Marketing Strategy: A case study of Body Shop International

Abstract

It has been said that marketing determines whether or not an organisation survives in the turbulent market. The term marketing is in many cases ambiguous with most definitions attributing it to processes involved in value creation for customers. Marketing strategy on the other hand refers to the process of planning, implementation and monitoring marketing activities with the aim of delivering on the organisational objectives. This paper explores the theme of marketing. It expounds on the marketing mix as well as dominant marketing orientations in the market and their evolution over time. It also focuses on the marketing strategy, evaluates the importance of environmental audit, application of the marketing mix and then evaluates branding and its impact on the marketing process. The paper then evaluates the marketing strategy at the Body Shop International and makes recommendations on appropriate approaches for enhanced success in the market.

1.0 Introduction

Marketing can broadly be described as a conglomeration of processes involved in the creation of value for customers. It is a three-stage process which involves the identification of market needs, satisfying those needs and keeping the customers loyal to the brand (Joshi, 2005). Marketing therefore focuses on the suitability of the products, the pricing of the same, the accessibility of the products and all communication components used to draw attention to the existence of products’ existence and their features in the market. Marketing therefore describes the essence of existence of a business organization and without it; businesses have a minimal chance of survival. Marketing strategy on the other hand refers to the overall approach taken by the organisation to assure the success in the market (Kotler, 2009). It calls for fit between the corporate strategies and marketing processes where the former refer to the overall vision of the organisation with the latter denoting the processes employed to bring value to customers in the market (Styles, 2004). Sustainable and effective marketing strategies are derived through a process that involves a comprehensive audit of the organisation’s internal and external environment. The internal audit concentrates on identifying the organisation’s capabilities, strengths and weaknesses while the external audit focuses on identifying the opportunities and threats arising.

Marketing has evolved through the years with various marketing orientations taking dominance at different points in history. These orientations in order of their occurrence include the production orientation, product orientation, selling orientation and the marketing orientations (Kotler, 2009). The marketing orientation focuses on the customer needs and is behind the emergence of contemporary marketing themes which include relationship management, industrial marketing and social marketing. Also crucial to the marketing process is the concept of the brand. Branding presents organisations with the opportunity to give their products a personality compatible with human attributes (Greg, 2007). It forms the front through which a business can create and sustain relationships with consumers in the market.

The Body Shop International is a producer of skin care products and holds the reputation of being an astute innovator who concentrates on the use of natural substances in the formation of its products (Kent and Stone, 2007). It is among the leaders in the global industry. The company’s philosophies borrow heavily from the personal values of its founder Anita Roddick who founded the company in 1976 and run it until 2006 when she sold it to France’s L’Oreal S.A (Global Data, 2011). The Body Shop embraces the social marketing orientation through which it emphasises the need to embrace business models that bring maximum benefit to the society. The company creates a niche for itself as an authority in the adherence to ethical values in its approach to marketing and corporate strategies. In addition to its wide distribution network, the company also has an online retail outlet through which it aims at tapping into the growing number of online customers.

This paper evaluates the concept of marketing and marketing strategy. It then applies these concepts in evaluating the marketing strategy of Body Shop International. Approaches to marketing, branding and emerging themes in marketing have also been highlighted.

2.0 Literature review

2.1 Understanding Marketing

Marketing has erroneously been presumed to be the processes that are employed in communication to the market. In the real sense, the marketing concept is much wider and is largely integrated in the entire organisation system. The main functions of marketing can be summarised into three processes: the identification of market needs, the satisfaction of the needs identified, and the retention of customers (Paswan, Blankson and Guzman, 2011). These three processes work in synergy to deliver on the overall organisational goals when well implemented. The identification of market needs culminates into the production of products and services that can satisfy such needs. Such products would then need to be made available to the market and priced in a manner that is compatible with the purchasing power of the target customers. This calls for a focus on the marketing mix.

The marketing mix includes 4 elements: the 4 Ps of marketing which include product, place, price, and promotion (Paswan, Blankson and Guzman, 2011). Product refers to the attributes of the goods that are offered to the market. The design of such products should be done in a manner consistent with the identified market needs. Organisations can opt to embrace the innovation approach as their source of strategic strength where arising market needs are pointed out and products quickly manufactured to satisfy such needs. The product features must be relevant to the needs for the products to perform as desired in the market. The marketing function in relation to product deals with collection of information and making recommendations on how the information can be converted into products to be offered in the market (Toften and Hammervoll, 2009). Place on the other hand refers to the efforts taken by organisations to bring the products closer to the customers. Research indicates that convenience plays a great role in determining the choices made by customers. Under normal circumstances, the average customer will opt for products that can access easily even where their preference may be elsewhere. Common approaches taken by organisation include the opening up of numerous retail outlets in the market, creating franchise agreements with retailers and even availing products to supermarkets and hypermarkets operating in the target markets (Johnston and Tennens, 2005). In the contemporary times, the internet is becoming the next frontier for enhancing meaningful distribution with the obvious advantage being that customers can access the products at a click of a button from diverse locations.

Price refers to the cost that a consumer incurs to acquire a given product. In many cases, price becomes a reflection of the quality of the products in question where superior quality is associated with higher prices (Schibrowsky, Peltier and Nill, 2007). The organisation must therefore focus on the image they intend to project about their quality and embrace an appropriate pricing strategy. Promotion on the other hand refers to the efforts directed at communicating to the market. This tends to be the most visible and involving element of the marketing mix and has in many a times been viewed as the central role of any marketing department (Paswan, Blankson and Guzman, 2011). Promotion calls for the application of the promotional mix whose elements include advertising, public relations, publicity sales promotions and direct marketing. The application of these elements should be done in a manner that guarantees maximum output in terms of generation of sales and retention of customers.

The overall approach to marketing has been evolving over the years. The earliest marketing orientation, production, focused on focused on mass production of goods that would be sufficient to cater for the needs in the market (Bettiol, Di Maria and Finotto, 2012). The focus was more on production of sufficient products and not necessarily on the quality of such products. This philosophy lasted until the 1950s before being replaced by the product orientation. The product focuses on quality of the products (Kotler, 2009). Adopters of this orientation which remained dominant until the 1960s adopted the assumption that consumers would consume their products as long as such products were of a high standard. Another marketing orientation that is little emphasised in the contemporary world is the selling orientation. This orientation, largely dominant in the 1950s and 1960s, emphasises the need to market existing products as they are (Kotler, 2009). This philosophy can be contrasted to the marketing orientation which factors in customer preferences in the development of new products. This orientation has been dominant since the 1970s and has been the driver behind renewed attempts towards the establishment of an edge in innovation. This has subsequently led to technological advancements as organisations seek to optimise their new product development processes and stay ahead of the competition.

The marketing orientation has led to the development of other contemporary approaches which have been developed to improve on the effectiveness of marketing processes. Customer relationship management is increasingly being used around the world with the emphasis being on capturing changing customer preferences in time to make meaningful innovations (Vermillon and Peart, 2010). The process of collecting information should concentrate on the quality of information gathered. For instance, certain product features may be desirable but their inclusion in a product may not necessarily influence customer purchasing decisions. Social marketing is yet another recent orientation that has been prevalent since the 1990s (Himmelspach, 2008). This approach focuses the provision of benefit to the entire society where focus is on the satisfaction of customer needs but with the commitment to ensure that the society is insulated from any harm emanating from products or production processes. This approach also incorporates business models that help in bringing benefits to members of the society. 

Marketers also tend to opt for branding to reinforce their marketing endeavours. Brand is a representation of companies and its products. Brand can be symbolised by a logo, symbol or even a name (Perreault and McCarthy, 2003). Brands can either be characterised by product tangible attributes or product intangible attributes. Product tangible attributes can directly linked to the products and can refer to features such as texture, durability, colour, actual uses of the products and others (Perreault and McCarthy, 2003). Product intangible attributes cannot be directly linked to the product features. For instance, a product could represent power, style, class, or can be said to portray a warm or cool personality. These are attributes that are compatible with human personalities and therefore make it possible for the creation of a relationship between customers and the given products. The brand strategy should be incorporated into the marketing processes with normal marketing activities carrying consistent messages that can ensure that the brand image is projected consistently.

2.2 Marketing Strategy and general trends in the market

Marketing strategy can be described as the process of planning, implanting and monitoring marketing activities in with an aim to achieve the set organisational goals. This is a process that starts with the process of gathering information on the customer preferences and other goings on in the macro-environment (Pollach, Johansen, Nielsen and Thomsen, 2012). The collection of accurate information is crucial to the process of forming reliable strategies. The common trend in the market is that environmental audit is done in three fronts: internal analysis, industry audit and macro environment audit. Internal analysis focuses on the internal processes in the organisation. It evaluates the capabilities of the organisation and how the same can be put into use in the implementation of organisational goals (Kotler, 2009). In the context of marketing strategy, this audit extends to the evaluation of marketing activities that are underway and their effectiveness. Industry analysis focuses on competitor activities. It evaluates their product offering, their pricing strategies, distribution approach and even the approaches taken in relation to promotion. Being equipped with information on competitor activities allows the organisation to make informed decisions in relation to the best approaches to take when formulating their marketing strategy (Perreault and McCarthy, 2003). Experiences of competitors can also help organisations make savings by avoiding the mistakes that may have been made in the course of executing their marketing agenda. Among the tools commonly used for industry analysis is the porter’s five forces model which evaluates factors such as the level of rivalry in the industry, buyer power, supplier power, threat of substitutes and threat of entry (Kotler, 2009). Emphasis is of course laid on aspects that impact the marketing strategy. For instance, identification of the need to intensify marketing campaigns versus the need to focus on new product development.

Factors that bear much relevance in this instance in the macro environment include legislation and other politico-legal factors, technological developments, environmental and social factors. In most cases, relevant legal factors control the conduct of marketing in relation to restriction of anticompetitive behaviour. For instance, in most jurisdictions around the world, it is illegal for one company to directly make reference to a competitor’s products when trying to portray their own products as superior or otherwise (Vermillon and Peart, 2010). Technological developments in relation to communication and the internet have revolutionised the approach to marketing communications around the world. Observations are that the internet has greatly impacted the process of information search with most customers in the developed economy turning to it to conduct enquiries on products. The growing prevalence of the internet can also be an opportunity through which organisations can improve their distribution networks by setting up online operations (Vermillon and Peart, 2010). Social factors are perhaps the most significant factors to the marketer. They include customer preferences and attitudes in relation to products and other happenings in the society (Yang-Im and Peter, 2006). Given that the marketing orientation is the dominant marketing philosophy in the global market, customer preferences are crucial to marketing strategy formulation and implementation.

The concept of market segmentation is increasingly being embraced as it becomes more acknowledged that 80% of sales tend to be generated by 20% of the market (Joshi, 2005). This implies that directing marketing initiatives towards the 20% can greatly contribute to the effectiveness of marketing initiatives. A market segment can be described as a set of individuals with distinct characteristics. The segmentation could either be geographic or along characteristics such as gender, age, income levels, profession and others (Joshi, 2005). The segments should be large enough to justify the investment in marketing activities and should also be easy to reach through the selected elements of the promotional mix. For instance, producers of beauty and skin care products tend to focus on gender, age and class when marketing their products.

Also central to marketing strategy is the understanding of the product life cycle, appreciation of the various stages that the products being marketed are in the life cycle and the adoption of appropriate strategies. It should be appreciated that technological developments have made product life cycles to progress much faster and there is therefore need to adjust marketing strategies to such changes.

A typical product life cycle contains four distinct stages: introduction, growth, maturity, and the decline stages (QuickMBA, 2012). At the introduction stage, the aim is to develop a market for the organisation and create awareness of the existence of the products. Product quality is gauged and established. Pricing at this stage may either be low penetration or high skim pricing with the former aimed at promoting market penetration and the latter approach being aimed at recovering costs incurred in research and development. Distribution at this stage is selective with concentration of products being guided by the rate of market acceptance while promotion is targeted at innovators and early adopters (Li, 2011). The growth stage is characterised by rapid growth in sales as products gain more acceptance in the market. At the growth stage, the focus of the marketers is to increase market share and also establish the brand. Promotion is targeted at wider audiences with distribution channels greatly increased. The maturity stage is characterised by slowing growth in sales. At this stage, competitor products are introduced into the market and the organisation at the maturity stage is preoccupied with efforts to protect the market share gained (QuickMBA, 2012). Distribution is intensified, product features are enhanced to promote differentiation, prices are lowered and customers given plenty of incentives in order to remain loyal to the brand. The decline stage is characterised by declining sales and the organisation is faced with the option of introducing new product features to the products to boost sales, discontinue the product or reduce operational costs and continue offering products to selected markets.

The brand and approach to branding helps in providing focus for the marketing strategy. The different elements of the marketing mix deployed should at all times be consistent with the brand attributes (Cifci and Kocak, 2012). The choice on the brand image to be projected should also be made strategically with product tangible and product intangible attributes being consistent with the product in question. For instance, where the brand aims at establishing an image as a high class product, the advertisement messages should bring out the theme clearly. Similarly, distribution and pricing should correspond to the expectations that the society would have of high class products (Bettiol, Di Maria and Finotto, 2012). The use of branding is especially useful in organisations that embrace the social marketing orientation where the approach to production, marketing and social responsibility emphasise the same theme.

Equally important is the requirement that the marketing strategies be in line with the overall organisational goals. The overriding factor in any marketing strategy is its ability to contribute to the achievement of the corporate strategies set. The realisation of this important task has seen the elevation of the marketing function to the senior management level in organisations around the world (Hartman and Beck-Dudley, 1999; Pope and Hume, 2003). Senior marketing executives are increasingly participating in the formulation of overall organisational strategies, product development forums and even in the determination of operational practices in organisations. The marketing function is relevant to every facet of the organisation. Analysts are almost unanimous that the marketing orientation is the dominant philosophy embraced in marketing. Organisations are increasingly focused on monitoring changing customer preferences and using the information to either produce new products or modify existing products to ensure that the customers are satisfied (Sala, 2008). Customer relationship management incorporates customers as partners in the product development processes where the customers provide useful insights on the products that are needed in the market. Social marketing on the other hand focuses on portraying the organisation as a partner in the efforts of promoting the overall wellbeing of the society. This marketing oriented focus has also been a beneficiary of emerging communication technologies through the internet and others (Sala, 2008). Organisations are increasingly embracing the internet not just as an avenue for advertisement but as a medium through which information can be aggregated and used to guide future strategy. The internet has made the average consumer an active participant in the branding efforts where such consumers readily air their view on expectations and experiences with products. Organisations subsequently collect the information for analysis and product development where appropriate. A good example of the use of the internet in collecting information is evident in Tesco’s approach in using enquiries to anticipate consumer needs and later use the data for targeted direct marketing (Toften and Hammervoll, 2009).  

The rapid globalisation in the world has also had for reaching implications on marketing strategy. With the growth in globalisation, more and more organisations are opting to embrace international expansion as their way of seeking to realise growth. The implication on marketing strategy is that organisations are increasingly faced with the prospect of having to derive ways of communicating effectively with customers despite the psychological distance that may exist between them (Hennerberg, 1999). In many a cases, organisations are faced with the choice between embracing a global strategy or a localisation strategy in their marketing endeavours. In the context of the marketing strategy, a localisation strategy would include the modification of product features and modifying marketing communications to be in line with what the host communities are comfortable with (Meng and Layton, 2011). While the localisation approach may be effective in the host economies, it presents opportunities for inconsistencies that may eventually erode the global brand image. The global approach on the other hand is often criticised for its negligence of the special socio-cultural settings in the host economies and this portrays their products as alien to the customers targeted. Most organisations operating across the globe therefore tend to opt for a mixture of the two strategies where the focus is on maintaining a uniform brand outlook while entertaining slight modifications that would see local communities in different countries embrace the organisations’ products (Meng and Layton, 2011).

3.0 Body Shop International’s marketing strategy

3.1 Company Background

The Body Shop International PLC is a UK based global manufacturer and retailer of cosmetics and toiletry. The main product segments in the company include conditioners, soaps, bath products, shampoos and skin creams. In addition to these, the company produces accessories such as mitts, exfoliating bath gloves, relaxing and invigorating massagers, perfumes, men’s toiletry and body buffers among others (OneSource, 2012). The underlying feature in most of these products is that they are predominantly made using natural products and this is in line with their commitment to ensure that they provide environmentally friendly products. The company operates in over 63 countries distributed across geographical regions such as the Americas, Asia, Africa, Middle East and Europe. Having been founded in 1976 by Anita Roddick, the company has grown to become a leader in the global industry (Strategic Direction, 2007). By the end of 2010, the company was operating 2,605 stores including 1088 fully owned outlets and 1517 franchises (OneSource, 2012). The company also operates an online portfolio which is strategically positioned to tap into the growing number of online shoppers. The company embraces innovation as its basic approach with an emphasis on the use of natural materials in production. The company is currently owned by a global conglomerate L’Oreal S.A, a French based company. The company’s dominant philosophy is widely believed to conform to the personal values of its founder Anita Roddick whose firm belief was that business should exist for the purpose of benefiting the society (Livesey and Kearins, 2002). Her firm resolve to embrace ethical practises saw her take early initiatives to campaign against the testing of products on animals during R&D. This monumental contribution would later culminate into the company being awarded with an award from the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals dubbed the Lifetime Achievement Award (Global Data, 2011). The company’s commitment to the improvement of the welfare of the society can further be seen in the structure of its supply chains where efforts are made to source for raw materials from the world’s poor and where raw materials are acquired at fair prices in order to improve the welfare of such people.

The main competitors of the organisation include Unilever and Proctor & Gamble both of which enjoy significant market shares in the world economy (OneSource, 2012). The industry is dominated by global conglomerates that are in constant strife over gaining and protection of market shares. The product offering within the industry is varied with the Body Shop creating a niche for itself as a producer of environmentally friendly and natural products. However, this advantage is quickly being neutralised by competitors that have been at the top of their game in introducing green products in their already diversified product portfolios. In addition to rivalry among current industry players, the industry is faced by serious threat of counterfeits. Counterfeits not only lead to loss of revenue; they also lead to erosion of brand values of companies whose products have been counterfeited. The Body Shop also operates in an industry whose clients are highly dynamic (Sinclair and Agyeman, 2005). Customer preferences tend to change rather quickly and this shortens the average product life cycle significantly. This places industry players in a situation where they need to be innovative while keeping their research and development costs low to facilitate recovery of such costs before competitors make similar products and product features.

The SWOT analysis of the organisation is as follows:

Strengths	Weaknesses
Innovations record	product recalls
Part of a larger global conglomerate- L'Oreal
Strong brand
Strong international presence
Opportunities	Threats
growing popularity of the internet	rapid changes in consumer preferences
growing acceptance of globalisation	growing competition
emergence of a global culture	Counterfeits

The company seeks to overcome the threat posed by rapid changes in consumer preferences by enhancing its innovation capabilities. The company also has a strong brand with recognitions earned in the late 1990s playing a crucial role in establishing the Body Shop as a reliable brand (Sinclair and Agyeman, 2005). In 1999, the company was voted as the UK’s most trusted brand by the Consumers Association; one year after being ranked as the 27^th most respected company in the world by the Financial Times. The strong brand can be used effectively to counter mounting competition.  Having joined the L’Oreal S.A in 2006, the Body Shop can access market intelligence and resources necessary to boost its R&D capabilities as well as making meaningful investments. As at the end of 2010, L’Oreal S.A held over 15% of the global market share and this provides the body shape with the advantage of leveraging itself on this elevated position (Global Data, 2011). The company’s strong international presence also puts it in a position where it is well placed to survive economic turmoil in isolated regions. On the other hand, the company’s weakness has been evident in its recent product recalls. In 2010, 24 products were recalled after a few incidents were noticed where the tea lights would flare inappropriately (Global Data, 2011). Recalls have the potential of denting the credibility of brands and the companies affected are often forced to go the extra mile to regain the lost trust.

A discussion of the opportunities available to the company and the corresponding marketing strategies used to exploit such opportunities has been discussed in the following section.

3.2 Evaluation of the company’s Marketing Strategy

The dominant theme observable in Body Shop’s marketing strategies is two-fold: marketing orientation and social marketing orientation. This implies the focus on consumer preferences and the creation of products to satisfy those needs as well as the commitment to ensure that business activity improves the welfare of the society in general. The evaluation of the company’s marketing strategy should be based on observations on its brand strategy as well as the composition of the company’s marketing mix. This is done while appreciating the factors in the macro and micro environments as well as the strengths and weaknesses of the company.

The products offered carry one dominant feature in their makeup: natural materials (The Body Shop, 2012). The company continues to emphasise its commitment to provide products that are natural and whose adverse impact on the environment and human health is minimal. The conception of the idea of producing natural products was conceived by the company’s founder Anita Roddick (Strategic Direction, 2012). In her trips around the world, Anita discovered that women in the third world countries were using natural products such as Aloe Vera to keep their skins smooth and healthy. She took notice of the fact that unlike the West where skin products bore a sexual theme, the third world women were purely preoccupied with skin health and smoothness. She therefore sought to produce the natural products and incorporate the focus on skin health as the dominant value of the brand. To date, the company produces over 600 different products (The Body Shop, 2012). In addition, it prioritises innovation and has in fact been among the most astute innovators in the industry in recent times. For a product to perform well in the market, it must satisfy customer needs. Concerns over health and adverse effects of chemicals in beauty products have seen customers shift preference to products that are viewed as natural. This trend has seen industry players rushing to innovate natural products: much to the detriment of the Body Shop which has to push forward with its innovations in order to weather out growing competition. Technological advancements have been particularly helpful to the company which can produce new products with speed. Product quality is of paramount importance when it comes to winning favour with the market. Incidences that require recalls can therefore hurt an organisation’s image. The Body Shop International sought to overcome the potential damage by its 2010’s recall of 24 products by emphasising its commitment to safety of customers and highlighting their willingness to incur losses to ensure that no one is placed at risk while using their products (Global Data, 2012). This brilliant approach had the potential for turning their weakness into strength.

The company pursues a fair pricing approach where the prices of their products are within the range of competitor products in the market. Whereas it may be argued that the ‘natural’ feature of the Body Shop’s products makes them superior and therefore warranting a premium pricing strategy, the company has continuously reiterated their principal philosophy of societal welfare. This theme would likely be hurt if the company would appear to be focused on making superior returns on their products. The company’s founding executive was at some point quoted to have lamented her being ranked among the most successful people based on the wealth that the company had accumulated over the years (Hartman and Beck-Dudley, 1999). This philosophy that encouraged modest pricing and modest profitability was and continues to be reflected in the company’s pricing models to date.

Place refers to the distribution networks of the company. It is especially critical for companies that can be said to be nearing the maturity stage in their life cycles. Whereas the company may target further growth in the global industry, it should be appreciated that there is need for it to protect the market share already gained. This calls for the establishment of wide distribution channels as well as the embracing of new channels. The Body Shop operates over 2,605 stores which comprise of 1,088 fully owned outlets and 1,517 franchises. These distribution channels are strategically placed close to the company’s target consumers (OneSource, 2012). While the number may appear large in absolute numbers, the company lags behind other market leaders such as Unilever and Proctor & Gamble and would need to significantly increase its international presence in order to gain greater market share (OneSource, 2012). This approach finds its basis in consumer psychology analyses where reports list convenience and accessibility of products as among the most important factors that influence consumer purchasing decisions. An average consumer would rather settle for the second-best brand instead of going out in search of the preferred brand. This forms the rationale for the revamping of the distribution channels.

Opportunities for the strengthening of distribution channels are found in the internet. The internet is becoming a key player in commerce with more and more users opting to shop online. The internet offers convenience where users can shop from the convenience of their homes and offices. It makes the information search process very convenient. Organisations operating online retail outlets have the ability to serve customers from diverse regions due to the fact that the internet is everywhere. The Body Shop’s online portfolio places the organisation strategically where it can tap into the growing popularity of the internet. The running of the portfolio should be accompanied by the introduction of delivery services to provide convenience for the shoppers (Meng and Layton, 2011). Further prospects for growth in the online portfolio are propelled by the presence of reliable infrastructure for electronic transactions as well as mechanisms for fighting cybercrime, especially in the developed world.

Promotion refers to all communication efforts undertaken by the organisation to promote awareness of its products in the market. The main elements of the promotional mix include advertising; direct marketing, sales promotion publicity and public relations (Perreault and McCarthy, 2003). In most organisations, advertising takes the lion share of the marketing budget. Anita Roddick’s philosophy which largely influenced the business philosophy frowned upon cut throat competition and aggressive marketing. This philosophical approach saw the company engage only in minimal advertisements. In fact, it was only after the L’Oreal took ownership of the company that advertisements began to run frequently (Strategic Direction, 2012). The advertisement mediums are both traditional and through the internet, whose share in the advertisement budgets around the world is on a steady rise. The company has traditionally relied on the sales promotion approach to sell its products. This approach is known to be quite effective when well implemented (Kotler, 2009). Also prevalent was the focus on publicity. Publicity is the most credible element in the promotional mix. The company initially made a name for itself by boldly confronting industry norms where animal testing was the standard procedure in R&D. It also presented itself as an advocate for the wellbeing of the society and emphasised on the need for business activities to be utilised to improve the society. In consistency with these calls, the company runs a fair trade initiative where suppliers from 22 countries comprising of poor persons get to sell their raw materials to the Body Shop at very fair prices (Global Data, 2011). In addition to this, the company has been very vocal on issues of business ethics and the importance of going green as well as minimisation of the adverse impact on societies by business. These highly publicised public relation approaches have worked to the advantage of the business.

In addition to the focus on the marketing mix elements, the company is keen on building brand equity which is focused on ensuring consistency in all its marketing endeavours. The company’s brand represents innovation, friendliness to the environment and commitment to the welfare of the society (The Body Shop, 2012). The company’s brand also reflects an image of tranquillity and absence of strife. It seeks to bring out the theme of nature in its products. The projection of this image is done by ensuring that all the elements of the marketing mix are consistent with it. Consistency in branding is crucial. The brand management process aims at aligning the brand identity to the brand image where the former refers to how the organisation views itself and the latter refers to how stakeholders view the business. The lifetime achievement award granted by anti-animal cruelty body in 2009 proves the company’s record in the fight for ensuring ethics is adhered to in the industry. The company’s commitment to ethics and CSR is also evident in the manner in which they treat their employees. As a matter of fact, the Body Shop International was recognised with an award dubbed ‘the Best Corporate and Employee Citizenship’ in recognition of its commitment to employee welfare (Global Data, 2011). The same approach has been taken in the design of its supply chain. It is stated that the company’s raw materials are sourced from the less privileged in the society to a tune of 65% (Strategic Direction, 2012). This establishes it as a friend of the society: one that understands their needs, provides products to satisfy those needs, pursues a modest pricing approach, and works towards the betterment of the society.

4.0 Conclusion and recommendations

Marketing can ably be summarised as the collection of processes aimed at bringing value to customers. Marketing strategy on the other hand deals with the planning, implementation and monitoring of marketing activities in a manner that enhances the achievement of the predetermined objectives. Marketing strategy must be informed by three factors: internal audit of the organisation, analysis of industry forces, and assessed factors in the macro environment. The Body Shop has a well acknowledged record in innovations as well as a strong brand. It has an international presence. These strengths can be used effectively to counter arising threats such as rising competition, presence of counterfeits and rapidly changing customer preferences. The strengths can also be used to utilise opportunities arising in the external environment such as the growing popularity of the internet. The marketing mix provides a suitable framework through which the marketing strategy of the organisation can be evaluated. The Body Shop offers a wide range of products which are predominantly made using natural materials. The company also maintains a wide distribution network composed of over 2605 stores as well as an online portfolio.

The company predominantly embraces the social marketing orientation with a commitment to improving the welfare of the society. It also embraces the values of tranquillity and avoidance of cut throat competition in business. It therefore uses less advertising and channels more attention into publicity. The company aims at generating positive publicity by being vocal on ethical issues in business practice. For instance, the company is known to be among the advocates of animal rights and a fierce critic of the approaches taken by most businesses where emphasis is laid on profitability at the expense of welfare of the society.

The approach taken by the company in terms of less emphasis on advertisement is likely to be counterproductive in future. The company’s strategic position in relation to values is likely to be eroded as more companies embrace business ethics and go into CSR reporting more decisively. Even though accurate replication of the brand may be impossible, similarities in approach could reduce the advantage and this would reduce the effectiveness of the company’s reliance on publicity. Advertisement is increasingly crucial in today’s world. As product and business process innovation in the modern world become optimised, it is almost impossible to achieve sustainable differentiation on either front. Advertising therefore becomes the best way out with emphasis on product intangible attributes aimed at reinforcing the brand image. Branding is the only other front that businesses can use to achieve differentiation. The connection between consumers and the brand is difficult to replicate. This would require lots of advertisement and brand awareness campaigns. The mounting level of competition in the market makes survival difficult for any organisation that hopes to keep off aggressive marketing. This paper finds in favour of the Body Shop International embracing advertisement and brand awareness campaigns more decisively. This should be done in conjunction with consistent implementation of the marketing mix as well as the maintenance of the unique structure of the company’s supply chain.

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