollable factors in the descriptive view of competitive factors and the evaluative view of competitive factors which includes the desirable and undesirable factor. Strengths and weaknesses are controllable by the company, while opportunities and threats are not controllable. The organization desires strength and opportunities and the undesirable factor includes threats and weakness. The Lifebuoy brand in itself is a strong point for the company. According to my research, since 2000, major changes have been made to the classic lifebuoy soap bar to ensure that it provides consumers with better hygiene protection and a more enjoyable healthy washing experience. The new characteristic shape of the life jacket makes the bar easier to hold and use. The brand has developed the new formulation that provides even better germ protection that creates the foam on the skin. The lifesaver becomes more than just soap, providing the hygienic and sanitary solution to families. Lifebuoy strength includes brand, loyal customer and affordable price, diverse range of products like lifebuoy soap, lifebuoy hand wash, lifebuoy shower gel and lifebuoy clear skin. Lifebuoy is a market leading brand in India. Lifebuoy caters to the limited segment of Monotones customer and product. Lifebuoy can improve sales by increasing different fragrances in its product range. Strategic thrust The strategic thrust is a broad statement of planned actions. Strategic nudges are intended to create a broad, shared understanding of what strategic actions are expected during a three- to five-year planning horizon. The company has defined the four strategic thrusts. The first is that the company looked very carefully at its brand portfolio and decided to focus on a few important brands. The company selects this brand based on several criteria such as absolute size, brand strength, brand relevance, competitive advantage and growth potential. This brand will receive a disproportionate share of marketing spend and will be supported by a high level of relevant innovation based on real consumer insights and new technology platforms. The new technology will give the opportunity to reduce costs and be much more competitive with low-price competition and will also help improve product quality. One of the main strategic thrusts is to grow the business by focusing on the brand. The second strategic push will be to explore growth opportunities in new channels that reflect the launch of new consumption opportunities in different methods. As Lifebuoy Soap, they provided free emergency mobile washing services to Londoners in 1940. Lifebuoy vansthey were equipped with hot showers, soap and towels. The company has appointed dedicated market activation managers who will focus on innovative promotion and strategies to grow share. The third is to continue to reduce the total cost. The company will gain benefits in media efficiency and scale, and is also exploring other shared services. It will also keep tight control over overheads, including corporate center costs. The fourth strategic thrust is to build a proactive, flexible and fast-moving organizational culture. The organization is reducing corporate center involvement in operational decision making, while also significantly improving the link between rewards and actual performance through a combination of variable pay bonuses and equity-related programs. Product Life Cycle Just as every human goes through its life cycle, so does every product go through its life cycle. There are mainly four stages of each product. The four stages include the introductory stage, the growth stage, the maturity stage and the decline stage. The decline phase is when the product needs innovation or requires some changes. Life preservers have been around for 110 years. The product life cycle of lifebuoy is as follows: (Product Life Cycle, 2008) Introductory Phase: The product has been launched in the market and people are not aware of the product. This is the market entry phase. The product can enter the product with the two-price strategy. One is price penetration and another is price skimming. Price penetration is the product of price above the market price. In the price skimming strategy, the price of the product is lower than that of the competition. Growth Phase: In this phase the consumer will gain awareness of the product through promotion of the product which can be done in many ways. Sales will increase of the product. This is the stage where Lifebuoy is becoming the leading brand in the market. At this stage the price will not make a big difference. Lifebuoy increases sales at this stage. Maturity stage: This is the stage where the sales of the product will become stable. There is a little fluctuation between sales, but it won't make a big difference in sales. The similar product will enter the market and the competition will increase, which will reduce the sale of the product, and in some cases the sales of the product will be stable. As the lifebuoy focuses on health and hygiene, the other new product will also enter the same market with similar type of product. Just as many competitors will enter the market with the same concept, such as Dettol has launched antiseptic soap. And the product sales will become stable. Decline Phase: Once the sales of the product are stable, in the near future the sales of the product will start to decline. This is when product changes will be necessary. This is the time when the product will present a different flavor or increase the product range. Lifebuoy has been relaunched with the new fragrance and with increased protection from germs. Lifebuoy has expanded its range of products such as lifebuoy shower gel, talcum powder etc. Marketing Strategy A well-planned marketing strategy can be vital to company growth. Decisions are mainly made based on the marketing plan. The marketing strategy can help not only to define company objectives, but also to develop activities to achieve them. To implement the marketing strategy, the first thing you need is the company's unique selling proposition, which distinguishes the product from the rest of the market. What is the uniqueness of the product? Because theshould consumer choose the product? These are the points necessary to implement the strategic plan. The next thing is the target market. Which consumer segment is the product aimed at? Now the next step is product positioning and finally marketing method. India is the major market for lifebuoy. Lifebuoy is the leading brand in India. Lifebuoy's goal is to provide affordable and accessible hygiene and sanitation solutions that enable people to lead lives without fear of hygiene, anxieties and health consequences. When we target India as a lifesaver, the product will get the large number of rural market. Rural customers are generally daily wage earners and therefore do not have the monthly income. So the strategy revolves around what appeals to the rural consumer and you need to change the package size. Rural consumers in India look for the low unit price package. Hence packaging in smaller units and lower priced packs to increase convenience. Lifebuoy should target the other market segment like people who use shower gel and should provide more fragrance and bath gel. Repositioning the Life Jacket During my research I learned that the life jacket is known for health and hygiene. The lifebuoy has a brick red standard soap with the specific fragrance. But in the product life cycle the lifesaver is reached at the maturity stage where the product needs to be modified. The existing product is not competent compared to other competitors in the market. So the company changed the lifebuoy and made the new lifebuoy with new fragrance and lifebuoy increase its product range. In India, lifebuoy targets the rural market. The new lifesaver is the completely new product with the new formulation, fragrance, foam profile and a change in positioning from being a men's soap to a family soap. 70% of life jacket sales come from rural India. Now the lifesaver is no longer a cresylic-scented carbolic soap, it is a toilet soap with a different fragrance. Lifebuoy changes the target market from the previous male one, the focus has shifted to the familiar message that Lifebuoy serves for effective protection from germs that cause health problems. The new Lifebuoy range includes the red Lifebuoy active, the Lifebuoy international plus and gold, shower gel and talcum powder. For the high-end consumer the international lifesaver range is used as deodorants. Marketing mix Marketing mix refers to the primary elements that must be taken into consideration to adequately market a product or service. The marketing mix includes the 4 Ps, which include product, price, place and promotion. Product Describes the product in detail, including its special features and the benefits the consumer will gain from it. The product must be able to meet specific and existing market demand or it must be able to create a niche market through building a strong brand. Lifebuoy is the world's best-selling soap and offers a strong family health benefit. Targeting a specific country like India, where the lifebuoy brand with its brick red soap, with its scent and popular jingle has brought the lifebuoy health message across the country, making lifebuoy the best-selling soap. Lifebuoy was relaunched in 2002 with a new mix including brand formulation and repositioning to make it more relevant to both new and existing customers. The Mew life jacket offers protection against germs that can cause infections.