Marketing Strategy

Of
Unilever Bangladesh Ltd.
(According to the Company
Marketing Mix & STP)

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Letter of Transmit

10 July, 2016
Kaniz Fatema,
Senior professor,
Department of Business administration,
Dhaka City College.

Sub: Submission of a report on Unilever Bangladesh Ltd

Dear Madam,
With great respect, I on behalf of the students of Marketing Department, Sec-C want to
submit the report. We have worked on Marketing strategy (segmentation, Targeting,
differentiation & Positioning) and Marketing mix (Product, price, place, & promotion)
of Unilever Bangladesh Ltd. While making the report we have gathered some new
experiences and faced some problem but we have done finally with great success.
Finally, I would like to thank you for the opportunity this report gave us to learn something
better than before and to develop our research skills, which will be invaluable for future
projects.

Your sincerely,
Humayra Kabir

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Table of Contents
Executive summary -------------------------------------------------------------iv-v
Chapter 1: Introduction of report

1.1.
1.2.

Origin
Objectives

1.2.1 General objectives

1.2.2 Specific objectives

1.3

Methodology

1.4

Limitations

9
10

Chapter 2: Company Profile

11

2.1 Company profile

Chapter 3:

12

2.1.1. Unilever

12

2.1.2. Unilever Bangladesh Ltd

13

2.2 Mission

14

2.3 Vision

15

Marketing Mix

16

3.1 Tools for Business professionals

17

3.1.1 Products

17

3.1.2 Affordability of consumer

24

3.1.3 Price

25

3.1.4 Attracting the target market

26

3.2 Marketing strategy

3.2.1 Divide large market into small segments

27
27

3.2.2 Targeting market

28

3.2.3 Evaluating market segments

30

3.2.4 Designing product based on consumers demand

32

Chapter 4: Conclusion
Appendix Part
References

34
35
36
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Executive summary
Unilever Bangladesh ltd is one of the worlds most successful fast moving consumer goods
manufacturing companies with local manufacturing facilities, reporting to regional business
groups for innovation and business results. The whole marketing strategy (4Ps and STP
model) of Unilever Bangladesh ltd. is reviewed in this report.

4Ps are the part of marketing mix which is a business tool used in marketing by marketing
professionals. In case of determining a product or brand s offering, this marketing mix is
very crucial for the company. Product is the first one in 4Ps which is very significant.
Personal care, Home care Food brand products are being marketed by Unilever throughout
world. Close up, Dove, Lifebuoy from Personal care; Surf excel, Vim from Home care and
Knorr from food brands are fulfilling the needs of target market.

Pricing is very tactical fact that every company must handle it very carefully. UBL (Unilever
Bangladesh ltd) adopted some strategies known as Product-line pricing, Competitive pricing
and Distribution pricing. Besides UBL also maintain Low pricing for obtaining maximum
profit, Different price lists for different markets along with Reducing product price to
maximize sales which allow to increase production and reduce unit production cost.

Another P is known as Place. Unilever set its placing strategy in such way that in every small
or big shop, customers could be able to find out their product that they are looking for.
Besides that, rural penetration, Strategic location of warehouse, increase of warehouse for
product and set up national service network etc. are being followed by UBL as strategic
placing policy.

In Promotion activities, Active performance is quite promising to their consumers. Media,

newspaper, radio, Hoarding, sales promotion- there are the media that Unilever uses in
promotion activities. Apart from that, strengthen sales force organization, reorganize sale
force in particular area increase advertising for the product in specific market considered as
promotional activities.
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Segmentation, Targeting and positioning are known as STP model in marketing strategy. This
is the process through which a company divide its large market into small parts, Target their
market where they focus to sell their product, evaluating market segment with Porters 5
forces that can shape industry competition, Select the very best target market portion/segment
which is known as Differentiating and at the end, placing the product based on that
differentiating.

Through Market segmentation Unilever Bangladesh Divide large heterogeneous market into
small segments that can be reached more efficiently and effectively with their product and
service that match their unique needs. Different segmentation variables alone and in
combination has been tried to find the best way to view the market structure. These variables
are Geographic, Demographic, Psychographic and Behavioral. Based on country Region and
density of city criteria geographic variables are being selected. Income, occupation, gender
and Age criteria fulfill the demographic variable. Social class and lifestyle can determine the
psychographic needs and behavioral criteria are based on occasions, user rate and user status.

Market shoppers are trading down to lower-priced goods-widening the pools of having and
not having consumers at the expense of middle, stated by Unilever executives. Based on that,
Unilever estimated that is has one product in 98% of familys households, to fundamentally
change the way it develops and sell its goods. Popular products of UBL such as LUX which
target market is from working class to middle class family, FAIR & LOVELY for young
women, AXE for young and stylish men of 18-26 ages.

Evaluation of segmented market is mainly focus to beat the competition by overcoming the
challenges offered by rival companies. Five forces that can shape industry competition are
Threats of new entrants, substitute products along with bargaining power of suppliers, buyers
in the middle of Rivalry among the existing competition.

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Selecting the targeted market segment is basically design the product based on consumers
demand. Unilever focused on improving the lives of the worlds consumers and that is why
they follows differentiated target market segment. For that reason, each offers are separate
from others in target several market segments.

Differentiating positioning possessed the main factors that can influence most of sales. Lux
possess the special attributes to make beautiful, Close up possess the attributes that refresh
your teeth with freshening your breath and Surf excel is ready to remove any kind of stains.
In positioning, UBL follows more service in less or same price. So this is why, they can
satisfy their consumers with their services.

So, this is the major facts that this report contains. Marketing tools are regarded as the
weapon of a company. At the end we can say that UBL is following that suitable strategy in
their marketing. And it is ready to change its formulas according to the changes in the market.

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Report Body
Chapter 1: Introduction of report

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1.1 Origin

This report is prepared for Kaniz Fatema, senior professor and course instructor of
Markating Mix, Department of Business administration, Dhaka City College. As part of
course, this report is to be submitted by students of Marketing Department. Such report is
helpful for the students to gain practical knowledge, experience and adaption with situation.
This will help not only to learn about making a term paper but also to understand its idea,
purpose and in use of an Organization.

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1.2 Objectives

1.2.1 General objectives

The main objective of this term paper is to know about the Marketing Strategy of Unilever
Bangladesh Ltd. How they develop their 4 Ps, how they segment their market, how they
evaluate segmented market and selection process of it, and how they differentiate and
positioned their products on market.

1.2.2 Specific Objectives

To know about Unilever and Unilever Bangladesh.

To know about Unilevers strategy regarding Product, Price, Place and

Promotion.
To identify the segmentation, targeting and positioning strategy used by Unilever

Bangladesh.
To develop some recommendation for further improvement in marketing strategy
of Unilever Bangladesh.

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1.3 Methodology
Unilever Bangladesh Ltd known as multi-national company which is why they possessed a
much enriched website. Basically, we collect almost 40% data from their website. Apart from
their web, other websites information helps us to gather the rest of the data like marketing
mix (Product, Price, Place, Promotion) and marketing strategy (Segmentation, Targeting and
Positioning). All the websites are mentioned in the reference part of appendix. This is how we
collect data about UBL regarding this report.

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1.4 Limitations
We are pleased enough to get an opportunity to prepare a report on Marketing Strategy of
Unilever Bangladesh Ltd.. We tried heart and soul to prepare a well-informed report but as a
matter of fact that we faced some difficulties while we were preparing it. Though we tried our
level best, some difficulties didnt get off out tail. Another fact is, within a short time, we had
to prepare other courses reports in other section. For this reason, we could not get a fluent
time schedule for the report. The employers of UBL (Unilever Bangladesh Ltd.) were so busy
that they did not help us that much. Which is why, we could not fulfill our queries and some
of these are neglected us to support. Whatever, we managed to complete our report on time.
We hope that, you would consider our report except our lackings and limitations.

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Chapter 2: Company Profile

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2.1 Company Profile

2.1.1 Unilever

Unilever is British-Dutch Multinational Fast Moving Consumer Goods(FMCG) company.

Their products include foods, beverage, cleaning agents, and personal care products. Its the
worlds Third-largest consumer goods company measured by revenues (after Proctor &
Gamble and Nestle) and worlds largest maker of ice cream. As of October 2014, their
Revenue is $ 66.1 Billion and Profit $ 6.4 billion. It is the 6th largest company in FMCG with
market value $ 124.5 billion.
Unilever was founded on 1st January 1930 by Antonius Johannes, Samuel van den Bergh
and William Hulme lever, 2nd viscount leverhulme. The amalgamation of the operations of
British soap makers Lever Brothers and Dutch margarine producer Margarine Unie (a 1927
amalgamation of Anton Jurgens Margarinefabrieken N.V and Samuel van den Bergh)
made sound commercial sense. As palm oil was a major raw material for both margarines and
soaps and could be imported more efficiently in larger quantities.
The current Unilever logo was introduced in 2004 and was designed by the brand consultancy
Wolff Olins. Its composed of 26 icon woven together to create U shape; with each icon
representing one of the companys sub-brands or its corporate values. The brand identity was
developed around the idea of Adding vitality of Life.

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Unilever owns more than 400 brands; although its 25 largest brands account for over 70% of
total sales. Unilever focuses resources on 13Billion-Euro Brands each of which has annual
sales in excess 1 billion.

2.1.2 Unilever Bangladesh Ltd (UBL)

ver the last few decades, Unilever Bangladesh has been constantly bringing new
and world class products for the Bangladeshi people to remove drudgery of life.
Over 90% of the countrys households use one or more of our products.

Type of Business:

FMCG (Fast moving consumer goods) company with local

manufacturing facilities, reporting to regional business groups for innovation and

business results.
Operations: Home and personal care, Beverages, Food products etc in Bangladesh.
Constitution: Unilever 60.75% shares, Government of Bangladesh 39.75% share.
Product Categories: Household care, Fabric cleaning, Skin Cleansing, skin care,

Oral care, Hair care, Personal grooming & Tea based beverages.
Brand In Bangladesh: Wheel, Lux, Lifebuoy, Fair & Lovely, Ponds, Close Up,
Sunsilk, Taaza, Pepsodent, Clear, Vim, Surf Excel, Rexona, Axe, Dove and

Vaseline.
Manufacturing Facilities: It has soap manufacturing facilities and a personal
products factory located in Chittagong. Besides these, there is a te packaging
operation in Chittagong and three manufacturing units in Dhaka which are owned and

run by third parties exclusively dedicated to Unilever Bangladesh.

Employees: Unilever Operations in Bangladesh provide employment to over 10000
people directly and through its dedicated suppliers, distributors and service providers.
99.5% of UBL employees are locals and we have equal members of Bangladeshi
working abroad in other Unilever companies as expatriates.

2.2 Mission

nilever Bangladesh mission is to add Vitality to life. It meet every day needs for
nutrition, hygiene and personal care with brands that help people look good, feel
good and get more out of life.

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In the future, its brands will do even more to add vitality to life. Its vitality mission will focus
its brands on meeting consumer needs arising from the biggest issues around the world today
ageing populations, urbanizations, changing diets and lifestyles.
Unilever Bangladesh see growing consumer need for:

A healthy lifestyle.
More variety, quality, taste and enjoyment.
Time, as an increasingly precious commodity.

Helping people to feel good, look good and get more out of life will enable us to meet these
needs and expand its business.
The long-term success of its business is intimately interconnected with the vitality of the
environment and the communities in which they operate. The environment provides us with
its raw materials and the ingredients UBL need to make its products. Healthy, prosperous
communities provide us with a healthy, growing consumer base.

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2.3 Vision
UBL vision set out the long term direction for the company where its want to go and how it
is going to get there:

It works to create a better future every day.

It help people feel good, look good and get more out of life with brands and services

that are good for them and good for others.

It will inspire people to take small everyday actions that can add up to a big difference

for the world.

It will develop new ways of doing business with the aim of doubling the size of its
company while reducing its environmental impact.

UBL has always believed in the power of its brands to improve the quality of peoples lives
and in doing the right thing. As its business grows, so do its responsibilities.

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Chapter 3: Marketing Mix

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3.1 Tools for Business Professionals

The marketing mix is a business tool used in marketing and by marketing professionals. The
marketing mix is often crucial when determining a product or brand's offering, and is often
synonymous with the four Ps: Product, Price, Place and Promotion; in service marketing,
however, the four Ps have been expanded to the Seven Ps or eight Ps to address the different
nature of services.

3.1.1 Products

Personal Care Brands

Closeup is the number 1 toothpaste of Bangladesh and

the first gel toothpaste of the world. It gives you the freshest breath and dazzling smile which
ignites a mouth to mind confidence.

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Pepsodent is the only toothpaste to be endorsed by

FDI World Dental Federation and recommended by Bangladesh Dental Society. If your
smile is not healthy, you are not healthy. Pepsodent is committed to bringing the best oral
care to families.

The Worlds No. 1 fairness cream brand, Fair &

Lovely, is used by nearly 80% of the households of Bangladesh, making it the second biggest
Fair & Lovely market in the world.

The Worlds No. 1 fairness cream brand, Fair & Lovely, is

used by nearly 80% of the households of Bangladesh, making it the second biggest Fair &
Lovely market in the world.

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The Vaseline skin care team wants everybody to be

able to enjoy great, healthy skin every day and feel ready all the time.

Dove is committed to helping women realize their

personal potential for beauty by engaging them with products that deliver real care.

Lux began its story in 1924 as the first mass marketed

beauty soap. Now sold in over 100 countries, it is the most recognizable soap brand in the
world bringing a combination of fun, pleasure and comforts to womens beauty routines the
world over.

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For 20-something girls, hair is often an emotional

rollercoaster. Sunsilk understands and its range addresses the most common hair dramas in
80 countries around the globe, helping girls everywhere to gain the confidence to express
themselves.

Lifebuoy is the largest health soap brand in

Bangladesh. Its vision is to meet the health and hygiene needs of 150 million Bangladeshis.
Lifebuoy is a household name and this health soap is remembered in every sector of the
nation.

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Scalp care is essential for strong, supple, healthy hair and

CLEAR shampoo is developed with unique ingredients to ensure every scalp can find its
perfect balance, nourishing hair from root to tip.

Axe offers guys a range of body sprays, deodorants,

antiperspirants, shower gels and hair products all designed to help them look, smell, and
feel their best.

Rexona offers maximum protection you can rely on,

all day long. Our antiperspirants and deodorants are developed to meet different demands for
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men and women, responding to your body to keep you feeling confident and cool for up to 48
hours.

Home Care Brands

Surf Excel believes that dirt is good; it is an essential part

of a childs development. Its how children learn, express their creativity, and even bolster
their immune system.

Wheel, the largest detergent brand in Bangladesh, provides a

delightful washing experience in millions of households, every day.

Vim has brought a revolution in kitchen management

in Bangladeshi households. Since its launch in 1987, Vim has been synonymous with
sparkling clean dishes.
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Our clothes speak for us. Rin Power White plays

an integral part in helping us to look good by providing superior whiteness, giving us the
confidence to realize our ambitions.

Food Brands

Knorr helps families make meal times special, nutritious,

tasty and healthy. It is a tasty and healthy snack option for the whole family with the
goodness of real ingredients - containing Real Chicken and Vegetables. Knorr soups ensure
low levels of cholesterol and fat and give you a bowl of soup that is a healthy snack with an
amazing taste.

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To those seeking inspiration to take that big step,

Brooke Bond Taaza awakens you to take the one step to change your world. Taaza stands for
premium quality, bringing in the world famous tea blending expertise and heritage of the
Brooke Bond House.

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3.1.2 Affordability of Consumer

Product
Lux
Vim
Wheel
Surf Excel
Pepsodent
Close up

Quantity
150 gm
325 gm
500 gm
500 gm
200 gm
200 gm

Price
40 tk
30 tk
37 tk
99 tk
90 tk
100 tk

They also maintain these for pricing:

Product price low and obtain maximum profit on spare parts.

Use different prices and different price lists for different markets.

Set price at 10% below market leader.

Reduce price of product to maximize sales (to allow increased production and reduce
unit production cost).

Different pricing strategies adopted by Unilever:

Optional-features strategy
Product-line pricing
Cost-plus pricing
Competitive pricing
Distribution pricing.

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3.1.3 Place
Unilever follow common system of distribution. It has made his strategy like that in every
small or big shop customer n the other hand, in order to distribute products among customers
will be able to find out the product. Besides they do following things.

Set own distribution direct to stores.

Change distribution for area.
Increase of warehouses for product.
In store placement strategy.
Already existing strong links in urban area.
Rural penetration.
Develop marketing channels as strong and penetrated so that it would gain access

to remote areas.
Strategic location of warehouse.
Increase wholesale dealers in small towns so that they can go to the nearby

villages.
National coverage would be dealt with by increasing the companys warehouses

and creating C&F agents in the smaller cities.

Set up national service network.

Manufacturers/products
Agents
Wholesalers/distributors
Retailers

Retailers

Consumers and organizational end users

Distribution Channel of Unilever
3.1.4 Attracting the target market
Unilever is quite active in promoting its brand to their customers. P&G has developed a logo
that is differentiable and can easily be recognized.

Most important factor to attract

customers, it considers
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Strengthen sales force organization.

Reorganize sale force for particular area.
Introduce performance related bonus scheme for sale force.
Recruit additional sales personnel.
Increase sales effort to increase sale to major customers.
Increase sales efforts for most profitable products
Start new advertising campaign
Increase company image advertisement.
Increase advertising for the product in specific market

Unilever uses Media, newspaper, Radio, Hoarding, Consumer promotion to promote its
products. It also telecasts some daily soap to attract women and young people. Another
world, the edge of Knight, The Brighter day, The Catlins, The First hundred years from these
roots are well rated and famous.

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3.2 Marketing Strategy

3.2.1 Divide large market into small segments

Buyers in any market differ in their wants resources location buying attitudes and buying
practices. Through market segmentation Unilever Bangladesh divide large, heterogeneous
market into smaller segments that can be reached more efficiently and effectively with
product and service that match their unique needs. They has to try different segmentation
variables, alone and in combination, to find the best way to view the market structure. For
their consumer UBL have used some of the variables of Geographic, Demographic,
Psychographic, and Behavioral.

Geographic
Country region
Density
City or metro size
Climate

East, West, North, south

Urban, suburban, rural
Major cities, mainstream, climbers, small town
Northern, southern

Demographic
Age
Gender
Income

Under 6, 6-11, 12-19, 20-34, 35-49, 50-64, 65+

Male, female
Deprived(Rs
less than 90000) ,aspires(RS
seekers(Rs.200000-5000000)

90000-200000)

strivers(Rs.500,000-1,000,000)

global

Occupation

Indians(1,000000+)
Professional and technical, managers, officials, supervisors, farmers,

Education

retired, students, homemakers, unemployed.

Illiterate, literate but no formal schooling, school up to 4th standard,
standard 5th to 9th, SSC/HSC, some college, graduate, postgraduate,

Religion

professional.
Muslims, Christian, Hindu, Buddhist.

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Psychographic
Social class

Lower lowers, upper lowers, working class, middle class, upper middles,

Lifestyle
Personality

lower uppers, upper uppers,

Achievers, strivers, survivors
Compulsive, gregarious, authoritarian, ambitious

Behavioral
Occasions
Benefits
User status
User rate

Regular occasion, special occasion, holiday, seasonal

Quality, service, economy, convince, speed,
Non user, ex-user, potential user, first time user, regular user.
Light user, medium user, heavy user

3.2.2 Targeting Market

Unilever executives say many its former middle market shoppers are trading down to lowerpriced goods-widening the pools of have and have-not consumers at the expense of the
middle. Thats forced Unilever, which estimates it has at least one product in 98% of families
households, to fundamentally change the way it develops and sells its goods.
We can say Unilever Company is focused to the middle class people as their target market for
increasing their sales and as well as market share.
Some popular products and their target market

Target Market: From working class to middle class

family.

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Target Market: The range of 18-26 ages of

Young and Stylish Men.

Target Market: For Young women and beauty

conscious ladies.

Target Market: For all kind of kitchen works

doing by Every Housewife.

3.2.3 Evaluating Market Segmentation

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The objective of Porter Five Forces Model is to beat the competition of market by
overcoming the challenges offered by rival companies. The five forces model was analysis
developed by Michael E. Porter in 1979. According to this model the five forces that can
affect the profits of company and can help to determine the prevailing competition in market
are:

Threats
of New
Entrants

Rivalry
Among
Existing
Competit
ors

Bargainin
g Power of
Suppliers

Bargaining
power of
Buyers

Threats
of
substitut
e
products
or
services

Fig : Five forces that Shape Industry competition

Threat of New Entrants

Due to the vast range of Unilever products, it is very hard for a new company to come and
participate. However, the company holds considerable shares of market and also has
established reputations therefore, no new entrant can compete with the company without
heavy amount of capital and complete marketing strategy based on comprehensive research.
Though small companies with specialization in particular products can offer competition to
Unilever in specific areas.

Bargain Power of Supplier

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The bargain power of supplier is coped with mutually dependent relationship of company
with its suppliers. Unilever request some good materials in order to produce products of good
quality and sell them at sensible price. Likewise, suppliers in market are always in search of
reputed clients that can help them to generate good amount of revenue. The standard
reputation maintained by Unilever offers advantage to the company in this regard. Therefore,
the prevailing crisis of credit and fluctuation in interest rates do not affect the terms of
company with suppliers.
Bargain power of Consumers

As with the bargaining power that is alarmed by the costumers, Unilever can deal with it
easily. The wide range of household products produced by company maintains the revenue of
company even in time of recession. It is due to the type of various products and the demands
of products in everyday life of consumers, that this company plays an effective role in
reducing rate of recession in economy of UK.
Threat of Substitute Products

Although Procter & Gamble has to deal with the presence of various substitutes in market
nowadays, however quality offered by P&G in its all products ensure the sustainability of
company in market all over the world. In this regard company has adopted variety of
collaboration strategies with their customers in order to develop better understanding of
consumer demands and their response.
These factors allow the industry to know about their buyers that are they happy with Unilever
products or will choose some other brand over Unilever. The quality in Unilever products is
always maintained and it ensures costumer trustworthiness and and value for their money
Unilever is one of most successful company offering quality products in present times. For
more than half of a century this company is dominating the world of household products in
different parts of world. This success of company is because of flexible attitude of company
towards modifying user requirements and shifting market conditions. The successful
marketing and business strategies of company ensures growth in revenue and constant
reputation in world of business.
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It is a buyer oriented industry which is ready to know about the requirement of their
costumers sooner than any other. Unilever is now familiar with the business war going in the
market but it has also formed a business map to compete. With Porters five forces model
Unilever can successfully eradicate its rival companies and beat the competition anywhere in
world.

3.2.4 Designing the Product based on Consumers Demand

Unilever follows differentiated target market segments as they are focused on improving the
lives of the worlds consumers. That is why they target several market segments and design
separate offers for each.
Differentiate and Positioning (Product & its Statement)

Lux Beauty Soap: Bess, Ektu khani Lux. Positioned by the special attributes that it posses
the power that make you beautiful than any other.

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Close up: The Close up, The Better. So it posses special attributes in this product that this
will not only refresh your teeth but also freshen up your breath.

Surf Excel: Stains are good when something good happen from stains. This statement
sends us a message that Surf Excel is ready to remove any kind of stains that will bring us a
good thing.

4. Conclusion

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Today's market is characterized by highly competitive organizations which are all for
consumer's loyalty. Firms are faced with the challenge to maintain their own competitive
edge to be able to survive and be successful. Unilever was built on the theory of touching
consumer lives with brands that make life a little better every day. They continue to connect
with consumers by offering affordable products and packaging specially designed to meet
consumer needs. UBL must maintain an innovative approach by introducing new products
and re-facing existing product lines to compete and satisfy consumer demands, to allow them
to remain profitable for the next one hundred-seventy three years.

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Appendix Part
References
www.Unilever.com.bd
www.slideshare.com
www.assignmentbd.com
www.wikipedia.com
www.Amazon.com

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