Dove - Analysis of marketing plan

Abstract

We will reveal later that we have decided to develop a green product to be innovative and in sync with Unilever. We need to clarify what is Dove's business. Dove is working on the market of women's personal care. Dove has a large range of products from soaps to shampoos. The key point of Dove's strategy is to have a high level of segmentation to answer to the many needs of the women's personal care market.

We must also recognize that the market share of Dove on the French market is decreasing for the last several years. In 2005, the market share of Dove was 9.75% and in 2008 it was 2.6%. Thus our mission is to create a strategy and a product that will be able to help Dove conquer new market share. This loss of market share can be explained by risky marketing choices made by the brand. The shampoo market is worth 466.4 million Euros in France so Dove must respond to the market needs and develop new products and strategies to regain its position as one of the leaders on the French shampoo market.

-Understanding Consumer Behavior:

A survey was conducted among the population to focus more on the needs of our potential consumers, and to understand their preferences in the shampoo market. The survey first had general questions about their age, the texture of their hair, and their hair color etc, to identify the consumer base. Later the survey offered more specific questions about their tastes: what kind of perfume do you prefer? What is your regular shampoo? Are you interested in Bio shampoo?

The analysis of the responses gave us a more accurate vision of our consumers' needs:
1.75% of the population asked would like to buy Bio shampoos
2.75% prefer the fruity smell, 15 % the flowery smell, and 10% other smells
3.50% of people are more likely to buy a shampoo depending on its price first; packaging and brand come afterwards (25%)

With all the information we collected and all the analysis done on the market, we decided to create a product responding to the consumers ‘needs and to fulfill the strategy of the company. This new product will be called: “Smooth Sensation”. It will be a Bio product sold in stores, which is quite new for Dove. The smell of the shampoo will be fruity in comparison with the “Smoothie fever” and the Bio aspect is unique. The packaging will be eco-friendly in order to fight against its contradictory nature in exploiting the Bio development. The name responds to the latest fashion of the smoothie liked by the majority of the population.

-Characteristics of our product: The main characteristics of this Dove product are the Bio & Smoothie inspiration, the fruit smell and the eco-friendly packaging.
-Market segmentation: We target middle class women everywhere in France, who are between 15 and 30 years old. Since our product plays on the natural aspect, most of the women that we target are concerned about environmental issues.

-Attractiveness of the market & competitive position of Dove's product
Attractiveness: There are nearly 15 500 000 potential customers, who have an average monthly income of 2000€. The macro-trends on this market are favorable: political stability, good domestic market, and a fertility rate of 2.02.

Tags: French market, market segmentation, competitive position , Consumer Behavio