PRODUCTS
They are just tools in companies overall aim: to make profit and satisfy consumer’s need at the same time. As everybody, NIVEA wishes to boost this with developing new products, modifying existing products, eliminating product that do not satisfy consumer’s desires, formulating brand names and branding policies, creating product guarantees and establishing procedures for fulfilling guarantees plan packages, including materials, sizes, shapes, colours and designs.
So such kind of goods were invented and introduced that did not exist before or there were not so wide range of choice of them.
Nivea's first innovation was Nivea cream. In 1912 women were using products that were purely based on fat to feed their skin. The owner of Beiersdorf at that time, a famous doctor and dermatologist, invented a technology that for the first time in history combined water and oil into a stable white cream. Due to the snow-white colour of the cream, he called it Nivea, coming from the Latin word nives, which means snow. Targeting segment was women well-off.
In its 80 years of history, Nivea has brought many other innovations to the market. For example, the introduction of the Nivea For Men Aftershave in the seventies. It was the first soothing aftershave on the market. It avoided the usual skin burn after shaving. The target audience were males at every age suffering from the burning affect of shaving,
Another recent success story is Q10, a technology based on an active ingredient. Q10 is a co-enzyme, which is in your skin. It diminishes with time and age. After many years of research, NIVEA was the first to identify and prove that this co-enzyme significantly reduces the appearance of wrinkles, a major concern for women. Today, Q10 is the key active ingredient in Nivea's anti-age products. It is the reason why Nivea Visage Q10 Take care has developed to the world's best-selling anti-wrinkle cream. This new product was targeting middle-aged and above women.
DISTRIBUTION
Beierdosrf's analyses various types of distribution channels, designs appropriate distribution channels, designs an effective programme for dealers relation, , formulates and implements procedures for efficient product handling, analyses transportation method, minimises total distribution costs, analyses possible locations for plants and wholesale or retail outlets in order to be more efficient.
Distribution, especially physical distribution affects every element of the marketing mix: product, price, promotion. They are activities that moves products from producers to consumers. Beiersdorf does not sell directly to the final users. Instead goods move from producer to user through a series of intermediaries (wholesalers, retailers) who perform a variety of functions. E.g. they make adds themselves, sell the products at a higher price, make discounts, spread samples.
Nivea's move across the world started in 1912. First throughout Europe, and by the end of the twenties it had crossed the Americas. Today it's a truly global brand marketed in more than 140 countries around the world. It is sure this products are purchasable in most regions. This is the main reason why is its target audience so wide.
PROMOTION
Tools used in this field is setting promotional objectives, determining major type of promotion to be used, selecting and scheduling advertising media, developing advertising massages, measuring the effectiveness of adds, recruiting and training salesperson, formulating payment programmes for sales personnel, establishing sales territories, planning and implementing sales promotion efforts such as free samples, coupons, displays, evaluating sponsorship and providing direct mail.
The primary role of these is to communicate with individuals, groups, to inform them about the advantages of the product. The long run purpose is to influence and encourage customers to accept or adopt goods. The tools Beiersdorf achieve this is using bargain packages, when products are advertised at a particular price, but they are marked e.g. ‘200Ft OFF’ which means that the purchase price will be reduced by that amount or when Beiersdorf increase the turnover of the large packs, sales of which may have been sluggish (e.g.20% more at the same price). An other tool is when the company give away free samples at a smaller-size than the normal pack-size, and consumers are supposed to try that product, like it and purchase it in the future. This is usually reserved for new entrants to the cosmetics market. One more usual tool of NIVEA is to give an extra product to the purchased one. E.g. for a NIVEA Visage Cream a Labello is given, or in the case of purchasing two Body Lotion a third one or a Shampoo is given.
It really seems that people are aware of the NIVEA’ brands and have a favourable attitude towards its products. It is supposed to implement a combination of push and pull policy. Regarding an extensive survey by Landor Associates there are individuals who directly seek for NIVEA articles, so the company promotes directly to consumers with the intention of developing a strong consumer demand. Once consumers are persuaded to seek the products in retail stores, retailers in turn go to wholesalers to buy the products. On the other hand the design and the packaging are quite expressive, everybody has an eye on the charming deep blue colour, that’s why push policy is also used.
Advertising is surely the most interesting and probably also the most difficult feature. The guideline reads: 'Nivea advertising is about skin care. It should be present visually and verbally. Nivea advertising is simple, it is unpretentious and human.' Sounds easy. Nivea advertising has always been this way. An ad from the 1930s were a strong branding, a simple message, a clear focus on skin, and an unpretentious and human setting showing real people in a real world: the world of the thirties. Nivea cream advertising sixty years later are different, but similar. Simple, unpretentious, very human and a strong branding. And an advertising in the year 2000 for the face care product sold under the brand Visage, for the fitness showers sold under the brand Nivea Bath, for the night treatment sold under the brand Nivea Vital, for the new season colours sold under the make up-line Nivea Beauté. All ads have common denominators reflecting their Nivea heritage. Showing skin, a clear message in an unpretentious human life-style. Yet all ads are different enough to reflect the specific needs of their category.
PRICE
NIVEA analyses competitor’s prices, formulates pricing policies, determines methods used to set prices, sets prices, determines discounts for various types of buyer, establishes conditions and terms of sales, understands the consumer notion value
Until the 1950s it was considered to be the most important influences on buyer behaviour and choice. As a result of increasing competition during the 1950s and 1960s non price factors grew in importance, so Beiersdorf attempted to differentiate its products from competitors on the bases of branding, advertising and packaging. Price is the only variable in the marketing mix that can be adjusted quickly and easily respond to changes in the external environment.
But buyers perception of price vary. Some consumer segments are sensitive to price, but others may not. People are supposed to buy them because of the high quality. Otherwise they are not at all cheap, not expensive let’s say they are middle priced.
III. Conclusion
Now let's come to an important but not mentioned factor of success for a global brand. The cosmetics and toiletries market is one which is increasingly determined by globalisation NIVEA has to find the right balance between its global strategy and local execution. Companies that are not capable of competing on a world-wide level will in the long run have problems to compete on a local level.
References
Adcock D, Bradfield R, Halborg A & Ross C: Marketing Principles & Practice, Pitman, 1995
Jobber D: Principles and Practices of Marketing, McGraw Hill, 1995
Dibb S & Simkin L: The Marketing Casebook, Routledge, 1994
Monique Reece Myron and Pamela Larson: Market Smarter, Not Harder
Geoff Lancaster, Laster Massingham: Essentials of Marketing
http://www.stichtingmarketing.be
