Executive Summary
Company Description
Oral-B is an oral care company that produces premium-quality electric toothbrushes for people who would like to receive professional dental cleaning experience at home.
Target Segment
Oral-B’s target segment is upper-middle-class representatives who live in urban areas of developed countries. They maintain a healthy lifestyle, are interested in innovations, and want to include them in daily life.
Competitive Advantage
Oral-B’s competitive advantages are the dentist associations’ approval, authority as a premium quality oral care tools producer, and constant technological improvement of the product line.
Positioning Statement
To upper-middle-class representatives of developed countries who value their health, Oral-B is the only electric toothbrush producer that implements innovative oral care approaches because of its’ devices continuing technological development.
Marketing Plan Objectives
The marketing plan for Oral-B’s electric toothbrushes is dedicated to increasing brand awareness among people interested in innovations, increasing its direct sales via the website, and generating leads for further retargeting.
Company Profile
- Company Name: Oral-B;
- Industry: Consumer goods, oral hygiene;
- Headquarters: Boston, Massachusetts, The United States;
- Year founded: 1950, January 13;
- The number of employees: 150;
- Annual revenue (estimated): $50 Million;
- Major products: toothbrushes, electric toothbrushes, toothpaste, oral hygiene goods;
- Target customers: men and women who care of their oral hygiene, mostly from urban areas of developed regions worldwide;
- Distribution channels: direct through website, indirect via retailers such as pharmacies and consumer goods stores;
- Key competitors: Philips Sonicare, Panasonic, Colgate;
- Link to Yahoo! Finance information page: Oral-B is owned by Procter & Gamble, and its Yahoo finance account.
Market Segmentation & Targeting
Oral-B electric toothbrushes provide high-quality, innovative oral care to solve the dental problems people of all ages might experience. The potential customers are representatives of a middle or higher socioeconomic class who live in urban areas of developed countries and care about their health. The key segmentations in the market of electric toothbrushes are battery/rechargeable devices, goods for children/adults, and companies’ types. Oral-B is the consumer goods production firm, and its oral care tools are represented in each of the segments listed above. The company has a wide range of toothbrushes for children and provides both battery and rechargeable devices (Oral-B, 2020a). It also serves the consumer goods producers’ segment because it is owned by Procter & Gamble (P&G). Oral-B is now focused on the rechargeable electric toothbrushes segment because it offers profit opportunities due to innovative oral care approaches the company continuously works on and implements into the new devices.
Situation and Company Analysis
Economic Environment
Oral-B produces both middle-class and premium toothbrushes, and its customers’ behavioral patterns vary. The increasing health awareness due to the COVID-19 pandemic motivates people to spend more on high-quality healthcare products like electric toothbrushes. The global electric toothbrush market maintains a CAGR growth of around 7% for the last 5 years (Research and Markets, 2020). The economic environment of this industry is in growth and the interest rate increases.
Technical Environment
Oral-B’s electric toothbrush production implements the latest technologies into the products to keep the high quality of brushes and stay competitive. The market trends can be affected by developments in industries like cloud services or the Internet of things. For example, Oral-B’s latest electric toothbrush Genius X connects with a customer’s phone via Bluetooth to measure the time spent on oral care. Moreover, this model includes artificial intelligence technologies that detect the quality of brushing (Peters, 2020). These implementations are new for the electric toothbrush market and beneficial for Oral-B’s competitiveness.Industry Environment
The industry’s main trend is personalization: technology allows an electric toothbrush to choose proper speed and intensity based on a customer’s dental conditions. Each consumer can now manage their device via a mobile application. Moreover, the new benchmark is the time a toothbrush can work without charging. There are new entrants in the electric toothbrush market who joined it due to technology development. For example, Xiaomi, the Chinese company that mostly produces mobile devices, has recently released its Mi Electric Toothbrush – a competitor to Oral-B’s products.
Competitive Environment
Oral-B has at least 5 competitors who produce electric toothbrushes: Colgate, Panasonic, Phillips, Wellness Oral Care, and LION. Panasonic and Phillips have the advantage because these companies are based on electric devices production. Colgate’s advantage is its worldwide popularity and affordability. Wellness Oral Care and LION have loyal customers who support these companies’ innovations. Oral-B’s advantage is the company’s authority through its 70 years of history and the premium quality of each toothbrush’s elements (Oral-B, 2020a). The market is large enough as consumers’ demands vary among different ages, countries, and incomes.
Political Environment
Oral-B toothbrushes are distributed worldwide, and the level of their products’ popularity depends on the country’s political system. Oral-B’s largest market is Europe, and most of its countries are developed and have a stable political system, while the least number of consumers live in Middle-East and Africa (Research and Markets, 2020). Oral-B electric toothbrushes include the mobile application, which must comply with private data regulations, such as GDPR for European Union. In the United States, the American Dental Association requires a company to earn a Seal of Acceptance to prove product safety and efficacy, and Oral-B has one (American Dental Association, 2019). Oral-B sells electric toothbrushes indirectly, therefore particular political support is not necessary for the company.
SWOT Analysis
Mission, Objectives & Goals
Oral-B’s mission is to provide high-quality oral care for people of all ages using the latest innovations and to improve each consumer’s health. The first objective is for the company to implement the latest technologies faster than its competitors. The second one is to become the most popular among customers with families who will buy Oral-B’s electric toothbrushes for children and older adults. The third objective is to collaborate with dentists worldwide to be promoted as the best oral care product for health improvement.
Based on the objectives, Oral-B’s marketing goals are:
- To implement at least two new technologies which provide advanced practices of oral care for the Oral-B Genius X toothbrush for the next 2 new editions of the model;
- To improve marketing strategy by creating 20% of total advertisements with family-related narrative until the IV quarter of 2021;
- To make 5 educational events for dentists in multiple countries within the next fiscal year and increase their awareness about Oral-B’s products.
Ethics and Social Responsibility
Current Status
Oral-B represents the healthcare industry and is responsible for their product’s safety and efficacy. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the company established social practice by creating educational tips about oral care to help prevent the virus spread. Moreover, as part of P&G, Oral-B conducts its ethical responsibilities, such as eliminating animal testing and sourcing from climate-critical forests (Vinyard, 2020). There are no unethical situations or conflicts with the company involved, yet the toothbrushes production affects the environment and requires some sustainability policies.
Recommendations
Oral-B’s goals and social responsibilities are tied to its belonging to the healthcare industry. They don’t have particular ethical statements; however, they conduct their owner’s, P&G, regulations. Oral-B can include practices of oral care education for children at schools as social responsibility. It can optimize its recycling approaches as most of the brushes’ components are plastic to establish sustainable policies. Besides, Oral-B is distributed worldwide, therefore it can implement green logistics into their delivery systems or set shipping standards with the least environmental damage possible.
Marketing Information and Research
Research Question
Oral-B’s goal is to provide high-quality oral care to its customers, but the company’s innovations increase the price of their devices. The business will lose market competition if their products become significantly more expensive than average. The question is how to optimize electric toothbrush production costs to improve the devices and keep them affordable.
Information Needed
Oral-B needs to research worldwide producers of plastic, brushes, electronics, and IT-developers to reach the balance between cost and quality. Information about the latest technological studies can be used for forecasting the next implementations in the market. It is also necessary to conduct surveys among customers to determine the price they are willing to pay for electric toothbrushes with innovative algorithms for oral care.
Research Recommendations
It is recommended to research multiple sectors, such as technology, manufacturing, sustainability, economics, and customer needs. The key methods to gather the necessary information are reviewing the latest scientific studies and peer-reviewed articles about oral health care and direct connection with customers. Surveys with customers can help determine the optimal price and their demands, and focus groups can assess the latest products. These secondary and primary research approaches are suitable for Oral-B to reach its goals in creating innovative electric toothbrushes while being aware of consumers’ demands and price limits.
Customer Decision-Making Profile
Identifying the Customer and Problem
For Oral-B, the target segment is upper-middle-class representatives of developed countries. These people are interested in purchasing high-quality and innovative products, aware of the latest technologies, and want to use them in everyday life. They worry about their health and are willing to pay for the best healthcare goods and services. Oral-B’s Electric toothbrushes help a primary decision-maker to have excellent oral care experience approved by dentists and apply innovations like artificial intelligence in their daily life.
Factors Influencing Customer Decisions
The target segment for Oral-B electric toothbrushes are people who live in developed countries, such as the United States, Spain, France, Germany, Switzerland, Norway. Most of them live in urban areas with middle population density. Target customers’ age varies from young adult to elderly; their gender does not influence the decision-making regarding the product; most of them have families with children or empty nests. They have an educational level and socioeconomic status higher than the average. Such customers are advanced PC and Internet users, watch less TV, and familiar with most technological, political, and economic trends. This segment contains people of multiple cultures; they are aware of the importance of supporting good habits and having a healthy lifestyle.
Reaching the Customer
The effective strategies to reach the target segment described above are Internet advertisement, recommendations through dentists, and promotions at retailer stores or other distributors. The Internet marketing approaches can include banners about new Oral-B products based on users’ browsing history and interests. Collaboration with dentists is useful because the segment cares about their health, visit doctors, and trust their advice. Oral-B promotions with discounts at retailer stores or pharmacies can help reach the customer via the stores they visit and earn their loyalty via the lowered prices.
Positioning and Differentiation
Oral-B is known for its innovative oral care decisions and the implementation of new approaches for brushing the teeth. They constantly add new models known for the specific line of electric brushes for children and additional dental care accessorizes. The company also pioneered the changeable brushes to expand their devices’ usage and earn customers’ loyalty. Oral-B is different from the competitors due to its authority on the market as one of the oldest toothbrush producers.
Competitive Advantages
Oral-B’s electric toothbrushes’ competitive advantages are the constant improvement of the product line, the quality approved by dentists’ and customers’ worldwide, and the belonging to Procter & Gamble, the significant player in the consumer goods market.
Market Niche and Positioning Strategy
The market niche that Oral-B electric toothbrushes can fill today is the premium-quality healthcare devices. Based on the positioning strategy, the company will keep expanding the range of electric toothbrushes and implement innovations, therefore filling the niche as a technology-friendly gadget is a better approach than attempting to increase brand awareness among casual consumer goods.
Positioning Statement
To upper-middle-class representatives of developed countries who value their health, Oral-B is the only electric toothbrush producer that implements innovative oral care approaches because of its’ devices continuing technological development.
Repositioning Considerations
Oral-B is owned by Procter & Gamble, therefore its products are positioned as consumer goods suitable for average users. However, repositioning electric toothbrushes to the healthcare device niche might be more beneficial for the company. It would allow Oral-B to focus more on innovations and technologies to implement and win among competitors. Companies like Phillips or Panasonic are the producers of the electronic goods, and if Oral-B repositions into the same category, it will beat them because additional it has the range of toothpaste, rinses, and flosses, all approved by dentists.
Branding
Brand Description
Oral-B is a worldwide known brand because it was established more than 70 years ago and has already earned authority in the oral care segment. High product quality is expected from this brand, and it is built by combining medically approved toothbrushing approaches with the latest technologies implementation. People who use Oral-B electric toothbrushes are loyal to the brand and tend to stick to it because of its premium care experience. The brand is more associated with pharmacies and medicine than retailer stores and average consumer goods.
Brand Promise
Oral-B’s brand promise is the excellent oral care experience provided by the innovative devices approved by the dentists. The company’s release of the latest toothbrush state that “it is now possible to have a professional clean feeling not just twice a year, but every day, in the comfort of your own home” (Procter & Gamble, 2020a). P&G representative Steve Bishop names Oral-B electric toothbrushes a monumental leap in innovative oral care technology (Procter & Gamble, 2020a). The brand promise does not need improvement because it clearly reflects the main advantages of the company.
Brand Voice and Personality
- Oral-B involves dentists in the advertisements and uses descriptions of innovations the company implements. The brand voice includes comparing effectiveness among its products, shares its loyal customers’ experience, and has ambassadors like Shakira who promote the value of a bright smile and healthy teeth.
- Oral-B never uses aggressive management strategies like significant discounts on electric toothbrushes. The company never violates the P&G brand regulations, such as providing good communication with customers and positioning the products as ways to improve the life of each person for now and future generations (Procter & Gamble, 2020b). The brand personality is never associated with politicians or people of a particular institution.
Brand Positioning and Strategy
The crucial recommendation for the Oral-B electric toothbrushes brand is to apply more device and technology-oriented approaches than the “approved-by-dentists” one. This switch will be beneficial for the product because it can help reach the target segment of people interested in implementing the latest innovations in their daily lives. Oral-B is a worldwide-famous brand with solid authority, therefore earning the trust of these new customers should not face any obstacles.
Marketing Mix (4Ps)
Product Strategy
Oral-B electric toothbrushes offer premium quality oral care experience for consumers worldwide. Each device includes a charger and changeable brushing heads, the latest versions also require a mobile application to control the tool; the life cycle of one electric toothbrush is approximately 2 years (Oral-B, 2020b). Oral-B’s toothbrushes deliver professional, approved-by-dentists, oral cleaning at home and can improve it by adding innovations like artificial intelligence for personalizing the process. Such an implementation, combined with the latest technological and scientific discoveries in oral healthcare, can help Oral-B compete more effectively.
Pricing Strategy
The pricing for Oral-B electric toothbrushes varies depending on the product version and its distribution channel. There are four types of devices with different cost and range of features: Pro Series for $49, Smart Series for $129, Genius Series for $179, and iO Series for $229 (Oral-B, 2020b). The customers are the middle and higher socioeconomic class representatives, so they will stay loyal to the brand in changes in its price. Oral-B is a profitable segment of P&G, and it can increase profitability by promoting its most innovative products such as Genius and iO electric toothbrushes (Procter & Gamble, 2020c). The price for the dental care devices is higher than average, however, the company delivers the premium quality of brushes using which is considered prestigious.
Place: Distribution Strategy
Oral-B distributes the electric toothbrushes directly from the oralb.com website and indirectly via stores such as pharmacies and consumer goods. The retailer outlet would be profitable if located close to other stores like malls or supermarkets. As Oral-B’s brand voice is related to its approval by the dentists, the outlet would be suitable next to the pharmacies or dental clinics. Electric toothbrushes’ target customers live in urban areas of developed countries, therefore the product should be easily available to buy in big cities worldwide.
Promotion: Integrated Marketing Communications Strategy
Approach
To gain more customers and engagement, Oral-B can use targeted advertising via social media and Google Ads, create online contests about the consumers’ experience to establish an online community, and reach potential users through dentists and printed ads in pharmacies. The targeted audience for marketing should include people interested in technology and healthcare.
Goal
- Audience: adults of 24-40 years old with families, middle or higher social class, interested in a healthy lifestyle and technological trends.
- Goal: increase the number of sales through the website by 15% by the end of the first quarter of 2021.
- Call to action: “Experience the professional oral care at home!”
Messages
- Primary Message: “In 2020. the demand for health maintaining practices became vital, and you can receive primary oral care without visiting a doctor. Artificial intelligence-based technology of Oral-B electric toothbrushes allows you to have innovative experience at home!”
- Message Pillars: “Dentists approve Oral-B toothbrushes, and the 70 years history of development resulted in the premium quality devices for children and adults”.
- Proof Point: “Oral-B electric toothbrush will assist you in oral care for two years, and you can order it for free today!”
- Call to action: “Experience the professional oral care at home!”
Promotional Mix and IMC Tools
Digital Marketing:
- Website: Promotion videos with dentists describing the benefits of using Oral-B toothbrushes;
Targeted advertisement via Google and Facebook Ads offers to try the professional, innovative oral care experience at home.
Direct Marketing:
- Public relations: offer lifestyle and technology bloggers to use Oral-B toothbrushes, describe their experience and encourage their audience to order a device with a promotion code.
Sales Promotion + Digital Marketing:
- Contest/giveaway: contest on Instagram/TikTok, where the devices’ owners share their experience, and the winner gets the newest Oral-B iO toothbrush.
Sales Alignment
The campaign will generate leads through the digital marketing, build relationship by connecting with consumers during the contest, resolve possible concerns at website promotions, and close sales by getting customers from bloggers’ audiences.
Measurement (KPIs – Key Performance Indicators)
KPIs for Oral-B’s campaign are:
- New/incremental sales: if the website-based orders increase, the campaign considers as successful;
- Website unique visitors: people who reached the main page can be then retargeted with Google Ads campaigns and eventually return and purchase a toothbrush;
- Engagement: the increase of engagement at social networks witnesses the increase of brand awareness in social media.
Budget
Estimated campaign impact: average website order is $150 x 5000 minimum of new customers = $750.000
Action Plan
Risk Factors
The possible risk is the competitors’ attempts to expand the number of customers by involving the most influential bloggers. Also, rivals like Colgate might begin more engaging or broad digital campaigns and reach Oral-B’s potential consumers earlier. There is a risk in implementing a more innovative technology by competitors like Phillips or Panasonic during Oral-B’s campaigns. Social media managers should monitor these companies’ accounts and evaluate the possibility of issues to reduce these risks.
Attributions
- CC LICENSED CONTENT, SHARED PREVIOUSLY
- Flinders Business School Marketing Plan Template. Authored by David Medlow-Smith.
- ORIGINAL CONTENT
- SWOT and Integrated Marketing Communications Templates. Authored by Melissa Barker. License: CC BY: Attribution.
- Revision and adaptation. Authored by Lumen Learning. License: CC BY-SA.
- Revision and adaptation. Authored by Waymon D. “Wade” Hyde, faculty, El Centro College/Dallas County Community College District. License: CC BY-SA.
References
American Dental Association (2019). Toothbrushes.
Oral-B. (2020b) Electric toothbrushes series. Web.
Oral-B. (2020a). Electric toothbrushes. Web.
Peters, J. (2019). Oral-B’s new $220 toothbrush has AI to tell you when you’re brushing poorly. The Verge.
Procter & Gamble. (2020a). Oral-B iO, the biggest innovation in oral care history, is now available nationwide.
Procter & Gamble. (2020b). Policies and practicies.
Procter & Gamble. (2020c). Annual report, Web.
Research and Markets. (2020). Electric Toothbrush Market: Global Industry Trends, Share, Size, Growth, Opportunity and Forecast 2020-2025. Web.
Vinyard, S. (2020). P&G, you can’t outsource sustainability. The Natural Resources Defense Council.