Ch. 15 - Retailing

I recently visited Macy's Department store located on 34th Street, between 6th Avenue and 7th Avenue, on Herald Square. This store is massive and antique, as it has been around since 1902, complete with their then modern-day wooden escalators still in place today. The building itself is a national historic trademark that still has its original modern exterior, however, most of all the fixtures have been renovated and are usually redesigned with every changing holiday. Inside its a very unique experience with multiple atmospheres, as the sound of professionalism rings in the ear of every shopper being asked by an employee if they need assistance, the smell of sales runs through the nose of every shopper in the building, and the grandeur of Herald Square can be felt upon the first rush of the smell of a fresh new sample of some new fragrance you just smelled and all the sudden, now you really want to buy. To think this happens everyday to every shopper on a daily basis, despite how busy the store is, continues to make the experience of the Macy's atmosphere more efficient and remarkable than the last. 

Macy's employees are very neat, extremely friendly, service oriented, highly professional and knowledgable of products. Upon walking into the store, the high employee density of the lower-level of Macy's personnel extend their retail strategy by offering shoppers a smell of the latest fragrances. With the combination of the employee's plain, all-black, professional business attire and the euphoric allure of the fragrances sampled by shoppers at the doors, the upper levels of the building utilize less and less employee density to help shoppers spend their time around the building shopping in an agreeable and satisfied mood.

Ch. 6 - Consumer Decision Making

A method that I find very interesting is the use of magazine advertisement as a tool to influence consumer behavior. While magazines like Ebony attract African-American women that are intelligent, upper-class, and fashion trendy, others like Cosmo are designed to attract women on an international level that are sexy, fashion trendy, and upper-class, as well. Besides the point, the magazines both use advertisements of women corresponding to their covers, as in the Ebony magazine there is an African-American woman with the Pantene hair and look, and in the Cosmopolitan magazine there is a Caucasian woman with the Pantene hair and look. Going a step further, this helps all women understand that no matter the hair type, the product can produce Pantene hair that shines, regardless of ethnicity. This makes a big difference to the consumer because it functions like an aspirational reference group would, as these two  women with nicer hair are Pantene Pro-V users, making other ladies reading the magazine that are passing by the advertisement want to conform to the norms of the group of more attractive women because it is a likable quality that comes with benefits in society. However, it makes the marketing strategy even more interesting because women have always aspired to be high-maintenance to give the impression that they are also from a higher social class, even if they aren't from an upperclassmen at all. This understanding of consumer behavior makes the promotion of products like Pantene Pro-V very easy because all they have to do is illustrate the results of product use, in combination with social norms, to increase the demand for their product.

Ch. 5 - Developing a Global Vision

After the 1985 acquisition of Pantene by Proctor & Gamble, they had a global vision of what to do with the hair care line. Their global vision was to take the product global, distributing their newly acquired revolutionary hair technology around the world, sharing the secret luxury of strong, beautiful hair with women all across the world. Today, their vision has evolved into one of the greatest competitive foot-in-the-door strategies, since the addition of the pink cancer support ribbon emblem on their Beautiful Lengths products. By placing this cause-related, marketing  symbol on their bottles and promoting awareness of the cause,  they basically take on a responsibility so profound with the rest of the world that they are now naturally embraced by all cultures. Business fronts, where business was once difficult to establish, are now remarkably easy to contrive by their ability to personalize global targets through efforts that help the world's welfare and needs. Even more important is the fact that this product has easily found its way to every market around the world because of the way the company's strategy avoids any, and all, cultural blunders that could effect the productivity abroad. So, if the enemy of your enemy is your friend, then say goodbye to cancer and say hello to Pantene!

Ch. 4 - The Marketing Environment

Pantene Pro-V's target market is the women of Generation Y. Why young, beautiful women? For starters, they are young enough to set new trends and beautiful enough to help give the products the push in the right direction. The fact that Generation Yers consume over $200 billion annually it gives this target market the extra incentive to firms all around the world. This younger generation tends to be more inclined to breaking out of traditions and conforming to new social norms, as well as leading older generations into these new trends and out of older social standards that invigorate their lives. By daring their target market to take the "Pantene Challenge," marketers grab the attention of Generation Yers by attracting them through their inquisitive side, to draw them in to learn about the benefits of using the product. Since Generation Yers are also concerned with doing more, Pantene's Beautiful Lengths program also continues to target women from Generation Y in their drive to do more raised from the concerns of the generation.

Ch. 3 - Ethics & Social Responsibility

Pantene Pro-V’s recent integration of cause-related marketing leads to a controversial marketing move, as they partner with the American Cancer Society (ACS) in the fight against cancer. After implementing the Beautiful Lengths program, the company donates $1 million dollars to the cause, taking their competitive advantage to the next level, as the company gains sustainability by outperforming other companies and focusing their energies on the world’s social welfare. By doing this, the company earns itself a reputation for maintaining an excellent code of conduct, showing everyone that their staff is fully trained to extend their services to address a broader base of world issues. Pantene Pro-V's marketing division attains a level of post conventional morality by maintaining ethical standards needed to satisfy consumers all around the world. Still, we can’t help to think that this is nothing more than an opportunity to build profits and help the world at the same time. However, the firm does not come off as selfish nor egotistic, and instead come off as mature because they are less concerned about how they will be viewed and are more concerned with acting upon a social responsibility. As a company with a very good research and development team, the firm pitches in its two cents where it belongs, giving back to the people as it does have the resources to obtain this goal. Being that Pantene  is a premium company, they have the ability to attract new and existing customers to support the cause with them, while building more economic profits. Deviating from the destructive nature of the current corporate world and conforming to the calls of world needs, Pantene's inspiration to new age corporate behavior has redefined what it means to be a successful company today with effective planning for long-run economic growth. The brand manages to convey a message without having to self-glorify themselves by saying, "Hey, we care about how the world looks because of what we're doing for the world!" Instead, the company gives a mature impression that they care about how the world looks, and not just their clients. 

Ch. 2 - Strategic Planning for Competitive Advantage

Pantene Pro-V's target market is women all around the world. Good thing for women, Pantene Pro-V products have good placing, pricing, and promotion. Placement strategies for Pantene-Pro V have worked extremely well for their clients, as there is a great demand for the Swiss-based company to export their products all around the world, which in-turn strengthens the strategic competitive advantage they have in their market. Promotion has also aided in this advantage, as programs like Beautiful Lengths plays a key role in the marketing mix by informing, educating, persuading, and reminding consumers of the need to join in on the fight against cancer. By donating a million dollars, Pantene Pro-V's pricing strategy balances out with their current product pricing, when clients know that the company value is all for social justification in doing their part in the fight against cancer, as they have helped supply 24,000 free wigs to cancer patients. This marketing mix gives Pantene Pro-V an excellent standpoint to produce mutually satisfying exchanges with their target audiences, as their goal is simply customer satisfaction.

Ch. 1 - Overview of Marketing (Brief History and Mission Statement)

Pantene Pro-V's marketing facets stress customer satisfaction and customer value. Pantene Pro-V is a production and marketing oriented firm, which focuses on customer wants and needs, distinguishing their products from their competitors, making them stand out against the rest of their competition. However, after Pantene's transitional years, becoming a billion dollar brand in 1995 shows the company’s efforts to orient the firm in multiple ways to tackle the market on multiple levels of production, sales, and marketing, as they have always shaped their firm’s orientation for the sake of their clients. In the 1960's, the demand from European travelers in the United States raised the demand for retailers to import the 15 year old product from Switzerland to the United States. Pantene Pro-V depends on a customer's decision to purchase their product, as they have been doing since 1945, establishing the company as a premium hair care line across Europe, complete with excellent bottling and distinct scents. In 1985, with Proctor and Gamble's acquisition of Pantene, they began distributing on a massive scale, making Pantene's quality product readily available to women all around the world. Distributing around the world also meant meeting the needs of a wider range of consumers. In 1975-1976, Pantene changes the design of their product, adding a gold cap, to add a touch of elegance and extravagance. In the early 1990's, Pantene instates a stronger focus on hair health, offering a wider range in products in hair care and hair styling.

Pantene's successful marketing strategy is totally dependent on customer-oriented personnel, employees with authority to make decisions and solve problems, and teamwork. Pantene's customer-oriented personnel provide goods and services of superior quality and value that improves the lives of the world's consumers, now and for generations to come. Since 1945, Pantene has maintained a strong line of premium hair care products. Though this may not appeal to customers, over the years they eventually start addressing all customer needs, producing results that clients desire. By 1983, Pantene's expansion of its product line was not without the expansion of the research and development going into their product, making their tagline: "The Care and Feeling of Beautiful Hair." With Proctor & Gamble's acquisition of the company, this product was made readily available to all women across the world. However, this never stops the company from making a better quality product, as between 2000 and 2006, Pantene revolutionizes the way they work for their clients by offering clients products that cater for the look the customer wants. In 2010, Pantene Pro-V revolutionizes this standard again through the means of teamwork, as their production's intensive research and development labs pay off, helping the company offer customized solutions, based on hair structure, to all of their possible clients. It’s like an app, “There’s a Pantene for that!”

Pantene goods and services are distributed with a wide variety of solutions for consumers to select from, addressing customer needs through the effective collaboration of teamwork, stemming from consistent research and development that produces results. Pantene is a bit more realistic than other companies, offering effective solutions through the empowerment of employees. Pantene products address all possibilities their clients may present them to create hair that shines, while other products make promises that are hard to keep. For example, a weight loss product may promise weight loss to clients when in reality a single product may prove ineffective to a consumer. These companies may continue to offer a product that remains to be the same to every client, but that product may actually produce different results for each client. Clients may find weight loss products produce ambiguous results, like no weight loss at all, the gaining of weight, or an effective product that helps actually helps clients lose weight. Pantene Pro-V aims to satisfy all consumer needs, through solving all possibilities for potential clients.

Between the research and development team, and all the computer technicians working behind the scenes with this company's management teams, there is definitely a high-level of teamwork coming into play. Not only do technicians have to work with company sales representatives to help figure out most of the online advertising, it helps to produce their ultimate goal as a company like superior customer value and satisfaction. The Pantene Pro-V website (http://www.Pantene.com) provides clients with everything they need to know, combining all of the strengths of the Pantene Pro-V team into one collaborative effort. It is the result of good teamwork that drives this company to its many successes, as the company's firm orientation seems to switch back and forth, from good production to competitive marketing. One thing is for certain, as a team, Pantene Pro-V is a customer-oriented firm with collaborative efforts that accomplish the common objective of addressing client concerns and empowering the Pantene team's ability to feel like they are experts in hair care and style matters. Also, not many companies offer money-back guarantee incentives attached to hair care products. On top of that, not many companies can afford to offer refunds to unsatisfied customers the way that the Pantene Pro-V brand does.

Pantene's current motto:

"When you look good, you feel good…and Pantene will help you get there. In fact, if you don’t absolutely love this product, we’ll send you your money back, guaranteed. Now that’s a beautiful promise."