Marketing_Ariel

|Hindustan Uniliver Ltd. | |Marketing Planning Project | |SURF EXCEL | | | | | | |STRENGTH |WEAKNESS | | | | |Strong Brand Portfolio |High price of the product | |Constantly innovating & launching new products as per washing |Lack of control in the market | |needs |Environmental concern | |Price, Quantity & Variety | | |Marketing strategies of the company | | |Reach of the products | | |Social Responsibility of the Company | | |Research and Development | | | | | |OPPORTUNITIES |THREATS | | | | |High price of the product |Large number of competitors/substitutes | |Lack of control in the market |Economic Crisis | |Developing a marketing plan |Chances for the price war | |Environmental concern | | We have identified Hindustan Unilever Limited as our Indian Marketing company. Our Product is Surf Excel. SWOT ANALYSIS : STRENGTH 1. Strong Brand Portfolio Surf Excel is available in Indian markets for the last five decades. It has been getting sold successfully in more than 20 countries including Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh Etc. These all helped to retain the Brand name in everyone’s mind. 2. Constantly innovating & launching new products as per washing needs The company has introduced Surf Excel Blue, which can be used for Fabric and colour care. The company has introduced Surf Excel Matic, a detergent powder designed specially for Washing Machines as it has a low lather formula. Quick Wash is a product that saves up to 2 buckets of water introduced for a concept of reducing the water consumption. Surf Excel Bar which is a nil mineral detergent bar. The latest entry is Comfort, a fabric conditioner; Gentle Wash, a liquid detergent. 3. Price, Quantity & Variety The product is available in different quantities, and in different varieties. 4. Marketing strategies of the company Surf Excel has got an excellent advertising strategy with 'lalitaji', 'dhoondte reh jaaoge', 'jaise bhi daag ho, surf excel hai na' and is today communicated on the platform of 'Daag achcha hain'. 5. Reach of the products Excellent supply chain which helps in the planning, making or distribution of the products. Lesser number of intermediaries in the distribution channel. 6. Social Responsibility of the Company HUL is involved in lot of Social and Cultural activities now a day. It automatically increases the image of the company and subsequently helps in increasing its Brand Image. 7. Research and Development Strong R& D which focuses on constant innovation. WEAKNESS 1) High Price of the product Compared to few of its competitors like Tide and Nirma, the price of Surf Excel is almost double Price is high due to which it has still not reached to mass of customers. But new marketing and sales innovations have resulted into greater penetration in to rural market . 2) Lack of control in the markets HUL is highly dependent on Regional Stockiest for distribution to retailer , down to customer.Hence in case of conflict between HUL and regional stockiest may lead to HUL loosing whole regional markets 3) Environmental Concern Not environment friendly as it contain sodium and potassium salts of fatty acids which are less biodegradable than soap. It is less biodegradable than NIRMA. Causes biomagnifications of water bodies which degenerates and depletes the aquatic resources OPPORTUNITY 1. Changing life styles of people Changing life styles of the consumers can provide indefinite growth opportunities to the company. By diversifying the product and catering to the needs of the growing population Surf excel can penetrate deeper into the market. 2. Growing rural market The rural market in India is huge and untapped. Surf Excel can utilize this market to strengthen its position in the country. 3. Good market penetration Market penetration of Surf Excel is 98%. With constant innovation and pricing strategies it can be the market leader. THREATS 1) Large number of competitors /substitutes Surf Excel has lot of competitors in the market. The main competitors of Surf Excel are listed below; • Tide Detergent • Ariel Detergent • Rin Detergent Bar In the category of laundry products there are a lot of substitutes available eg for washing powders there are no of washing bar or liquid washing detergent . Hence one of the biggest threats to existence of any product in this category so is true for Surf Excel also 2) Economic Crisis The people become very conservative in spending the money. In this like a situation in the coming years it will be hard for the company to retain the products which have a higher price. Even though it has high quality in the stage of economic crisis the people will look only in the price more than the quality. 3) Chances for a price war Because of large number of strong competitors there is strong chance of price war. PEST is a framework that is used for analysis of macro environmental factors. The Pest analysis for Surf Excel is given below. Political factors 1. Taxation levels in India are much higher when benchmarked internationally. Also, the tax structure creates logistical delays due to its multi-tier system at central and state levels, with each state having different tax structures. This tier system also produces a cascading effect. 2. Heavy taxation and duties on caustic soda production, which is the main raw material for the detergent industry. 3. There are Laws for Child labor and minimum wages which have to be followed by all the industries operating in India. 4. Environmental pollution act 1986, water (prevention & control) act 1974 and hazardous wastes (management and handling) amendment rules, 2003 are there to be followed. 5. BIS (Bureau of Indian Standards) have laid down certain standards for eco-labeling of detergents in India based on quality, safety and performance, which is known as ECOMARK. Economic factors 1. Eighty one million of population in India is urban population below poverty line. 2. Inflation rates in India keep fluctuating, as in july ’08 it was 11% and in march ’09 it was 0.26% only. 3. Per capita income, according to advance estimates for national income released today, is expected to grow by 14.4 per cent during the current fiscal, the highest growth rate recorded in a single year in the last decade. 4. Modern retail industry is growing at a high rate and expected to grow annually at a rate of 25% which provides a new channel of distribution. Social factors 1. The population below the poverty line in India is not health conscious. 2. The larger population of the Indian market is rural poor, and also the literacy rate is low thus different advertising techniques required. 3. The population of India is culturally very diverse which requires proper segmentation. 4. Per capita consumption of detergent is only 2.7 kg which is less than developing countries. 5. The major distribution channel is through local stores and not supermarkets etc. Technological factors 1. Surf Excel uses brand consolidation strategy .It has changed from a rational appealing product to emotional appealing market. 2. Its patented technology is nil mineral bar that leaves no residue on cleaning. This was unlike other detergents at that time. 3. Through intensive research HUL had come out with a breakthrough technology .The new surf excel uses special formulations that makes it low scrub, low rinse and this makes it quick to wash. This was against the preconceived notion that less foam means not a good detergent. 4. Surf lost its leadership when Ariel came with a better technology which has its motto as “powder for safe hands and tough on dirt “. surf did a re entry with a new campaign of “dirt is good. 5. The introduction of washing machines has increased the washing frequencies, but also specialized detergent products are being launched for machine specific washing. 6. The heat, dust and sweat in India (tropical country) require special attention to reduce water consumption. ----------------------- Submitted By : Anupriya Gupta (09PGHR06) Anuvesh Chandra(09PGHR07) Asima Praharaj (09PGHR08) Saket Pandey (09PGHR41 ) Shilpi Shukla (09PGHR45) Varidhi Gossain (09PGHR55) Number of Words : 1322