Introduction

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Unilever is one of the worlds leading suppliers of fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG)
across foods, home and personal product categories. Its portfolio includes some of the worlds
best known and most loved brands. Unilever is present in around 100 countries around the world
and employs 223,000 people. With annual sales of nearly 2.5 billion, the UK is the second
largest market in Unilevers portfolio after the US. Over half of Unilevers worldwide sales are
generated by food brands. Launched in Britain in 1979, the Pot Noodle brand is the 23rd largest
food brand in the UK with a 95% share in the 105 million hot snack market.
(Source:http://www.experian.co.uk/assets/resources/case-studies/Unilever_V4.pdf, 15/08/2013)

1.1 Review changing perspective in marketing planning.

As a matter of fact that if company want to develop business, they have to examine
marketing department as an indispensable part and very important. However, the definition and
activity to understand and apply marketing effectively, which significantly changed. The
evidence is that there are a lot of companies, including Unilever Viet Nam which changed from
marketing led orientation to market led orientation.
_Marketing led orientation: it is the same with traditional marketing, company will product
before marketing, their targets tend to goods. The company use marketing led often assess to sell
goods, they try to sell anything they product without researching the demand of customer. The
company using marketing led often empower marketing department which will response for
marketing without sharing with the other departments.
_Market led orientation: it bases on the customers need and want. Company apply market led
often examine customer as the most important target and they will product or have strategy as
well as market plan which rely on customers need to meet their demand. Especially, market led
will focus on creating the goods valuation for their brand and they have to base on customers
need and combine between multi- function and multi department and marketing department to
human resource can support.
The orientation can be considered to apply to the business is market led orientation. This
orientation focuses on providing products that respond to both the needs and wants of target
consumer. To satisfy this orientation, different departments in Unilever Viet Nam such as
marketing, human resource, finance, have to work together to reach the main and common
target is to create customer satisfaction. Most of nowadays companies are applying this strategy

to their business and Unilever Viet Nam is not an exception. Because this strategy focuses on
customers, their wants, needs and demands to reach their expectation and satisfaction, itll lead
Unilever Viet Nam to success.
There are some difficulties that Unilever Viet Nam has to face with applying market
orientation. The demands of customer will change in different period of time in different ways so
Unilever Viet Nam needs to catch up and make necessary changes to maintain customer
satisfaction and in order to compete with other competitors. Any change can cause different
changes in the internal systems or processes and that will create problem for staffs to deal with.
Moreover, those changes might include unexpected expends and cost. Heavy and costly
investments in market will be counted as difficulty as well. It is required because Unilever Viet
Nam needs to understand up to date any change of customers and anticipate the change in future.
In addition, customer behavior will change unpredictable or low accuracy of prediction so it is
hard for Unilever Viet Nam to set plans for future.
As a successful brand name of products-an international cooperation, Unilever will not only
focus on existing markets but also other potential markets. New markets include many hidden
risks that will create many difficulties. Itll be different targets that the company wants to achieve
depend on different markets.
The changing from marketing-led to market-led orientation will meet some challenges such as:
Firstly, it needs to change the culture in each department into the culture in team work because in
team work, it will help connect people in departments together and share ideas to achieve the
common goals and get benefits together. Secondly, not only focusing on external customer but
also internal customer because our staffs also use our products, they can give us a good feedback
about the quality as well as mistakes in our services. Thirdly, the changing perspective in
marketing planning need new technology information to exchange information better and
effectives so it requires Unilever Viet Nam invest more money to use it effectively.

1.2 Evaluate an organisations (Unilever Vietnam) capability for planning its future
marketing activities.

Unilever Viet Nam always has viewpoint in the future. The evidence is that Mr. JV
Raman, Chairman of Unilever Viet Nam's, said: Unilever is proud to be one of the leading
foreign investors in Vietnam with a total investment of more than $ 300 million directly, and is
currently co-operation links with a network of local partners, suppliers, distributors and retailers
throughout the country. We currently have more than 1,500 employees and indirectly created
jobs for more than 10,000 people in Viet Nam.
(Source:http://www.unilever.com.vn/mediacentre/latest-news/2013/mo-hinh-kinh-doanh-huongtoi-su-thanh-cong.aspx, 15/08/2013)

Unilever Viet Nam is now creating new sources of competitive advantage. The evidence is
that they have strategy about high price with the same service. Nowadays, Unilever Viet Nam is
examined as the highest price goods. They totally have the different price strategy.
Employees of Unilever Viet Nam are hopeful because they always are worked by a good and
professional place with many dynamic colleagues to motivate together. They always are trained
by top managers in providing useful courses to support for present workers or future labors.
Event of Unilever Viet Nam also trains the management knowledge for all of their employees. It
is evident that we always see smile on Unilever Viet Nams employee face, which shows the
professional working manner and high responsibility in promote the trust with Unilever Viet
Nams corporation in the future.
The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in Vietnam was worth 123.96 billion US dollars in
2011. The GDP value of Vietnam represents 0.20 percent of the world economy. GDP in Vietnam
is reported by the World Bank. Historically, from 1985 until 2011, Vietnam GDP averaged 39.8
USD Billion reaching an all time high of 124.0 USD Billion in December of 2011 and a record
low of 6.3 USD Billion in December of 1989. The gross domestic product (GDP) measures of
national income and output for a given country's economy. The gross domestic product (GDP) is
equal to the total expenditures for all final goods and services produced within the country in a
stipulated period of time. So Vietnamese GDP has a trend to increase in previous years and it
might follow up this trend to increase in future.
(Source: Tradingeconomic)
Through information above, Unilever Viet Nam absolutely has capacity for planning its
future market activities in Vietnam.

1.3 Examine techniques for organisational auditing and for analysing external factors that
affect marketing planning.

To analyze external factors of Unilever Viet Nam, the company can consider using different
analysis methods. Here are some methods that Unilever Viet Nam can use: GAP, SWOT, 5
Forces and value chain.
GAP:
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(Source: Michael H Zack, 1999)

This method will help Unilever Viet Nam to analyze the different between recent position of
the company and the goal that the company wants to achieve. Therefore, Unilever Viet Nam
should concentrate to understand clearly about its current position and problems with it as the
first step. The next step is to identify the target achievements that Unilever Viet Nam wants to
reach in future. After all, Unilever Viet Nam can have ability to identify the ways to eliminate the
gap between current position and future goals through setting right strategies and plans.
SWOT:
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(Source: http://tanmarketing.net/phan-tich-swot-trong-marketing.html, 16/08/2013)

This tool basically helps Unilever Viet Nam to recognize its own strengths, weaknesses,
opportunities and threats. Strengths can be seen as the abilities that Unilever Viet Nam has which
would help the company to overcome its competitors and lead the company to success.
Weaknesses are defined as problems that Unilever Viet Nam is facing with. Those problems can
prevent the company to reach its goals and objectives, or worse, it can lead to failures. However
strengths and weaknesses are likely internal issues so it is possible for Unilever Viet Nam to
make changes to reduce weaknesses or increase strengths. Opportunities are chances to help the
company to reach achievement passively. In another word, there are many factors can effect to
the company in a positive way and they are opportunities. Those factors can be under control of
Unilever Viet Nam or not but usually they are not. On the contrary, there are also factors that
affect Unilever Viet Nam in negative way and make troubles for the company. Thats threats.
Opportunities and threats are external environment so it is possible but very hard for Unilever
Viet Nam to control, change or convert them. SWOT analysis provides a deeper view to
managers of Unilever Viet Nam therefore they can make decisions for improvements. It also
helps Unilever Viet Nam to avoid possible risks or threat and increase the chance of success.

Value chain:
This includes different activities which is listed in primary activities and supported activities.
Those activities will create the value for the whole system. Through this technique, Unilever Viet
Nam can create advantages over competitors, safe costs and make good value to customers. As in
new goods industry, the characteristic of Unilever Viet Nam is providing products and services
so it is necessary for Unilever Viet Nam to increase customer satisfaction to as high as possible
through products and services to increase customer value. Target customer that Unilever Viet
Nam should attract can be existed customers and potential-future customers. Market and
customer analysis will be used in order to please customers. Moreover, this technique can help
Unilever Viet Nam to identify and create connection between internal parts of the company.
Porters Five Forces

| Porters

|[pic]*

|[pic]*

| Five Forces |

|[pic]*

|Threat of new |HIGH

|

|MEDIUM

|entrants
|The entry barriers in the
industry is a difficult |

|LOW

|Vietnam is emerge country. It attracts

|Seasoning

|
|shampoo or body spray market are|more and more foreign inventors. This is |major,
which require company should has|
|
|very low. Axe is a new product |lead to the barriers of entry in
and high economic of|

|a lot of expertise

|
|in the Vietnam market. It has to|detergents market is very low. Moreover, |scale. So the
entry barrier is high |
|
|

|face with a lot competitors

|
|

|Nivea of Beiersdorf AG, X-man |potential market. Therefore, Omo has to |

|
|

|of International Consumer

|Product company(ICP) and some |

|domestic companies

|Threat of
|

|LOW

|detergent market is considered as a

|face with a lot of challenges.

|
|

|LOW

|substitute |Axe has various products

using seasoning, consumers |

|
|MEDIUM

|Nothing substituted for detergents. It is |Instead of

|
|including body spray, shampoo, |very important to make a clothes clean. |may use salt
or sugar in cooking.
|
|
|shower gel and styling wax. All |Omo has two types of detergents such as |Moreover,
it may cheaper than use |
|
|of which are a need in the life.|liquid and powders.
Knorr may help food |
|

|Knorr. However,

|more delicious and tasteful

|Bargaining
|

|HIGH

|MEDIUM

|MEDIUM

|power of |Its market share is very low

seasoning market in Vietnam is not |

|Although Omo is the biggest brand in

|The

|customers |just 3.8%. Switching cost is

has to face with two big |

|Vietnam market, it still deals with a lot |high. Knorr

|
|very high because in Vietnam |of domestic products such as Aba of Dai |competitors
including Ajji-Ngon of |
|
|there are several products
and Maggi of Nestles. Knorr |

|Viet Huong company and Lix of Vietnam

|Ajinomoto

|
|similar with Axe such as X-men, |chemical Group. Because the price of Omo |is
distributed to retailers.
|
|
|

|Romano and Nivea. Unilever not |products is 30% higher than others.

|
|

|only distributes its product for|However, Omo has a high quality.

|retailers but also directly for |

|customers via events.

|Bargaining
|

|LOW

|
|

|MEDIUM

|HIGH

|power of |Axe has launched in February, |In order to set customer satisfaction,
produce Knorr, Unilever need |

|So as to

|suppliers |2012 in Vietnam, which has to |Unilever has to create more and more Omo |to buy
pig bone from supplier. In the |
|
|import the product from France. |products with different capacity.
share, Knorr just makes |
|
|So, Axe does not need more
third. The switching costs for |

|Vietnam market

|Therefore, it needs to have more and more |up one

|
|suppliers in order to produce |suppliers providing chemical material for |customers
would be high.
|

|it.

|it.

|Rivalry among |HIGH

|

|MEDIUM

|MEDIUM

|existing firms|In the Vietnam market, there a |There is not much company that can compete|
Knorr has to face with two main
|
|
|so many companies produce
competitors in Vietnam market like |

|with Omo. The major competitor of the

|
|shampoo and body spray including|organization is Tide of P&G. However, Omo |
Ajinomoto and Maggi of Nestle group. |
|
|international and domestic. The |has different market segment and
Ajjinomoto has made up rural |

|Moreover,

|
|prices of competitors are much |capability. It focuses on people in middle|market, in
contrast, Knorr in urban |
|
|

|slower than Axe. The major

|class and washing clothes clear. However, |market.

|
|

|competitor of the organization |the price of Omo is high than dometic

|
|

|is X-men of ICP. It has a lot of|companies.

|products totally a same with

|Axe. Axe does not have potential|

|customer so the customers

|switching cost is very high.

|
|

|
|

|
|

1.4 Carry out organisational auditing and analysis of external factors that affect the
marketing planning in a given situation (you can site in your slides a particular
scenario).

|
|
|

SWOT analysis on Unilever's business is an essential step in the process of branding and
marketing its product or service. It also helps the company come up with business strategies.
Moreover, SWOT analyses help the company to identify and capitalize on strengths. In addition,
it makes awareness and protects Unilever to avoid the threats.

Strength:
Unilever has own a strong financial so they can expand the market in nearly 190 countries in
the world. Besides, they also have 270 manufacturing sites worldwide that is how they can
achieve economy of scale easily. It gives competitive advantage to company.

Unilever has own many famous brand name in fast moving consumer goods area such as:
Surf, Dove, Ponds, Sunsilk, Knorr, Walls ice cream, P/S, Close up, etc. All of these brand names
known as multinational brands with affordable price and good quality.
Dynamic work environment, staff and intellectuals have responsibility for the company's
overall objective. Besides, policies to attract talent of Unilever are effective so they can get more
ideas for the company development.
Modern technology inherited from the global Unilever, delivered quickly and remarkably
effective.

Weaknesses:
The price of some Unilever Viet Nam products is still high compared to Vietnamese
especially in rural areas.

Some technologies can not applied in Vietnam because the cost is so high. This is a reason
why Unilever has to import the technologies in oversea.

Unilever has 100% capital in Euro. Therefore, some promotion strategies of some products
are not suitable with Vietnamese culture such as Axe advertising. Plus, the budgets for
advertising are limited.

Opportunities:

The economy in Vietnam might concerned as stable in the future, so that Unilever Viet Nam has
time to consider a new products or new brands that might have cheap price to go through the new
segment. Based on the real situation, the demands of customer in health-care products was
decreasing in the last 3 years, this could be the big opportunities for Unilever in Vietnam in the
next few-year, they can improve the more products from the brands of Hazeline, AXE, Rexona,
Dove and Ponds so that the attractiveness to customer will be increased significantly.

Threats:

Inflation in Vietnam has decreased on 2013, but it is too high compared to other countries.
Therefore, the cost of buying materials for producing quality productions, safety and sanitation
will be increased.

Overall business climate is tougher today because of economic crisis, tough Government
regulations and competitive environment. It has led Unilever Viet Nam to focus more their
liquidity instead of profitability.

Unilever Viet Nam has more than 42 group companies, Joint ventures and associates. It has
hundreds of agency relationships. It has more than 300 production facilities are across the globe.
All this has made Unilever Viet Nam structure very complex. A wrong corporate strategy can be
a single point of failure of business (Unilever, 2013)

The price of productions in Unilever Viet Nam is too high affect purchasing power of
Vietnam market.

2.1 2.2 Assess the main barrier in marketing planning. Examine how Unilever may
overcome the barriers to marketing planning.

In Unilever Viet Nam, Vietnam is a new market, and in order to develop in new market like
this, there are too many barriers that Unilever Viet Nam should know and overcome.
Vietnam is a new market with Unilever Viet Nam so there are too many issues and problem
that the company doesnt have experiences on. If there is wrong or in completed marketing
analysis, it will lead to the failure of the company. To overcome this, there are experts who have
been working on this market or have lots of experiences that can give ideas to help the company
to set right and correct strategies for long-term developments. Then Unilever Viet Nam should
create and apply short term objectives and plans to ensure they can be done before create longterm ones.
Human resource is one of the problems. As an international company, there will be lack of
human who can really afford the requirement of Unilever in Vietnam. Foreigner managers might
find difficulties to run the business in a new market and environment while local managers might
not have experiences or clearly understanding about the main companys system.
Communication between foreigners and local people is also an issue. Employees may not have
enough ability to communicate and understand foreigner managers. To solve this issue, Unilever
should spend more for recruitment skillful and experienced Vietnamese employees and
managers. If necessary, Unilever can create massive training for local managers so they can catch
up with the main system. In sum, Vietnamese managers and employees may be refered than
foreigners because this market is in Vietnam and Vietnamese will understand about it more.
Lack of knowledge and skills: If Unilever's staff does not have knowledge about technology
or poor about the ability to operation the machines; they will not adapt and work well. When
product is not good and does not guarantee quality. Leading to affect the prestige of the
company.

Confusing marketing tactics and strategy: In fact, 'tactics and strategy' is two word that easily
make people confuse about them, even some managers in big company, who face with them
every day without meaning to, may be Unilever's managers have the same problem. Because the
content of them is abundant, thus sometimes strategies and tactics are discussed as they are the
same. The common reasons that people are usually confused, firstly managers may make mistake
about the purpose of using of them, such as they are confused between the long-term and shortterm of tactics and strategy when they make plans. Finally, sometimes they may even think they
are still able to get their targets if miss one of them.

At the moment, Unilever has more than 150 products around the world. Consequently, it may
has to face with a lot of competitors such as Tide and Ariel of P&G , X-men of IPC and AjiNgon of Ajinomoto group. Each competitor may has its own strategy to counter with Unilever.
To be more specific, P&G with Tide product, which concentrates more about white scale in

washing clothes. Plus, P&G has launched a marketing program to support Ariel after that Ariel
with liquid, using for washing machine. Expressing particular investment from designing
advertising messages, payment crisis for the media, invited the entertainer as brand ambassador,
to the organization of events for consumers. Not only that, DaiVietHuong Company has launched
the product with low price. Apa applied discount 10% for its product sometime 20%. All of
which may lead to a failure to plan for the longer- term of Unilever.

Activities and strategies of Unilever Viet Nams competitors might affect the strategies of
Unilever Viet Nam. For example, Unilever Viet Nam might be attracted to price war with other
competitors and if they join and lose the war, it will damage the business so bad. The collapse of
small and short-term strategies can lead to the collapse of the business as a whole. It is important
for Unilever Viet Nam managers to consider and set up long-term strategies carefully. After that,
the company should do the best to follow up the strategies and avoid to be distracted by external
factors.

Conclusion
According to the analysis above, it will help you a lot in understanding marketing planning of
Unilever Vietnam. In addition, changing perspective in marketing planning affects to business as
well as performance of them. Therefore, Customer and market needs always put it on top
because these are very significant element in marketing. Besides, not only the barriers but also
some internal and external factors can influent to doing marketing. That is the reason why
Unilever Vietnam need to identify and analysis before set up a new strategy for new product. To
ensure the success of marketing planning; Unilever Viet Nam should prepare carefully factors
before implement it in reality.

Reference list:

(Source: Case study:Unilever, no date, http://www.experian.co.uk/assets/resources/casestudies/Unilever_V4.pdf, 15/08/2013)

(Source: K hoch Pht trin Bn vng M hnh kinh doanh hng n thnh cng ca
Unilever, 2013

http://www.unilever.com.vn/mediacentre/latest-news/2013/mo-hinh-kinh-doanh-huong-toi-suthanh-cong.aspx, 15/08/2013)
(Source: Unknown author, no date, http://tanmarketing.net/phan-tich-swot-trong-marketing.html,
16/08/2013)
(Source: Tradingeconomic)
(Source: Michael H Zack, 1999, http://elijahignatieff.wordpress.com/services/knowledge-gapanalysis/, 17/08/2013)
(Source: Unknown author, no date, investinganswer.com, market orientation,
http://www.investinganswers.com/financial-dictionary/businesses-corporations/marketorientation-3779)

(Source: Unknown author, March 20th 2012, vectorstudy.com, Five Forces of

Competition,http://vectorstudy.com/wpcontent/gallery/managementtheories/porters_five_forces
.png, 19/08/2013)