Ch. 2 - Strategic Planning for Competitive Advantage

         Chapter 2 discusses and defines in detail strategic planning as the ‘managerial process of creating and maintaining a fit between the firm’s objectives, resources, and evolving market opportunities’. The firm must establish and target their main activities and goals as well as create a plan to achieve its goals. An important part of achieving goals are found in the implementation and control of the marketing plan. ‘How will we enter the marketplace?’ ‘Who will be in charge of assignments and objectives?’ ‘How will we produce, distribute, promote and price our products?’ are just a few of the many questions that the marketing plan attempts to answer.

         Burt’s Bees can clearly be defined as a 3 P’s business with their commitment and focus on profits, people and the planet. As advocates for sustainability, natural products, and a vested interest in protecting the environment, through community building initiatives with Habitat for Humanity and Kashi. As the company continues to develop and implement their marketing plan they may choose to build, harvest, hold or divest a variety of product lines. Building would correctly identify a problem child or question mark product with the potential to be a star, with large profits as a fast growing market leader. Holding a product that is termed a cash cow for its high return on investment is also an option. Harvesting a product is a proper choice when more revenue is needed from a cash cow with long-run profits that are unfavorable because of low market share. Divesting completely, by halting production of a product because its low sales or failure to penetrate that market is another strategy to planning for a competitive advantage. Burt’s Bees have a wide range of products that potentially fill these classifications, and it is important that they accurately assess their product lines and offerings as to best increase market share, brand awareness and compete within the ever-expanding natural care products industry.

SWOT Analysis- 

Strengths:

 Burt’s Bees has a loyal customer base. Consumers today are more interested in healthy and natural products than ever. Burt’s Bees offer an effective line of more than 150 products that are 100% natural. This has created some stability for them within the market place as a firm that provides products customers are eager to purchase. They are committed to the environment, personal care wellbeing, and sustainability.

Weaknesses:

A lack of unified advertising through traditional means of magazines and promotions. This means that a large amount of potential customers do not know about Burt’s Bees products. Items with low sales and poor reviews include but are not limited to, sunscreen products. There is a lack of a solidified brand image with the use of many different logos, typefaces, and headers for visual branding, without a clear image.

Opportunities:

An alliance in 2007 with Clorox when Burt’s Bees was brought for $175 million expended Burt’s Bees to the mass market. The merger helped bring the company to the forefront of the natural personal care industry, which is rapidly growing. The possibilities and exploration of global expansion into international markets have increased sales potential and growth.

Threats:   

Threats may come from being positioned in a mass market with pricing that is higher than that of competitive brands. Notably, Aveeno is a competitor of Burt’s Bees, who offers similar product lines made of natural ingredients of lower prices points and with a stronger brand image. On average Burt’s Bees products of the same types as competitors are generally higher raising the obviously question of why consumers would purchase Burt’s Bees over other brands.