Question 1

A macro trend has a long life, a result of many forces in your community that you cannot
manipulate.
Usually, as a strategic planning team formulates a strategy, Trends in the businesss external
environment, the market and the community are assesses , opportunities and threats are also
indicated for a SWOT.
Typical Groups for Macro Trends

Demographics - population groups, life spans, family composition, disposable incomes

Economics - capital, business processes, productivity, work patterns, management

Environment - raw resources, ecosystems, transportation channels, habitat

Government - world events, politics, laws, public and economic policy, regulation

Society - lifestyles, values, religion, leisure, culture, education, public-health

Technology - innovations, scientific discoveries, economies of scale, production and

project management tools

Four main areas need to be studied in detail: politics, economics, society (demographics) and
technology, which is called a PEST analysis. Environmental and legal trends are added to get a
PESTEL (or PESTLE) analysis.

Political and legal analysis

Unilever Health and Beauty segment is subject to local, regional and global rules, laws and
regulations. These rules and regulations cover diverse areas such as product safety, product
claims, trademarks, copyright, patents, employee health and safety, the environment, corporate
governance, listing and disclosure, employment and taxes. Important regulatory bodies in respect
of business include the European Commission and the US Food and Drug Administration.
Failure to comply with laws and regulations could leave Unilever open to civil and criminal legal
challenge and may result in fines or imprisonment of personnel. Further, reputation could be
significantly damaged by adverse publicity relating to such a breach of laws or regulations.

Economic analysis
Unilever Health and Beauty segment market environment is becoming highly competitive
especially, is highly uncertain which has affected micro economic environment as well by
creating a fear among ordinary consumers. Consumers would not want to buy expensive product
or brands due to current economic tide.
Economic Decline in business during an economic downturn has resulted in customer and
supplier default. Unilevers business is dependent on continuing consumer demand for its brands.
Reduced consumer wealth driven by adverse economic conditions has resulted in consumers
becoming unwilling or unable to purchase Unilever Health and Beauty segment products, which
has adversely affected cash flow, turnover, profits and profit margins.
Adverse economic conditions have resulted in the impairment of some of intangible assets which
are in the form of brand names. Adverse economic conditions have affected in two ways i.e. one
or more countries within a region or extended globally.
Societal and Ecological Analysis
Unilever Health and Beauty segment has developed a strong corporate reputation over many
years for its focus on social and environmental issues, including promoting sustainable
development and utilisation of renewable resources. Unilevers Health and Beauty segment
vision is to help people feel good, look good and get more out of life with brands and services
that are good for them and good for others.
It has successfully maintained high social and environmental standards by designing and
producing products that are safe for consumers.
Technological Analysis

Unilever Health and Beauty segment has been spending on IT to improve its business especially
in the area of e-business so as to improve brands image and quality of its products.

Unilever Health and Beauty segment know that failure to provide sufficient funding to develop
new products, lack of technical capability in the R&D function and quickly roll out the products
may adversely impact its cash flow, turnover, profit and profit margins and affect reputation.
High level of automation is one of the critical success factors of Unilever Health and Beauty
segment that differentiates then from their competitors and serves as a source of competitive
advantage. Today, Unilever is trying to minimize cost through IT efficiencies at global level. In
addition, Unilever Technology Venture works in collaboration with Unilever R&D group to help
Unilever meet consumers needs.

Strengths

The size of the company is its major strength.

As well as its sheer size, a major source of strength for Unilever Health and Beauty
Segment is its longevity and brand recognition.

Another strength of the company is its geographical spread.

Another of the companys strength is its human capital. Human capital is the volume of
skills, knowledge, experience and competencies embodied in individuals that staff and
run the business. This is important for there is a good deal of empirical research that links
high levels of human capital with firm performance

Weaknesses

Some analysts have argued that the company's broad product portfolio is a source of
weakness

A further weakness of the product line concerns the prices offered to consumers. The
prices of Unilever brands are generally higher than those of its competitors

Threats

The company is facing a number of threats, particularly from competitors, the market and
consumers.

Firstly, while Unilevers broad product portfolio might be conceived as unusual, it is not
unique in this respect. Procter and Gamble has a very similar business models and
product line.

P&G has more sales then Unilever.

A large proportion of Unilevers Health and Beauty products are premium brands aimed
at consumers with relatively high levels of disposable income. This might be considered a
threat in the context of the current economic downturn.

An increased social ethic and concern for the environment among consumers should also
be considered a threat to the company.

Opportunities

Social media offers considerable opportunities to Unilever, particularly given its aim to
reduce its advertising expenditure. Unilever may be able to capitalise on this trend either
through corporate accounts or through brand accounts.

There are considerable opportunities to the company through its extensive research and
development efforts

Question 2
Marketing Environment Audit
The marketing auditors task is to assess the key trends and their implications for company
marketing action. However, if the company has a good long-range forecasting department, then
there is less of a need for a micro-environment audit.

The marketing auditor may play a more critical role in auditing the companys task environment.
The task environment consists of markets, customers, competitors, distributors and dealers,
suppliers, and marketing facilitators. The marketing auditor can make a contribution by going out
into the field and interviewing various parties to assess their current thinking and attitudes and
bringing them to the attention of management.

Marketing Strategy Audit

The marketing auditor then proceeds to consider whether the companys marketing strategy is
well-postured in the light of the opportunities and problems facing the company. The starting
point for the marketing strategy audit is the corporate goals and objectives followed by the
marketing objectives. The auditor may find the objectives to be poorly stated, or he may find
them to be well-started but inappropriate given the companys resources and opportunities.

Marketing Organization Audit

A complete marketing audit would have to cover the question of the effectiveness of the
marketing and sales organization, as well as the quality of interaction between marketing and
other key management functions such as manufacturing, finance, purchasing, and research and
development.

At critical times, a companys marketing organization must be reviewed to achieve greater

effectiveness within the company and in the marketplace. Companies without product
management systems will want to consider introducing them, companies with three systems may
want to consider dropping them, or trying product teams instead. Companies may want to
redefine the role concept of a product manager from being a promotional manager (concerned
primarily with volume) to a business manager (concerned primarily with profit).

Marketing Systems Audit

A full marketing audit then turns to examine the various systems being used by marketing
management to gather information, plan, and control the marketing operation. The issue is not
the companys marketing strategy or organization per se but rather the procedures used in some
or all of the following systems: sales forecasting, sales goal and quota setting, marketing
planning, marketing control, inventory control, order processing, physical distribution, new
products development, and product pruning.

Marketing Productivity Audit

A full marketing audit also includes an effort to examine key accounting data to determine where
the company is making its real profits and what, if any, marketing costs could be trimmed.
Decision Sciences Corporation, for example, starts its marketing audit by looking at the
accounting figures on sales and associated costs of sales. Using marketing cost accounting
principles, it seeks to measure the marginal profit contribution of different products, end user
segments, marketing channels, and sales territories.

Marketing Function Audit

The work done to this point might begin to point to certain key marketing functions which are
performing poorly. The auditor might spot, for example, sales force problems that go very deep.
Or he might observe that advertising budgets are prepared in an arbitrary fashion and such things
as advertising themes, media, and timing are not evaluated for their effectiveness. In these and
other cases, the issue becomes one of notifying management of the desirability of one or more
marketing function audits if managements agrees.
Rose Petal Audit
Packages Ltd was established in 1956 as a joint venture between the Ali Group of Pakistan and
Akerlund and Rausing of Sweden, Packages Limited provides premium packaging solutions for
exceptional value to individuals and businesses. They are the only packaging facility in Pakistan
offering a complete range of packaging solutions including offset printed cartons, shipping
containers and flexible packaging materials to individuals and businesses world-wide. They
have three manufacturing divisions i.e. Paper and board division, Packaging division and
consumer Products division Consumer Buying Behavior for Rose Petal is Variety Seeking
because there is Low involvement of consumer and also the price of tissues is low. Rose Petal
has direct as well as indirect competitors. In direct competitors it has no primary competitor
because of its monopoly in the tissue market and its secondary competitors are Moveeta, Fay,
Flying and Jasmine. The companies producing towels, napkins and handkerchiefs are the
indirect competitors of Rose Petal tissues. Target market of Rose Petal is the middle class then
they stretch towards others. It caters all the economy by providing different variants in its fleet of
tissues at different prices.
Packages Ltd was the first company in Pakistan who took the initiative step in tissue
market. The core Product is the catering of unhygienic issues by providing a disposable product.
Packages Ltd introduced a new product Rose Petal tissues in its Consumer Products Division
(CPD) which was manufactured solely for the benefits of consumer. Rose Petal is following both
the line filling and line stretching product line decisions. Under Rose Petal, Packages Ltd is

doing line extension and brand extension. Packages Ltd is also doing multi-branding by offering
Tulip tissues in its CPD.
Rose Petal tissues are a special designed product by Packages Ltd which is very useful in
daily life. The prices of Rose Petal have been set after a thorough study of market. Packages Ltd
had the option that they could reduce the price of 1st version of Rose Petal tissues, but once you
lower the prices then it is almost impossible to raise them again. For this purpose Packages Ltd
provided various ranges under Rose Petal brand name with different lower and higher prices,
each targeting a different class and market. Packages Ltd has intense distribution setup. They
have approximately more than 300 distributors who distribute their tissues all over Pakistan.
They are using the Wholesalers channel. Promotional campaigns of Rose Petal tissues are very
strong since its launch in 1982. Advertisement on Television, Billboards, on stops and buses are
very impressive and attractive. Rose Petal promotional campaign and conducting of various
health seminars is designed according to the Target customers. For Rose Petal tissues, Packages
Ltd is following PULL Strategy.

Question 3

Market Domain/Macro Level: Market Attractiveness

This domain looks at market attractiveness from a macro (large-scale) perspective.
Look at the whole market. How big is it, in terms of the number of customers, the value of sales,
and the quantity of units sold? Then, look at trends within the market. Has it grown in recent
years? If so, is this growth likely to continue?
Market Domain/Micro Level: Sector Market Benefits and Attractiveness
Realistically, it's unlikely that your venture will meet the needs of everyone in the market. You'll
be more successful if you target your idea at one market sector orsegment , and aim to meet its
needs fully.
To identify this segment, look at the market on a micro level.
Marketers look for qualitative and quantitative data. Talk to prospective customers to gather
feedback on their needs, and to find out how well competitors are meeting these.
Industry Domain/Macro Level: Industry Attractiveness
Mullins suggests using Porter's Five Forces to assess which factors affect the profitability of
your industry.
To do this, first define the industry that you will be competing in, and then ask yourself how easy
it is to enter this industry. If it's easy to get into, you can quickly be flooded with competitors if
you are seen to make a success of your business.
Next, look at your competition. Is rivalry in this market fierce or civilized? Are organizations
stealing ideas from others in the industry? Take time to gather intelligence about your potential
competitors to see what they're up to.
Last, look at buyers and suppliers. How much power do they have? Are they setting their own
terms and conditions because of this power? If so, how will this affect your offering?
Industry Domain/Micro Level: Sustainable Advantage
Once you've looked at your industry from a macro level, it's time to examine it close up.
Start with a USP Analysis . What can you do to build and sustain a USP? Next, explore
the competencies that you'll need, and think about how to develop and sustain these.
Then think about how easy it will be for your competitors to duplicate your product or service.

Also, what resources do you possess that your competitors don't? Do a VRIO Analysis to
answer this question, and then look at your competitors' resources. What do they have that you
don't? This could include patents, established processes, and finances. How will these affect your
ability to compete?
Team Domain: Mission, Aspirations, Propensity for Risk
In this domain, located in the center of the model, you're going to analyze commitment yours,
and that of your team to this idea.
Think about why you want to start this business. Are you passionate about this idea, and, if so,
why? What do you want to do with this business are you ambitious for it, or do you want it to
be a "lifestyle business"? What are your personal goals and values, and how does this venture
align with these? And are you prepared to take the risk and put in the hard work needed to build
this business?
Explore the motivations of your team, too. What are they hoping to achieve, and why? Do their
motivations align with yours? And are they prepared to work really hard to make the business a
success?
Money and/or reputations could be at stake if the venture fails, so think about attitudes towards
risk within the team. Our article "Cautious or Courageous? " can help you think about your
approach to risk.
Team Domain: Ability to Execute on Critical Success Factors
You now need to identify the Critical Success Factors (CSFs) for the business, and think
realistically about whether your team can deliver on these.
Start doing this by thinking about these questions:

Which decisions or activities will harm the business significantly if you get them
wrong, even when everything else is going right?

Which decisions or activities will deliver disproportionately high benefits or enhance

performance, even if other things are going poorly?

Then look at the knowledge and skills of the team that you've put together. How certain are you
that you and your team can deliver successfully on these CSFs? If you see a gap in skills or
abilities, who can you bring on board to fill this gap?
Team Domain: Connectedness Up, Down, Across Value Chain
This last domain is all about your connections and how important they are to the success of your
business.

First, look at your suppliers and investors. Who do you know that can supply you with the
resources you need to pursue this venture? How good are your relationships with these people?
Next, look at your potential customers and distributors. In what ways can you capitalize on your
connections here?
Last, look across the value chain. Do you know any of your competitors personally? If so, how
could this relationship help or hinder your venture? And could these people be partners if you
thought about them differently?

Seven domains road helps an entrepreneur to see whether the idea can be converted into
opportunity. It also enables an entrepreneur to take the necessary mid course corrections to
reshape opportunity when micro or macro indicators change. It helps an entrepreneur to see the
fatal flaws in the business plans and shows how and where attractive opportunities can be found
in stagnant or otherwise unattractive markets.