International Market Segmentation Exploring Cell Phone Market

Question: Discuss about the International Market Segmentation for Exploring Cell Phone Market? Answer: Introduction Unilever is one of the most successful and influential multinational companies of the world. It is co-headquartered in Rotterdam, Netherlands and London, United Kingdom. The product line of Unilever includes cleaning agents, food beverages and personal care products. The company has been creative in assessing global market with its varied and unique marketing plans and it currently analyzing the market of Bulgaria for the launch of a new personal care product, Dove beauty soap. It is a brand new product for the market of Bulgaria and after achieving tremendous success in different European markets the company is planning to launch the Dove beauty shop in Bulgaria. In this report, we will statistically analyze the new product to be launched by Unilever and significantly research on the analytical perspective of the market along with the strengths and weakness that possess with the new product launch. The entire report will conceptualize on the implementation of the plan considering the prolific factors of market strategy and international business. Implementing the plan along with market research would enable to figure out the companys strengths and weakness according to the new market. Strengths and Weakness according to the new market Being a multinational corporation, Unilever operates in more than 190 nations all around the world, and it has been a significant paragon of quality and excellence in the fast moving sector of consumer goods(Technology-Driven Online Marketing Performance Measurement:, 2014). It is universally known that the company gains it the competitive advantage through its global footprint and the track record of the company enhances the value for the varied consumers all over the world. Analyzing the new product launch Dove beauty soap in Bulgarian market the company needs to analyze and conceptualize the organizational strengths and weaknesses compared to the market. The most economical and comparative factor that supports Unilever in launching the new product is that the company is already present in Bulgarian market and has been comparatively doing well over the years irrespective of the enormous completion in the market. Still it is mandatory to analyze the strengths and weakness of the Bul garian market before launching and selling the product in the market. Analyzing and researching the market has provided an overview of the strengths and the weakness of Unilever Company in the Bulgarian market. Strengths Unilever has been operating its business operation in Bulgarian market from over than two decades, and the products have been combined along with top of the mind among the customers. The company holds a broad and deep portfolio of several brands and product range that makes it positioned uniquely into the consumer preferences. Being one of the most influential companies Unilever has a distinctive competitive advantage in the market of Bulgaria due to its flexible pricing strategy and expertise in managing the distribution channels. Weaknesses The biggest weakness of Unilever is that it faces massive competition in Bulgarian market. Other global companies like Nestle and PG along with a host of various local organizations challenges the dominance of Unilever at every point of time raising stakes in the FMCG. Bulgarian market is emerging into new forms, and it poses a weakness for Unilever as its products and brands can be easily replaced with different substitutes. Alternative products can be a significant gap in the Unilever markets(Dawson and Guare, 2010). Market Segmentation Market segmentation is one of the most prolific advantages of Unilever over their competitors. With tremendous experience, Unilever is quite significant to know which products corresponds with the populations(HOWELL, 2011). Segmenting the Bulgarian market for launching its new product Dove beauty soap Unilever has divided a limited target market into various subsets of consumers. The company has targeted consumer needs and preferences along with interests and priorities. This has enabled Unilever to gain a serious analysis of the market structure. Beauty products in Bulgarian market hold a key to obtain a definite market ratio, and the consumer tastes and preferences are quite prolific in choosing the best for their health. Dove being a healthcare product Unilever has divided the market segmentation in four major bases Geographic, Demographic, Behavioral, and Psychographic(Awan, 2014). Based on these four major distinctions Unilever has analyzed the market for its new beauty product launch. Demographic Segmentation: Unilever traditionally divided the market into demographic segments based on the variables like age, gender, income, education, race and nationality. These distinctions would enable Unilever to target out the major bases of consumers who will be quite interested in the new product. Dove being a beauty product as per the adult segmentation women would be keener to buy the product. As far as the income, education and nationality are concerned the new product comes at a rare cheap price with distinctive features which will be quite easy to recognize, buy and use(Namvar, Khakabimamaghani and Gholamian, 2011). Geographic Segmentation: Bulgarias climate is temperate continental climate possessing moderate characteristics with hot summers and cold chilly winters. Thus, the geographic variable prolifically suits Unilever to launch its beauty soap, Dove as it will be essential to the consumer due to cold chilly winters. Dove is a moisturizing soap and, therefore, its quite effective for the skin in winters. The geographic variable such as climate and the population density of Bulgaria is the most efficient and effective for the new product launch by Unilever. It will significantly cause the consumer needs and would be effective for the company. Behavioral Segmentation: The behavioral segmentation would able to provide Unilever the segmentation based on the user status, user rate loyalty status, basis of occasions etc. Dove is an all time useable product and targets all users of various statuses. Dove being a healthcare product is needed for everyone and thus the basic criteria is fulfilled by Unilever by launching it. The usage rate is the only significant factor that needs to be analyzed as heavy users are quite small in percentage available in the market, but can account a huge percentage of total consumption. Unilever basically prefers attracting heavy users than the light users. Psychographic Segmentation: The lifestyle and personality traits pertain with the new product of Unilever. In major cases the buying behavior of the consumers in Bulgaria predominantly depends on the varied characteristics and lifestyle of the consumers(Dhoot and Bhola, 2013). The new product Dove will significantly target the individual character traits, attitudes and habits of different consumers along with the lifestyle analysis. The conceptualized investigation would provide a generic overview about the psychographic segmentation and would enable to target consumers affected by various variables like interests, opinions, beliefs and activities. International Business Framework International business incorporates any sort of business action that crosses national outskirts. In spite of the fact that various definitions in the business writing can be found be that as it may, no straightforward or generally acknowledged definition exists for the term worldwide business. Toward one side of the definitional range, worldwide business is characterized as association that purchases and/or offers merchandise and administrations crosswise over two or more national limits, regardless of the possibility that administration is situated in a solitary nation(Namvar, Khakabimamaghani and Gholamian, 2011). In its conventional type of global exchange and back and its freshest type of multinational business operations, International business has ended up gigantic in scale and has come to practice a noteworthy impact over political, monetary and social from numerous sorts of near business concentrates on and from a learning of numerous parts of outside business operations. Tru th is told, in some cases the outside operations and the similar business are utilized as synonymous for global business. Outside business alludes to residential operations inside of a outside nation. Near business concentrates on likenesses and contrasts among nations and business frameworks for spotlights on similarities and contrasts among nations and business operations and near business as fields of enquiry don't have as their real purpose of hobby the extraordinary issues that emerge when business exercises cross national limits(Thunderbird International Business Review, 2015). For instance, the imperative inquiry of potential clashes between the country state and the multinational firm, which gets significant consideration, is worldwide business, dislike to be focused or even fringe in remote operations and relative business. Theoretical approach of entering in a new market As per the business history reports, for each fruitful business sector passage, around four entries fail. Unpracticed new companies experience the ill effects of some of these mistake, however so do numerous complex organizations(Jarrow and Chatterjea, 2013). Subsequently, the decision of passage mode assumes a critical part for a firm in deciding its achievement or disappointment and impacts all the future choice and operations of the firm in the new commercial center. Venturing into another outside business sector, it is vital for remote firms to learn and aggregate information about the host business sector to defeat the obligation of foreignness. Outside firms are normally new to the host market conditions, and redid items require a lot of neighborhood business sector learning. To effectively present items or administrations in another business sector, firms need to create nearby market learning with the goal that they can meet the necessities and inclinations of nearby clients. Unilever can't bear the cost of poor choices in allocating their restricted assets to lessening markets while evading the appealing ones, or utilizing the wrong section mode for the chose market. The choice on which market to enter and step by step instructions to enter the chose business sector is of basic significance for the organization's benefit making and feasible development. Unilevers pondering venture into worldwide markets has a few passage alternatives. These for the most part incorporate fares, authorizing/franchising, joint endeavors (JVs) and entirely possessed auxiliaries. Each of these modes involves distinctive levels of asset prerequisites, authoritative control, expected future returns and hazard introduction. Exporting: Export is the most widely recognized mode for beginning section into worldwide markets. It is a traditionalist approach to test the universal waters. For Unilever, sending out is frequently the sole option for offering their merchandise in remote markets. Now and then a spontaneous request is gotten from a purchaser in an outside nation, or a local client grows universally and puts in a request for its global operations. This prompts the firm to consider global markets and to explore their development potential. Indirect Exporting: Unilevers business of launching the new product in Bulgaria can be beneficial by the prolific use of indirect exporting. Indirect exporting would reduce all the levels of danger and also control the basic charge by which the items are conveyed by others. The firm is not taking any significant part in the showcasing and no exceptional movement is carried on inside the firm. The deal of the launching product is taken care like residential deals. It particularly enables managing via the organizational administration of outside wholesalers, dealers or operators. The basic interest point for the managers is to utilize the middle person for the significant information of the economic conditions of the market. Unilever has huge involvement in indirect exporting and the household middle person of provides the exceptional skill to provide a detailed analysis of the economic conditions of the country. Indirect exporting can help Unilever to provide the needful products for the Bulgarian market to create a significant hold by launching its new beauty and healthcare product, Dove. Data collection method according to 7Ps of marketing mix Unilevers methodology inside of the Bulgarian business sector is to make a homogenous vision inside of the inward association, as well as inside of the wide appropriation system. Cooperating at the same time with a reasonable vision reaps better client administration which creates client faithfulness(Otubanjo, 2013). The organization requires additionally its wholesaler to exemplify these emotions keeping in mind the end goal to add to the same methodology (Katzman, 2011). Destinations Unilever goal is to precede key development in the Bulgarian market through a more extensive wholesaler system covering even the littlest authoritative locales. Furthermore, it has here too the worldwide targets for maintainability and ecological concern. Unilever accept that they can expand their piece of the pie through offering an assorted product offering inside of the healthcare products in Bulgarian Market. Product: The qualitative data collection method by the significant means of survey and questionnaire has provided a detailed analysis of the scope of items. This has enabled the Unilever administration to reliably extend the new item to be launched and has offered major sustenance. By launching the new product Unilever has accomplished an edge by providing quality cost parity and quality administrations for the new item to be launched (Otubanjo, 2013). Price: The survey conducted by Unilever to ascertain the peoples tastes and preferences of healthcare products revealed that major part of the population looks forward for quality products irrespective of the price. Their major concern is the effectiveness of the product. The methodology of Unilever has estimated the evaluation system and the administrative plans. Therefore Unilever has planned to cut out the operational and procurement expenses via the economies of scale and has adjusted with the preference of cost point via bran esteem principles. Place: Unilever significantly promotes the component of place for marketing in a statistical way. The company prolifically analyzes the areas where most of the customers buy their products. Therefore, the administrations of the company target those areas for the sales of their products. For the new product launch in Bulgaria Unilever opted for two basic communicative channels to provide the product and service. Unilever.com is the online channel that will target the Bulgarian customers in providing the products in direct measures and the offline channel will basically target the customers via various superstores of Unilever. Promotion: With the significant experience of more than 130 years Unilevers promotional strategies are unique in its own way that provides them a competitive edge from the various competitors in the global market. In case of the new product launch in the new market of Bulgaria the use of a significant technique would be favorable for branding and positioning themselves. Unilever basically uses its strategic components of promotions by analyzing the expansion of the brand image. The company prolifically targets the objective via sponsorships, advertisements online and on TV showcasing the various qualities of the new products and also the offers being provided with the new product (Otubanjo, 2013). Another significant most strategic way Unilever promotes the new product is by the Unilever card. This enables the basic point of interest of the business strategies. The card provides various offers and rebates and provides all the customers buying the product the brand estimation that enables to build the code of conduct and provide profitable assurance to the customers of the quality product being sold. People: The new product assessed by Unilever is not only for a certain class of people. It is a unique healthcare product with significant qualities and can be used by any class of people of Bulgaria. The basic component that makes the product unique is its low price and high quality. Unilever has planned to provide various activities and arrangement in the Bulgarian market to showcase the new product to the people and attain positive feedback by providing various promotional blends. Process: Unilevers provides much emphasis on the operations and the arrangement for supporting the basic needs and offers all the associates with the major procedure of promoting blend. The support of the administration is the key aspect that showcases the satisfactory attempt to support the purchaser and evaluating the worries by successful behavior. This significant process enables the company to attain the targets and objectives by analyzing the consumer behavior and evaluating the target market in profound way. Physical Evidence: Being the last component of marketing physical evidence is the most important for Unilever that provides a conceptualized overview about the physical proof and configuring various stores, quality, nature and size of the products etc. The physical evidence of the product is mainly created in the stores of Unilever to reflect the various visualizing components of the new product and brand at different levels. References Awan, M. (2014). International Market Segmentation: Exploring Cell Phone Market of Young Adults. International Journal of Trade, Economics and Finance, 5(2), pp.151-154. Dawson, P. and Guare, R. (2010). Work Your Strengths. Amacom Books. Dhoot, P. and Bhola, S. (2013). Psychographic Segmentation of Investors - a Case Study. Saarbrucken: LAP LAMBERT Academic Publishing. HOWELL, A. (2011). Labor Market Segmentation in Urumqi, Xinjiang: Exposing Labor Market Segments and Testing the Relationship between Migration and Segmentation. Growth and Change, 42(2), pp.200-226. Jarrow, R. and Chatterjea, A. (2013). Introduction to derivative securities, financial markets, and risk management.. [s.l.]: W wnorton. Katzman, J. (2011). A Basic Guide to Exporting. New York: Skyhorse Publishing, Inc. Namvar, M., Khakabimamaghani, S. and Gholamian, M. (2011). An approach to optimised customer segmentation and profiling using RFM, LTV, and demographic features. IJECRM, 5(3/4), p.220. Otubanjo, O. (2013). The Extended Corporate Identity Mix. IJMS, 5(1). Technology-Driven Online Marketing Performance Measurement:. (2014). International Journal of Online Marketing, 4(4), pp.0-0. Thunderbird International Business Review. (2015). Thunderbird International Business Review, 57(3), p.VIII-VIII.