About Sodashi

Discuss about the Market Segmentation and Customer Focus Strategies.

Sodashi skin care is a company which operates privately and was incepted in 1999 in North Fremantle, WA. The employees of this company are less in number. They would be approx. 11-50 employees. This organization deals in the skin care products which are organic and are used in the Spa and beauty. These products are cruelty free i.e. they are used in any animal and they are the products which are good for skin. This firm always tries to help the people who suffer with rough or dry skin or for those who are just looking to relax a bit. This refers to the complete health care of the skin and helps in nourishing the physical body, inner soul, senses and the mind. People and especially girls who are in their teens or young age like these products very much as Sodashi is safe to use and good for their skin. Sodashi’s objective is to always satisfy its customers from their inner soul and to calm them at high level. It reawakens the skin. Sodashi has always proved itself as a good company in terms of its products and services which it provides. It creates a luxurious heritage which offers the best experiences by providing one of a kind and valuable products (Sodashi, 2018).

The goal of this company is to raise and celebrate each individual’s one of a kind beauties and when anyone uses the products of this firm, it should be able to make memories and make a person feel beautiful and one will always value oneself (Sodashi, 2018).

It implies unity, happiness and completeness. With Unity, the firm desires to raise the requirements of the skin, completeness commits to the organic ingredients used and happiness for seeking to offer skin which is beautiful. It always works towards taking the holistic approach which beautifies not just the skin but also mind, body and soul.

The marketing Environment can be analyzed by doing the PESTLE analysis of the firm where it wants to establish itself or where it is already established. Sodashi is located in many countries like Australia, Thailand, other parts of Asia and Japan etc.

Political Factors: In Japan, there exists LDP i.e. liberal Democratic Party. The government is stable in Japan and has great power. Hence, the prices of products are increased and encourage the consumer to save money for long term use. The tax is lowered for the organization that work in Japan and encourages the female workers to work more. In a way, for Sodashi, the political factors work nicely as there are more female workers needed in the skin care business and also the taxes are lower. GDP will be increasing by $2.7 trillion in terms of the open markets. There is always an open up for the foreign companies (Rastogi & Trivedi, 2016).

Sodashi’s Objective and Goal

Economic Factors: The business in Japan is changing very quickly into Pro-business. The foreign investments are also increasing day after day. There is always a large scope for Japan in becoming the best natural resources provider as there are many forests and nature which is not yet trapped. It is closely located near Asia which is considered to be the growing market and closer to Europe as well. Since, Sodashi have to look for organic things as it uses organic products in their services, Japan is good for this. The economic factors of Japan can make Sodashi grow in Asia as well as in Europe too after building connection with the developed and the developing markets (Gupta, 2013). 

Social Factors: Parents spend lots of money on their children and teenagers. It is in a way good for the teenage girls who suffer from skin care problems. Sodashi is quite famous with the society of this aged group people. The poverty rate is low in Japan and there are a huge amount of people who comes in the middle class and hence, creates a good scope for the usage of Sodashi products as they are of reasonable in cost (Ho, 2014).

Technology Factors: There are always high tech products used in Japan and it is considered to be the best country with technology products. There exist the best automation products and other products which can prove to be long lasting. Because of Japan being good with technology, it will be of great help to Sodashi firm as the online sales are very much feasible. There are many shoppers who would always want to shop online. Sodashi products are bought mostly online (Kozlinskis, 2016). 

Legal Factors: The legal factors are feasible for the firm as there is a minimum of 40 hours per well work as per the labor laws of Japan. Laws are lenient and it is fair for Sodashi as well.

Environmental Factors: The environmental factors might be of little problem for Sodashi as the climate is usually cold there. The maximum temperature in Japan is 40 degree Celsius. There are usually rains and natural hazards keep on happening. Due to the pollution created by the technology, people suffer more with the diseases like Asthma etc. The environment could have been more feasible for Sodashi to sustain (Lucintel, 2016).

To determine the competitors of the firm and do the competitive analysis, Porter’s five forces model is the best method. It includes five points which are as follows:

• Competitive Rivalry: The rival companies are usually the one’s which are doing great in the market as compared to the firm for which the analysis is being done. The rivalry in Japan usually depends upon region to region as the sales and the competition in Japan is considered in regional basis. As for Japan, there are two locations where Sodashi is located. One is Four Seasons hotel and other is Ritz Carlton. Both the places have other firms as well for the same industry. Hence, not much of a big threat is there for Sodashi in Japan (Omsa et al., 2017).
• Bargaining Power of Suppliers: Japan constitutes of many suppliers in every industry. It is quite developed in this way. Hence, the power of the suppliers in terms of bargaining is very low as they know that there are a lot others who can give good rates to the firms.
• Bargaining Power of Buyers: It is just the opposite of the suppliers’ power to bargain. The buyers know that there a lot of suppliers who can give the products for buying on cheaper rates just to sell that product in Japan. This gives the buyers the power to bargaining a lot(Ogutu, 2015).
• Threat of Substitute: If Sodashi is taken to be as Product Company, most of the products can be used in daily life easily and the usage of each and every product is more. The offerings would also be more if the usage is more. Then the threat to substitute is very much more or high. In case of the company is taken to be as opportunity provider, and then the threat is low because of the low unemployment rate in Japan(Tehrani & Rahmani, 2014).
• Threat to New Entry: The threat to the new entry is moderate as there are many people who are using multi level marketing strategy there in order to sustain in the market and grow as well and there is always less barriers to the new entry if the Japan environment is considered(Arons, 1999).

PESTLE Analysis of Sodashi

After the competitor analysis of Sodashi Japan, it can be concluded that it is kind of safe working in Japan environment.

Mode of Entry: Sodashi collaborated with the branded hotels and opened its stores there so that the foot fall is more and people could know the name of the brand with the services it provides.

The research of market readiness is the type of process with which the firm makes sure that its product is all set for launching in the new market. The process includes the interviewing of the probable users to check if the product is satisfying the need of the users or not and also to check if the product is helpful for the users in becoming more efficient in whatever they use or do. Sodashi was an Australian brand primarily and it wanted to establish itself in Japan as well. It was launched in Japan at two places. One Ritz Carlton and other is Four Seasons. With Ritz Carlton, it was a new partnership done for the establishment of the firm in Japan (Morgointelligence, 2017).

Ritz Carlton had just completed the multi-phase transformation of itself being a five star hotel. In Tokyo, it was known to be as tallest building. The founder of Sodashi, Megan Larsen said that she was very delighted to partner with the hotel and to unveil Sodashi in Japanese market of skincare (Hunwick, 2015).

The objective of Sodashi was to just seek the customers looking for a rejuvenating experience and to give those customers of Japan and other people the finest products and a beautiful experience.

Sodashi in Japan was launched when it had already acquired several locations successfully like St. Regis Hotel Dubai, The Spa at Mandarin Oriental London etc. The success of t he company was perhaps due to the commitment they show in their clients and the purity with which they work. Megan Larsen never compromised in anything since the inception of the firm.

Megan informed the media while at the launch of Sodashi at Ritz, Japan that their products are going to be toxin free range and they would let customer chose the health centric choices.

Seeing such reviews of Sodashi, it can be said that it is well established in Ritz Carlton, Japan.

The SWOT analysis of Sodashi Japan is as follows:

• The Labor is skilled all over Japan and as a result the work quality is better.
• The policies are very strong made by the Government of Japan. Hence, the people are disciplined.
• Japan followed and founded the best practices in the world and they are followed in many organizations such as Kaizen, 5S of Japanese, Kodawari and many more.
• Technology is too good in Japan and hence, Sodashi can do a good online business there.
• Overpopulation increases the number of services for skin care products(Ommani, 2014).

• There are so many frequent natural disasters which have been occurring in Japan every now and then. The business gets hampered a lot due to this and there is a chance of repositioning of the firm in the same country if something huge occurs.
• The economy on the whole for every kind of market is low since the birth rate is low in Japan because of the infertility problems.
• The death rate is also low as Japanese people live longer than usual other people in the whole world(GÜREL, 2017).

• Japanese people are always willing to spend their money in long term good quality products available in the market due to the high disposable income. Hence, there is a lot of opportunity for Sodashi to sell their products as they are organic and reliable(Valentin, 2005).
• The market of Japan is emerging nicely with respect to the global trends of consumer products. This could be a good opportunity for Sodashi to grow their products in Japanese market and help in the economic growth.
• E-Commerce is growing day after day these days. This a very good opportunity for Sodashi as they already sell their products online(Hovardas, 2015).

• There can be a collapse of economy if the recession season comes in Japan as the trend is seen that after recessions all other countries became better but Japan took a long time to recover.
• The ingredients of the products of Sodashi would have to be from Japan mostly as there are very strict trade restrictions in Japan. These types of restrictions are resistances for investment market.
• The cost of products would have to be a little high because of the high taxes in Japan. Hence, the sales could come down anytime (Bhasin, 2017).

STPD strategy is often adopted by the firms for the better establishment of the firm in the particular chosen market. The STPD strategy which Sodashi should follow is as follows:

Porter’s Five Forces Analysis of Sodashi

No company is that powerful which is able to serve all consumers in the whole market. Not at least with the profitability and in the similar way. The need of all different types of customers is too huge in number. There are a large number of customers, their characteristics, requirements and desires and behaviors which a firm has to deal with before establishing itself (Lynn, 2011).

Segmentation of the market process involves dividing the market into multiple groups of buyers according to their needs, behaviors, characteristics etc. who may need separate products or marketing trainings.  One segment will be known as the group of consumers who react in same way for any given marketing efforts. The demand of the product is influenced by the similar factors (Kottier, 2017).

The bases on which the segmentation is done are:

• Geographic: In case of Sodashi, the regions, cities and whole Japan should be considering if that is feasible for the establishment of the firm or not.
• Demography: Gender, life cycle of the family, Age income, job type, religion, race, size of the family and nationality should be kept in mind.
• Psychographic social class, lifestyle, socio economic factors should be considered.
• Behavioral: Occasion like Valentine Day behaviors should be studied, benefits sought by the people, status of the user, rate of the usage of the products, readiness stage for the segmentation should be kept in mind.

There is different type of segments used by the marketers for getting small and better groups to target (Gnepa & Cordeiro, 2011).

Demographic segmentation includes Geo, city, income – low or not etc.

Business Market Segmentation involves personal characteristics, demographic, variables for operations and approaches of people towards the purchases.

International Market segmentation is done by segmenting Geographic economy, Legal and political factors, cultural languages spoken in Japan etc.

Inter-Market Segmentation consists of the consumers with the same requirements, behaviors located in the similar country.

Needs for efficient Segmentation should be:

• Measurable in which the size, power of purchase and profile segment should be measured.
• Accessible which can efficiently reach to the public.
• Substantial and should be huge to serve enough people.
• Differentiable in which the distinguishment is done conceptually and also responds uniquely to all the kind of marketing programs(Bose , 2012).
• Actionable in which the programs should be effective enough to attract and serve the segments.

In the targeting process, one or more segments which the firm feels are ready to be attracted and served are targeted. This type of market for whom the designs are sold with a certain level of marketing mix is known as the target market (Janiszewska & Insch, 2012).

• Growth and the Size: The data of the rates of growth, sales and the profitability which is expected is collected.
• Attractiveness of structure: In this the number of opponents in the market and the aggressiveness of competitors are judged. Also, their product which can be the substitutes of the products the firm is providing is analyzed and the power of the buyers and suppliers is noticed.
• Objective of Company and resources: The goals that the firm has for the establishment of the long term are analyzed here in this evaluation.

• Undifferentiated or Mass marketing: The market segment differences are avoided and the whole market with only one offer is targeted in order to appeal the buyers mostly. This phase focus on the cliché requirements of the customers instead of keep on finding with what is different.
• Differentiated or Segmented marketing: In this type of targeting, the company decides to target a few market segments and provides various different offers for each segment. This way is good for gaining the stronger market position and sales. It is also good for gaining good profit but mostly at the higher rates as compared to mass marketing(Malinen, 2013).
• Niche or concentrated Marketing: The segments which are targeted should be large in niche marketing. Fine tuned market should be mixed effectively for this. There is less competition as compared to other two. Large competitors are overlooked.
• Micro and local marketing: The products are designed and programs for marketing are also designed according to the needs of the individuals or local consumers in this marketing. This type of marketing is easier when combined with communication technology, the cost if higher and might dilute the image of the brand.
• Individual Marketing: one to one marketing of the products and new technologies when done, it is known as individual marketing.

The position of the product is the way in which the product could be defined by the customers on significant attributes like place that the product takes in the intellects of the customers relative to rival products- based on the thinking, impression and feeling of the consumers. For Example: Porsche was positioned a performance car.

The steps included in positioning are:

• The firm should be able to identify the set of differentiating competitive advantages on which the position is to be built. The perpetual positioning maps show the perceptions of the consumers that they have about the brand as compared to the competitive brands on significant dimensions(Claessens , 2015).
• Identification and choosing of the right competitive advantages should be done. These competitive advantages could be gained by huge customer value and the lower prices etc. The competitive advantages could be done by:

1. Differentiating in the product features, performance, reliability, design, style and consistency etc.
2. Service differentiation in the product which should be speedy, easy in delivery and installation and repair etc.
3. Channel Differentiation in which coverage of the channel is done, performance and expertise are judged.
4. People Differentiation in which hiring and employee training is done in a way that they prove to be better than the competitors.
5. Image Differentiation in which the images are established for conveying offerings with benefits and better positioning(Ingenhoff & Fuhrer, 2010).

• By selecting from one of the positioning strategies, the positioning of the brand is done which is known to be as value proposition. In this the complete mix of the brand is differentiated and positioned.

This is how; Sodashi could use STPD strategy to establish itself in Japan.

This strategy is the set of marketing tactical tool which the firm uses for producing the wishful response from the market it is targeting. It has everything that the firm could work on for influencing the demands of the product. This strategy also helps in the market plan and execution of the product and the firm (Vilkey & Dehbid, 2016).

SWOT Analysis of Sodashi Japan

The marketing mix can be stated in terms of four components – product, price, place, and promotion. Understanding each of suchfeaturescan give a clear image of the tool (Genestre et al., 2008).

It is the offering which the firm has to provide to the customers. It is developed by the firm and then becomes ready for the customers. IT can also be defined as a form of service. For example: Sodashi offers skin care products such as spa creams, fragrant oils etc. These are the products which the firm offers in Japan. “P” is the fundamental of the business if marketing mix is concerned. When creating a product, a firm should consider some of the factors in mind. They are:

• The demand which exists for the product(S., 2016).
• The need of the customer is satisfied with the product or not.
• The future of the market is also considered.
• What type of products are there in the market which can compete with that particular product.
• Adaptability should be analyzed according to the changing environment.
• The factors which can impact the demand of the product should be considered.
• The branding and the packing of the product.
• If the goals will be achieved by selling the product or not.

The strategy that Japanese market people apply is that they produce high quality product due to which they are long lasting and people appreciate long lasting products.

It is a significant factor in the marketing mix strategy. There are multiple firms which advertise for free services and products which are complimentary. However, that really does not mean that price should not be considered important at all because the products which are sold at low cost always have preferences from the users or the customers. Price is not always seen as the price of the produce but is observed as the value of the product (Išorait?, 2016).

The consumer always chooses best product according to them based on the value they have for the product and they think that the product deserves. This value can be a personal choice, economic conditions, prior experience etc. For example: Sodashi products will be bought by the customer even if the customer think that they are a being sold on a little high price because of many reasons they put over the cost. It can be because they are organic, huge variety, healthy for skin etc. In the same way, some customers are loyal to a brand as they have always had very good experiences with that brand. Hence, cost of product is not just the only factor in defining the purchase of the product (Pour et al., 201).

The factors which must be considered by a firm before analyzing the price of the service are:

• The cost of the product.
• Value of the product for the user.
• The sensitivity of price for the product.
• Competitor product pricing.
• Incentives and discounts which are offered by the product.
• Consumer’s tradeoffs.

Japanese chose the penetration pricing for assimilating into the Japan’s market. The strategy besides cheap after-sales service price was introduced to American’s market. 

Place is usually considered as the location from where the product is being sold. People usually feel that the place of product is physical. But since E-commerce is on a boom, the place could be virtual as well. In fact, place is also considered to be as the methods by which the product is allocated in the users.

Segmentation, Targeting, Positioning, and Differentiation (STPD) Strategy for Sodashi

The following factors are to be considered for distribution of the product:

• Medium from where the user will seek for the product.
• Location where the physical store is located.
• Online place of the product.
• Channels of the distribution.
• Salesforce requirement.
• Distribution channel for the competitors and scope for differentiation.

Distribution strategy for entering into the market was estimated by careful analyzing. All Japanese companies made the effort to present exclusive services.

The methods through which the product reaches out to the public is known as the promotion of the product. It is the service which is offered by the firm to let people know that there is a new product coming in the market. The process involves advertising, branding, sales, public relations etc. The promotion of the product can increase the sales like a rocket as the consumers are influenced a lot by such methods.

There should be some points which are considered for promotional strategy.

• The information about the audience to be targeted.
• Should be able to find the medium for gaining the access to the users.
• For getting full attention, there should be enough time for the promotions.
• Use of internet and media for making the product visible.
• Ways by which brand awareness increases.
• Environmental factors and social factors(Goi , 2009).

There is continuous readiness for the future market in Japan and this readiness helps in the development of the firm.

The primary efforts of Japanese companies were alongside direct advertising on the target market. The center of advertising was safeguarding the properties of the product and quality of the services as well as affordability and obligating to customers. Therefore, Japanese accepted that the production of the investments should be considered for the future.

Conclusion

This report focuses on the company named Sodashi and its establishment in the country Japan. A firm always has to go through a lot of research when it wants to establish itself in any foreign market.  There is always a process for doing it. Primarily, the PETLE analysis of Sodashi is discussed in order to analyze the marketing environment for the firm in Japan. Then the Porter’s analysis is discussed for knowing the competitive market. Later when these researches are done, the STPD strategy which is used in the product establishment is discussed. After all these analysis, it can be concluded that Sodashi has a very good scope of establishment in Japan as well as to earn profit. The only big threat that it can undergo is the climate changes and the natural disasters.

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