Introduction to Unilever

 Holistic Marketing Defined

“A marketing strategy that is developed by thinking about the business as a whole, its place in the broader economy and society, and in the lives of its customers. It attempts to develop and maintain multiple perspectives on the company’s commercial activities.”

The Holistic Marketing Concept has 4 elements. Internal marketing, integrated marketing, socially responsible marketing, and relationship marketing.

Introduction to Unilever

No matter who you are, or where in the world you are, the chances are that our products are a familiar part of your daily routine. Every day, around the world, people reach for Unilever products.

Unilever today:

Our brands are trusted everywhere and, by listening to the people who buy them, we've grown into one of the world's most successful consumer goods companies. In fact, 150 million times a day, someone somewhere chooses a Unilever product.

Look in your kitchen, or on the bathroom shelf, and you're bound to see one of our well-known brands. We create market and distribute the products that people choose to feed their families and keep themselves and their homes clean and fresh. 

People's lives are changing fast. As the way we all live and work evolves, our needs and tastes change too. At Unilever we aim to help people in their daily lives. So we keep developing new products, improving tried and tested brands and promoting better, more efficient ways of working.

We have a portfolio of brands that are popular across the globe - as well as regional products and local varieties of famous-name goods. This diversity comes from two of our key strengths:

ü  Strong roots in local markets and first-hand knowledge of the local culture.

ü  World-class business expertise applied internationally to serve consumers everywhere.                  

Focusing on performance and productivity, we encourage our people to develop new ideas and put fresh approaches into practice. Hand in hand with this is a strong sense of responsibility to the communities we serve. We don't only measure success in financial terms; how we achieve results is important too. We work hard to conduct our business with integrity - respecting our employees, our consumers and the environment around us.

Unilever is one of the world's leading suppliers of fast-moving consumer goods. Here are some recent highlights from our three global divisions - Foods, home care and personal care.

Internal marketing of Unilever Bangladesh limited:

Senior management:

• Kamran Bakr ( Chairman and Managing Director)
• Rakesh Mohan (hairman of Unilever Malaysia & Singapore and Managing Director of Unilever Malaysia & Singapore)
• Mizanur Rashid (Director of Customer Development)
• Mr. Mahtabuddin Ahmed(Finance Director)
• Mr. Imran Momin(Supply Chain Manage)
• Mohammad Iftekhar Jamil ACCA
• Factory Commercial Manager at Unilever
• Gazi Mahfuzur(marketing executive)

Hiring:  Unilever Bangladesh limited hires people through different ways:

ü  Newspaper

ü  Internet

ü  Website

Motivation:  Unilever Bangladesh provides many motivational activities for their employees thus the employees serve the best afford. Some motivational activities.

ü  Bonus

ü  Transport facilities

ü  Mobile facilities

ü  Residence facilities

ü  Attractive environment

From the training program the employee benefited by the following way:

ü  Improves morale of employees- Training helps the employee to get job security and job satisfaction. The more satisfied the employee is and the greater is his morale, the more he will contribute to organizational success and the lesser will be employee absenteeism and turnover.

ü  Less supervision- A well trained employee will be well acquainted with the job and will need less of supervision. Thus, there will be less wastage of time and efforts.

ü  Fewer accidents- Errors are likely to occur if the employees lack knowledge and skills required for doing a particular job. The more trained an employee is, the less are the chances of committing accidents in job and the more proficient the employee becomes.

ü  Chances of promotion- Employees acquire skills and efficiency during training. They become more eligible for promotion. They become an asset for the organization.

ü  Increased productivity- Training improves efficiency and productivity of employees. Well trained employees show both quantity and quality performance. There is less wastage of time, money and resources if employees are properly trained.

Ways/Methods of Training:

• on the job training- On the job training methods are those which are given to the employees within the everyday working of a concern. It is a simple and cost-effective training method. The in proficient as well as semi- proficient employees can be well trained by using such training method. The employees are trained in actual working scenario. The motto of such training is “learning by doing.” Instances of such on-job training methods are job-rotation, coaching, temporary promotions, etc.

• off the job training- Off the job training methods are those in which training is provided away from the actual working condition. It is generally used in case of new employees. Instances of off the job training methods are workshops, seminars, conferences, etc. Such method is costly and is effective if and only if large number of employees have to be trained within a short time period. Off the job training is also called as vestibule training, i.e., the employees are trained in a separate area( may be a hall, entrance, reception area etc. known as a vestibule) where the actual working conditions are duplicated.

Integrated marketing of Unilever Bangladesh limited:

Product category:

ü  Household Care,

ü   Fabric Cleaning,

ü  Skin Cleansing,

ü   Skin Care, Oral Care,

ü  Hair Care, Personal Grooming,

ü  Tea based Beverages.

Marketing Services

ü  Aarong

ü  Al Arafah Islami Bank Ltd.

ü  Bangla Perfumes Distr. Ltd. (Distributors: Hugo Boss, Gucci, Burberry)

ü  Bengal Cosmetics Ltd. (Distributors: Givenchy, Kenzo, Nina RICCI)

ü  Brac Bank Ltd.

ü  CITIBank N.A.

ü  Dutch Bangla Bank Ltd.

ü  Eastern Bank Ltd.

ü  Fit Elegance

ü  Grameen Phone Ltd.

ü  HSBC Bank Limited

ü  IFIC Bank Limited

ü  KDS Grou

Advertising:

•   TV advertising:

For this product we will provide the information in such a way that will include that, “Using whiting toothpaste is not always effective for everyone and visiting to dentist for whiting is uncomfortable for some people and it takes a long time. But as our “White Light” Tooth whitener is very small and light product and easy to use for anyone at home, it will be able to whiten our teeth quickly and safely and as the gel is of meant flavor, so it will also help us to have fresh breadth. So, we should use this Tooth whitener.”In these advertisements we will use either people or animation or both of them together. It will be decided according to the costs.

Ø  Testimonial advertising:

It refers to use influential or believable people in advertising. In this case we will deal with dentists, as they are most believable to the people in case of the matters of teeth. We will make a deal with them and they will suggest people to use our Tooth whitener. We will also give free samples to the dentists, so that they can use into their patients and they will also suggest our “White Light” Tooth whitener in the prescriptions of their patients.

We will also publish attractive, colorful and informative advertisements in radio, newspapers, internet, and magazines and on billboards in regular basis. We can do sponsoring and event organizing and campaign as our promotional activity.

Ø  Sales promotion:

We will give free samples in dental clinic, educational institutions like dental college, hospital and also in super stores. The quality of those free samples will be smaller than the original one. Depending on the costs and future positive response we will plan to make more varieties of advertisements and will give attractive sales promotion to grab and retain more customers.

Ø  Public Relation:

 To extend market or to introduce the product to people marketers need to create public relationship. Unilever always tries to create events and stories, which automatically come to press attention public gets to know about their product. For our new product “White Light” we will try to do the following activities.

ü  We will arrange press conferences and will try to have renowned dentists in those programs, so that the information and messages seems trustworthy to the people.

ü  We will try to arrange seminars in schools, colleges, universities and medical colleges about the usefulness and benefits of using White Light.

Ø  Action Program:

Unilever Bangladesh Ltd has a very well-structured organization. Every department of it does its job very efficiently. The marketing plan which we have made will be implemented and accomplished by different departments. First of all the plan will have to be approved by the top level executives. Only after the approval it can start its function. The strategies regarding the product, its promotional activities, price setting all will be done by the marketing department. The job of designing the product, manufacturing and packaging will be accomplished by the production department. Finance department will be responsible for budgeting and financing the product. Like other brands of the company, a brand manager will be assigned for ‘White Light -Tooth Whitening System’ to administer overall activities of the product

Performance Marketing:

UNILEVER’S GROWTH

Although Unilever has been around since pre-liberation days, the real impetus for growth started from 1999. Since then the sales growth has consistently been in double digits and at more than double the GDP rate of growth. In 2003 UBL was the fastest growing business for Unilever Asia delivering profitable growth of 17%. They have also strengthened the fundamentals of the business and have been able to double the rate of gross margins, which has provided us the necessary fuel for growth. During the last few years the profit after tax has increased more than 8 times and this has resulted in exponential growth in shareholder’s fund now being one of the highest in corporate in Bangladesh.

Awards & recognition:

2009

Our endeavour to be the best and give the best to our consumers and the community we operate in, has won us many awards and recognitions over the years. Here's a list of some of the significant accolades we received:

nilever Bangladesh Limited Oral Care Team won the Regional Asia Oral Care Awards, one of the most prestigious awards in the Unilever Regional/Global Oral Care Category. The company won this award for the unprecedented success of Pepsodent Toothpowder over the last few years.

2008

 Unilever Bangladesh Limited received two of Unilever's prestigious international awards at the Asia-AMET (AA) level. The business received the AA Vitality Awards 2008 in the "Win Key Markets" and "Win With Customers" categories from amongst the operating companies in the AA region.

Unilever Bangladesh Limited scored highest among all Asia AMET (Africa Middle East & Turkey) Companies (Group B) to win the AA Reporting Cup 2008.The AA Reporting Cup is based on the monthly best performance and is awarded on the basis of timeliness and quality of data that is reported.

2007

 Unilever in South Asia has won the Excellence award in the Poverty Alleviation category for its Women's Empowerment Project (Project Joyeeta & Aparajita in Bangladesh, Shakti in India and Saubhagya in Srilanka) at the Asian Corporate and Social Responsibility Awards Forum.

Unilever Bangladesh Limited received the Best IT Use Award 2007 from BASIS (Bangladesh Association of Software and Information Services) for Project.

Global environment:

Unilever Bangladesh Ltd. is registered under Unilever. As a part of a global company it follows some generalized strategies and principals of Unilever. However, they also modify different strategies based on the national conditions. The different strategies that they follow in the global environment are stated below:

ü  As a worldwide famous company and comprising internationally renowned brands gives them unique strengths that allow a company to achieve superior efficiency, quality, innovation, or customer responsiveness. The different policies and strategies Unilever follows and their experience is transferred to Unilever Bangladesh Ltd.

ü  They import the raw materials from the places where it is less costly, thus achieve location economy.

ü  They are locally responsive. They are always ready to improve and modify their products to meet the needs of the local customers.

ü  UBL follows a multi domestic strategy where the companies extensively customize both their product offering and marketing strategy to different national conditions.

Brands: Wheel, Lux, Lifebuoy, Fair & Lovely, Pond's, Close Up, Sunsilk, Taaza, Pepsodent, Clear, Vim, Surf Excel, Rexona, Dove, Vaseline & Lakme.

Unilever's contribution

• Unilever Bangladesh is one of the largest contributors to the government exchequer through duties, taxes and dividends. 72% of the company’s value addition is distributed to the Government of Bangladesh. 
• Our operations provide employment to over 10 000 people through factories, dedicated distributors and exclusive suppliers.             

Improving the quality of life

Whether through better hygiene, relief from daily chores or a refreshing cup of tea, our brands have raised the quality of life in Bangladesh. Through innovations and our relentless pursuit of efficiencies we constantly seek to add value to our consumers. Our focus and initiatives on quality and consumer safety have earned us Class A rating from Unilever – a feat most Unilever companies try hard to achieve. 

Business of fulfilling dreams

The diversity of our brand portfolio poses a unique challenge to understand consumers with varied background, education, income and lifestyle. We extensively use market research to understand consumer trends and complement that with insights from direct consumer contacts.

90% of Bangladeshi households use one or more of our products.

Aspiration beyond means

Responding to the aspirations of millions of people living with less than a dollar a day, Unilever Bangladesh pioneered the introduction of sachet or mini packs of fast moving consumer goods for the consumers in Bangladesh. We are today able to provide same quality products with low cash outlays even to the lowest income households.

Adding value through innovation

Harnessing consumer insight is the beginning of an intensive process of developing brands and products that fulfill the unique needs of Bangladeshi consumers. Leveraging global network and combining it with local consumer insight Unilever Bangladesh introduces relevant innovative products. This has led to the development of products in categories such as Detergent powders, Dish wash Bar, Face wash, Deodorants, etc enriching the lives of Bangladeshis.

Our performance

25% of our portfolio met the criteria in 2011, up from 22% in 2010. This is in line with our plans. 

Relationship Marketing

Channels of Unilever Bangladesh limited:

Channels are a common group of point of purchase which provides similar services to similar set of customers with similar desires. Different channels serve different customers with similar set of desires. Channels are created so that it can be analyzed and managed in groups

These set of channels can be identified based on four criteria. They are:

ü  Location: The first criteria Where the store is situated, like urban area, rural area etc.

ü  Structure: The structure of the store, like concrete building, tin shed building etc.

ü  Goods sold: What type of goods are sold here, like grocery items, cosmetic ite

Ø  Type of customers: What kind of customers come to the store, like lower income group, higher income group, male female etc

Utilities of channels:

By analyzing each type of channel it can be learned that type of products sold by different channels, the type of products sellers are interested to sell and the reason behind it. The idea of channel category also helps to design different marketing strategies for different channels because same strategy cannot be appropriate for different channels. That’s why it is important to know about the categories of channels, so that the marketing team of the company can formulate appropriate strategy for each channel.

Importance of channel:

Categorizing channel is very important in order to understand the retail environment and relate that with the company. There are also other factors which can be addressed as importance of channels is given below:

ü  The nature of sales can be understood through which marketer can focus on the product line for specific channel

ü  Distribution of product in cost effective way

ü  Reducing damage rate of product

ü  Allow brands to reach their full potential

ü  Ensuring 100% sales in every launch & re-launch

ü  Knowing about the buying behavior of different type of customer

ü  Maintaining better trade relations

Emerging channel:

The emerging channels are channels identified with unique characteristics which cannot be categorize in priority channel. They are different in terms of structure, shopper and product category. Three types of channels have been identified under this category. They are described below:

􀂾Shopping complex: Shopping complex is located in urban areas, generally on the roadside of prominent roads. Outlets are permanent in structure, found in clusters, generally under one roof or similar demarcation. Basically sell all sorts of fashion and HPC items. There are 23400 stores under shopping complex running countrywide.

􀂾Self Service Store: These stores are starting to emerge from 1999. It started with very few in numbers and now increased up to 62. These stores are permanent in structure, have significantly large space where all sorts of products are assorted under one roof. Both male and female from mid to higher income groups shop from here. These stores sell all kind of products.

􀂾Rural cosmetic store: Rural cosmetic stores are located in rural market area, especially on the roadside. This emerging channel has some significance because of its increasing demands. The structure and decoration of the store are quite developed for the rural area. These stores dominated by female shoppers because it sells personal products. As said earlier channels are created to focus on different categories of products, different set of needs of buyers and to ease the marketing strategy taken by the company. Based on the channels Unilever decides what type of aid to provide to which category, they also take effective measures to ensure the SKU level in each channel. To increase the sales and to gain major market share Unilever has taken different measures to enhance the channels in so many different ways.

UNILEVER CUSTOMER DEVELOPMENT:

Starting from the depot to reaching the products to the market, Unilever CD plays very important role.

ü  Proper indenting of the products with focus on special brands and SKUs by managing the distributor’s money

ü  Handling the products with care during transit so that the products in their real state can be delivered to the market

ü  Training the distributors field force about the products/ brands/their usage and how to convince the retailers

ü  Planning about the product placements in the markets, delivering the newest of the brands to the remotest of the places

ü  Making sure that all the brands with their relevant SKUs are present in the right outlets

ü  Segmenting channels according the image and requirement of the brands

ü  Setting SO’s targets of LPC so that every SKU of every brand is available in the right places

ü  Ensuring top-class visibility that appeals the consumers by:

Conclusion 

The holistic marketing concept is the most updated concept of marketing. By using this concept organization and industries can ran their business very effective way. As it consists all the segment of marketing so it’s very helpful for all types of organization. As it encloses all the information so the reliability of customers on the organization increases. Thus organizations can enlarge their business and make strong relationship with the customers.