Do you need this or any other assignment done for you from scratch?
We assure you a quality paper that is 100% free from plagiarism and AI.
You can choose either format of your choice ( Apa, Mla, Havard, Chicago, or any other)
NB: We do not resell your papers. Upon ordering, we do an original paper exclusively for you.
NB: All your data is kept safe from the public.
Status of Body Shop and Technology Used in Cosmetics Sector Marketing
Abstract
Marketing is a major determinant of whether or not a company will survive the turbulent market. Most definitions attribute marketing to the processes involved in value creation for consumers. Marketing strategy involves planning, implementing, and monitoring marketing activities to deliver company objectives. This paper explores the Body Shops current use of technology in marketing cosmetic products. It includes a report that recommends the relevant marketing strategies for a skincare brand for Generation Z men in the UK market. The two paper sections will discuss how marketing activities and the market are impacted by modern technology.
Introduction
Marketing can be defined as a mix of processes involved in creating value for consumers. It involves identifying market needs, satisfying them, and keeping customers loyal to its brand and products. Marketing focuses on product suitability, pricing, accessibility, and the communication components involved in drawing attention to the products and their features in the market. New technology has permeated and greatly impacted the marketing ecosystem on which organizations are built.
The Body Shop
The Body Shop International PLC is a British cosmetics and personal care products retailer founded by Dame Anita Roddick in 1976. It is based in the UK and is presently owned by Natura, a Brazilian outfit affiliate under Natura & Co group (Petropoulos, 2021). The company has more than 3000 stores in over 50 countries with a range of about 1000 products (Chairunnisa et al., 2019, p 322). The Body Shop is best known for establishing social responsibility as a part of the firms brand identity through pioneering the natural ingredients cosmetics market. It has received more attention for selling cruelty-free, ethically sourced, and natural ingredients than its business. Other notable company traits include making financial donations to communities in which it works, having business arrangements with developing countries, and refusing to utilize ingredients tested on animals. The companys most popular products include coloring cosmetics, mens products, and baby and mother products.
The companys original owner sold the it to another beauty products giant LOreal in 2006, which tests new ingredients on animals. The companys founder was a controversial figure known for having strong opinions (Chairunnisa et al., 2019, p 322). She has been quoted saying that she hated the beauty industry and that the industry was operated by men who created needs that didnt exist. She launched social activism through her company, which became good for the business. The Body Shop exists to fight for a fairer, more beautiful world is the companys mission statement (The Body Shop, 2021). Its mission and core principle are to provide high-quality products that make individuals feel more beautiful just the way they are. The mission statement has remained unchanged despite the company changing hands severally. The company aims to strike a balance between social, economic, and environmental needs. The company aims to inspire people about self-care, establish community fair trade, boost self-esteem and confidence, and work for the environments benefit.
Regarding the Body Shops customer needs and wants and jobs to be done, they seek natural and healthy cosmetics and are really interested in environmental sustainability, animal rights, and ethical considerations. The brands core values are developed around these customer concerns. They include an anti-animal testing stance, support for local communities, activated self-esteem, protecting the planet, and defending human rights. The majority of the companys loyal and regular customers chose the Body Shop because of its stance on social and environmental issues. The company boasts a strong brand image linked with beauty products. Customers are loyal to the company because of what is offered to them. Due to its values, people have grown to trust and believe in the company (Chairunnisa et al., 2019, p 324). They are an important attraction to people who would like to associate themselves with the company. Consumers are mainly driven by the performance of products, the principles that a company follows, and price to make their buying decision. The Body Shop has managed to win peoples trust who consider them fair and honest in their practices. This boosts loyalty among customers towards the brand and its products.
The Body Shops marketing mix 4Ps has helped create its brand equity.
-
Product the product profile has more than a thousand products. They are customized to meet customer preferences and requirements. The main ingredients include natural elements such as fruits, flowers, herbs, and vegetables.
-
Price The price ranges from low to medium. Most products are affordable to the majority of the users. The company identified target group is willing to pay for the products.
-
Packaging the companys packaging is simple and actively avoids excessive packaging. As one of its integral environmental programs, the Body Shop prefers refilling and recycling bottles.
-
Promotion The company does not actively support the notion of promoting products. It believes in enlightening consumers and providing information about merchandise on the internet.
The Body Shop has two dominant marketing themes: marketing orientation and social marketing orientation. The company focuses on customer preferences and creating products that satisfy consumer needs while ensuring that business improves the societys welfare. The dominant feature in its products is their makeup of natural materials. Body Shop emphasizes its commitment to natural products that have been ethically made and consider environmental and human health impacts. Products must also meet companys needs. For instance, the companys founder made skin products main focus be skin health. This acts as the dominant value of the brand and satisfies the customers skin health needs. Additionally, concerns over the adverse effects of beauty products have seen consumers prefer the Body Shop due to its perceived orientation to products viewed as natural. Technological advances have helped the company innovate and produce new products with speed.
Consumers can collect more product information on their own due to access to many sources of information and interactive media. More virtual offices, mobile technologies, and social media (Jain & Yadav, 2017, p 50). The young population in the Gen Z category is driving change toward new communication technologies. They are more inclined to get promotions through mobile marketing and social media such as TikTok and Facebook. Gen Z has moved away from traditional media such as newspapers, television, and magazines and is more likely to get their information from the internet, blogs, social media, and mobile phones (Jain & Yadav, 2017, p 50). The Body Shop and its competitors, such as Unilever and Proctor & Gamble have taken advantage of the current marketing technologies. The internet is a key form of communication within their strategies as younger consumers opt more to shop online.
Executive Summary The Body Shop
This report focuses on the companys marketing strategies and activities for a new brand of skin care cosmetics to Generation Z men in the United Kingdom market. With each new generation, marketing tactics need to stay relevant. Some of the recommendations in this report include using technology and the digital space to appeal to Gen Z. Gen Z is a tech savvy and content generation. The company should embrace platforms such as TikTok, Snapchat, and Instagram. The company should include things that the generation cares about when sourcing for products, such as sustainability and sharing with community. It should stay on top of social media trends and be quick to adapt new and emerging technologies.
A marketing report helps a company foresee the future needs of marketing and promote its products through value chain activities until the customer purchases and consumes its products. In this marketing report, the Body Shop is evaluating marketing a new skincare cosmetics brand to the male Gen Z audience to the United Kingdom market. Generation Z is those born between 1995 and 2010, one of the newest generation of consumers (Vivaldi Group, 2020). They represent more than 30% of the planets total population, according to the Bloomberg analysis of United Nasttions data (Culliney, 2020, para 2). Some branding experts have referred to Gen Z as the woke generation, suggesting they are exposed to overwhelming information about their wants.
Market Trends Analysis
In an industry with brands boasting dynamic marketing, robust social media presence, and a steady stream of product launches, gaining generation Zs loyalty is tricky. Research carried out by Composed indicated that 75% of Gen Z respondents self-identify as brand loyal. 9 of 10 interviewees bought the same beauty products more than half of the time. 56% of respondents indicated that price was a driving factor for the initial purchase (Latimer, 2020, para 2). 90% of Gen Z respondents were ready to pay more for a product they felt had a better quality. Of significance to the Body Shop culture, 80 % preferred brands that gave back to the community. 86% of Gen Z consumers considered sustainability to make their purchase decision, even if it may not constitute their primary reason to purchase the product. 75% of respondents favored brads that had environment-friendly policies. They thought that beauty products had too much packaging preferred when real people marketed brands (IBIS World Market reports, 2019). 20% of Gen Z consumers will lose interest in a product, or a brand if they didnt like their Instagram page.
The worlds mens skincare industry market value hit over $11.5 billion in 2019 and is predicted to grow with a more than a 6% annual rate from 2020 to 2027. The industry has seen an increasing awareness of personal hygiene and grooming among men driving sales for male skin care products upwards in the recent past (Grand View Research, 2020). Significantly, male skin care solutions from sustainable products have increased their popularity. Prominent brands focus on green solutions to answer the demand for natural ingredients (Grand View Research, 2020). In this respect, the Body Shop is leading other companies, but it is imperative to note that other leading brands have invested heavily in launching products with natural ingredients. The Pull Agencys survey in the UK showed that a third of generation Zs shoppers researched beauty products on the internet and predominantly bought them from stores (Culliney, 2020, para 2). Almost half of them shopped in chemists such as Superdrug and Boots but visited specialized stores like the Body Shop and Holland and Barret.
Recommendations on Segmentation, Targeting, and Positioning
This form of marketing is a three-step model examining products and how a company communicates its benefits to a specific customer segment. The aim is to segment the market and target a select customer segment, like in this case, skin care products for men with Gen Z. STP marketing becomes effective as it breaks down the customer base and allows the company in developing specific marketing strategies to reach and engage the target audience (Jan & Victor, 2019, p 72). Personalization influences a consumers shopping decision, and a personalized shopping experience enhances brand loyalty.
To market Body Shop products to male consumers within the Gen Z bracket, the company should focus on fragrance, utility, and efficacy. Brands seeking to sell skin care products to men should focus on the products purpose and value rather than an aspirational approach. Marketing should highlight the products benefits and focus on short-term and tangible benefits. Packaging should be clean and unadorned with bold fonts, traditional shapes, and dark colors. This helps evoke a sense of masculinity while retaining enough appeal to female consumers. The Body Shop should maximize social media platforms, especially TikTok and Instagram, as they are very popular with Gen Z. This generation invests a lot of time and resources to look good to be socially acceptable physically and online. They want to improve their looks and optimize their selfie quality.
Customer persona based on the STP discussion
Current social media marketing personalities referred to as influencers are critical to modern promotion. They command significant influence based on the number of their followers, frequency, and quality of their posts. Gen Z men want to look good and be viewed as successful. The industry now has many fresh-faced models and celebrities spending significantly more time at the beauty counter. They significantly influence the Gen Z consumer segment with their youthful and healthy looks. Eradicating facial lines and covering blemishes is a crucial objective of consumers within this segment. The use of longer-term skin health products is a priority for the Western countries markets. This reflects a deeper appreciation of skincare products within the Gen Z male segment. The Body Shop marketing information aims to sell looking young and healthy, but wellness and maintenance as well.
Online shopping is one of the most popular ways Gen Z men are sourcing and purchasing skincare products. On the internet, it is possible to research, make a comparison, and buy beauty products without anyone else knowing. Many men would prefer to shop this way as beauty products are traditionally considered feminine. Men are considered to have general unfamiliarity with cosmetic products, and the internet provides a perfect platform to do research and shop discreetly. The landscape, however, is rapidly shifting as men increasingly embrace cosmetics as part of their products included in their budgets. Men are likely to respond to ads more than women. According to Entrepreneur.com, 68% of men with smartphones are likely to buy a product because of ads compared to 58% of women. Online ads, therefore, are a solid strategy to market the Body Shop skincare products towards Gen Z men. Another approach involves developing specialized beard-care products. More men are choosing to grow beards than have a clean shave. Beard-care is a promising path to attract Gen Z men consumers as people care more about their looks.
Recommendations Table
The Customer Journey Map Theory
The customer journey map is a visual representation showing a customers stages when interacting with the brand. The mapping helps an organization step in their customers shoes and see how they do things from a consumers perspective. Different phases in the map include customer sentiments, touchpoints, and goals (Bascur et al., 2018, p 118). Mapping can help the organization forecast the future path a consumer will take. It helps the company empathize with the customer, understand the pain points, view the customers journey, plug experience gaps, predict behavior, and ultimately improve the customers journey experience.
The Body Shop Customer Journey
-
Phase 1 Need to purchase. Touch point Making compare options on the phone
-
Phase 2 Research and awareness. Touch point Phone
-
Phase 3 Trial phase (going to the store). Touch point Store
-
Phase 4 Purchase. Touch point Store
-
Phase 5 Usage.
-
Phase 6 Support. Touch point Customer service call
-
Phase 7 Repeat purchase.
Conclusion
Sustainable and effective marketing and marketing strategies involve a comprehensive audit of the companys internal and external environment. On the other hand, technology has greatly impacted how marketing is done. New technology has permeated the marketing systems and infrastructure on which organizations are built. Marketing campaigns are more personalized where customers create more integrated and targeted environments for marketers. Technology and communication enable companies to grow and thrive, strengthen companys effectiveness, allow people to learn and create relationships. New forms of communication and technology have changed the media landscape, and the marketing strategies companies use. Technological advances and the internet have revolutionized how marketing is done today. It has made promotion and digital sales a sub sector that is important in its own right. Gen Zs consumption of traditional media such as television and magazines has almost completely ceased. Marketers are left only the option of finding new ways to market their products and following Generation where they go. The Body Shop should fully implement new technological and online marketing strategies to serve its customers and attract new ones.
Reference
Bascur, C., Rusu, C. and Quinones, D. (2018) User as customer: touchpoints and journey map. In International Conference on Human Systems Engineering and Design: Future Trends and Applications. Springer. pp. 117-122. Web.
Bischoff, A. (2021) Customer journey map: The key to understanding your customer. Delighted.com. Web.
Chairunnisa, S., Fahmi, I. and Jahroh, S. (2019). How important is green marketing mix for consumer? lesson from The Body Shop. Jurnal Manajemen, 23(2), pp.321-337. Web.
Culliney, K. (2020). Some branding experts have referred to Gen Z as the woke generation, suggesting they are exposed to overwhelming information about what they want. Cosmetics Design Europe. Web.
Davis, D. (2020) Retail is courting Gen Z, which has a spending power of $143 billion (businessinsider.com). Web.
Du, L. (2019) Gen Z is blowing open the market for mens makeup. Bloomberg. Web.
Gligor, D., Bozkurt, S., Russo, I. and Omar, A. (2018) A look into the past and future: theories within supply chain management, marketing and management. Supply Chain Management: An International Journal. Web.
Grand View research. (2020) Mens skincare products market size industry report. Web.
IBIS World Market reports. (2019) Natural and sustainable skincare for millennials & Gen Z. Natural Sustainable Insights Report Composed. Web.
Jain, E. & Yadav, A. (2017) Marketing and technology: Role of technology in modern marketing, IOSR Journal of Business and Management, Vol 19 (5), pp49-53. Web.
Jan, A and Victor, S. (2019) Measuring the effectiveness of segmentation, targeting and positioning strategy of Loreal products in Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. IJO-International Journal of Business Management, 2(09), pp.68-79. Web.
Kaplan, D. (2018) How The Body Shop Manages Its Online-To-Offline Marketing. geo marketing. Web.
Latimer, A. (2020). How your brand can unlock loyalty among Gen Z and Millennials. GCI Magazine. Web.
The Body Shop. (2021). Beauty, skincare, bath & body products. The Body Shop®. Web.
Petropoulos, P. (2021) Perfume and cosmetics manufacturing in the UK. IBIS World Industry report. Web.
Vivaldi Group. (2020) Is your brand Ready to take on Gen Z. Web.
Do you need this or any other assignment done for you from scratch?
We assure you a quality paper that is 100% free from plagiarism and AI.
You can choose either format of your choice ( Apa, Mla, Havard, Chicago, or any other)
NB: We do not resell your papers. Upon ordering, we do an original paper exclusively for you.
NB: All your data is kept safe from the public.