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Marketing Assignment - Company Case 5

Group MembersTabassum Akhter
Fariha Zafor Rima
Samiha Raisa
Mohammad Ismail
Aysha Khatun Lisa
Group Number 5
Section- 1

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Shiseido: Intent on Being Number One
Shiseido, being established for over 140 years, have developed an innovator image in
Japan, controlling its highest market share. The president now aims to be the number
one in the international market on the basis of quality, corporate image and service. In
order to do so it plans to increase its sales in the international market from 9% to
25%, by penetrating in the U.S. market. However, it remains a challenge for Shiseido
to communicate a similar upmarket brand image and culture in U.S market mostly
because of the difficulty in pronouncing the name. Shiseido, with its methodical
slogan and knowledge-based packaging, adopts a scientific approach to penetrate the
cosmetics industry, which strongly differs from the emotional methods used
traditionally. It provides expert advice and technological support to the customers,
and encourages the use of massage to nurture inner well-being. Even though it
seems to be positive to capture the U.S market as customers nowadays seek
information and theres a growing market for enhancement of inner beauty, the high
prices charged by Shiseido might hold off the customers to buy them. In addition,
Shiseido also claims to be following the Market Concept, and shapes up its products
(e.g. Staying Power lipstick) according to the market needs and wants. Yet, even after
all the strategies and decision to use a different brand name, question remains whether
ageing cosmetics, unavailability of perfume line and lack of product trial will be
acceptable by the American market or not.
1) How to consumers cultural, social, personal, and psychological characteristics
affect their cosmetics shopping behavior?

Cultural:
Cultural factors exert a wide and deep influence on consumers buying behavior. A
marketer needs to understand the roles of culture, sub-culture and social class in terms
of consumer behavior.

Culture: It means a set of values, perceptions or wants learned by an

individual by his or her family and other important institutions. In terms of
cosmetics shopping behavior, a marketer should focus on cultural shift that
occurs in a course of time. For example, todays women have become trendier
and sophisticated which has given rise to more soft, light but stylish and
trendy cosmetics. Therefore, this kind of shift will definitely affect the

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cosmetics shopping behavior of a consumer. Along with cultural shift, a
marketer should also focus on cultural symbolism and cultural relativism.
Cultural Symbolism: It means signs or symbols to identify any product. It
can be divided into two parts:
1. Referential Symbol: It means symbols which have same meaning to
all people. In terms of cosmetics, a marketer should use those words
which have positive meaning to everyone. For example, using names
of flowers for any perfume.
2. Expressive: It means same object may perceive different meaning in
different culture. In this case, a marketer must not choose those
symbols which may hurt or give a negative meaning to any values of
any culture. It will leave a negative impact on consumers mind.
Cultural Relativism: It means considering other culture on their point of view. A
marketer should always think about those peoples culture that they are targeting. For
instance, girls and women are mostly the target of cosmetics company. If the target
people culture is being independent and trendy, marketer should focus on that point
and make the product.

Subculture: It means a group of people with shared value system. It can be

classified into different part, like:

Regional: Here, we can say that people of different region or area of a country
has different culture. In the urban areas or the industrial or uptown areas, the
dwellers approach is more sober and sophisticated. They share a common inclination
towards light in appeal and high quality cosmetics. On the other hand, local areas or
downtown people are consumers of flashy, outspoken and radiant cosmetics.

Education: Now a day, education level has become high. People are more
educated than before. In this case, women are going out more and joining the work
force. So, they are moving to those cosmetics that will be best suitable for their
working environment and job status.

Age: In a culture, the whole culture gets subdivided into age groups. There is
a young group of consumers and there is a senior or middle age group of consumers.
Young people tend to buy modern, fashionable and popular cosmetics of their time

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whereas, the older generation buys cosmetics they are habitual with or more muted
features cosmetics.

Social class: There can be two types of social class in text of consumers of
cosmetics, they being conservative minded people or contemporary minded people.
Conservative people buy cosmetics which are milder and those that will help them
enhance their natural beauty rather than which reflects artificial glamour. On the other
side of the coin, there are the modern minded people with taste for fashionable,
trendy, or cosmetics that make them look extra ordinarily beautiful and perfect.
Social:
Here, a marketer tries to identify reference group, family and roles and status.

Reference Group: These are the people who have a direct or indirect
influence on consumers purchasing decision.

Direct: Direct reference group involves people we have direct or day to day
connection or relation with each other. For example, one of the two sisters had used a
fairness cream and got good results from it. Eventually, when another sister will
consider buying a fairness cream, the first sister will definitely influence the other one
to buy the product which she had used. Like this direct reference group will have
impact.
Indirect: Indirect reference group consists of people with whom the consumers
do not have direct or personal connection with. For instance, an individual likes a film
star and the film star promotes some perfume or soap or other cosmetics. The
individual then may get convinced to buy that very product only. But direct group
influence more than indirect group.

Family: Family means two or more people connected through blood relation
or any other formal relation. Family plays an important role on purchasing
decision. For example, before purchasing a new brand perfume an individual
will definitely first listen to family member because there might be someone
who had used that brand before and therefore can advice them on their
decision.

Roles and Status: Two women, one is an executive and other one is a simple
house wife. The executive will choose more sophisticated and brandy, durable
cosmetics for work environment whereas the house wife will choose a little bit
of colorful and party going cosmetics.

Personal: Under personal factor comes different parts like- age and life cycle,
occupation, economic situation, lifestyle, personality etc.

Age and life cycle: Initially, older women of a society will mostly look for
anti aging cream to look less older than their age whereas younger women or
girls will look for fairness cream and moisturizing cream to look more
graceful.

Economic Situation: People who have limited income will go for those
cosmetics which will give good service at a lower price whereas people with a
good income will look always for brand name. For example, buying Fair and
Lovely instead of Olay.

Psychological:
Psychological factor means motivation, perception, learning, beliefs and attitudes.

Perception: For example, individual beliefs that branded things are more
effective. Therefore, she will go for expensive and branded cosmetics.

Beliefs and Attitudes: Like women of Saudi Arabia always cover their face
and believe in less show off. Therefore, their choose of cosmetics would very
light and go with their personality.

2) Who is involved in a consumers decision to purchase cosmetics and what

role does each participant play?
The mentionable people who are involved in a consumers decision to purchase
cosmetics and their roles are:
1) Elder female or females of the family- As we learn and imitate our elders, the
older female of ones family affect or alter the cosmetics buying decision. For
example, a daughters purchase of a cosmetic decision will be an imitation of
her mothers choice of cosmetics.

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2) Most beautiful or well-maintained friend in the friend circle- The people one
spends most of their time with are their friends. Therefore, the most beautiful
girl in the class or friend circle will ultimately give positive information of the
cosmetic brand they use.

3) Favorite or popular actor or actress- Consumers follow the new trend of their
favorite or most popular actors/actresses as they hold a soft corner for them.

4) Professionals of the cosmetics field-The cosmetics or skin specialists and

experts give away a perception of trust and dependency on their words and
thus have a strong influence on the purchasing decision of a consumer.
5) Media- In this 21st century, we are more exposed to media and mass media.
Therefore, media plays the most important, vital role to spread and uphold the
image, features and information of a product and mold their purchasing
decision likewise.

3) What types of buying decision behavior are involved in purchasing cosmetics?

Behavior is the decision processes and acts of people involved in buying and using
products. The process consumers use to buy products and services is different for
every individual and every category of product. Based on their degree of involvement,
and the degree of difference between the brands in the product category, there are four
types of Buying Behavior:

For marketers involved in cosmetics industry, it is very vital to identify the different
types of buying decision behavior involved in purchasing cosmetics. This will enable
the firms to create a marketing mix that satisfies customers and allow them to better
predict how consumers will respond to marketing strategies.

The cosmetics industry is broad and includes a wide range of items - skin-care
creams, lotions, powders, perfumes, lipsticks, fingernail and toe nail polish, eye and
facial makeup. Based on the product category and the uniqueness of brands of
cosmetics, we can classify the buying decision behavior into three types Complex Buying Behavior- defines buying scenarios that are characterized by high
levels of consumer "involvement" in a purchase decision, with significant amounts of
perceived differences between brands in the product category. Involvement refers to
actions the consumer must take to understand the product or service they are
motivated to buy. The purchase of cosmetics is categorized as high involvement
product because women nowadays are very conscious about what product they apply
on their skin, they like to acquire sufficient information about the effects of the
product on their skin along with enjoying expert advice from sales person. In addition
to these, cosmetics brands like Channel, Dior, Mac and Shiseido are highly expressive
of their customers personality profile. There are very significant image differences
between these high priced cosmetics brands, and the customers are likely to be loyal
to the brands they use because of their unwillingness to experiment with new brands.
The cosmetics in this group are associated as high quality and play an important role
in representing customers upmarket image.

Dissonance-Reducing Buying Behavior- Just like complex buying behavior,

consumers with dissonance-reducing buying behavior have high amounts of
involvement in buying cosmetics. However, buyers in this behavioral situation are
perceiving very few differences among the brands of cosmetics they are selecting
products from. The key word here is perceiving. There may be many real
differences between the different brands, however the buyer's beliefs about the other
brands are that there are very similar or essentially the same. Such as, costumers are
unlikely to distinguish the difference between long-lasting kajal of Maybelline and
Lakme, and may therefore suffer from post-purchase dissonance behavior. Examples

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of such product category of cosmetics include eyeliner, skin care products like lotion
and creams. Brands within this category might include middle-ranged brands like
LOreal, Revlon, Lakme, Elle 18.

Variety Seeking Behavior- In addition to complex and dissonance-reducing buying

behavior, consumers in cosmetics industry may also show variety seeking buying
behavior. It refers to situations where there is low consumer involvement, but the
consumer perceives significant differences between the brand options in front of
them.

In variety seeking situations consumers tend to do a lot of brand

switching. There is no real brand loyalty, and seeking varieties in the product is the
main motivation of consumers. Examples of such cosmetics product category may
include lipsticks, fingernail and toe nail polish, where variety in colors is more
attractive to customers and not a specific brand.

4) What is the buying decision process for cosmetics?

All the psychological perceiving of the marketing of a product plays an important role
in the actual buying decision of the consumers. To efficiently and adeptly attend the
customers need for any product, the general buying process requires be keenly
observing and working out. Marketing scholars have developed a five stage buying
processes. A consumer typically undergoes this process before buying a product.
Need recognition: The buying process starts the very moment a need or problem is
recognized by a consumer. A need or problem can be stimulated by external factors or
triggered by internal factors. A marketer requires to study the different ways by which
need for a particular product may arise. By doing so, they can easily counter the
consumers need and solve their problem through their product. In case of cosmetics,
need may arise in two ways:

Internal factors- Consumers can face basic need to take care of their skin,
beauty or body due to various reasons:
I.

The urge to retain their current beauty or appearance may lead them to
purchase cosmetics

II.

In this world of globalization, seasonal weather shift or climate change

may trigger them to buy different cosmetics.

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III.

Emerging beauty related concerns like age, skin problems also

encourages them to buy cosmetics.

External factors- The consumers can be influenced to buy cosmetics or

external need can be generated by:
I.

Getting exposed to advertisements , extensive promotions or

promotional activities

II.
III.

Peer pressure, leading an influential college/institution live

Impulsively buying what seems catchy and attractive to the eyes

Information Search: After the need or problem recognition, the consumers tend to
search for information.

Personal- This includes family, friends, neighbors, acquaintances

Commercial- Consumers get consciously or unconsciously informed by and

may learn about a product through advertisements, billboard slogans, and
leaflets at any departmental stores. Internet and social sites also may educate
the consumers about the cosmetic.

Public- Customers can collect information from magazines, films, AVs of

experts.

Experiential- Trying cosmetic samples in limited amount or being able to use

it for a short phase of time may enrich the knowledge of a particular cosmetic
of a customer.

Evaluation of Alternatives: After collecting all the information gathered, consumers

will then evaluate all the pros and cons of the alternatives under different criteria:

Quality- Judge on which brands product is of better quality and also suits
their skin type or priorities.

Longibility- Think about which product will last longer in comparative price.
For example, they may think whether a certain cosmetic can be used for a long
time and is of relative price.

Price- Price is the most crucial factor that a consumer always keep in mind
while buying a product, that is it too expensive or cheap or whether is it
worthy of the brand value.

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Image and features- If the product is well known or reputed and has attractive
solutions to their problems, then the consumers give that product more
preference.

Extra facilities- The consumers will also see if the cosmetics brand provides
skin specialist or free skin/body type tests or not.

Purchase decision: Can be of two types:

Attitude of others- A persons favorable or unfavorable evaluations, emotional

feelings and action tendencies toward some subjects or products. The quality
of customer service, sales persons behavior, and comfort ability of shopping
atmosphere leaves an impact on the purchase decision.

Unexpected factors- A sudden change in life style or income status due to loss
of job or a job promotion. For example, if the consumer loses her job, she
might switch to less expensive cosmetics.

Post purchase decision- Can be of two types:

Satisfied- The recognized problem is solved after the purchase of the

cosmetic. It leads to repetitive buying, spread positive image of the company.

Unsatisfied- Not being happy about the purchase as it could not fully satisfy
the stimulated need. It ends up portraying a negative impact on the consumers
and thus on the overall market, also the consumers lose their trust on that
brand.

5) What marketing recommendations would you make to Shiseido as it seeks to

increase its sales in the U.S. market?

With over 140 years of devoted service, superior products and unparalleled
technology, Shiseidos mission has been to identify new, richer sources of value and
use them to create beauty in the lives and cultures of those it serves. Despite
Shiseidos enduring success for more than a century, Shiseido faces a new set of
challenges as it travels ahead into new markets with different demographics,
increased competition and multiple segments. To gain an entry unto the North
American market, Shiseido acquired Unilevers Helen Curtis in 1996. Even though
Shiseido has been quite successful by following the acquisition strategy, it is yet to

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build a very strong corporate brand in the US market. Developing a strong corporate
brand with a unique identity and personality will be very crucial for Shiseidos long
term success, and in order to increase its sales in the U.S. market Shiseido might use
the following marketing strategies

PRODUCT

o Shiseido should follow different branding strategies like, changing the brand
name or introduce a new brand, since Shiseido is a difficult name to
pronounce outside Japan. Also the marketer may make the logo of Shisheido
more visible, as logos and signs are easier to remember and lingers in the
customers minds for a longer time phase.
o Communicability- American people like products that are easy to carry, and
handle. Therefore, it should be different from Japanese market.
o Relative advantage- Since Shiseido is new in America, they should make sure
to highlight their positive and appealing features against the products that
already exists in the American market.
o Continue the Asian-western blend- One of the main challenges for Shiseido
going ahead will be to maintain the blend that it created between the oriental
mystique and western cosmetics science and technology. It becomes
significant as Shiseido has been acquiring brands in the US and Europe with
its own heritage and unique brand stories. Given this, it will be quite a
challenge for Shiseido to carry on with the blending as that is one of its
strongest differentiation factors.
o Consistency in positioning- Predominantly, Shiseido has been positioned itself
as a high-end premium and luxury brand in the US and European markets and
it spans the entire market spectrum from low-end, value, middle and luxury
segments in Asia. With customers traveling around the world, a global media
landscape and with internet making information flow across countries much
easier, Shiseido should take steps to ensure that it conveys its varied
positioning carefully in its different markets.

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PRICE

o Premium Pricing or value-based pricing- Shisheido should do premium

pricing as to maintain their brand value and thus reflect their products
dependency. However, they should reconstruct their products prices as not
every item can be charged in terms of brand value everywhere. They should
set different price for different target market.

PLACE

o Exclusive Distribution- Cosmetics are income elastic, which means the

demand of expensive products will only increase if there is an increase in
income. Therefore, Shiseido should sell their expensive products in areas
where the higher class is available. For example, top level business executives.
o Intensive Distribution- Cheap but reliable products should be made available
throughout the country as both upper and lower class people would buy them,
especially if the product is dependable.

PROMOTION

o Pioneer advertising (Informative) - They should advertise their product more

and more to let customers know of their availability.
o Advertisement Customers not only need to know product availability but
also be attracted to buy it, for example by using famous celebrities applying
Shiseido products in their adverts. Advertisement should be done based on
nationality, ethnicity, sexuality, and different age groups to encourage,
persuade, or manipulate them to buy the product.
o Use skin care experts- Since American people are technology based and rely
on scientific based information; Shiseido should endorse using such experts,
and showcase their technological usage in their production of cosmetics.
o Comparative advertisement- Compare Shiseido products with competitors
products.
o Competitive advertisement- Highlight the product benefit to the customers.
This might include the given time for the product to take full effect and other
additional benefits like free gifts with the product.