During tough economic times, people are still willing to buy Bath and Body products. The high demand for the Bath and Body products makes it necessary to advance their business globally and to increase their sales. The Bath and Body shop specializes in a wide range of consumer fragrance, bath, and body lines that are affordable to their customers. The market entry strategy is very critical as it determines the success or failure of the company in the new market (Limbersky, 2008). Wrong choice of market entry can results into losses as the business operations will be subjected to the strange market forces of the new market. This paper discusses the marketing strategy of Bath and Body Products shop as they intend to enter the U.K market.
Since UK market is a different market, the company can use joint venture strategy to help them sell their products in the U.K. The benefit of joint venture business is that it requires low cost of investment since their partner is already established business in the new country (Feng & Marco, 2012). Therefore, the joint venture is a good market entry strategy that Bath and Body product can use to further their sales. Joint venture would enable Bath and Body products to share risks and to combine the knowledge with the other company. In addition, the company will benefit from low political exposure and high speed of entry due to established distribution channels (Janet & Gao, 2012).
The clients being targeted by the company are mostly females. Women are more sensitive to the bath and body products and would only the products that give them the highest utility. Even in family households, women are the ones who do most of the purchase for such products. Therefore, market segmentation would mostly be targeted at the women population.
Product: The internationalization strategy of Bath and Body products comes with some opportunities that the company can utilize to their advantage. The Body and Body shop is an existing brand that can easily be recognized and sold in a foreign market. Currently, the company produces hundreds of bath and body products with hundreds of accessories. Therefore, each and every consumer would have something to purchase from their products. Furthermore, the company sells luxury based on different ingredients as part of their strategy to give their customers quality products.
Price: In terms of pricing, the company offers competitive pricing that related to the quantity of the products offered. When compared to the average income of the UK residents, the prices of Bath and Body products can be considered relatively affordable. Also, the company offers competitive prices when compared with their competitors in UK.
Place: UK is one of the largest economies in the world. Therefore, her economy is good and consumers have high purchasing power. In addition, the consumers in UK are ready to pay for high quality products offered by Bath and Body products. In the UK, there are several small firms offering bath and body products and this company can team up with them to market their products.
Promotion: Since the Bath and Body Company is an established brand, little advertising is needed to sell their products. However, the company can use the internet platform to reach millions of potential customers online.
People: The UK residents are very concerned with their beauty and their safety of the beauty products. Therefore, they are willing to pay for products that would satisfy their demand for better bath and body products.
After sales services: The Company offers after sales services to attract a strong brand loyalty and increase their sales. In addition, the company offers warranty for their products and training for those who want to know how the products are used.
References
Feng, Z & Marco, I. (2012). Entry into platform-based Markets. Strategic Management Journal, 33 (1), 88-106.
Janet, M & Gao, J. (2012). Foreign Market Entry Timing Revisited: Trade-off between Market Share and Performance of the Firm. Journal of International Marketing, 20 (3), 50-64.
Limbersky, C. (2008). Market Entry Strategies: Text, Cases and Readings in Market Entry Management. Christoph Lymbersky.
