Introduction

A marketing plan is the key to business. Its purpose is to maximize the business profits. As opportunities crop up or the business environment changes, the objective and marketing strategies in the plan will aim toward the best action. The marketing plan and the strategic marketing plan fit together in that both are essential for the success of a business. Without a strategic marketing plan, businesses can become uncertain in marketing efforts. The purpose of the strategic marketing plan is to help businesses reach their marketing goals. The end result of any marketing plan is to increase profits. There are two major instruments to the marketing plan. They are: how your enterprise will address the competitive marketplace and how you will put into practice and look after your day to day operations.

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Understanding Consumer Market

The most crucial decision in any marketing communication campaign is deciding which group of consumers to target. All other communication decisions will flow from this. It is accomplished through the use of market segmentation and requires a five step approach. Once the target audience has been defined communication mix decisions can be made concerning the appropriate use of a variety of methods. Creative and media decisions can then be made. What influences a consumer to buy a product is: a) b) c) d) e) Psychology Political Science Sociology Communication Anthropology

The results of a consumer decision can be a purchase or a refusal to purchase. A decision leads to satisfaction or dissatisfaction. A decision to purchase or not to purchase results in some post purchase feed back. Innovating cognitive dissonance (dissatisfaction). And or a feeling of dissatisfaction. Palmolive believes in developing innovative skincare products designed to help individuals obtain a healthy, youthful and non-surgical method of hair perfection. The products are superior in quality, affordability and availability. We believe that creating radiant hair through topical agents will help many people grasp their full potential and generate unparalleled self-esteem without evasive surgical procedures. You are never too young or too old to start taking care of your hair. In fact, hair care and protection should be an essential part of your health, fitness, and beauty regime. If you take care of your hair, your skin will take care of you! However, with all of the shampoos, creams, and potions in the market, it can be difficult to know which product will work for you. Many products claim to remove hair fall or dryness of hair. Others claim to contain expensive ingredients that they say will improve the effects of the product. In addition to all of the different hair creams, People are frantically invading dermatologists offices for non-surgical procedures, all for the promise of youthful vibrancy.

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Social Factors
Roles Family influencer Reference groups Social class Culture subculture Buyer Decision Making No Purchase

Routine

Extensive

Purchase

Internal Factors
Perception Motives Learning Attitudes Personality

Satisfactio n

Dissatisfaction

Frame work for understanding consumer behavior

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Corporate Mission
Colgate Palmolive Company is an MNC giant in the business of FMCG product such as soaps, detergents and oral care products such as toothpastes and toothbrushes. Colgate and Palmolive- Peet joined in 1928 to form Colgate Palmolive- Company in 1953. It was changed to Colgate Palmolive Company. Colgate- Palmolive believes that great ideas - acute insights rooted in microeconomics and informed by human behavior - can carry an organization forward more surely than can access to superior resources, market power, or sheer effort. Our corporate task is to discover these ideas wherever they arise, within and beyond the membership, and to teach them to the membership at large. Strategic level objectives Product acceptability and aim for a Return on Investment of 20% in the first 18 months. Introduction of two more variants in the second year. Increase Earning per Share by 7-8% in the coming few years. Introduce herbal soaps in different variants in 36 months depending on the Palmolive Herbal Shampoo acceptability in the market. Functional Level Objectives Product penetration in at least 20% of shampoo consumers in first 18 months. To achieve 5% of the shampoo market share in the first year of its launch. Positive response from people to most campaigns in test marketing process. Increase in advertising spend during the second year in the audio video media to increase brand awareness.

Hair care Market U.K

The U.K hair care market has been growing tremendously for the past few years, with products being valued at nearly $2Bn in 2006. The hair care market is mainly dominated by four categoriesShampoos Conditioners Styling products Colorants British men, in the European sector, also register the highest penetration rate for conditioners, hair gels, mousse and hair spray.

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According to a recent survey, the growth in two in one shampoos have been slow for the past few years as customers try to shift away from two- in- ones and opt for shampoos and conditioners separately. The two- in- one category accounts for only about 20% of the overall shampoo market. It also represents a scope for growth if brands can push more customers in market. Shampoos remain the leader in the hair care segment with a little above one third of the market share. However, for the past few years they have been experiencing slower growth. The shampoo segment is also dominated by traditional brands like Head & Shoulders of the medicated shampoo category. The Conditioner segment promises good growth, with more than 50% of the consumers buying the product. Normally, a consumer is expected to buy the conditioner of the same brand as the shampoo, a Retail purchase data shows. The multi buy scheme offered by marketers for promotion represent half of conditioner sales. However, continuous promotions are hampering brand loyalty. Hair styling products show highest potential, now accounting for nearly 23% of the market. There is plenty of opportunity in this segment as only 45% of the customers use this product. However this is good news for innovator two- in- one which promise positive results as constant styling damages hair by making them rough and unhealthy. To curb the problem of hair loosing its softness and strength, Palmolive Herbal Shampoo with Conditioner for Stronger Hair and Palmolive Herbal Shampoo with Conditioner for Soft Hair is introduced by Palmolive. As mentioned earlier the shampoo market is dominated by medicated shampoo category. Herbal shampoos represent a comparatively smaller share in the segment. Palmolive already has a line of shampoos in its product mix, Palmolive Naturals shampoo in different variants. The best part about herbal shampoo is that it is absolutely safe and shows no negative results whatsoever; as they are completely made of safe herbs like Rosemary, Commomill, Green tea, Calendula, etc. which mostly deliver results like making the hair soft and shiny, strong, prevent itching and rashes etc.

Purpose of a Marketing Plan

A marketing plan establishes the direction your business is going to take in order to promote your business, attract customers, exploit any identified opportunities and make a profit. Writing a marketing plan is the task of forecasting and defining how a small business is going to satisfy customers' needs at a profit. The purpose of a marketing plan is to clearly identify the direction that you have decided to take in order to MARKET your business - to promote your business, attract and retain customers and exploit identified marketplace opportunities. But it is not only the

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finished product of a marketing plan that is valuable to a business. It is the process of writing the marketing plan, the discipline and research required to actually complete the plan that is also of immense value. This particular marketing plan is developed to elaborate and introduce new products launched by Palmolive, Palmolive herbal shampoo with conditioner in 2 variants Hair Softener and Stronger Hair. Improve the impact of direct marketing by targeting high-potential audience segments and coordinating among media. Further more the plan contains a market analysis of the U.K hair care segment, acceptability of the product and the possible plan for expansion in future. Palmolive is synonymous with soaps, just as Colgate is synonymous with tooth paste. Palmolive foray in the hair care market is marked with herbal 2 in 1 shampoo; hence a detailed study of potential is implemented.

Describing the Target Market Approach

Buyer Behavior: Buyer behavior is a central component of the environmental context. In most marketing decisions, the problem can ultimately be traced to predicting the response of buyers to specific actions by the marketer. An understanding of the underlying buyer behavior can provide valuable insights into the problem. The buyer behavior factors that should be considered include: Number and geographical location of the buyers and non buyers. Demographic and psychological characteristics. Product consumption habits. Response to promotions. Price sensitivity. Buyer preferences. The new age hair care industry has not seen any new break through in current technologies which is coercing the company to protect their share of the market. The strategy used by marketers in most of the companies is to create market niches by developing product lines that address a specific demographic. The marketing strategy adopted by Palmolive is the segmentation approach where the aim is to collectively target one (niche) market. Niche Marketing

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Every business needs to know who their customers are and what they want. They also need to be able to prioritize customers - who are the most important, who buys the most product, who are loyal and what customers don't return. Customers in marketing planning terms are often called the target audience - the group of people that the business wishes to focus marketing efforts on and call their own. The target market for PHSFST & PHSHS consists of people in the age group 20 45. It is observed through a survey that the youth (indulging people) spend the maximum time in styling their hair of all age segments. At the end of the day, they need a simple, come remedy for their stressed hair for which the shampoo is specifically made. And to offer them more convenient n time and efforts the shampoo comes with a conditioner which prevents them the bother of going for a conditioner separately. The focus is created towards them even in promotion, sales etc. Also as the shampoo is herbal and poses no threat to whosoever uses it, both the genders are targeted. Profile item Age group Gender Income range Occupation Locality Education level Product usage pattern Frequency of product usage Interests Hair care product user details 20- 45 yr Female/Male >$100,000 pa University students and Professionals 10 km radius from the beauty parlor University Frequent hair styling product users; shampoo and conditioner users 3-4 times a week Socializing, Down-aging, looking good, pampering

Objectives of Marketing Plan

The marketing plan is the corporate or overall plan of marketing activities, when referred to the whole organization. It is a plan that summarizes the entire supporting plan and dominates them. It may be either long term or annual (short term), and adequate management demands both. A marketing plan is neither detailed nor complete as a sales force or a physical distribution system. The beauty industry is a 40 billion dollar enterprise, (News Target, 2005) dedicated to helping women look their best so it is no wonder companies such as Palmolive is re-evaluating their posture in the U.K. market, positioning themselves to take advantage of the growing interest in cosmetic remedies to turning back the clock. The objective of this particular marketing plan is to explore the potential of an herbal shampoo in the hair care segment. With a target market and a marketing strategy well defined, Palmolive sees a bright future in the product. Palmolive is already into hair care market and its

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performance had been appreciative. Palmolive for the first time is entering in to the herbal hair care segment. The hair care segment in the UK has seen tremendous growth in the past few years, mainly due to the increase in use of hair styling products, and shampoos which offer remedies for damaged or repeatedly- styled hair. To further boost the market, Palmolive has chosen to launch Herbal shampoos, as a n extension to its already existing shampoo line, Palmolive Naturals. Some of the main objectives of the marketing plan include: Create product awareness: to make customers aware of the new product, as customers are always on the look-out for new brands which offer better convenience and results. Boost sales: to strategically create a perfect distribution and promotional system, so as to ensure the product reaches every customer seeking to try it. To maintain growth: Palmolive is a well known shampoo brand, so peoples expectations about the new product have to be met. The welfare of the organization lies not only in a successful launch and good sales, but also in maintaining the sales by delivering satisfactory after-sales services and better promotional schemes. In the past a number of terms have been used in the field of marketing communications the most common of which appear to be advertising and promotion. The origin of these two words helps us to define what marketing communications entails, namely the pushing forward of products or services and the turning of the consumer towards the product or service. Once these two elements are met there is a chance of a sale. Marketing communications includes a number of elements that make up the marketing communication mix: advertising, personal selling, sales promotion, publicity, direct marketing and cyber marketing. These objectives are derived from the marketing objectives and there is a clear distinction between them.

Product
Hair problems may be due to cosmetic causes, such as excessive shampooing and blow-drying, or due to underlying diseases, such as thyroid problems. Shampooing, combing and brushing too often, can also damage hair, causing it to break. Improper Hair Cosmetic Use/Improper Hair Care - Many men and women use chemical treatments on their hair, including dyes, tints, bleaches, straighteners, and permanent waves. However, the hair can become weak and break if any of these chemicals are used too often. Man has always been dependent on herbs. Herbal Hair Shampoos provide abundant amounts of nutrients and essential oils that make the hair healthy, shiny and beautiful. Herbal Hair Shampoos

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penetrates and strengthens damaged and clinically treated hair and are free form harsh chemicals that are usually contained in store and salon bought shampoos. Herbal shampoos can be availed scented or unscented the density of herbal shampoo is thinner than any other commercial shampoo but all herbal shampoo ignite great lather that beautifully cleanses hair. It can be used in small quantities for effective results. Certain characteristics of herbal shampoos are as follows: Gently cleanses hair. 100% herbal No chemicals used No animal extracts. Maximizes sheen and texture.

Product Usage Softener

Many people are interested in finding out tips relating to hair care techniques. Some want to know which styles are the most popular ones to choose whereas others wish to find out how to get their hair to cooperate in one way or another. One frequently asked question regarding hair is how to keep the hair strands soft on a daily basis. The most important thing is to be cautious with regard to the overuse of a comb or brush. It is important to use a brush or comb to straighten ones hair but it should not be taken to extremes. Brushing or combing hair on a frequent basis can damage hair by breaking the strands and promoting frizzy hair, not soft hair. Using a hair dryer too often and at extreme heats will dry out the hair, resulting in loss of softness, as when an individual has dry hair, it is more likely to be course than soft in nature. Coloring, styling, brushing and even scratching can all add up to damaged hair and untouchable. Palmolive herbal shampoo and conditioner for restoring the softness of damaged hair has selective herbs that enhances hair texture and meets all special needs of a consumer. It is a mixture of herbs like Cherry bark, Burdock root, Olive oil Marjoram. These herbs are selectively mixed and matched developed and individualized combination that is optimal for the customers hair needing a softener. The shampoo is gentle enough to be used everyday, as it causes no damage to the hair, instead it slowly and gradually improves the texture, restoring the softness, and adding bounce to it. The directions for use are denoted on the packs. Palmolive Herbals Shampoo for soft hair is available in two types:

For Stronger Hair

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Weak and slow growing hair can be sign of a bigger problem so proper care needs to be taken at the earliest. Apart from being among the safest shampoos to use, Palmolive also offers nourishment to the hair right from the roots. Its unique herbal formulation makes it mild enough for daily usage. It maintains the natural moisture content, shine and gleam of hair. Palmolive Herbal Shampoo for stronger hair is a blend of herbs like Nettle, Sage, Basil, Rosemary and onion juice. Not only do the contents work actively a rejuvenating hair growth but also rid the hair of all grime pollution, excess oil and dirt leaving the hair more lively and enable it to breathe more freely enhance grown. After use the consumer would feel the increase and the strength of their hair and it will be more manageable and easy to style. The steadiness in the growth of hair decreases with age, hence anyone experiencing hair loss is recommended to immediately use the shampoo for stronger hair.

Promotion & Budgeting

The marketing communication process. The marketing communication process can be very complex but it is based on the universal model used in all forms of communication which includes a sender, the message, receivers, and a medium and, in the case of two-way communication, feedback. However, this universal model needs to be presented in the context of marketing communications in order that its relevance to marketing is understood. The purpose of marketing. Communication campaign can best be described by reference to the hierarchy of communication effects represented by a four phase model. Promotion communicates your business to customers. Includes advertising, personal selling, sales promotion, publicity/ public relations, and direct marketing. Promotional strategies for small business might include advertising in the newspaper, on radio, doing letter box drops, telephone book advertising, public speaking, writing articles for local newspapers and direct mail. But Palmolive Herbal shampoo is a niche product therefore it does not come in a category of small business. Thus it requires a proper planning for its launch so as to create a space in the mind of the people. Once the objectives have been set the budget can be determined by a number of methods which can be broken down into two approaches: top down and bottom-up. There is no universally accepted norm for determining the marketing communication budget

SACHET MARKETING: The most effective way of influencing a customer to try out a product is to offer him enough for a trial. The latest initiatives taken up by most of the successful newly launched products are Sachet Marketing. This is where the producers make available the product to the customer for either of the two main goals:

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Offer the customer affordability. Give the customer the opportunity to try out the product. Here, the main objective is to convince the customers that the shampoos are indeed gentle enough to be used for the desired results. Hence, the product is offered in sachet, besides being made available in normal sized packs. BEAUTY SALONS & PARLOURS: Study reveals that when curious customers visit salons for hair styling, and are concerned about the amount of damage done to their hair every time they visit the salon, they are most likely to consult the beautician for a remedy. Hence, the beauticians here are targeted to recommend PHS as a new safe and everyday cure for frequently styled hair. In other words, they will play the part of Brand Ambassadors in the campaign. Some of the most frequently- visited parlors are targeted, apart from those located in the hubs. The estimated cost for this campaign is expected to be around 75000, since convincing all the beauticians about the product and their consideration for being a Brand Ambassador would require adequate time and money. HOARDINGS/ BILLBOARDS/ POSTERS: As Palmolive is a known and trusted brand, billboards and posters are definitely expected to create an impact on the customer. Hoardings will be put up across the UK mainland. Seven are scheduled to be displayed, which will run for the first 6-8 months. It is to be noted that, the hoardings will specifically mention the introduction of sachets in the market. Small posters are also specifically displayed in Retail Stores as it tends to influence the customer mind while making the purchase. This is expected to cost us around 40000. This will ensure us the hoardings in prime locations and traffic-prone areas, as they are most likely to catch the customers eye. PRINT ADS: Ads will be featured in lifestyle and Fitness & Well Being magazines and fashion magazines like_______ and in popular newspapers like _________ for the first 4months, depending on the budget and the impact it has created on the customers. Such magazines and newspapers are frequented by people constantly on the look-out for the latest innovations and products. The estimated cost for this part is 35000. FEEDBACK: To further promote the product, constant feedback will be taken from the consumers as a part of the campaign. All the suggestions, opinions etc. will be taken from the consumers and worked on accordingly. All the positive feed back will be communicated to the people to attract more customers. This will be done through bill boards, print ads and television advertisements. This will cost us around 20000. Feedback will be taken from them in beauty parlors, malls, cinema halls,etc. ONLINE MARKETING: since online marketing is a very popular medium of marketing, emphasis will be put on it, too. Around 6000 will be spent here. TELEVISION ADVERTISEMENTS: Promotion will also be done through T.V Advertisements. Mainly T.V channels like________ are targeted. And it goes without saying that the ads will be aired during programmes with the highest TRP ratings/peak hours. But this is not done initially due to lack of funds. After 12 months, when the product starts picking up in the market, advertisements will be aired

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aggressively to lure more customers and also to retain customers. Advertising spend should be highest in the Growth stage, not the Introduction stage of any product.

Positioning
Since PHS is the first of its kind in the Colgate- Palmolive company, it will be positioned as a herbal cure for weak and damaged hair. Positioning will put light on the fact that repeatedly-styled hair needs a safe and simple cure, for the hair tends to lose its sheen and softness and gradually becomes weak after a while. It will also highlight the fact that hair also needs a gentle shampoo, which can be used everyday as a home-cure, and not repeated trips to specialists or undergo medicated treatments. Further, PHS will also be positioned as safe for all, with positive results guaranteed as herbal products pose no threat to hair of any type. Since the target market is people within the age group 20-45 years, they are expected to go for the product as Palmolive is a trusted brand, and a safe (herbal) cure is just what they need for their stressed hair.

Scheduling
The Scheduling of the product will occur in the following manner: 1st Month High Low High High N/A 2nd Month High Low High High N/A 3rd Month High Med High High N/A 4th Month Med High Low Med N/A 5th Month Low High Med Low N/A 6th Month Low High Med Low N/A

Sachet Marketing Beauty Saloons Bill Boards Print Ads Television

The entire scheduling will is done in such a manner that it helps the customer first try the product and then it gives hard push to the product. While in the mean time Test Marketing will be running. We are mainly focused on Sachet Marketing, Bill Boards and Print Ads in the beginning 3 months as it will spread awareness about the product and when the product picks up pace as the consumers would have mostly tried the product then a final push will be to push the sales so the major emphasis has been put on Beauty Saloon at the end three months. After a year or so, depending on the customer response, focus would be created towards Television Ads.

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Test Marketing
Test marketing, also called market testing, is an application of a controlled experiment, done in limited but carefully selected part of the market place. The test market ideally aims to duplicate 'everything' promotion and distribution as well as `product' - on a smaller scale. The technique replicates, typically in one area, what is planned to occur in a national launch; and the results are very carefully monitored, so that they can be extrapolated to projected national results. Test marketing procedures may be classified as standard test markets, controlled and mini market tests and simulated test marketing. The procedure used for Palmolive herbal shampoo is Simulated Test Marketing (also called laboratory test marketing). In simulated test marketing, the respondents are intercepted in traffic locations like shopping malls and prescreened for product usage. The selected individuals are exposed to the proposed new product concept and given an opportunity to buy the product in a real life or laboratory environment. Those who purchase the new product are interviewed about their evaluations of the product and repeat- purchase intentions. The trial and repeat purchase estimates so generated are combined with data on proposed promotion and distribution levels to project a share of the market. The testing is conducted for a span of sixteen weeks. The information so generated is confidential and the competition cannot get hold of it. The targeted areas for this campaign are malls, shopping hubs, beauty parlors, etc., which ensure ample time and patience from the side of customers. This test marketing will enable us learn about the market more elaborately and will give us information to bring in any innovation in the product. This will also let us go slowly with the marketing plan and will prove to cause less harm (if any loss) with respect to the major launch of the product. It will also help us in creating a market base for the product. The Test Marketing campaign is expected to cost us around 30000.

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