Lipton Tea Customer Driven Marketing Strategy:

The procedures toward a nominal customer driven marketing strategy such as:
1. Segmentation
2. Targeting
3. Positioning

 The Segmentation classifies the difference category like as age, location, &
religion.
 Targeting means product for specific people.
 Position means minds of the customer.

Lipton’s Neighboring Segments:

 Geographic:

The market of Lipton is segmented according to geographic criteria such as

nations, states, regions, countries, cities, and neighbor hoods.
  Demographic:

This division contains of separating the market into groups based on variables
such as age, gender, family size, income, occupation, education, religion, race and
nationality. The Demographic segments variables are amongst the most popular
bases for segmenting customer groups. This segmentation is relatively because
customer wants are closely linked to variables such as income and age.

 Psychographic:

Over the psychographic segmentation Lipton’s Consumer are divided according

to their lifestyle, personality, values and social class.

Lipton’s Target Market:

Selecting a pursuing strategy depends on company resources, product variability,

product’s life cycle stage, market variability, and competitors’ marketing
Strategies.
Lipton has equal benefit for everybody. We will have to focus on the all group of
ages.
Therefore we will use Undifferentiated Marketing (or mass-marketing) where
everything about the product is designed to bring all people to Lipton. It is said to
be a market coverage strategy in which a firm decides to ignore market segment
differences and go after the one market with one offer. The objective of choosing
full market coverage is to be a market leader in future.
  Geographic Target:

The Lipton’s Tea geographic clienteles are of USA, Europe and India but in near
future after establishing the product in these areas they will definitely launch
their product in the rest of the continents.

 Demographic Target:
Entirely age groups Lower, Middle, and High income class

Psychographic Target:
Higher-Middle class Middle class Lower-Middle class

Current Market Trend:

The Market tendency is now headed toward a more urbane and aware customer.
The first choice for high-quality product is increasing as customers are learning to
appreciate the qualitative differences.
Lipton’s Tea positioning:

The Lipton’s tea has been placed in the market as “great tasting and good for
consumers”
Because it is rich in protective antioxidants.
Also, it is internationally promoted as “the perfect drink for active, healthy
lifestyle”
Flavors of herbal tea are currently available:

 The Lipton Herbal tea with Lemon - Herbal tea with a twist of citrus flavor.

 The Lipton Herbal tea with Raspberry - Herbal tea with raspberry flavor.

 The Lipton Herbal tea with peach - Herbal tea with peach flavor.

The Customer welfare and sustainable development have been the main driving
factors behind the packaging and marketing of Lipton Herbal Tea till now.

Consequently, in order to meet the varied tastes of consumers all over the world,
Lipton is continually adding new flavors in the product. The mentioned qualities
are allowing the organization to develop and expand its niche at a fast pace in the
global arena.
Furthermore, Lipton Tea has a strong presence in the developing and emerging
markets yet there is plenty of ‘white space' to move into.
The marketplaces are the next in our planned rollout.
BCG Matrix of Lipton Ice Tea:

The following figure is a market growth-market share matrix, and the location of
our product is determined by the combination of the two variables. The Lipton’s
Ice Tea makes up the category of Question marks since its launch therefore has
relatively low market share in a high growth market. It is yet unknown how it will
be perceived by the market but we hope that it will be able to capture a high
market share as the adoption rate of Lipton Ice Tea increases.
STARS
 Lux
 Sunsilk
 Wall’s
 Fair and lovely
 Rafhan
 Energile

Question Marks
 Clear shampoo
 Rin
 Comfort
 Dust Peral Tea
 Lipton Ice Tea

Cash Cows
Low growth rate and high market share
 Surf excel
 Ponds
 Lipton
 Close up
 Blue band
 Lifebuoy soap
 Rexona
 Knorr
DOGS
Low growth rate & low market share
 Wheel
 Supreme tea
 Lifebuoy shampoo
SWOT Analysis of Lipton Tea:

Strengths:
 Broadest recognized tea brands: Lipton is one of the widest known tea
brands in the world. It is exclusive in terms of the variety of tea it has and it
has experimented with different variants, several of which have been a hit.

 The Green tea has good acceptance rate: Because of health

awareness and the benefits of green tea being publicized widely, green tea
has an excellent adoption rate across countries. On the contrary, Lipton is
one of the most famous brands for green tea. Therefore, this modification
in mentality benefits Lipton Green tea.

 Huge distribution: Lipton has a fantastic distribution across Europe, US,

parts of Asia, North America, Africa and Middle East. It is availabe in close
to 150 countries and rising every year.

 Cooled or Iced tea in Partnership with PepsiCo: Lipton is famous for

its iced tea which is the first of its kind ready to drink tea packaged and
marketed like cold drinks. Since it is a tea and not a carbonated beverage,
the assumed disadvantages are far lesser and hence it takes a small market
share away from carbonated beverages by giving them indirect
competition.

 Favorable taste: Lipton has a variety of brands and the Lipton yellow
label is loved across many countries. Likewise its iced tea and green tea has
great adoption and the taste is loved across the world.
 Good Marketing: The Lipton Tea has always been in good marketing
campaigns which target freshness from drinking their tea. Actuality, the
house of Unilever, Lipton has the right marketing agencies backing up the
marketing communications for the brand.

 Solid Financial Backup: The Lipton Tea brand of Unilever has been
established as a group by five investors who are also its board of directors;
providing Lipton Unilever with strong financial assistance.

 Highlights on Quality: The Company manages to provide improved &

innovative products to the consumers through research and development.
The brand of Lipton (Unilever) is recognized with the primary concern for
uncompromised quality in mind and all of their products are perceived by
the consumers as the best in business with respect to quality. The brand
maintains its high quality standards by importing professional expertise and
technology from developed nations.

 Inspiration to innovativeness: The Company has a very aggressive

strategy when dealing with developing new products, i.e. they are ready to
take risks and come outwit products that have unique differential
advantages and are unavailable in the market yet.

 Internal research facility : Lipton Unilever has an in-house research

facility, where market research can be done about consumer preferences
and our competitors; the information is very useful to top level managers
for decision making.
Weaknesses:
 Poor market share in high tea drinking countries:
Through the chart image below, China, India and Japan are the top three
tea drinking nations of the world. Among these cuntries, Lipton does not
have the majority market share although it has a healthy market share in
these countries.

 Maximum Price: Since the cost of production of most of their products is

high because of various factors (imported ingredients, technology, quality
and maintenance etc.), they charge high prices for the items they produce.

 Not having enough experience in the Tea market: Although

Unilever comprises of highly professional people and a strong marketing
strategy; they are still considered new entrants in the tea market.

Opportunities:
 Maximum Growth Rate: Tea industry has high growth potential in line
with high rates of population.

 Product Equity: There is strong possibility to establish brand equity by

creating awareness in untapped segments of the market.

 Day by day Increasing concern for health: Since the media explosion
from the mid-90s, people have convenient access to information.
Hereafter, people are being educated about the concern and need for
health awareness and therefore have adopted increasing concern for their
health and appearance.
  Emphasis on Tea drinking Countries: A higher focus with the right
marketing campaigns running in the top 3 tea drinking nations will benefit
the brand a lot. Consequently besides the countries it is already present in,
Lipton needs to concentrate on China, India and Japan.

 Explore Coffee: Why not take over some of its substitute’s market share.
The big unplanned competitor of Lipton can be Nescafe which is known for
its coffee. The Lipton tea can therefore raid in the coffee segment as well
and try out the market acceptance that it gets for the brand.

 Countryside penetration: The more the rural penetration, the higher is

the turnover for the brand. Nations like China and India have a lot of rural
areas which need to be conquered for the brand to sell in high amount.

Threats:
 Competition firm: The tea industry facilitates a lot of competition from
market leaders like Royal. The further of its existence in the market has
given them an established consumer base and loyalty and has provided
them with the experience that Lipton Unilever lacks.

 Financial Factors: Increase in government tariffs, import duties and

political situation of the country i.e. financial instability could be a threat to
Lipton’s product.
  The Rivalry of Competition: Direct or indirect competition are both
threats for Lipton. Traditional or direct competition comes in the form of
Society tea or other such herbal tea concoctions which are loved by tea
drinkers. Subsidiary or indirect competition comes in the form of Coffee,
Beverages and other hot as well as cold drinks.

 Nation regulations on import and export: Tea requires specific

environmental factors for production and agriculture. Exchanging
government regulations can affect the growing of tea or it can affect the
import and export of tea from one country to another. It will be always a
threat to a brand like Lipton.

Factors affecting the brand of Lipton Tea (Unilever brand) :

In Unilever Internal environment ensures:
 Staffs are on side with the goals of an organization
 Workers have direct impact on product quality, dependability and overall
productivity.
 Staffs are internal market, which impact every department within an
organization; a satisfied internal market will be better able to satisfy
external market.
Unilever Brand of Lipton Tea under the top management runs the departments of
finance, accounting, sales and marketing, research and development to achieve
the goals of organization. Other internal factors include:

 HR Competencies: The people working in this organization are the key to

achieving effective implementation of those strategic plans. Enrollment
 capable employees involves recruiting, training and retaining a capable and
adaptable workforce. Familiar, dependable and versatile employees have
the ability to overcome the obstacles to change, and can meet performance
goals even when other resources are scarce. However, if all of other
elements listed in this article are present, but the workforce does not meet
these criteria, then achieving those objectives may be nearly impossible.

 Promising Environment: We have to Rethink existing policies and

procedures, and make any changes necessary to facilitate the changes
resulting from our strategic initiatives. This company certain aspects of its
existing operational framework and it can actually impede strategy
implementation, and that certain areas may stand out as being lacking in
policy guidance in light of our new strategic goals.
 Technical Infrastructure: Technology can give our organization valuable
assistance in implementing new policies, procedures and initiatives. Apply
technology to enhance and maintain communication and accountability for
all relevant managers and operational employees throughout the change
process, and to keep track of implementation and performance goals and
their achievement. It may require adding new systems and infrastructure,
ensuring that all systems will function reliably, and training all relevant staff
to use new systems and programs.

 Enticement Systems: We must consider altering existing incentive

systems to coincide with our new strategic objectives. For instance, if we
can alter existing incentive system rewards employees on the basis of
tenure, but our new strategic plan calls for a 50 percent increase in facility
strategy sales to reposition our company as a service provider, then
consider altering the system to reward employees or teams with high
monthly service design sales numbers. Regarding to"Crafting and Executing
Strategy" by Thompson, Strickland, and Gamble, our employees' incentive-
based goals will always coincide with our organizational objectives.
  Solid Leadership and Culture: Organizational culture and strong
leadership are Inseparable. We have to inspire and train our management
team to be agents of change, with the ability to champion new ideas and
coach employees through the change process. Similarly, use our outcome
as a leader to reset the tone of our organization to reflect the importance
and seriousness of our new strategic plans, and lead by example in terms of
flexibility and dedication to change.

 Wealth Resources: All of the internal elements listed in this article

require capital to employ. E.g., highly skilled workers demand higher wages,
technological infrastructure can be costly, and reward systems require
capital if material goods are offered. Thus proper budget have to be
introduced.

External factors affecting Unilver Lipton tea Brand are:

 Demographic factors: Demographic factors have no effect on Lipton

Unilever Tea. This was accessible to groups of all ages and it is not
depending on the limitations defined by gender, size, racial discrimination,
occupation and location.

 Economic factors:
Lipton brand has been of all class brand. It produces it revenue from the
sales coming from upper class, upper-middle class and middle class but it is
usually not consumed by lower income groups.
  Political Factors:
Lipton Unilever Tea and its other products do not include substances that can
cause dizziness, drowsiness and addiction. Its arrangement is purely natural
and no harmful chemicals or artificial flavors are added in it. The Brand is a
nature loving company and it has always believed in providing high quality
products to its customers. Therefore, no political objection can be enforced
and the Government would not ban or de-marketwise Lipton Unilever Tea
.
 CULTURAL FACTORS:
The Lipton Tea Brand of Unilever has always been offering products that
are acceptable by our cultural society and always keep focusing on basic
values and perceptions of Pakistani society. As It has never launched such
products which are forbidden in Pakistani society and in Islam. This Brand
(Unilever) Enterprise always focus on providing Halal products.

Product classification of Lipton Tea with its product line:

Rich taste, unique aroma and distinctive flavor make Lipton one of the most in-
demand tea brands in the world market. It has a diversified product portfolio that
has evolved over time to include various variants as follows:

 Lipton’s Iced Tea Mixes: Product line - Decaf Lemon Iced Tea Mix
 Lipton’s Iced Tea Fresh Brew: Cold Brew Tea Bags
 Lipton’s Iced Tea: Sparkling Iced Tea Citrus Green Tea
 Lipton’s Green Tea: Green Tea with Mint, Lemon Ginseng Green Tea
 Lipton’s Green Tea: Pure Green Tea, Mandarin Orange Green Tea
 Lipton’s Tea and Honey taste: Mango Pineapple iced Green Tea to go
Packets
 The Lipton’s Iced Tea Liquids Brand: Summer Peach liquid Iced Tea mix
 Lipton K-Cup Pack: Classic K-Cup Pack
  Lipton’s Tea Pyramids: Earl Grey, English breakfast, and Black Pearl.
 Lipton’s Black Teas: Decaf Black Tea, Loose Black Tea
 The Black Lipton Herbal Tea: Astonishingly Grey, Irresistible Lady Lipton,
Lemon Ginger.

Product life cycle:

The Lipton Ice Tea in product life phase is easy to judge that it is at introduction
stage. Since Lipton is the market pioneer and at this stage its profit is negative or
low due to low sale and high distribution and promotion expenses.
Additional main reason is to be introduction is unawareness. The customers are
not aware to the Lipton Ice Tea That’s why their sale is low in begining. The
customers can bring change in product life cycle by effective promotion, by
formulating new price strategies etc. At its first days, Lipton Ice Tea will be on
introduction stage and firm will build product awareness and develop a market
for the product.
As grouping suggests between growth and maturity stage so we can expect that
Lipton Ice Tea will be on growth stage. As grouping suggests on maturity stage. As
group suggests on decline stage and fails to sustain the high market share.

References:
1. http://www.liptontea.com/
2. The Wikipedia. 2007. “Lipton.” Available
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lipton
3. Company Reports: Unilever Annual Review 2011
4. http://www.monografias.com/trabajos15/strategic-marketing/strategic-
marketing.shtml
5. http://www.knowthis.com/principles-of-marketing-tutorials/marketing-
planning-and-strategy/
6. http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/170917/new-
strategies-for-customer-relationship-managemen.html
7. http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-partner-relationship-
management.html