Marketing Strategy and SWOT analysis of Gillette

In 1901, a man named C. Gillette made a revolution in our world by giving the people (at that time only men) a chance to get a shave in their own houses. While at first, this product seemed to be a bit strange and even dangerous, by the time, society understood that these new razors have come to the world to save their precious time and make their lives easier.  Years have passed and today most of the world’s population is familiar with this company and its offerings as it is developing day by day. In order to understand the reasons behind the favorable results of Gillette, it is essential to learn about the SWOT analysis and marketing strategy of this company.

So, let’s learn about the goals, objectives, and desired future positions of this company.

Mission Statement 

The mission statement says “The Gillette Company is a globally focused consumer products marketer that seeks a competitive advantage in quality, value-added personal care, and personal use products. We are committed to building shareholder value through sustained profitable growth.”

The mission statement of Gillette is not only motivational but also clear and realistic. This statement indicates that it is essential for them to know that their customers are satisfied with their products (quality).

Gillette emphasizes that it is a globally focused consumer products marketer, which is a good marketing strategy as it makes people think it would be hard for them to find a better option than Gillette’s products. What is more, the mission statement clearly mentions the offerings of the company. In this way, Gillette makes society be aware of its activities. 

Vision Statement 

The Gillette Company’s Vision “Is to build Total Brand Value by innovating to deliver consumer value and customer leadership faster, better, and more completely than our competition. 

The full version of the vision statement you can find by following the link. It clearly gives the insight about the values of the company where they are looking for an excellence in the every area. This attitude makes the company one of the dominant companies in the personal care products industry.

Now it is time to understand what strategies Gillette uses for branding.

For that purpose, let’s look at the following post from Gillette’s Instagram page. 

Having more than 140000 followers on Instagram, Gillette reminds and encourages its users to stay human in every situation. In a world where everyone can be judged by the way they look; the company comes up with a strong slogan about equality. This American brand of personal care products believes that every person should be treated equally no matter their race or social status.

What is more, Gillette also supports a fund that deals with these problems. This is a good marketing strategy as it makes people think that no matter who they are, they can always use Gillette’s products, and the company will still support them.  

The picture and the caption of the post-show that the company encourages the connection between people, leading us to one conclusion; Gillette belongs to the Everyman Brand Archetype. 

Here are some key facts that we need to know about the archetype.

Desire: Connection with others
Goal: To belong and fit in 
Strategy: To develop ordinary solid virtues, the common touch, blend in

Now let’s present the messaging levels of the Everyman Brand Archetype.

Level one: Feelings of loneliness 
Level two: A desire to affiliate that results because of loneliness 
Level three: Being open for new meetings, making friends 
Level four: Becoming a humanitarian, not judging people according to their abilities 

The Everyman Archetype provides a proper identity for brands:

• Whose offerings help people feel like that they belong 
• That can be used in our daily life
• With pricing from a moderate to low
• That want to be different from the companies with a higher price, in a positive way

Brand Archetypes. Why do we need them in practice?

All of us know that many companies have problems in presenting their key values and attitudes. Sometimes our messaging leads to misunderstanding or it does not represent what we aimed to say in reality. Here of course the importance of the brand archetypes is very crucial. How to create a good company culture? 

What are its values? Here are some questions that need to be answered properly. “8 steps to a complete archetypal branding” eBook tells us a lot.  We have written a book that goes deeper in these notions and reveals archetypes in specific ways. Just uncover the brand archetypes with “8 steps to a complete archetypal branding” eBook.

Going further, let’s have a look at the SWOT analysis of Gillette. 

Strengths

Strong Brand: The company was the first brand in history that introduced disposable razor blades as an option for shaving. Over time, Gillette built a powerful image for itself, and there is no doubt that, at present, it is the market leader in this category. 

Consumer Trust: As the company was created in 1901, a long-standing history significantly influences consumers’ trust level.

Geographical Presence: The company has a strong distribution network. One can find the products of Gillette on six continents and in more than 180 countries. 

Product Portfolio: The company has many products that its competitors are lacking. 

Strong Marketing: Gillette gives importance to the advertisements, and as a result, its commercials are loved by the company’s consumers.

Weaknesses

High Price: The company’s dairy products are pretty high in price, and as there are new similar products in the market with lower prices, it leads to a decrease of costumers. 

Dependence on core product: Gillette highly depends on the performance of its razors, which makes the company very vulnerable. In 2003, the main profit of the company (68%) came from this sector. 

Availability: Gillette’s products can mostly be found only in big stores. 

Opportunities

Expansion: The company has succeeded in the shaving industry, and it would be more beneficial for them to produce shampoos, shower gels, and other personal care segments. 

Accentuating the role of personal hygiene through marketing: It would be very profitable if they make people aware of the importance of personal hygiene. 

Threats

New competitors: It is not a secret that from the dawn of history, the company did not see any competition and was always the leader in the market: however, a new and strong competitor would be a real threat for Gillette.

Anti-shaving trend: Many specialists are against shaving as it can have some adverse effects. What is more, shaving is also expensive. So, these specialists suggest people other better and long-lasting methods than shaving, such as laser hair removal. Thus, most people would stop buying Gillette’s razors, which would be a considerable challenge for the company.

Now let’s move on to the segmentation strategy of Gillette. 

To understand this company’s target audience, let’s look at this short commercial of Gillette.  

So, with the video’s opening, we can see a handsome boy who wakes up and immediately goes to the bathroom to shave his beard.

A gentle voice of man simultaneously talks about the product that our “hero” uses. The “voice” also emphasizes that the product is a great way that can help men be ready for the new day with shaved and clean face within a little time.

As soon as the man finishes shaving, the woman approaches and touches him, which indicates that a clean and shaved face can even make women get attracted to them.  

It is interesting that at the end of the commercial, the company has also put a visual of their product with the slogan “The Best A Man Cen Get.” This is a pretty tricky psychological and marketing technique that would make men want this item. 

As we see, a man, who is conscious of the way he looks, and at the same time, give importance to the method that he uses, leads us to one conclusion. As their target segment, Gillette has chosen Conscious Progressives. 

What do we mean by saying Conscious Progressive?

To learn about them, let’s look at some key features of their characters. 

Lifestyle and Values: 

People who are a part of this segment are generally young and smart. They are very interested in what is happening outside of their countries. When it comes to values, honesty is the best policy for them. It is important to mention that these people are also pretty strict with their own selves. 

Moving on, while the way they look does play a pretty huge role for conscious progressives, they do not neglect their personal, inner beauty as well. 

These people like to spend their time with real, fair friends, and that is why inclusivity is also a vital value for them. The people who belong to this group are good at entertaining  

guests, friends, or relatives, than any other segment.

It is also worth mentioning that more than 74% of these people believe that it is important to be attractive for the other gender, and when it comes to relationships, they prefer long-term relationships to short ones as they are very loyal by their characteristics.

Shopping Preferences: 

The people who belong to this target segment do believe that when buying something, the packaging is not as important as what is inside of it and how qualified it is. According to these people, buying items just for their image would not appeal to them.

Here are some other interesting facts about the Conscious Progressives.

• They want to be a part of society, and they need to do something that can make the world a better place to live as they are very curious about the future of humanity. 

• When it comes to media usage, these people are on top of those who use media the most. It is essential to note that they always want to stay updated with the latest news and not miss anything. 

• Their hobbies include reading books, playing football, interactive games, etc.

• Conscious Progressives like to meet new and smart people as it could allow them to learn something new, something that might be useful for them.

16 Personalities (why do you need them in your business?)

Gillete has a strong relationship with Conscious Progressives. They are the main customers of the latter. However, Conscious Progressive is still one of the 16 Personalities that you should get acquainted with in detail. 

 All these types of clients are included in the book called “16 Personalities”, which will open a new Marketing world for you. This book will give you a key to the heart of your dream client. By recognizing all 16 Personalities, you will easily find a target customer that matches your brand, and of course by not wasting your money.

All in all, Gillette continues its activities for more than a century, and it is undoubtedly worth giving particular attention to it. In this post, I shared some insights into the factors that help this company succeed in this competitive industry. This post focused on the marketing strategies, SWOT analysis, and target market of Gillette. I hope that it helped you find answers to your questions regarding this topic. To learn about the continuous growth of other well-known brands check out the main page of our website.