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