Bur t’s Bees Marketing Plan

Lanni Gagnon, Erica Greenberg, Genevieve Terrall

PRODUCT OVERVIEW

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Burt’s Bees started in 1984 by selling homemade candles made of beeswax at a crafts fair. Maker and creator Roxanne Quimby realized that a small insect could inspire her to change the world. After making $200 selling candles of different shapes and sizes at just one fair, she realized she needed to expand her market. For years, Burt’s Bees tested a variety of different skin care products to help people feel fresh and clean without paying a fortune, and finally got it right in 1991 with their Burt’s Bees Beeswax Lip Balm. Demands for the product exploded and as a result, Roxanne and her husband moved from Maine to North Carolina to focus more on creating health and beauty care products. In 1998 the lemon butter cuticle cream made its first appearance, winning 30 awards including four Allure Best Beauty wins, thus expanding their company even further. Burt’s Bees was named number one in an Image Power Green Brands Survey in 2011 for sending zero waste to landfills by turning their waste byproducts into biomass-based fuels, electricity, and even cement. Creating these different organic and revitalizing products and showing their eco-friendly attitude towards the world created a stepping stone for future years of natural personal care and helped the company gain the long-standing brand loyalty that exists among customers today.

For years, Burt’s Bees has provided personal care products of all types that not only supply nourishingand revitalizing effects, but that are also healthy for the environment and for consumers. They have created a wide variety of products from the line of lip shimmers which started in 2003, to the more recent expansions of skin care lines. In 2006, Burt’s Bees aimed to reach a wider audience by launching 30 products in that year alone and by supplying them in drugstores and superstores. In 2007, Burt’s Bees formed The Greater Good Initiative, which is both a company philosophy and business model that allows customers to feel connected to the founder’s values. This model helped transform Burt’s Bees into the strong and powerful company within the natural personal care market that it is today. Burt’s Bees has five primary product lines, with their lip care products and lip color products being the most well-known and established. The other lines include face products, such as a natural acne solution and a daily facial cleanser, body products, such as moisturizers, soaps, and sun care, and babyproducts, which includes several body products specifically designed for babies. Burt’s Bees also creates hair products, bug repellants, hand saniziters, throat drops, and several body products for men. Due to these various product lines, the company appeals to a very large target market. Recently, Burt’s Bees added another brand to their company called Gud, which also makes natural personal care products intended for a younger audience. Gud currently uses Carly Rae Jepsen as its spokeswoman. By appealing to multiple different target markets and providing numerous products for all ages, Burt’s Bees is able to establish itself as a brand that everyone can enjoy.

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COMPANY OVERVIEWCompany Mission:Burt’s Bees mission is to provide a large selection of natural and organic health and beauty products with affordable prices directly to anyone who is looking for a safe and effective way to keep their body looking and feeling fresh and healthy. Therefore they promote the importance of using natural products and provide a variety of options to customers in any convenience store, drugstore or supermarket.

Company Goal:To encourage more people to use natural products on their skin with the help of an insect, asopposed to chemicals that can cause more risks than benefits, by collaborating with natural products association to develop the natural standard for personal care products.

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SWOT ANALYSIS

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As an organization, Burt’s Bees has had great success but as they grow, there are many factors that they have to consider. In order to adapt and grow successfully, they must be aware of what they are capable of and what they have to lookout for.

Strengths:Since its beginning, Burt’s Bees has been viewed strongly as an environmentally friendly company.One way they enforce this image is by having zero waste in the process of making their products. Their environmental impact is just a glimpse of how they represent themselves as a green company. They also pride themselves on selling natural products. Each item has a natural marker that allowsconsumers to see how natural the product really is. One of their strongest points is that they have an assortment of products to choose from. The company already has established an image with their lip care line. This has allowed them to establish a very loyal customer base.

Weaknesses:Although the company has a strong customer base and brand awareness for their lip care products, there is a relatively small group of people who are aware of the other personal care products that the company also sells. Along with that, they have multiple products that have been released onto the market that have not yet caught on or attracted customers at the same magnitude as the lip care and lip color product lines.

Opportunities:With so many products already released, Burt’s Bees is capable of increasing its product awareness. Many of them are much less popular than the lip care products so there are many products such as hair, face, and bath items that could be revamped and allow for positive growth relatively quickly. Getting these products at top of mind awareness could increase their customer base, both for consumers that already buy natural products and for consumers who have not yet made the switch to natural products. The company also has two core competencies. The first is that they have a natural image that they have managed and maintained. The second is that they are a sustainable business. These attributes allow them to have a competitive advantage that cannot be matched.

Threats:Most natural products are seen as being more expensive. For Burt’s Bees, there is a perception that they have a higher price though in reality their prices are fairly affordable. The demand for more natural products has increased over the years meaning more companies are starting to represent themselves in ways that reflect the values Burt’s Bees has been portraying for years. Besides companies starting to act in similar ways, their new products and brands are also a threat to the Burt’s Bees brand. Some of these concepts work together in a sense that one opportunity could unveil a different threat that the company may not want to actually deal with. In order to maintain a competitive edge, Burt’s Bees must be able to see how these may have various outputs depending on the implementation.

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MARKETING OBJECTIVES

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Currently, Burt’s Bees seems to be at a standstill. In order to change this, we would like to increase the awareness of their face and body products. Results of this new strategy will be seen in changes in sales of the newly marketed products. In order to achieve our desired goal, we will be looking at a total increase in sales of 20% for these products. This will take about year to complete. Each of the individual products will not be marketed separately but within their product lines,

MARKET OVERVIEW

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Burt’s Bees is identified as part of the natural and organic personal care market. Products in this category include natural products for the body, such as soaps and moisturizers, for the face, such as cleansers and toners, and natural cosmetics. Owned by The Clorox Company, Burt’s Bees competes on the larger scale with major vendors such as Estee Lauder, Hain Celestial Group, and L’Oreal, but on the smaller scale with specific natural brands, some of which are owned by the vendors listed above. It is also plausible to argue that Burt’s Bees competes with companies such as Proctor and Gamble and Johnson and Johnson, who also produce personal care products but are not considered a part of the natural or organic markets. In terms of Porter’s Five Forces Model of Competition, the rivalry amongst this industry is strong as the interest in natural and organic products isgrowing. New products can enter the industry any day, especially as more and more companies with an already strong brand presence are introducing natural product lines, such as Neutrogena Naturals and Aveeno Active Naturals. The threat of substitutes and the bargaining power of buyers is also very prominent in this market, as consumers have the ability to control the market bydeciding if natural products are important to them or if they would rather substitute these products with non-natural, often less expensive options. When conducting a competitor analysis for Burt’s Bees, the most important competitors to consider are the brands in stores that consumers have the option of choosing over Burt’s Bees. The brands that compete most heavily with Burt’s Bees are described in more detail in the pages to follow.

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COMPETITOR ANALYSIS

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Primary Competitors:Yes To: Yes To (also known as Yes to Carrots, one of their popular collections) is currently Burt’s Bees top competitor, as they produce the most closely related products. According to their website, their products are grouped into five categories; Face, Body, Hair, Lip, and Baby. It is important to note that Burt’s Bees categorizes their products into the same five categories as well. Yes To lacks a strongvariety of lip products and a competitive price, which is Burt’s Bees most well-known line. However, they have similar price points in all other products. Aside from extremely similar products, Yes To uses eye-catching package design that draws consumers of a large age group to the brand. Like Burt’s Bees, Yes To has a large space of the natural personal products aisle in most grocery and drug stores.

Jason: Jason, owned by Hain Celestial Group, is one of the longest standing natural personal care brands. Unlike Burt’s Bees, Jason also has product lines for oral care, and has more extensive sun and kids products, thus establishing themselves as a more family-oriented brand. Jason has been on the market considerably longer than these competitors, and thus may have loyal customers that are debating whether or not to try another brand, such as Burt’s Bees. Jason products are displayed in the natural personal products section of most grocery and drug stores. They are at a similar price point to Burt’s Bees and have extensive variety in their body and hair lines, but lack variety in their face products when compared to Burt’s Bees.

Alba Botanica: Also owned by Hain Celestial Group, Alba Botanica’s products use plant proteins, natural botanicals, and fruit, nut, and plant essences derived from the Hawaiian Islands. Alba’s product lines include face, hair, body, lip, and sun, similar to Burt’s Bees, and are sold in the natural personal care sections of most grocery and drugstores as well. However, Alba’s product lines seem to have more variety in sizes and options, therefore more variety in prices.

Avalon Organics: Also owned by Hain Celestial Group, Avalon Organics is another well-known brand of natural personal care products. Their product categories are similar to Burt’s Bees, and they also have a line of baby products. They specialize in skin repair and skin renewal. They have a similar variety of products to Burt’s Bees, but are at a slightly higher price point.

COMPETITOR ANALYSIS

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Secondary Competitors:Tom’s of Maine: Owned by Colgate-Palmolive, Tom’s of Maine is a leader in the natural personal care market, however is a weaker competitor for Burt’s Bees as their products are not closely aligned. Tom’s of Maine specializes in oral care products, bars of soap, antiperspirants, and deodorants.

Aveda: Owned by Estee Lauder companies, Aveda is a higher end member of the natural personal care market and therefore may have a more specific target audience. They specialize in using pure flower and plant essences, produce mainly hair products and sell products primarily in professionalsalons.

Origins: Much like Aveda, Origins is owned by Estee Lauder companies and is considered a higher end vendor of skin care products that use natural oils and organic ingredients. They are well-known for their anti-aging and skin repair products and therefore appeal to an older audience. Like Aveda, Origins products cannot be found in drugstores, but are sold only at Origins Stores, Macy’s, and Sephora.

**Non-natural personal care products, such as Olay, Dove, Aveeno, Neutrogena, and Clean and Clear would also be considered secondary competitors.

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TARGET MARKET

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The target market for this plan consists of 18-40 year-old females that are trying to live a healthy lifestyle. They either already buy natural products and would consider switching to the Burt’s Bees brand, or would be open to switching to natural products for their personal care items as long as the item prices are similar or less expensive. In terms of lifecycle, our target market primarily consists of students, career women, and mothers. They are busy, on-the-go females who value products that are easy to use and easy to apply. They enjoy product line variety, as it allows them to switch up or freshen their look without changing brands. These are young women that are looking for products with many different benefits, including a clean look, a younger look, or a brighter look. The women in this target market do not overdo or over apply their makeup or beauty products, and appreciate natural beauty.

PRODUCT POSITIONING

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Our marketing objectives described Burt’s Bees need to increase the sales of its face and body product lines. As a result, we plan to position Burt’s Bees as “more than just the lip care brand” and instead, as“the brand that meets all your personal care needs.” When people think of the Burt’s Bees brand, we want them to think of a fun, fresh, healthy, and sustainable brand that they feel great about using, both for the personal benefits and for the benefits to our earth. The Burt’s Bees brand makes its consumers feel more cleanly, natural, positive, genuine, and beautiful. This image will appeal to Burt’s Bees target market, as they desire to live a healthy lifestyle. One competitive advantage that Burt’s Bees has is its loyal lip care consumers. They have a strong customer base for their lip care lines among our target market, which means that these customers may be more likely to try Burt’s Bees other products, as opposed to trying a different natural personal care brand. Burt’s Bees products have variety, and are priced competitively when compared to other brands. As a result, consumers who already buy natural products may be willing to switch to Burt’s Bees products that are less expensive, and consumers who do not currently buy natural products may be willing to switch to Burt’s Bees products because the prices are similar to what they currently buy. However, this lip care loyalty could also be a disadvantage for Burt’s Bees, as some customers may have a hard time associating the Burt’s Bees name with other product lines.

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PRODUCT STRATEGY

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At this point in time, the products that Burt’s Bees offers are highly desirable in the eyes of the current target market. The company has created a positive brand image that reflects quality and sustainability. A simple visit to the Burt’s Bees website shows consumers how the company manufactures products that hold value through multiple facets. However, the brand is primarily known for their lip care products when there are many other products lines that are of the same caliber, specifically the body and face care lines. The purpose of our actions is to change the brand image to one that brings these other product lines to top of mind awareness among the target market.

In rebranding the perceived image of the company, our main focus will be to vocalize the body and face care lines that the company is already offering. To do this, it will be necessary to put these lines in the forefront of advertising and retail locations. On their website, the first two headings for the various product lines are “Lip Color” and “Lip Care” which are currently their most well known products. As visitors read left to right, they immediately see those items. We suggest that those are pushed farther down the list of product lines offered, so that consumers see other product lines first when they visit the site.

There is also a changing image on the main page that rotates various images of what Burt’s Bees has to offer. However, the first image that comes up is related to the lip line. In this case the company should put up information on their lesser known body and face lines so they can potentially spark interest in visitors of the site who were not aware of or had not considered this line as something they may be inclined to try.

PRICING STRATEGY

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At this point in time, the majority of Burt’s Bees products are marked at even prices. For example, many of the body line products are $8.00 or $10.00. Consumers tend to perceive lower prices for items that have odd numbers. In order for the company to utilize this information, the question arises of whether the company should increase or decrease their prices. For the current situation, we believe that Burt’s Bees should actually do both. They could do this by making the items that are $8.00 increase to $8.79 and the products that are $10.00 decrease to $9.99. This would have to be done in a strategic manner where the company would need to put a weight on products that sell more so those decreasing by a few cents are not losing the company any of their profits.

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DISTRIBUTION STRATEGY

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Currently, Burt’s Bees has been distributed in drugstores, department stores, and grocery stores across the United States and Europe since the year 2006. This transition from a locally made product to one distributed internationally was a well thought out decision by Burt’s Bees. This allowed them to expand their target market and reach a wider variety of individuals in a much faster stream. The objective of expanding the place and distribution of a product is to increase the sales. We aim to increase the overall sales of the face and body lines, two lines that are not as popular or as in high demand as the lip care products.

Due to the fact that Burt’s Bees is already placed in all drugstores and superstores, we want to change their placement within these stores to make them attractive to a larger portion of their target market. We would like to place these items not only in the natural products section of the beauty department but also in the non-natural products section. By placing the items in the natural product section, the target market that uses all natural products will be able to see all the options they can choose from and better decide which one would work best for them. This move gives potential consumers the opportunity to switch over to Burt’s Bees, thus increasing their sales. As for placing the items in the non-natural products section, this could also give customers a chance to switch to using natural products as opposed to the chemical induced ones they use currently, exposing them to an eco-friendly and healthy route.

PROMOTION STRATEGY

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Burt’s Bees is already a fast growing and well known brand and we want to increase awareness not just of the brand itself but also of all the product lines. In the year of 1991, the first Burt’s Bees lip balm was created. Since then it has become one of the most popular items to buy in the cosmetic aisle across the world. The brand’s popularity has caused the company to expand its product mix by introducing various products that could reach different segments of the market. Burt’s Bees created a baby line of all natural products for infants and toddlers, an assortment of products for their face and body lines, and also a new lip balm line. We want to promote the face and body lines of the Burt’s Bees collection since they are not as well known. In relatively recent news, the company debuted its acne solution line in 2010 and two years later introduced their Güd line consisting of aromatic shampoos, conditioners, and body washes. These lines of Burt’s Bees still represent eco friendly and naturally made products and offer consumers an even larger variety of products to choose from.

In order to meet our objectives and to increase awareness and sales of the face and body lines, we plan to roll out several promotions specific to these lines. Promotional strategies could include in-store promotions on specific items for a limited time. These promotions would be made obvious on the product displays, and may encourage consumers to switch from a different brand and try the item due to the decreased cost. Various coupons could also be released at different points within our one-year plan, offering discounts on items within the face and body lines. Promotions and coupons would be communicated to the target market primarily through Burt’s Bees social media pages and the company website. Users would have the ability to show the coupons in-stores directly from their phones. These promotional strategies would be used to get consumers to make their initial purchases of face and body items. After using the products, they will ideally feel that the prices are fair and be open to considering Burt’s Bees for all their face and body needs, thus becoming loyal buyers.

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EXPECTED OUTCOMES

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Our primary marketing objective throughout the course of this project has been to increase sales by 20%. The particular lines we were trying to enhance were the face and body products. By repositioning our product, we expect to increase the awareness of these lines and for the company to be more than a lip care line.

The current product packaging is unique and identifiable and does not need any tailoring. In order to accomplish repositioning our brand we decided it would be necessary to place Burt’s Bees products in the non-natural section to increase visibility. In a similar sense, we believe it is necessary to place the face and body lines in the forefront of the company’s promotional tactics, not only in stores but on their website as well.

We believe that through these strategies, larger amounts of people will be exposed to Burt’s Bees products and be more inclined to purchase them. For Burt’s Bees, this is a very simple way to get their name in the mix of more frequently purchased face and body products. We understand that this may not cause all current and potential consumers to buy Burt’s Bees products but it allows them to have the option to try them. We are confident that the current image the company holds will encourage more consumers to try products that aren’t in the lip care line.

POTENTIAL RISKS

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Our strategy throughout this process was to make Burt’s Bees more profitable by making customers more aware of their lesser-known products. As the brand is primarily known for their lip care lines, it is important to show the number of options the consumers have to choose from. Burt’s Bee’s products are highly desirable by the target market, so we plan on creating more brand loyalty with customers that already buy Burt’s Bee’s products, as well as promote the natural effects of their products to customers who use naturally made products already, in hopes that they will switch over to our brand. We chose to primarily help in advertising and marketing their body and face care lines, which are not as prominent among the market and are not one of their strongest products in terms of sales.

There are a couple of risks when taking this strategy plan to the open market. By trying to target more towards a natural product using consumer, we may shy away from another target that would be interested in buying our products. Naturally made products are perceived to cost more than others and this could potentially lead to the target market losing interest in the products. As Burt’s Bees places their products next to competitors who also sell natural products, consumers will have more options to consider when choosing which products to purchase, be that Burt’s Bee’s or another brand. By placing a highly valued and brand loyal company next to their competitors, competitors may choose this as an opportunity to drop their prices or emphasize on the parts of their companies that Burt’s Bee’s lacks, in hopes they can persuade the market to buy their products instead. Some other faults that we could face in working to focus just on the body and face care lines as opposed to Burt’s Bee’s as a whole, is we could lose sight of the more important parts of the brand that are already doing well. In taking more time and effort to showcase their other lines, competitors could use that opportunity to get customers to switch over from using Burt’s Bee’s lip lines to their own; taking the focus entirely off of Burt’s Bee’s as a company and switching it over to the competitors.

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CONTINGENCY PLAN

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Throughout the process of planning this new marketing strategy, we have prepared ourselves to deal with any problems that we may face. Some of the issues, like what consumers prefer, is out of our control. However, if that seems to be a problem in the future, we may have to look into a new plan where would could redesign packaging, more with pricing and look for more areas that may make our products more attractive than those that they are placed next to.

The primary potential problem that could arise from this plan would be no change in sales for the face and body product lines . Our design for this process has allowed for Burt’s Bees to really only gain from the series of changes that would be made to the marketing mix. This would most likely be a sign that consumers saw no benefits to trying and using Burt’s Bees over other products or that their presence in the non-natural section was not greeted in the way that we anticipated.

If more changes were needed, we believe that we would most likely have to work on the product aspect of the marketing mix. Through this process, we have addressed place, price, and changes for promotion. Of course, along with changes in the actual products themselves, more promotional work would follow suit. However, we are positive that this process will yield meaningful results for Burt’s Bees multiple product lines.