Marketing Individual Assignment Draft (1)

8/2/2019 Marketing Individual Assignment Draft (1)

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Sarah,

Put yourself in the shoes of a Colgate-Palmolive employee. Pretend that you are an

employee and that you are writing a report for your boss. In this manner, your report

should become more specific on how you can help your boss market a specific product

under the prevailing micro and macro environments. Use as many business models to

justify your response.

Introduction

The exterior factors that determines the company’s operations either directly or indirectly is

known as the business environment. Marketing environment is a constituent of business

environment that influences the company’s capability to encourage and execute operations on the

market. The companies in FMCG (Fast Moving Consumer Goods) industry must be aware and

cope with changes that takes place in the marketing environment, as it has hugely affects how

marketers change and develop their own marketing strategies. These companies interact with two

types of environments which are the microenvironment and macro environment.

Microenvironment factors interact directly with the company and creates pressure that bring into

being certain behaviour of the company. The microenvironment can be classified into internal

micro-environment and external micro-environment. The internal micro-environment is made up

of the departments within the company, the firm’s management structure and the organisation’s

strategies and objectives. The company’s ability to serve its customers can be affected by the

characteristics of the firm’s internal micro-environment. External micro-environment comprises

the external factors that affects directly to the company and exerts influence such as the company

itself, competitors, customers, publics and suppliers. On the other hand, macro environmentanalyses the general business climate as it pertains to the organisation, but has nothing to do with

the organisation itself. The macro environment is mainly concerned with major issues and

forthcoming changes in the environment. ‘PESTLE’ is an acronym for Political, Economic,

Socio-cultural, Technological, Legal and Environmental factors, this model is used to analyse the

macro environment of a company.



This should be a brief introduction to the company and the product (you can put a more

detailed explanation of the company and product in the Appendix). However, what I am really

looking for is an introduction (in other words, the background) to the issues facing the company

in l

Colgate-Palmolive Company

Put this in the Appendix.

You should be more specific on which Colgate-Palmolive you are speaking about. Are you

speaking about the worldwide operations or their Malaysian operations? Remember, the more

specific your answer is, the better it is.

History

Colgate-Palmolive started as a family business in 1806 when William Colgate opened a candle,

soap and starch company called ‘William Colgate & Company’. In 1857, Samuel Colgate, his

son, reorganized the company as ‘Colgate and Company’ and introduced perfumes soap and

perfumes in 1866 (Our company: history, 2012). Colgate first introduces toothpaste in jars in

1873 and by 1896 the toothpaste was sold in a collapsible tube. In 1928, Colgate merges with

Palmolive-Peet becoming Colgate- Palmolive-Peet Company and by 1953, the company’s

official name became Colgate-Palmolive Company.

Current Status

Colgate-Palmolive Company serves people in more than 200 countries with consumer products

that make lives more enjoyable and healthier. (Colgate-Palmolive Company, 2010) It is a $15.6

billion global company which focuses on strong international brands in its core business in Home

Care, Oral Care, Personal Care and Pet Nutrition. Colgate has a defined strategy to raise market

shares for core products like bar and liquid soap, deodorants/ antiperspirants, dishwashing

detergents, fabric conditioners, household cleaners, specialty per food, toothbrushes and

toothpaste. You can give a general overview of their product portfolio in your Appendix.



However, for the main body of your text, pick a single product and focus on it. If it is toothpaste,

stick to toothpaste throughout. Also, bear in mind that Colgate Palmolive has many toothpaste

brands. You can show their brands in your appendix, but focus on one in your main text.

You can show the target markets (say in Colgate Palmolive Malaysia) using what I discussed on

market segmentation. You can use perceptual maps, vis-à-vis their toothpaste competition.

Objectives

Use the SMART objective format, as discussed in class. You may make assumptions and

justifications on it. The remainder of your paper should strive to meet your objectives.

Vision Statement

The vision statement is their three fundamental values which are caring, global teamwork and

continuous improvement which is also part of everything the company does. (Our company:

living our values, 2012).

Mission Statement

The mission statement is to provide Colgate with a significant competitive advantage by

reducing total delivered cost, extending technology resources and developing excellence in

purchasing, logistics and sourcing processes. (Global procurement and mission and goals, 2012).

Management and Organisation

This comes under the Appendix

Colgate-Palmolive Company has four core businesses which are Home Care, Oral Care, Personal

Care and Pet Nutrition. The executive management team is made up of five members. (Our

company: executive management team, 2012).



Microenvironment affecting the company

Internal micro-environment

Too general. Be more specific on how the microenvironment affects the specific toothpaste

product you have selected. Show Colgate-Palmolives ability to perform under these

circumstances, in terms of their strengths and weaknesses. You may even use a SWOT

analysis here if you like.

Colgate organisational objectives and their performances

Colgate is dedicated to improving as individuals and as teams every day in everything it does. By

better understanding consumer’s and customer’s expectations and continuously working to

innovate and improve products, services and processes, ‘Colgate will become the best.’ In more

than hundred countries, Colgate has been recognised as the best toothpaste for its diversity.

Departments within the company

There are fourteen departments within the Colgate Company. They are the CFO, emerging

markets, Europe, development and supply, technology, Hill’s pet nutrition, Colgate-Greater Asia,

customer development, global oral care, legal and secretary, ethics and compliance, corporate

communication, human resources and social responsibility. (Colgate-Palmolive, no date).

Firm’s management team

Colgate Company has nine board members and nineteen committee members from four different

departments which are the audit department, finance department, nominating and corporate

governance department and personnel organisation department. (Governance: board of directors,

2012).

External micro-environment

Company



The company itself can affect its ability to serve its customers due to the cohesion between

different departments, the bedrock that it runs on and the internal working of the company. The

major factor of Colgate’s current success and strong business results is the outstanding personal

leadership of employees at all levels of the organisation. Colgate produce leaders through a

formal, multifaceted process that consists of an understanding of how each employee’s work

contributes to the company’s general objectives, occasional one-on-on feedbacks, setting of

personal goals and thorough communication of Colgate’s strategies by integrating Colgate’s

global values of caring, global teamwork and continuous improvement. (Colgate-Palmolive

Company, 2010)

Competition

Competition is the most essential factor when dealing with FMCG products, as it does not take

much for customers to switch brands which set the manufacturers at a disadvantage. According

to Palmer and Hartley (2002, p.192) ‘the process of branding is the heart of the company’s effort

to remove themselves from fierce competition between generic products. Through adding value

that will attract customers, firms are able to provide a base for expansion and product

development and to protect themselves against the strength of intermediaries and competitors.’

Crest, Sensodyne, Arm & Hammer, Close Up, Aim, Pepsodent, Jason, Peelu are competitors of

Colgate in the toothpaste industry (Covelli, 2011). In 1997, Colgate Total toothpaste was

introduced in the U.S. and rapidly became the market leader. Moreover, Colgate purchased

Tom’s of Maine, a market leader in the United States in 2006 to penetrate the fast-growing

Naturals segment.

Customers

The centre of all the activities in a business is always the customer’s needs and wants. Colgate

has provided a whole range of toothpaste that are differently priced and promoted as well as

targeting different groups of consumers. Colgate has several target groups for its toothpaste

products. For instance, MAX FRESH targets youth, ACTIVE SALT targets elderly people,

COLGATE SENSITIVE aims at people with sensitive gums and KIDS TOOTHPASTE for small

children.

Publics



Publics refer to any group that has an interest or impacts the company’s ability to achieve its

objectives in terms of marketing microenvironment. For instance, environmental and minority

groups which are citizen-action publics can question the actions of a company and place them

under the public spotlight. Media publics can publish articles of interest through newspapers and

magazines concerning the company and editorials that may affect the customer’s opinions.

Moreover, the company can be affected by the government publics when they pass legislations

and laws that can restrict the company’ actions. Colgate is dedicated to run its business in an

environmentally manner. Between 2002 and 2010, Colgate has reduced manufacturing – related

greenhouse gas emissions by 21 percent, wastewater loading by 31 percent and water use by 44

percent (Colgate-Palmolive Company, 2011). Colgate people have worked to cut down the

company’s environmental footprints from innovative energy-efficient manufacturing to water

use efficiency technologies and new cleaning method.

Suppliers

One of the key components of external micro-environment is suppliers. They supply the

company with the resources they need to fulfill their business activities. ( Micro environtal

factors, no date). Examples of the company’s suppliers are capital supplier, human resource

supplier, machine supplier, raw material supplier and technology supplier. (Sudip, 2009). Goods

and services that are produced and market by Colgate-Palmolive require thousands of suppliers

globally. When making a procurement decision, the company always considers the availability,

price, quality, services and other factors. Colgate is dedicated to extend its responsibility of

upholding to high standards across its value chain to their suppliers.

Macro environment affecting the company

Too general. Be more specific on how the macroenvironment affects the specific toothpaste

product you have selected. Show Colgate-Palmolives ability to perform under these

circumstances

Political



Political factors play a very important part for the businesses existing in the country. As Colgate

and its associates do business in many different countries, each country does have their own

antitrust laws and it is Colgate’s policy to comply with these laws. For instance, trade restrictions

under the U.S. Commerce Department regulations, the International Emergency Economic

Powers Act, the related Executive Orders and U.S. Treasury Department and the Trading with

the Enemy Act that are enforced by the U.S. Colgate-Palmolive Company changes how they

operate due to the different government policies in each country.

Economic

The economic environment is another significant macro environment that affects the decisions

made by the company. Colgate- Palmolive could suffer from a material adverse effect due to the

ongoing instability in the global financial markets and the economic downturn in markets. If the

global financial markets were to worsen and the financial institutions that support the company

were to declare bankruptcy or become insolvent, Colgate-Palmolive will have less borrowing

capacity or unhedged against certain foreign currency exposures or interest rate. Furthermore,

there may be business disruptions for some of their contract manufacturers, suppliers or trade

customers due to the tighter credit markets which may impact the company’s business. (Colgate-

Palmolive Company, 2008).

Socio-cultural

Social and cultural factors such as attitudes, beliefs, lifestyle, opinions and values of the society

affects the decisions made about the product as the company has to take into account the cultural

and religious factors of the consumers in that country for the company to survive in the industry.

This is because consumers will repulse the product that go against or cannot be accepted by their

cultural or religious background. For Islamic countries such as Pakistan or Saudi Arabic, there

are certain ingredients in toothpaste that are banned hence Muslims do not use those toothpaste.

That is why Colgate toothpaste which is sold in USA and Pakistan or Saudi Arabia has different

taste and ingredients. This is because there are customers who are sensitive towards dental care

and others who take it lightly. Colgate is committed to contributing to the overall quality of life

through consumer products, therefore they always reaffirm the value of a clean and healthy

environment. They are dedicated to manufacturing, packaging and selling quality products that



meet or exceed health and safety rules and regulations as well as persist to invest in innovations

that protect the environment.

Technological

Many international companies today are increasingly more dependent on the opportunities

afforded by instant global communication. For Colgate-Palmolive, the ability to reinforce core

values cheaply and easily has made the task of global unity seem much more tangible. Accessing

and sharing company information seem perfunctory activity with the effective usage of the e-

mail and intranet system. (Colgate-Palmolive seeks tomor row’s global leader: Searching for

success in the international arena, 2004). Colgate is able to sustain its many brands with

technologically sophisticated products due to strong research and development capabilities and

alliances in order to meet consumer’s home, oral and personal care as well as pet nutrition needs.

In 2006, the Company spends $241.5 million in research and development activities, while in

2007 and 2008 the Company spends 247.0 million and 253.1 million respectively. (Colgate-

Palmolive Company, 2010)

Legal

Colgate has a Code of Conduct which promotes the highest ethical standards in all its business

dealings. The Code of Conduct has been used as a guide for their daily business interactionwhich reflects their standard of proper behaviour as well as corporate values since 1987. In order

to ascertain its comprehensiveness, the Code of Conduct frequently reissued and updated. All

Colgate people has to practise the Colgate Code of Conduct which are the directors, employees,

officers and its subsidiaries around the world as well as suppliers as the Code is a condition in

order to do business with Colgate. Members of Colgate Legal are considered as integral

members and strategic business partner of the management team as they help drive global

business initiatives and assist in solving business/legal issues. Colgate Legal provides advice and

knowledge in the international business arena and in wide-ranging fields of specialty from

corporate acquisitions to product trademarks and patents. (Work with us: careers at Colgate,

2012).

Environmental



In many businesses, the environment plays a large part especially businesses with production

facilities. If any changes in the environment occur, many businesses will be affected by the

change. For example, if a natural disaster like a tsunami were to occur, businesses in many

industries will be affected as the supply of raw materials for many industries can be destroyed by

the tsunami. Colgate has designed programs to ascertain their facilities and operations meet or

exceed the standards established by applicable environmental rules and regulations. In 2010, the

environmental control facilities capital expenses costs $24 million. (Colgate-Palmolive

Company, 2010). Colgate is dedicated to carry out its business in an environmental friendly

manner. The Company showed obligation to reduce environmental impact by doing more than

just reducing waste and recycling papers in more than 60 of their manufacturing operations

worldwide. Colgate people plans to meet or exceed the goals after setting their 2002 to 2010

goals to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, energy use, water use and wastewater loading which

is defined as chemical oxygen demand. The Colgate’s people have worked to decrease the

company’s environmental footprint from innovative energy-efficient manufacturing processes to

water use efficiency technologies and new cleaning method.

Changes in macro environment affect marketing decision

Economic

It is important to always consider the consumer’s buying ability when making a marketing

decision. The consumer’s buying people relies on their earning ability, price of a product as well

as their debt and saving facilities. Changes in consumer’s income due to the increase in rate of

inflation and unemployment causes consumer’s buying ability to decrease. However, if prices of

the products increase in the future, consumers tend to buy products and store them. Therefore,

multinational companies offer higher remuneration to people looking for jobs. These people then

get employed and raise their income which results in higher rate of cash flow. Colgate has 39000

employees and is dedicated help to work as well as to thrive. Colgate people attend programsthat cultivate diversity and inclusion, career development, training and work-life balance that

helps them to stay healthy and feel appreciated as well as recognised for their efforts. Colgate

employees remain in the Company for an average of thirteen years although they work in an

economy where people frequently change their jobs. Colgate has nine global consumer



innovation centres that drive innovation based on insights into consumer behaviour, habits and

desires.

Technological

The constant change and development in the technological environment has helped many

multinational companies to expand and progress as well. It is through the advancement of

technology that Colgate is able to communicate with its people around the world ease as well as

invent new toothpaste product. Colgate’s new product which is Colgate Sensitive Pro-Relief

toothpaste provides instant and lasting relief from the pain due to sensitive tooth. This product

driving widespread market share gains for Colgate in the fast-growing sensitivity sector.

Innovation widens away from new products to business functions at Colgate-Palmolive

Company. For example, Colgate developed an online proprietary tool that assists in organising

the timing and consistency of the Company’s marketing messages across all media channels.

Conclusions & Recommendations

Companies in FMCG industry such as Colgate must prioritise and monitor its microenvironment

and macro environment in order to survive in the competitive business world. Nevertheless, it is

hard to predict future development and changes accurately. (PEST analysis, 2010). It is

necessary for every company to change as they cope with the ever changing global market place

in order to survive. Any company would be able to promote growth and development as well as

improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the company if changes are well supervised.

Show whether or not Colgate Palmolive is able to meet its objectives (as per the SMART

objectives you are supposed to define). Show the tangible and intangible benefits when showing

your recommendations. Write as though you are writing for your boss.



References

(2004) ‘Colgate-Palmolive seeks tomorrow’s global leader: Searching for success in the

international arena’, Strategic Direction, 20 (6), pp.18 – 20, Emerald [Online]. Available at:

http://www.emeraldinsight.com/journals.htm?issn=0258-

0543&volume=20&issue=6&articleid=869457&show=html (Accessed: 25 February 2012).

Colgate-Palmolive (no date) Available at: http://www.theofficialboard.com/org-chart/colgate-

palmolive (Accessed: 20 February 2012).

http://www.emeraldinsight.com/journals.htm?issn=0258-0543&volume=20&issue=6&articleid=869457&show=html



http://www.theofficialboard.com/org-chart/colgate-palmolive









Colgate-Palmolive Company (2008) Annual report [Online]. Available at:

http://www.colgate.com/app/Colgate/US/Corp/Annual-Reports/2008/Form-10-K.cvsp

(Accessed: 24 February 2012).

Colgate-Palmolive Company (2010) Annual report [Online]. Available at:

http://files.shareholder.com/downloads/CL/1701532947x0x452609/628361a7-bc3e-4bef-a777-

5ee6e3756767/501366_Web_Ready.pdf (Accessed: 12 February 2012).

Colgate-Palmolive Company (2011) Sustainability report [Online]. Available at:

http://www.colgate.com/Colgate/US/Corp_v2/LivingOurValues/Sustainability_v2/Sustainability

_Report_2011.pdf . (Accessed: 19 February 2012).

Covelli, G. (2011) List of toothpaste brands. Available at:

http://www.livestrong.com/article/27216-list-toothpaste-brands/ (Accessed: 20 February 2012).

Global procurement mission and goals (2012) Available at:

http://www.colgate.com/app/Colgate/US/Corp/ContactUs/GMLS/MissionAndGoals.cvsp

(Accessed: 12 February 2012).

Governance: board of directors (2012) Available at:

http://www.colgate.com/app/Colgate/US/Corp/Governance/BoardofDirectors/BoardMembers.cv

sp (Accessed: 12 February 2012).

Micro environmental factors (no date) Available at:

http://www.learnmarketing.net/microenvironment.htm (Accessed: 19 February 2012).

Our company: executive management team (2012) Available at:

http://www.colgate.com/app/Colgate/US/Corp/ExecMgtTeam.cvsp (Accessed: 12 February

2012).

Our company: history (2012) Available at:

http://www.colgate.com.my/app/Colgate/MY/Corp/History/1806.cvsp (Accessed: 12 February

2012).



http://files.shareholder.com/downloads/CL/1701532947x0x452609/628361a7-bc3e-4bef-a777-5ee6e3756767/501366_Web_Ready.pdf



http://www.colgate.com/Colgate/US/Corp_v2/LivingOurValues/Sustainability_v2/Sustainability_Report_2011.pdf





http://www.colgate.com/app/Colgate/US/Corp/Governance/BoardofDirectors/BoardMembers.cvsp



http://www.learnmarketing.net/microenvironment.htm


http://www.colgate.com/app/Colgate/US/Corp/ExecMgtTeam.cvsp


http://www.colgate.com.my/app/Colgate/MY/Corp/History/1806.cvsp















Our company: living our values (2012) Available at:

http://www.colgate.com/app/Colgate/US/Corp/LivingOurValues/CoreValues.cvsp (Accessed: 12

February 2012).

Palmer, A. and Hartley, B. (2002) The business environment . 4th edn. Maidenhead: McGraw-Hill Education.

PEST analysis (2010) Available at: http://www.netmba.com/strategy/pest/ (Accessed: 24

February 2012).

Sudip (2009) ‘Components of micro environment’, Marketing, 29 November. Available at:

http://our-marketing.blogspot.com/2009/11/components-of-micro-environment.html (Accessed:

11 February 2012).

Work with us: careers at Colgate (2012) Available at:

http://www.colgate.com.my/app/Colgate/MY/Corp/WorkWithUs/Careers/Legal.cvsp (Accessed:

17 February 2012).

http://www.colgate.com/app/Colgate/US/Corp/LivingOurValues/CoreValues.cvsp


http://www.netmba.com/strategy/pest/


http://our-marketing.blogspot.com/2009/11/components-of-micro-environment.html


http://www.colgate.com.my/app/Colgate/MY/Corp/WorkWithUs/Careers/Legal.cvsp






Marketing Individual Assignment Draft (1)

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