Marketing Plan for Masafi Mineral Water Company - Essay Example

Market plan] INTRODUCTION TO MASAFI WATER Masafi Mineral Water Company belonging to the Masafi Group is a well known company, based in UAE, known for the production and distribution of premium bottled drinking water. The ownership type of this company is private, that is, it is privately held and does not deal in the stock market. Since the Masafi Group is a FMCG (fast-moving consumer goods) company, it also deals with other products like flavored water, tissues, juices and chips. But, in UAE, it stands as the category leader for its mineral water product. The mineral water is pure and natural, is packed in an eco-friendly way, and has a taste that is admired by the UAE residents. Thus, all in all, the Masafi Group has come up with a winner in the shape of the Masafi Natural Mineral Water. The Masafi Water Company is now trying to launch ABC aftershave company, for which they need to perform a step by step marketing plan, since it would assist them in knowing the need of this product, and assess it with respect to the environment in which the industry is thriving at this point in time. (Kerin, 2004) WHAT IS A MARKET PLAN? A market plan is basically an outline of the various environmental factors as well as the marketing dynamics that will be associated with the product, which is yet to be launched. (Larsen, 1997) It helps the organization to get an aerial view of the viability of the product idea that they have, with respect to the company itself, the target customers, the competitors present, the collaborators and the climate. The SWOT analysis also plays a vital role in telling the company about its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. The market plan becomes further refined when portions for market segmentation, alternative marketing strategies and selected marketing strategy are added. (Luther, 2001) LAUNCH OF THE AFTERSHAVE COMPANY – THE MARKET PLAN The Masafi group now plans to launch an aftershave company. Aftershaves are a health and beauty product and come under the sub-category of fragrances and perfumes. The aftershave market is quite saturated with many big perfume brands doing brand extensions into aftershaves, using their known and established brand names. Whether or not Masafi water should plan to invest their time, resources and energy in launching an aftershave company would be better decided if a marketing plan is made, and critically analyzed. (Stapleton, 1998) The marketing plan would consist of the following components: SWOT Analysis The SWOT analysis involves the analysis of the internal strengths and weaknesses of the company as well as the external opportunities and threats that the company is exposed to, from the environment it is in. (Worthington, 2002) This two-fold examination allows for a complete look over whether the strengths are enough to capitalize on the opportunities and negate the threats and whether the weaknesses can be easily conquered and if the threats are too bold to further undermine the already existing weakness. This tells the organization where it stands, and on what core competencies it can get the competitive advantage to launch a new product. (Westwood, 2002) Strengths The strengths of the aftershave company would lie in the fact that it is being launched by the Masafi Group, which has an established and renowned brand name in the market. The tagline of Masafi "premium products for better life" shows that it is known for manufacturing only high-quality products, which give the target customer value for their money. The Masafi Aftershave will capitalize on this already held perception, and can get quick acceptance. Weaknesses The Masafi Group specializes in fast moving consumer goods, and the product range consists of products which can be consumed, like the water, juices, chips etc, and the tissue paper is a good which would also be sold to a general store, along with the other product range. But if the ABC aftershave company is launched, it would not be able to capitalize on the existing distribution channels, and the intermediaries that the Masafi group uses for its existing product range. Since edible goods and perfume goods are usually not sold in the same place, the Masafi Group would have to employ new distribution channels for the launch of the ABC aftershave company. Opportunities The opportunities that the ABC aftershave company would be that it can capitalize on the fashion industry, which is thriving and is growing at a fast pace every year. UAE is a major location for world trade, and its duty free shops allow for high levels of trade that can take place. Masafi can market its aftershave so well, that the Hollywood industry, highly known for its fashion sense, will adopt the ABC aftershave. Threats The threats to the ABC aftershave company are the existing brands in the market for the aftershave product category. One of them is Bvlgari, which has a established market in the aftershave industry. Time-honored names like Old Spice and Sensitive are well known only for providing premium after shaves, thus their perception is great. PEST The PEST analysis includes analyzing the external environment in which the company thrives. The sub categories of a PEST analysis are political, economic, social and technological. (Solomon, 2006) The PEST with respect to the aftershave company should be judged, and seen whether it is favorable or not. Political and Legal Recently, there was a lawsuit settlement in Detroit city, which ultimately resulted in new notices being issued, in which the workers of the Detroit city can not wear any sort of scented product, whether it is a perfume or an aftershave. This settlement resulted because an employee had filed a case against a colleague, claiming that it became hard for her to do her job because of the smell of the perfume that her colleague wore. Such lawsuits, if occurred in UAE, can harm the sales of the ABC Aftershave company. Economic The trade barriers are almost non-existent in UAE, resulting in the frequent trading of goods. Therefore, Masafi group can also plan to export its aftershave to other countries, where the fashion industry is very strong. Social The social environment which exists for aftershave companies is that it is a great product for uplifting the mood and well being of a person. Usually guys shave and use aftershaves when they are going for an important meeting, have an interview to give for a job or have a critical presentation. These factors and consumer insights should be kept in mind, since the aftershave, its after effects, the smoothness it provides and the fragrance it provides will give lasting confidence to the target consumer. Or it can even work the other way! Some cosmetics can harm the skin of the consumers, if the chemicals used and the ingredients employed are not tested for correctness. This social aspect must be addressed, cause if the aftershave affects the skin of any consumer negatively, it will hamper the image of the company. Technological The technological environment which will affect the aftershave company is that new technology is introducing the concept of "mood beauty", which is that it will act on the mood and the senses in which the customer is in presently. This will only be able due to the technological advances taking place. The aftershave company should be able to capitalize on such advancement, so that it can connect to the customers more. Porters Five Forces Model The five forces model of Porters includes (Porter, 1980) Bargaining power of suppliers: This might be immense for the ABC Aftershave company, since it’s a new product category for the Masafi group. Bargaining power of customers: Since the Masafi group name is established and known, the bargaining power of customers will be low to medium. Threat of New Entrants: The upcoming and emerging designers often introduce their own fragrance range, which usually includes an aftershave. These kinds of entrants are very common. The barriers to entry are also not that high, therefore the threat of new entrants is there. Threat of Substitute Products: There are no proper substitutes for aftershave. People usually would use warm water or moisturizers, but these do not pose much threat. Competitive rivalry within an industry: The rivalry within the industry is not that strong, since the product category is not that popular or developed. The market is saturated, but the competition for selling aftershaves is hardly seen. CONCLUSION In conclusion, it can be said that the market plan helped the Masafi group to get an outlook on the feasibility of the launch of the aftershave company. The ABC aftershave company will be a good addition to the portfolio of the Masafi group, but a separate brand name might help the brand to take off. Other factors can be the quality of the product itself, and the marketing which it receives. Such market plan analysis help the company in making long and short term projections, important for deciding on the launch of a product. (Smith, 2004) REFERENCES Books 1. Kerin, R. (2004) Marketing: the core. Irwin. 2. Larsen, H. (1997) Cases in marketing. Sage. 3. Luther, W. (2001) The marketing plan: how to prepare and implement it. AMACOM Div. American Mgmt Assn. 4. Porter, M. (1990) Competitive advantage of nations. Free Press 5. Porter, M (1980) Competitive strategy. Free Press 6. Smith, P. (2004) Marketing communications: an integrated approach. Kogan Page Publishers. 7. Solomon, M. (2006) Marketing: real people, real choices. Pearson Prentice Hall. 8. Stapleton, J. (1998) How to prepare a marketing plan: a guide to reaching the consumer market. Gower Publishing Ltd. 9. Westwood, J. (2002) The marketing plan: a step by step guide. Kogan Page Publishers. 10. Worthington, I. (2006) The Business Environment. Prentice Hall. Journals 11. (1999). UAE. MEED: Middle East Economic Digest, 43(39), 28. Retrieved from Business Source Premier database. 12. Tang, C. (2010). A review of marketing–operations interface models: From co-existence to coordination and collaboration. International Journal of Production Economics, 125(1), 22-40. doi:10.1016/j.ijpe.2010.01.014. 13. Porter, M. (1979) How competitive forces shape strategy. Harvard Business Review. 57 (2) 137-145 Website 14. PEST analysis tool. The environment scan. [Internet] Available from < http://rapidbi.com/created/the-PESTLE-analysis-tool.html> [Accessed on 14th April 2010] Read More