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Essay Instructions: Over the past three weeks you have developed most of the components of a marketing program for Tide laundry detergent. Now it is time to add the last few sections. The final plan should include:
? Definition of marketing (U1 DB)
This week the discussion board assignment was to research the definition of marketing. The sources that I used to help me understand the definition were Collins Dictionary of Business (2006), Dictionary of Business (2006), Dictionary of Economics (2009), and my text book Marketing (2010). I was able to gain a better understanding as to how important it is for people in businesses and in corporations to have the knowledge to make use of the four ?P?s? in marketing which are product, price, promotion, and place. The four ?P?s? can make or break a business or corporation.
After researching the sites listed above, I was able to form my own interpretation of marketing. My understanding is that businesses and corporations look for and research what consumers want or need. They then need to get the attention of the consumers by investing in advertisement. They do this by television ads, newspapers, internet, and etc.. By putting the product or service out to the consumers with eye catching ads will increase sales and help with the success of the company.
? Introduction of Tide laundry detergent (U1 DB)
See above DB
? Situation Analysis - marketing environment forces impacting Tide laundry detergent (U1 IP)
Principles of Marketing
One of the primary issues that the soap and laundry detergent is the issue of pollution in the manufacture of the product. Whether from a desire to avoid running afoul of government fines and regulation, to avoid litigation from issues related to pollution or to avoid bad public relations or ?ecotage? (actual sabotage by environmental radicals) this issue is probably the number one issue that the industry has to deal with. A case study in illustrates this well. In 1960's and 1970's, environmentalist activist Jim Phillips (the ?Fox) engaged in what would now be considered eco-terrorism when he limed over sewage pipes of the Aurora, Illinois Armour-Dial soap factory operation there when it dumped raw sewage into the local Fox River. His 7 year battle against the soap and meat packing plant brought enough heat and publicity to cause the state of Illinois to sue Armour-Dial in 1975 for violation of Illinois anti-pollution laws. The plant then starting treating the raw sewage and stopped its dumping (Hoekstra, 2001).
The 1970s marked the beginning of this type of environmental sensitivity (and sensitivity to public opinion on the issue). The Proceedings of the 4th World Conference on Detergents in 1999 noted with relief that the 1992 Rio de Janeiro United Nations Conference on Environment and Development acknowledged that chemicals had improved living standards (Sedlak, 1999, 80). What the industry was opposed to in 1999 and what is very important for today is to combat the difference between consumer goods and bulk chemicals. The difference between the two would determine how governments would apply environmental laws and regulations to the soap industry. By extension, the need to make this distinction and to promote knowledge of the industry's role in environmental responsibility and the positive impact it has on the marketing of the product (ibid, 82). Obviously, this industry's companies that are perceived as responsible have a marketing edge over those who do not. Marketing strategies must emphasize this responsibility and separate responsible companies from polluters.
Interestingly, public sensitivity to the issue of allergens in detergents and soaps also began in the 1960's as well and regarding the immediate effects of the manufacturing process. The first adverse affects were reported in the professional literature in 1969 when reports of a 1967 respiratory allergy outbreak among 28 workers in an epidemic in a detergent plant. Tests indicated that the cause of the allergic reactions was due to the inhalation of enzyme powder. This particular cause of allergic reactions from soap materials is now unusual (Kanerva, 2000).
Much more common are dry skin reactions to soap and this can be differentiated by marketing distinctions as well. In such situations, it can be beneficial to discourage purchases of perfumed soap and the use of neutral brands such as Dove, Basis, Aveeno or Neutrogena dry skin soaps (. To avoid classification with such allergens, as well, many things can be done to avoid or deal with soaps to prevent allergic reaction. Such alternatives can be emphasized so that a positive market image of soap or detergent, since allergies are complex and not always the cause of one irritant, whether chemical or otherwise. Also, one can direct attention to non-irritant products that the particular soap and detergent company produces that can also do the job ("Skin reactions," 2005).
While it is necessary to mollify public opinion and government regulation and law, one must know the problems that one has ownership over and make sure that the finger is getting pointed in the right direction for the right reason. In this way, we can use our knowledge of the physiological and psychological needs of customers to market and portray the product in a correct way and in the proper perspective.
Finally, there is the issue of product changes dictated by various changes in washing machines. These changes have been dictated by energy and water conservation issues that have altered the design of the machines. In the early 1990s, washing machines began incorporated micro controllers for the timing process to improve water and energy usage. These had proven reliable, so a lot of cheaper machines now incorporated these micro controllers, rather than the old mechanical timers ("Washing machine," 2011).
In this way, the washing models were Energy Star certified is an international standard for energy efficient consumer products that ranges over most Western countries, including the EU. Devices carrying the Energy Star logo, usually use 20%?30% less energy than required by federal standards ("Energy star," 2010). To give some example of the way that the technology is developing, the University of Leeds made a concept washing machine that uses only about a cup (less than 300ml) of water to do a full wash. This machine leaves clothes virtually dry, using less than 2% of the water and energy otherwise used by conventional machines. The technological importance requires 20 kilos of re-usable plastic chips for each load. In addition to saving water, it could make laundry detergent obsolete (Poulter, 2008).
A washing machine that functioned without laundry detergent would make the product obsolete. For now, this is not a reality, but with reduced amounts of detergent being needed, other strategies will be needed to market the detergents, including niche markets, marketing to customers with older machines or to foreign markets might be necessary to retain market share or reorganize a company to transfer reliance on to its other soap products to keep the company up and running.
Marketing challenges are not just due to competition. Rather, the process is very dynamic, including psychological, physiological, technological and other challenges that have made the market highly centralized, capital intensive and competitive among a few large companies for the majority of the market share. Innovative strategies will be needed to remake the product for a new century when people have new needs and new technologies to accomplish the age-old job of keeping oneself and their personal environment clean.
? Marketing Strategy - target market(s) and positioning (U2 DB & U2 IP)
See above IP
For week two discussion board we are instructed to describe the model of consumer buyer behavior for the product that we chose in week one and explain how the process works in the real world. I chose laundry detergent using Tide as the product
When purchasing a product there several processes, which consumers must go through. The first of these steps is ?need?. Laundry detergent is a necessity in most homes. Being able to wear clean, fresh smelling, and stain free clothes is what the consumers want and need.
The second step would be information search. This is where the consumer will ask themselves which brand to buy. Should they stay with their usual brand or try something new. Making a decision may come from getting information about the product that you have in mind from family, friends, or neighbors who might have used it themselves.
The third step will be evaluation of different purchase options. Consumers usually have a brand preference that they have had a good history with, a particular brand, or their friends may have had a reliable history with one. I was always a user of Tide. While working for Proctor and Gamble, I was able to learn more about the product and passed that information on to family and friends, giving them the opportunity to switch over.
Step four will be purchase decision. After going through the evaluation process consumers will be able to reach their final decision. Some ways of saving money after making that decision is to check different stores for better costs and check online for saver coupons.
The last step would be post purchase behavior. Manufacturers want consumers to be fully satisfied with the purchase of their product, it is just as important for manufacturers to advertise so consumers feel comfortable that they own a product from a strong and reputable organization. The consumer will be reassured that they have the latest advertised product.
Culture influence in laundry detergent such as Tide is through advertising, word of mouth, and customer satisfaction. Proctor and Gamble are constantly working on new products that will draw the attention of current customers and new ones who may choose their products over the competitors. Like clothing fads, laundry detergents need to keep up with consumers wants and needs, this year?s laundry detergent may not be what the consumers want next year.
? Tide?s overview and strategies to consider (U3 DB)
In marketing there are four categories that a product or service can fit into. These categories are convenience, shopping. specialty, or unsought. Convenience products are purchased by consumers on a regular basis, items used in their everyday lives, such as food, personal care and household cleaning products. Because these items have a high purchase volume, they are sold at lower prices. Shopping products are purchased and consumed less frequently than convenience products. Usually the consumer will shop around to find the better buy because these items are more expensive. Specialty products have a much higher price tag so consumers are more selective. Consumers usually know what they want, what product in particular they are looking for and where they need to go to purchase it. Unsought products are unplanned purchases that occur as a result of a marketer?s action. These actions could be promotional, persuasion, or special discounts.
The product that I have chosen is Tide laundry detergent manufactured by Proctor and Gamble. I would classify it as a convenience product because it can be purchased at most grocery or retail stores anytime they need it.
Tide is the world's largest selling detergent brand and will continue to use television ads as a way of getting the attention of current and prospective customers, doing side-by-side stain comparisons. The company will strive to open up, prepare and use the deep connections people have with its products. Tide has products that will suit all customers want and needs. They will continue to add new and more advanced products each year.
Branding is the promise you make to your customers. It lets them know what they can expect from your product, and it differentiates what you are offering from that of your competitors. Tide offers a website and a toll free number so that customers can contact them with any questions or concerns that they may have. Retail stores will authorize Proctor and Gamble to set up displays with promotional pricing to help raise sales and offer savings to the customers. I believe that by continuing with the eye catching television ads and producing top quality products will keep Tide at the top with laundry detergent sales.
? Pricing Strategy (U4 DB) Not written yet
? Distribution Channels (U3 IP)
Tide Detergent Distribution Channels
Tide Distribution Channel Analysis
The reliance on multichannel distribution channels and the marketing systems that support them are critical to the overall Proctor & Gamble supply chain network performance as inventory planning and forecasting are predicated on the requirements of channel partners (de Leeuw, Fransoo, 2009). P&G concentrates on creating a unified network that can quickly take customer demand as forecasted by channel partners, capture it, and create a production plan based on the many inputs from channel partners. This is the essence of their supply chain strategy and one that relies heavily on a highly synchronized multichannel management system as the process-based foundation of company-wide collaboration (de Leeuw, Fransoo, 2009). P&G relies heavily on sales portals to better serve their reseller and channel partners with the latest product, pricing, promotional strategies and delivery plans by product area (Noorani, Setty, 2007). As Tide is the leading brand for P&G in many of its distribution channels, the company must continually refine the core processes that are relied on for serving resellers in order to continually grow the sales of this flagship brand (Wong, 2010). The reliance on sales portals within P&G has continued to be highly effective in attaining the challenging multichannel management goals the company has (Noorani, Setty, 2007).
Customer Needs
The typical Tide customer is female, over 50 years of age, Caucasian, middle income ($30K - $60K) and often have limited college education. All of these factors have been captured from the website Quant cast, which interpolates demographics of websites. The figure to the right shows an analysis of Tide.com.
Source: http://www.quantcast.com/tide.com/demographics

For this segment of consumers, price and availability are the most important key buying factors followed by trusting the retailer they are purchasing the product from (Wong, 2010). For P&G, their multichannel strategy must include in-depth training for each member of their supply chain, from the large-scale distributors and CPG consolidators to the retailers in the indirect area of their multichannel selling strategy framework. The direct accounts including the high volume retailers that span pure transaction-based business models (Wal-Mart) to mid-market selling including Target, P&G needs to create channel strategies that match the needs of these partners and their entire distribution channels accordingly. The distribution of detergent resellers by segment is shown in Figure 1, Sales of Detergent by Distribution Channel. This analysis further underscores the need for having a highly effective multichannel strategy.

Figure 1: Sales of Detergent by Distribution Channel
Source:
IBISWorld Industry Report 32561
Soap & Cleaning Compound Manufacturing
in the US September 2011 Sophia Snyder

In devising how many total channel partners would be needed, the best approach would be to evaluate how many retailers are selling detergent today, and then calculate how many of those would be needed to keep the sales rate of Tide at a competitive level. According to the latest U.S. Census there are 1,051 distributors alone selling detergent in the U.S. to 5,614 retailers across all channel types. For Tide to gain sustain its growth as a brand with industry-leading market share, it needs to be sold in at least 50% of the distribution outlets and at least 70% of retail outlets. P&G Has extensive experience in creating distribution channels that can efficiently serve this many members of a distribution channel (Weitz, Wang, 2004). P&G will also need to unify them and keep them updated on key trends using portal-based Internet technology as well (Noorani, Setty, 2007).
Recommendation for a Channel Organization
Based on this analysis the best possible strategy for P&G to continue taking with Tide is to invest heavily in multichannel selling and multichannel distribution. Only by doing this will the company be able to continually increase its market share and meet the core requirements of its customers, which are to be the leader in price, availability and quality over the long-term.
You will now add the Abstract, Introduction, Conclusion, and the Integrated Marketing Communications Mix, including:
? Overview of integrated marketing communications
? Promotion Mix Strategy - explain if you will use a push or pull strategy or both and why
? Message Strategy - decide what general message will be communicated to your target market across all promotional tools
? Promotion Mix - choose at least three (3) promotional tools (advertising, sales promotion, personal selling, public relations or direct marketing). For each include:
o Why this promotional tool was chosen.
o Which forms of the promotional tool you will use and why (for example, in advertising you can use TV, radio, magazine, etc. and in direct marketing you can use direct mail, telemarketing, catalogs, etc.).
o Discussion of how your message strategy will be implemented using this promotional tool and the execution style