Dettol Marketing Strategy & Marketing Mix (4Ps)

Published in Products category by MBA Skool Team

Marketing Strategy of Dettol analyzes the brand with the marketing mix framework which covers the 4Ps (Product, Price, Place, Promotion). These business strategies, based on Dettol marketing mix, help the brand succeed in the market. Let us start the Dettol Marketing Strategy & Mix to understand its product, pricing, advertising & distribution strategies:

Dettol Product Strategy:

The product strategy and mix in Dettol marketing strategy can be explained as follows:

Dettol is s global brand name in antiseptic solutions, hand-wash, soaps and sanitisers. Dettol’s product portfolio has the following global product categories:

i. Dettol Antiseptic Liquid

ii. Dettol Hand Wash

iii. Dettol Soap

iv. Dettol Surface Cleaning

Antiseptic liquid is the original product under Dettol brand and is one of the most recommended first aid toolkit essential. It is used in wounds for preventing infection by removing germs from the skin. It also comes in spray variant. Hand wash comes in the form of liquid with a hands-free dispenser and used in bathrooms and kitchen. Surface cleaners are multi-purpose cleaners normally used on hard washable surfaces. Apart from the broad product categories in its marketing mix, Dettol has product line specific to individual country’s hygiene needs.

It follows dual adaption strategy where it offers adapted product according to the need of that country as well as define customise category for adapting category. In UK, Dettol’s products are sub divided into

a. Surface Cleaning, b. Hands, c. Laundry and d. On the Go

In India, consumers are aware of hygiene but have budget constraint, hence Dettol has adopted more distinct categories of product

• For Your Home which include disinfectant liquid, kitchen gel and Multi-use wipes

• For Your Family which has products like hand wash, soaps, hand sanitiser, Multi-use wipes, air protection mask


Image: company website


Dettol Price/Pricing Strategy:

Below is the pricing strategy in Dettol marketing strategy:

Dettol uses a varied of pricing strategy in its marketing mix. The products are priced competitively but are marked slightly higher than its competitor brands like Savlon.

As the products of Dettol are available in several variant according to specific use like home and strictly hospital and clinical use, naturally it deploys product line pricing by setting distinct price levels for the variants. Some variants of Dettol’s 60-ml antiseptic liquid are available at less than Rs 100 and 60-ml antiseptic liquid with higher concentration of disinfectant is priced as high as Rs. 3000. Captive pricing is common in liquid hand wash segment where hand wash is priced low whereas its refill is slightly marked up. Products of Dettol are also bundled up like value pack of 6 soaps and slight discount are available on purchase of bundle. Optional-feature pricing is also common in Dettol products there is a base price for standard products but its variants which have different scent or certain optional value addition like re-energise version in hand wash segment are marked up over the original version.

Dettol Place & Distribution Strategy:

Following is the distribution strategy in the Dettol marketing mix:

Dettol has an excellent distribution all across the globe. As per Reckitt Benckiser 2016 annual report, Dettol brand line of products is sold in 120+ countries. The company has divided these countries into two groups based on consumer behaviour and places different marketing strategy in each of the region. ENA region which include Europe, North America, Australia, and New Zealand. The other group of countries is called DvM which has Asian, African and South American countries. DvM contributes to about 31% of the revenue. Dettol is available in all the major outlets like supermarket, retail shops and medical shops. Distribution channel adopted is normally traditional where Dettol sells the products to distributors who in turn sell it to wholesaler and retailers. Dettol also uses direct channel where it provides direct deliveries to the customers who place bulk orders like hospitals. Its personal care line of products is also available through e-retail platforms like Amazon.

Dettol has a rural development sales force (RDF) which covers rural areas.


Dettol Promotion & Advertising Strategy:

The promotional and advertising strategy in the Dettol marketing strategy is as follows:

Dettol spends heavily on advertisement. It uses paid medias of communication like radio Ads, TV ads and print Ads as a part of its marketing mix promotional strategy. As Dettol is a power brand, Reckitt Benckiser invests heavily on its brand building. Dettol has aligned its ad campaign to local needs and government policies like in India Dettol’s Ad campaigns have been around Swachh Bharat mission of Indian government. Dettol uses its owned media extensively. It has started publishing online articles on hygiene on its website teaching best practices to target groups like mothers. On its UK web portal, there are three categories of educational articles are posted one is for new mothers, the second one for the school starters and the third one on common infectious diseases. Thus, it strives to build a personal bonding through these initiatives. On image building part company has invested heavily on CSR activities like its latest “Give Life a Hand” campaign aims at teaching children across glob about importance of washing hands. Dettol has used digital media platforms like YouTube and Pinterest. It has used innovative ways of communication like through competition such as its “I have an even tone” challenge. Social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter are also used for promoting Dettol brand. Hence this concludes the Dettol marketing mix.


About Dettol:

Dettol is an antiseptic brand under Reckitt Benckiser and was launched in 1932. Its root is associated with chloroxylenol disinfectant which was 1st made in 1927 and is on the World Health Organisation’s list of essential medicines. Dettol is ranked one of the largest globally in antiseptic liquids segment with an annual sale of more than 100 billion bottles each year. Reckitt Benckiser has a “right portfolio strategy” under which it invests disproportionally on its power brand and power market. Dettol is one of its 19 power brands. Dettol is part of health and hygiene product portfolio which contributes for about 75% of Reckitt Benckiser’s annual revenue. Dettol brand was launched in India in 1933. Initially Dettol was only used at hospitals in surgical procedures for cleaning and disinfecting skin. Dettol has a very good brand perception and has been ranked among the ten most trusted brands in India.

The brand has a turnover of about INR 2000 crore and is the biggest brand of its parent company Reckitt Benckiser in India. It is the leader in antiseptic liquid category in India with 80-85% market share.

This article has been researched & authored by the Content & Research Team. It has been reviewed & published by the MBA Skool Team. The content on MBA Skool has been created for educational & academic purpose only.

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The names and other brand information used in the Marketing Strategy & Mix section are properties of their respective companies. The companies are not associated with MBA Skool in any way.

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