Marketing Management Organic Eco-Store

Question: Describe about the Marketing Management for Organic Eco-Store. Answer: Introduction Ecostore, as the name suggests is a brand which specializes in organic, eco-friendly and sustainable consumer products. The company traces its origins to New Zealand, where it was started by Malcolm Rands and his wife Melanie in their hometown. Initially they used sustainable and organic farming methods on their farmland for several years but they were still unaware of the fact that they were still using many harmful chemicals in producing cleaning and body care products and thus the Ecostore brand was born (Ecostore.com.au 2016). The company works on two principles i.e. Spirit which emphasizes on sourcing of improved products, free from hazardous chemicals and dedication that their products would be qt par with the mainstream products. The second principle that the company follows is Health First which focuses on developing products through technological innovation and research which gives maximum safety and benefit to the consumers. This exceptional principle has helped the company in creating a wide loyal customer base in the country which led to opening of its first retail store in Aucklands Freemans Bay in 1997, and it expanded its product segment into baby care products, home cleaning and body care. It further expanded its business by launching its store in supermarket of New Zealand, which was followed by its product launch in Australia in 2005, and in the United States in 2009 (Ecostore.com.au 2016). Marketing Environment Micro (Internal): This comprises of various factors that exists within the business: Company Employees: The primary concern of the company is to offer products that are organic in nature and which are packed with eco-friendly materials. The company aims to encourage its employees to use safe working methods and offer safer workplace environment (Dawson 2014). Customers: The wide array of its products varying from home care products, body care and baby care products which are developed after thorough and consistent research and development and elimination of usage of hazardous chemicals have earned them a widespread loyal customer base who loves to use their organic products (Armstrong et al. 2012). Competitors: Earthchoice is a major competitor of Ecostore in Australia in the home care segment, and Earthwise is a New Zealand based brand which competes with Ecostore in the body care, home care and baby care products segment. Society: Health and safety of the society and the environment on a whole is the primary aim of the company. Therefore, it does not test its products on animals and their products carry the PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) symbol. The company encourages its customers to buy Carbon Capture Paks which are made from sustainable sugarcane plastic which helps to reduce the customers carbon footprint. The company has achieved many certifications like ISO 14001:2004 for establishing valuable ecosystem management system in its operations. It has also received carbNZero certification in 2011 for its showing its proactive approach towards ecological leadership by reducing carbon dioxide and greenhouse gases in its manufacturing processes to minimize its impact on the rapid climate change and global warming (Kotler 2015). Meso (Industry): The company position itself as one of the leading organic products manufacturer and supplier to many supermarkets and retailers located in different countries. Their products are available in more than 800 supermarkets spread across Australia, Singapore, South Korea, Hong Kong, New Zealand and United States. The company emphasizes on the usage of sustainable business practices in its manufacturing process to ensure the customers receives the best quality product (Laroche and Park 2013). The company makes sure that the products that reach the customers are free from any kind of harmful chemicals and in case they find certain unsafe ingredients in their products, then such ingredients are replaced and safer substitute is sought. The company uses credible global resources like Environmental Working Group (EWG) database to help them in assessing the impact of all its ingredients to ensure health and safety (Czinkota and Ronkainen 2013). Macro (External): Political: The company takes into consideration all the current laws and regulations, government policies with respect to the country in which they operate to come to conclusion while determining the price of its products. For instance, Ecostore took the advantage of the free trade agreement between New Zealand and South Korea and signed a deal to export its products to South Korea (The New Zealand Herald 2016). Economic: The company keeps a close watch on the ongoing trend in the industry and the market while keeping in mind the various local government tax rates and economic policies to compete with its rivals in the local market (Ajagbe et al. 2015). Social: The company keeps a consistent track on the growing consciousness of the consumers towards the usage of eco-friendly products in a particular country and positions its products accordingly. It takes into consideration the demographic profile of the consumers in the region in which they operate, and also takes into consideration the changing lifestyle of the consumers. For an instance, the company sells its products in Australia through Woolworths supermarkets, as there is a growing demand for organic products in the country as they are free from any harmful chemicals and are treated as more fresh than the mainstream products (Terpstra Foley and Sarathy 2012). Technological: The company constantly focuses on technological innovation, research and development in which support them in improving their existing product line and bringing about new products (Alon and Eugene 2012). Legal: There are certain legal and ethical issues that the company takes into consideration while operating in the society. It has logo of PETA in all its products range as it does not test its products on animals, and the company provides all the necessary information related to its products like date of manufacturing, date of expiry, ingredients, manufacturer address and many other details as per the legal requirements (Ashill and Jobber 2014). Environmental: As mentioned above, the company aims at adopting sustainable business practices and consistently improves its manufacturing processes to ensure health and safety of the customers as well as the environment in which it operates. The company aims to minimize its impact on the environment in which it operates by using least harmful chemicals as the ingredients for its products and by reducing its carbon footprint by minimizing its emission of carbon dioxide and greenhouse gases in the environment (Groucutt and Hopkins 2015). Marketing Strategies Products Services: Vision: The company has a clear vision of manufacturing and delivering products that gives maximum value for money to the customers without compromising on the quality of the product at the same time. Further the company also ensures that it does not make use of any harmful chemicals in its manufacturing process which would create a negative impact on the health and safety of customers and the environment (Stark 2015). Goals: The primary goal of the company is to maximize its revenue by offering products that would meet the growing need of the customers consistently. It also seeks to expand its market presence across the globe. It has already been successful in marketing its products in some Asian countries like Hong Kong, South Korea, Singapore as well as United States and Australia. It further aims to encourage customers to buy their products through their online store (com 2016). Initiatives: The company through its non-profit organization Fairground Foundation aims to deal with critical environmental and social issues through funding and expertise to make a difference and thereby create more jobs. The foundations current project giving circle aims to generate donations through crowd funding for the protection of vegetation and wildlife. It further educates customers about its products and sustainable living through its blogs (org 2016). Suppliers and Customers: Ecostore understands the importance of its suppliers and customers in its supply chain as well established partnership between the suppliers and the company helps in leveraging the total cost of production. It maintains a healthy relationship with its suppliers and customers through steady communication through telephone and emails (com.au 2016). Pricing: Price is the major component that has played an enormously crucial role in putting Ecostore as one of major player in the consumer products segment amid the cut-throat competition. It gives a tough competition to some mainstream consumer products multinational like Procter and Gamble and Unilever in the Australian and New Zealand market where people prefer chemical free and eco-friendly products and since the products are natural, it helps the company the reduce the price of its products by 20 to 30 percent (Gilligan and Hird 2012). Promotion: Ecostore promotes its brand and its product as safe and healthy products as compared to the mainstream products which contains harmful chemicals beyond the tolerance limit which creates an inverse effect on the health and safety of the consumers. Due to the purity of its products, the company has been able to retain its loyal customers and earned many new customers. It further promotes its products through various fundraising campaigns like their current campaign of Fundraising Soaps (com.au 2016). Distribution: The company have a wide distribution network comprising of various wholesalers and retailers which strengthen their supply chain and ensures products are always available to the customers. They sell their products through their own retail stores as well as through franchising (Woolworths) in Australia and many other parts of Asia and other continents (Rushton Croucher and Baker 2014). Comparison of Ecostores Marketing Mix with its Competitors Earthwise and Earthchoice are the competitors that have been chosen or comparison with Ecostores marketing mix: Products: Earthwise products category includes Nourish Body which includes products for hair care, body care, hand care and soaps. Its household cleaning products includes cleaning products like multi-surface cleaning spray, disinfectant concentrate, multi-purpose wipes. It has a wide range of laundry powder with variants of fragrances like orange and eucalyptus, lavender, lemon and gardenia, and fragrance free. Its baby care products includes baby body wash, baby shampoo, baby lotion, baby bubble bath and baby detangler spray (co.nz 2016). Earthchoice includes hair care products like fruits, turning point and organic care. Its skin care products are sold under the name Australian Pure. Its baby care products are sold under the brand names of Organic Care, Purity Sensitive and Funtime (Naturesorganics.com.au 2016). Ecostore includes laundry powder, laundry liquid, stain remover and soaker, fabric softener. Its dish care products include dish liquids, dishwasher tablets, dish wash liquids (Ecostore.com.au 2016). Price: The price of Earthwises is as low as $5 per 250 ml for their baby care body wash and baby lotion and Ecostore charges $6.40 per 250 ml for its baby body wash and baby bubble bath and baby shampoo (com.au 2016). Place: Earthwise and Earthchoice primarily sell their products through their own retail outlets in Australia and New Zealand whereas Ecostore sells its products through its retail stores as well as various other supermarkets in New Zealand and Australia and through partnership in many coutries. Promotion: Earthchoice promotes its brand through its engagement in various environmental and social protection issues through its non-profit organization The Orangutan Project (org.au 2016). Similarly, Ecostore also aims at promoting its brand through various corporate social responsibilities through its non-profit organization Fairground Foundation (fairground.org 2016). Recommendations for Improving Ecostores Marketing Mix Ecostores marketing mix has been effective in driving its sales growth and profit maximization. However, there remain many locations where Ecostore are not present or difficult to reach. This problem mainly exists in the markets of developing nations like the Asian countries. Therefore, on the basis of its marketing mix, Ecostore should seek to enhance its distribution (place) element. In order to gain a competitive advantage over its rivals, the company should adopt a penetrating pricing strategy in new markets as well as existing markets. It can also enter some emerging markets like India, South Africa and Brazil through joint ventures or foreign direct investments. By implementing such strategies, the company would be able to maximize its revenue and sales as well as it would be able to expand its market presence in various untapped territories. References Ajagbe, A.M., Ogbari, M.E., Oke, A.O. and Isiavwe, D.T., 2015. Review of global marketing environment and entrepreneurship development.International Journal of Commerce and Law, pp.1-14. Alon, I. and Eugene, J., 2012.Global marketing. Mcgraw Hill Higher Education. 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