marketing communication plan

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Marketing Communication Plan for ShampooEXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The retail store is a department store which deals with products beauty products such as body wash, hand cream, cleaning wipes, deodorants and moisturizer among others. However, in the recent days, there has been decreased sales which have necessitated the retail store to reverse to selling shampoo and conditioners. The shampoo is expected to target diverse individuals including men, children, and women. Moreover, the retail shop aims at increasing the sales also to increase the profits. A marketing communication plan is essential to communicate the marketing messages to the potential customers about the product. It includes analyzing competition and the different strategies to reach the customers.

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Contents
TOC o “1-3” h z u ANALYSIS PAGEREF _Toc503333145 h 1PRODUCT OFFERING PAGEREF _Toc503333146 h 2POTENTIAL CUSTOMERS PAGEREF _Toc503333147 h 2COMMUNICATION TOOLS PAGEREF _Toc503333148 h 3CONCLUSION PAGEREF _Toc503333149 h 4RECOMMENDATIONS PAGEREF _Toc503333150 h 4WORKS CITED PAGEREF _Toc503333151 h 4

ANALYSISShampoo is a widely used product in the world. It is provided at a relatively low price which many people can be able to afford. Moreover, the product is provided in different forms making it appropriate to be used by people with different kinds of hairs. It is also offered in various sizes of containers at different prices. Therefore, it is likely that shampoo will exhibit higher sales thus generating high revenues to the retail store.

PRODUCT OFFERINGShampoo is a hair product which is in the form of a brightly viscous liquid. It is applied when cleaning hair and making it smoother. Moreover, shampoo can be offered in a bar form like that of bar soap. It is applied to wet hair, then massaged on the hair before rinsing it out. It may be applied using hands and also be applied using a hair conditioner. The aim of using shampoo is to eliminate the unwanted layers that form in the hair without removing much sebum which makes the hair unattractive. Furthermore, shampoo can be manufactured by mixing a surfactant which is mostly sodium lauryl sulfate or sodium laureth sulfate in water (Turner et al. 80). There are also special shampoos for those people with dandruff, wheat allergies, color treated hair or gluten. For these kinds of people, organic or plant-derived products are used when manufacturing shampoo. Moreover, there are shampoos which are intended for animals. They contain insecticides which treat the conditions of parasite infections thus preventing severe effects of the infections. Shampoo containers will have a list of ingredients that were used to manufacture it and also instructions on how it should be applied. The price of the shampoo will vary depending on the size of the container. However, it will range from $1.40 to $20.00.
POTENTIAL CUSTOMERSShampoo product will mainly target men, women, children and the youth. The retail store will provide all kinds of shampoos which can be used by the diverse types of people. The types of the shampoo supplied will also be ideal for the different kinds of hair. However, the retail store will put more focus on women who are aged 18 years to 40 years. The retail store has decided to pay attention to this group of customers because there are no current shampoo brands which are addressing the needs of the specific age group. The product will help meet the particular needs of the customers. Furthermore, women in this age group are usually individualistic and would want to be aware of the current beauty products and are not afraid of using new products (Shah 9). Additionally, individuals in this age group are likely to be busy because some of them are either students or workers thus they do not have ample time to keep washing their hair. At times they may oversleep therefore not able to clean, dry and style up their hair while the need to look attractive and beautiful is important to them. Moreover, the target group has concerns that frequent washing of the hair can remove the natural oils that are in the hair thus making daily washing a necessity. Dry shampoo will help them clan their hair in a short time in an excellent and quality way. Furthermore, women in this age group will purchase shampoo for their children for example surfactants which are less irritating and no burning sensation. COMMUNICATION TOOLSThe effectiveness of the marketing communication tools will play a vital role in increasing the level of sales. Communication tools are aimed at notifying the target customers about the benefits of using shampoo and the reasons why they should purchase it from my retail store. The retail store can adopt various communication strategies such as integrated marketing communication, above the line marketing and electronic media to reach the customers. Integrated marketing communication involves personal selling, advertising, publicity, direct marketing, sales promotion and internet marketing. The retail store can consider using billboards, TV ads, magazines and newspapers to advertise shampoo. These advertisements should contain appealing pictures and messages about the shampoo. For example, it should persuade customers to be comfortable with their hair and start using specific shampoos to improve it. Billboards should also contain attractive pictures about the final nature of hair after using shampoo. Furthermore, these advertisements should include the name of the retail store to control the customers from buying from other retailers (Parente and Kirsten 117). Magazines can also play a vital role in the advertisement because they can reach specific target customers especially the youths. Certain magazines such as cosmo and Go Girls can be used to attract potential customers. On the other hand, above the line marketing involves sales promotion and events to reach out to the customers. The retail store can attend events to show the value of the shampoo. The retail store can hold innovative campaigns like hair therapy to attract customers to use the product.
The retail store can adopt the personal selling strategy to convince the customers to buy shampoo. This strategy will require the retailer to give the customer a chance to ask questions regarding the ingredients of the shampoo and how it should be used. Moreover, the retailer should seek out whether the customer is currently using the shampoo and whether she is a customer of your competitors. Additionally, the retailer should ask the customer whether they have any concerns about shampoo (Mihart 121). This information is crucial because it helps the retailer address the concerns thus increasing the chances of making higher sales. Personal selling strategy can influence the customer to buy the product from the retail store because sometimes clients only need little information to make a decision.
Moreover, the retail store can consider sales promotion by providing customers with discounts and incentives. This influences the customers to always buy from the retail store because they would want to be provided with the incentives every time. Moreover, direct mailing can also be used by the retail store. It involves the use of letters, sample, and catalogs to reach the target customers. The communication is a sign that the potential customer has shown interest in the product or had previously bought it from the retail store. Directing mailing is a flexible communication tool because customers do not have to travel to the retail store to collect the shampoo product (Mihart 121). Additionally, email incurs a low cost to reach out to the potential customers. However, the retail store must be sure that shampoo lines up with the targeted customers and that the offer is compelling to them. If the retail store does not consider such issues, it is likely to attract away the potential customers. Furthermore, the retail store has to carefully analyze the marketing communication tools to ensure that they have higher chances of becoming effective on the targeted customers. They must also be cheap to carry out to prevent the retail store from spending high amounts on marketing.
CONCLUSIONIn conclusion, a good marketing communication plan will be vital for the marketing of shampoo. The product will target different kinds of individuals including men, women, and children. Moreover, the product is available at a relatively low price which many customers can be able to afford. It does not have much side effects because it is manufactured using different ingredients to favor individuals with special cases like dandruff. Advertisement, sales promotion, and personal selling can be used to reach the customers. Additionally, the retail store needs to evaluate the marketing strategies of their competitors to adopt a more effective marketing strategy. These marketing communication plans will ensure that the retail store experiences a high level of sales thus high-profit margins.
RECOMMENDATIONSThe retail store should analyze the marketing communication tools before implementing them. Moreover, the retail store should carry a SWOT analysis to determine its strengths and weaknesses. This will enable the retail store to improve their marketing techniques to achieve a high level of sales. Additionally, the store should analyze the marketing techniques of its competitors so that they can take advantage of their weaknesses.

Works CitedMihart, Camelia. “Impact of integrated marketing communication on consumer behaviour: effects on consumer decision–making process.” International Journal of Marketing Studies 4.2 (2012): 121.
Parente, Donald, and Kirsten Strausbaugh-Hutchinson. Advertising campaign strategy: A guide to marketing communication plans. Cengage Learning, (2014): 1-313.
Shah, Ali M. “Business strategies in the emerging markets.” Journal of Asia-Pacific Business 13.1 (2012): 4-15.
Turner, G. A., et al. “Enhanced efficacy and sensory properties of an anti‐dandruff shampoo containing zinc pyrithione and climbazole.” International journal of cosmetic science 35.1 (2013): 78-83.