THE CURRENT SITUATION OF DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION IN MARKETING OF PHU THAI HEALTH AND BEAUTY CARE JOINT STOCK COMPANY

FOREIGN TRADE UNIVERSITY
FACULTY OF BUSINESS ENGLISH
--------***--------

MID TERM REPORT
Major: Business English
THE CURRENT SITUATION OF
DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION IN MARKETING
OF PHU THAI HEALTH AND BEAUTY CARE
JOINT STOCK COMPANY
Student full name
Student ID
Class
Intake
Supervisor

: Bá Thị Vân Anh
: 1817710004
: English 3 - K57 - FBE
: K57
: Nguyễn Thị Hiền Hạnh, M.A.

Hanoi, August 2021

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS..................................................................................................... i
LIST OF FIGURES................................................................................................................... ii
LIST OF TABLES..................................................................................................................... ii

INTRODUCTION..................................................................................................................... 1
CHAPTER 1: AN OVERVIEW OF PHU THAI HEALTH AND BEAUTY
CARE JOINT STOCK COMPANY.................................................................................... 3
1.1. Company Overview....................................................................................................... 3
1.1.1. History......................................................................................................................... 3
1.1.2. Mission & vision...................................................................................................... 4
1.1.3. Organizational structure....................................................................................... 5
1.1.4. Lines of Business..................................................................................................... 7
1.2. Internship activities...................................................................................................... 8
CHAPTER 2: AN ANALYSIS OF DIGITAL MARKETING
TRANSFORMATION OF PHU THAI HEALTH AND BEAUTY CARE
JOINT STOCK COMPANY.................................................................................................. 8
2.1. Theoretical basis of digital marketing transformation.................................. 10
2.1.1. Growth of digital economy.................................................................................. 10
2.1.2. Digital marketing transformation framework.............................................. 13
2.2. Current situation of digital transformation in marketing activities of Phu
Thai Health and Beauty Care Joint Stock Company.............................................. 16
2.2.1. Marketing activities for Wella brand on digital platform..........................16
2.2.2. Assessment............................................................................................................... 19
CHAPTER 3: RECOMMENDATIONS.......................................................................... 23
3.1. Design for Customer-Led Positioning.................................................................. 23
3.2. Redesign Advertising as Interactive and Integrated Marketing
Communication Education and Entertainment........................................................ 23
3.3. Track for Data and Feedbacks................................................................................ 24
CONCLUSION......................................................................................................................... 25
REFERENCES

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
It is my pleasure to give my gratitude to many people whose encouragement,
support and assistance were crucial to the result of my field report.
First and foremost, I am particularly grateful for the guidance given by my
supervisor, Mrs. Nguyen Thi Hien Hanh, with her dedicated advisory and
suggestions in writing of this report despite her limitation of time. Her
encouragement really plays an important role in the success of my report.
In addition, I would like to express my special thanks to Phu Thai Health and
Beauty Care Joint Stock Company in general and Human Resource Department staff
in particular for the experience during my internship. Ms. Nguyen Thuy An provides
me with not only the key documents but also the great knowledge and support.
My sincere thanks are extended to my friends and family who supported me
during the internship and in writing this report.

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LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1.1: Proportion of shares of Phu Thai Holdings
Figure 1.2: Organizational Structure of Phu Thai HBC., JSC
Figure 2.1: Scope of digital economy
Figure 2.2: Types of Digital Marketing
Figure 2.3: Facebook analytic insights in July of Wella Professionals page
(2021)
Figure 2.4: Comparison on Social Media Business Indicators
from May to July (2021)

LIST OF TABLES
Table 1.1: A number of staff of each department in Phu Thai HBC.,JSC
Table 2.1: The Six Stages of Digital Transformation

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INTRODUCTION
1. Rational
Vietnam has gained positive changes in recent years, from a centrally planned
economy to a market economy with the management of the government. In the
situation of both economic innovation and globalization, marketing in the digital era
has increasingly played an important role in all businesses in terms of many aspects.
Digital Marketing has satisfied customers' satisfaction and standard of living. Also,
marketing helps businesses perform flexible business activities, seize opportunities
and customers’ demands, thereby finding out strategies to satisfy the demands.
Moreover, there are always a number of companies that major in the same
lines of business and have their own methods of operating and different strengths in
domestic and international markets as well. Hence, it is truly difficult for a company
to sustain its position in the market if it does not have its own way. Phu Thai Health
and Beauty Care Joint Stock Company (Phu Thai HBC.,JSC) is not an exception. In
spite of being aware of this and having always made changes in strategies, especially
marketing strategies to keep up with the digital trend, Phu Thai HBC.,JSC is a
newcomer in the first day of digital transformation. The company needs to have
strategic plans to go deeper into this competitive market when having awareness of
the importance of marketing especially marketing in digital era in both production
and expansion activities and to have further understandings of business operation.
Based on all the above reasons, I decided to write a report on the topic of
"The current situation of digital transformation in marketing of Phu Thai Health
and Beauty Care Joint Stock Company''.
2. Objectives of the report
Internship at Phu Thai Health and Beauty Care Joint Stock Company is a
great opportunity for me to apply the knowledge and skills I have been taught at the

university as well as what I learned and experienced for practice. I would like to
write this report to thoroughly analyze the current situation of digital transformation
process of the company and then finding some the most suitable solutions to fix it;

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help the company reach its target customer and enhance business performance in
conducting marketing strategies.
3.

Scope of the report

The report only analyzes the data of the primary product line of the company
– Wella Professionals in domestic activities, excluding foreign activities of
marketing department.
4.

Methodology:

To accomplish this report, I used the method of synthesizing, observing and
analyzing. Coming to detail, I synthesized data from the annual financial statements
of the company and other related documents; then applied it to the analysis of
business performance, which shows the effectiveness of marketing strategies. During
my internship period, I also synthesized information that I collected by observing the
whole picture of the working process at my company. After that, I analyzed that
information to figure out what advantages of the company are and what problems
still exist as well when doing digital transformation in marketing activities, and then
to find recommendations for the company. I hope it is useful for not only Phu Thai
HBC.,JSC in considering applying them to their operation but also newcomers who

attend the company in the future so that they can adapted to this workplace quickly.
5.

Structure of the report

Except for the table of contents, acknowledgment, list of tables and figures,
introduction, conclusion and references, this report covers three chapters:
Chapter I: An overview of Phu Thai Health and Beauty Care Joint Stock
Company
Chapter II: An analysis of digital marketing transformation of Phu Thai
Health and Beauty Care Joint Stock Company
Chapter III: Recommendations
The first chapter is about the overview of Phu Thai HBC.,JSC to introduce a
general look about this company. In the second chapter, I mention specific activities
in the Marketing Department in terms of digital transformation to catch up with the
trend and give some personal assessment. The final one is recommendations about

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improving marketing strategies from my research and reflection to enhance business
performance in the digital era.
CHAPTER 1: AN OVERVIEW OF PHU THAI HEALTH AND BEAUTY
CARE JOINT STOCK COMPANY
1.1. Company Overview
English name: PHU THAI HEALTH AND BEAUTY CARE JOINT STOCK
COMPANY
Vietnamese name: CÔNG TY CỔ PHẦN CHĂM SÓC SỨC KHỎE VÀ SẮC
ĐẸP PHÚ THÁI
Abbreviated name: PHU THAI HBC.,JSC

Business code: 0106697782
Date of issue: 21/11/2014
Address: No. 192/19 Thai Thinh Street, Lang Ha Ward, Dong Da District,
Hanoi
Director: Nguyen Thi Trang
1.1.1. History
Phu Thai Health and Beauty Care Joint Stock Company (PHU THAI
HBC.,JSC) was established in December 2009, with a registered head office address
at 192/19 Thai Thinh, Dong Da District, Hanoi City. The company is a subsidiary in
the Phu Thai Holdings ecosystem which includes other companies such as Phu Thai
Industry Co., Ltd. Phu Thai Agriculture Joint Stock Company, Kowil Vietnam
Fashion Joint Stock Company, Phu Thai Industrial Equipment Co., Ltd., Phu Thai
Beauty and Health Care Joint Stock Company, Real Estate Joint Stock Company Phu
Thai…

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Figure 1.1: Proportion of shares of Phu Thai Holdings
(Source: Phu Thai Holdings 2020)
Phu Thai HBC.,JSC specializes in trading and distributing health and beauty
care products and services of a number of large corporations in the world. Also, it is
a main part of the Wholesale of other household products industry. In Vietnam, Phu
Thai HBC.,JSC has been the exclusive distributor of the products of the global
company Wella in Vietnam. Wella Company from Germany is the top 1 brand in the
world for professional hair care products with over 140 years of developing products
that are always at the forefront of quality, trends, creativity and focus on the benefits
and health of Salon and consumers. Consumers may find it familiar with some Wella
product names such as System Professional (SP), Elements, Nioxin.
Phu Thai HBC.,JSC has a total of 20 employees across all its locations

divided in 5 main departments: sales, accounting, marketing, inventory and
education & training.
1.1.2. Mission & vision
Phu Thai Holdings as well as its subsidiary, Phu Thai HBC.,JSC has been a
prestigious and quality bridge between the companies, manufacturers and consumers,
contributing significantly to the circulation of goods as well as promoting the retail
market with its distribution and logistics system. According to company introduction
in Phu Thai Holdings portfolio, its vision and mission is:
1.1.2. Vision

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“To become the leading logistics and distribution group in Vietnam”.
1.1.3. Mission
As a company with high professionalism and internationalization, Phu Thai
Group and Phu Thai HBC.,JSC as well is now constantly working creatively to build
the company to become more and more mature, growing in all aspects, actively
integrating into the international economy, creating create many jobs, stabilize the
life of workers and fully contribute socio-economic obligations to the state with the
mission of:
1. Provide a variety of quality products and services to serve the needs of
consumers.
2. To establish the organization's core competencies by having effective
network coverage, systems, skilled people and cost effectiveness.
3. To provide full distribution solutions as both integrated distribution and
logistics service providers.
4. To coordinate operations between business units to achieve a single strong
and diverse entity.
5.

To provide profitable and profitable growth for our stakeholders.

1.1.3. Organizational structure
The organizational structure of the company is relatively simple with four
divisions managed under the direction of CEO Nguyen Thi Trang. Human
Resource’s scale of the company is small, with twenty employees distributed in the
following departments.
The organizational structure of Phu Thai HBC., JSC will be mentioned below:

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Figure 1.2: Organizational Structure of Phu Thai HBC., JSC
(Source: Phu Thai HBC.,JSC, 2017)
Chief Executive Officer (CEO) is the highest-ranking executive in a
company, whose primary responsibilities include making major corporate decisions,
managing the overall operations and resources of a company, meeting and
negotiating with partners and being the public face of the company.
Accounting Department manages the company’s cash flow which includes
cash inflows and cash outflows. This department is responsible for accounting,
auditing, organizing, making financial decisions and also producing the company’s
financial statements.
Sales Department is responsible for directly generating revenue. The sales
department is tasked to ensure that the sale of products and services results in profit
through the distribution channels of the company. The sales department coordinates
with the marketing department in terms of brand-awareness, product-launching and
more.
Marketing Department is responsible for promoting the business to target
customers to generate sales and help the company grow. Its function involves

creating various marketing strategies and planning promotional campaigns. They are
also responsible for monitoring competitor’s activities.
Human Resource & Training Department is responsible for recruiting the
right people with the required skills, qualifications and experiences; then

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determining the salary and wages of different job positions in the company. They’re
also involved in training employees for their development.
Inventory positions is responsible for accounting of items and checking
stock situation for sales to ensure that you have enough stock on-hand and to identify
when there’s a shortage.
In each department, the manager will be the person who takes charge in
monitoring and supervising all tasks going smoothly. They map out strategies, plan
and implement to employees to ensure a positive business performance in the end.
However, only Inventory does not essentially need a manager because of company
size and simple features of workload. This is a basic organizational structure that we
meet in all Small and Medium Size Companies (SMEs). The structure helps
companies operate effectively, ensuring companies have good human resources for
distributing Wella products to market. Each department works closely with each
other to boost profits. If Phu Thai HBC.,JSC loses any positions, it’s hard to keep
running business in the market.
Below is the division of labor in each specific department of Phu Thai
HBC.,JSC that join into business of company:
Table 1.1: A number of staff of each department in Phu Thai HBC.,JSC
(unit: person)
Department
Accounting
Sales

Marketing
HR & Training
Inventory
(Source: Adapted by the author, 2021)
The Sales and Marketing Department account for the majority of company’
employees because of its direct importance in giving Wella products to target
customers. The two departments coordinate to help raise brand-awareness, product-

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launching and other marketing strategies. The Sale response for spread marketing
campaigns to retailers and/or end customers.
The majority of the employees are from college; 75% of which has bachelor
degree and 20% of employees have college degrees. There is only one employee
with a high school degree who is a hairstylist in the HR & Training department.
1.1.4. Lines of Business
Phu Thai HBC.,JSC’s subject is specialized in doing business on Wholesale of
other household products and classified in the following areas:
-

NACE 46.45 Wholesale of perfume and cosmetics

-

NACE 46.46 Wholesale of pharmaceutical goods

-

NACE 46.47 Wholesale of furniture, ca

-

NAICS 4232 Furniture and Home Furnishing Merchant Wholesalers

NAICS 4236 Household Appliances and Electrical and Electronic
Goods
Merchant Wholesalers
As the exclusive distributor of Wella Company products in Vietnam, Phu Thai
is currently distributing and trading the following main products:
Wella Professionals: with the strength of color, curling, straightening, care
product lines, was born in 1880.
System Professional: the world's most advanced and popular hair care
product line, born in 1974.
Nioxin: the world's best thinning hair care product line for 17 years in a row,
used by more than 90% of Americans for hair loss treatment.
Besides, there are familiar hair tools and appliances widely used in the hair
industry such as curling irons, curling irons, dryers, trolleys, etc.
1.2. Internship activities
I had the opportunity to practice at Phu Thai HBC., JSC within 1 month (from
June 12 to August 13, 2021) at the Marketing Department under the guidance of
Marketing Manager Ms. Nguyen Thuy An.
The time I joined the company to practice was also when Ms.An has just
taken over her position at the company. At that time, the company's marketing
department had only two employees, who are Ms.An and another employee.


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Realising the importance of digital marketing, in particular its importance for the
development and market expansion of the company, the director - Ms. Trang along
with Ms.An has expanded the department’s scope with two more positions which are
marketing specialists.
Therefore, my tasks in the company changes a little bit in two phrase:
At first, in the first half of July, when the company has not yet recruited two
specialists in the department, I work as Ms. An's assistant, mainly supporting her
with simple tasks that help me get used to the new workplace environment and to the
job as well. The main task every day is to write and organize posts in Facebook fan
pages, book press, seed articles on groups and channels, translate related documents,
create consumer surveys or forms, brainstorming for marketing strategies and so on.
Then, in the rest half of July, when the company has recruited two new
marketing specialist, I am assigned the right tasks as a digital marketing content
writer:
Planning and writing content for online sales channels and social media
(Facebook, Instagram), posting 1 post per day per channel.
Working closely with other teams to support marketing events/campaigns.
Doing market research trends, products & services and objects related to
projects; wrote reports
Contacting and following agency seeding ads on groups, forum, e-news
(Saostar, Kenh14).
Besides, I can participate in internal training activities to help me improve my
expertise and network and meet job performance.

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CHAPTER

2:

AN

ANALYSIS

OF

DIGITAL

MARKETING

TRANSFORMATION OF PHU THAI HEALTH AND BEAUTY CARE JOINT
STOCK COMPANY
2.1. Theoretical basis of digital marketing transformation
2.1.1. Growth of digital economy
The definition of what constitutes the digital economy has evolved over time,
this research uses a definition proposed in a report of Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) by (Bukht and Heeks, 2017, p17) “That part of
economic output derived solely or primarily from digital technologies with a
business model based on digital goods or services.” To this definition it has been
suggested that inclusion of broader trends, such as platformization, digital
transformation in data and e-commerce, is needed for making policy evaluations.

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Figure 2.1 below depicts a broad definition of the scope of the digital economy that
is reported in the (OECD, 2017) report.

Figure 2.1: Scope of digital economy
(Source: OECD report by Bukht and Heeks, 2017) According to an article’s

definition by Forbes, digital transformation requires 3 distinct pillars: Customer
experience (CX) and engagement (social
media), operational process and business processes. I-Scoop goes one step further,
defining digital transformation as: “the profound transformation of business and
organizational activities, processes, competencies and models to fully leverage the
changes and opportunities of a mix of digital technologies and their accelerating
impact across society in a strategic and prioritized way, with present and future shifts
in mind.” In plain terms, digital transformation is the application of digital
technologies (like desktop-as-a-service or DaaS) in order to impact all aspects of
business and society.
Understanding broader from the definition of digital transformation, a digital
transformation in marketing refers to the shift from digital complacency to the

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active pursuit of digital excellence through the proper usage and optimization
of your digital channels. More specifically, this means refining your digital
channels to gain deeper insights that inform your approach and improve the
customer journey.
Drivers of digital transformation in marketing
In looking at common threads across these waves of change, there are three
key factors or drivers of change that have emerged.
The first is the influence of new technology for communication,
transportation & industry infrastructure stemming from the digitalization of business
processes. These new technologies have been characterized by increasing
productivity of production and distribution and increased interconnections between
technologies leading to lower costs and increased consumer convenience.
The second has been the development of new forms of competition that have
evolved to offer consumers better value. They rely on an integration on new

technologies deployed in a manner to give consumer’s 24/7 access to products,
information and communication. Therefore, business capability is tightly linked to
technological capabilities and the development of business models.
The third is manifested by changing consumer preferences. Here changing
demographics and consumer values are key drivers of changing consumer
preferences.
Stages of digital transformation (in marketing)
Brian Solis, the principal analyst at Altimeter, studies digital technologies and
their effects on businesses and society. In his recent report “Six Stages of Digital
Transformation”, he notes that digital transformation is one of the most important
trends for businesses today and details the 6 stages that an organization would go
through on the journey.
Table 2.1: The Six Stages of Digital Transformation
Business as usual

Organizations operate with a familiar legacy perspective of
customers, processes, metrics, business models, and technology,
believing that it remains the solution to digital relevance.

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Present and
Active

Pockets of experimentation are driving digital literacy and
creativity, albeit disparately, throughout the organization while
aiming to improve and amplify specific touchpoints and
processes.
Experimentation becomes intentional while executing at more

Formalized

promising and capable levels. Initiatives become bolder, and, as a
result, change agents seek executive support for new resources
and technology.

STAGE

Strategic

Individual groups recognize the strength in collaboration as their
research, work, and shared insights contribute to new strategic
roadmaps that plan for digital transformation ownership, efforts,
and investments.
A dedicated digital transformation team forms to guide strategy
and operations based on business and customer- centric goals.

Converged

The new infrastructure of the organization takes shape as roles,
expertise,

models,

processes,

and

systems

to

support

transformation are solidified.
Digital transformation becomes a way of business as executives

Innovative and
Adaptive

and strategists recognize that change is constant. A new
ecosystem is established to identify and act upon technology and
market trends in pilot and, eventually, at scale.

(Source: Altimeter Cognizant 2016)
2.1.2. Digital marketing transformation framework
Modern marketing relies on technology to analyze the comprehensive
performance of a marketing campaign, and help guide future strategies and decision
making. Digital marketing is any marketing initiative that leverages online media
and the internet through connected devices such as mobile phones, home computers,
or the Internet of Things (IoT). Common digital marketing initiatives center around
distributing a brand message through search engines, social media, applications,
email, and websites.
Today, digital marketing often focuses on reaching a customer with
increasingly conversion-oriented messages across multiple channels as they move
down the sales funnel. Ideally, marketing teams will be able to track the role each of

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these messages and/or channels played in reaching their ultimate goal. To engage
successfully in the digital era, marketing activities in the business need to apply
effectively the following digital marketing channels. It is not necessary that the
company follow all of the channels because it requires a variety of resources from
capital to human resource to implement the channels. In fact, the company needs to
focus on main channels to maximize marketing performances and make a great
impact on target consumers.
8 Types of Digital Marketing Strategies
In short, a digital marketing strategy uses tools that you use online. 8 common
platforms for digital marketing include social media, influencer marketing, content
marketing, email, search engine optimization (SEO), pay-per-click (PPC), affiliate,
and mobile. Let’s take a deeper look at each:

Figure 2.2: Types of Digital Marketing
(Source: Chaffey and Smith, 2017)
1. Social Media Marketing Platforms
Todays’ consumers are highly reliant on social media platforms such as
Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter. This is why it is essential that brands

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are active across accounts. Consider these statistics. On average users have about 8
social media accounts. An average of 2 hours and 22 minutes are spent on social
media per person per day. Out of the 5.11 billion people who have a phone, 3.26
billion access social media using it.
Social media platforms allow marketers to reach their prospects in a myriad
of way. First, marketing teams can use these channels to distribute paid ads and
sponsored content. While each platform is different, most have capabilities that

allow marketing teams to place ads based on location, job title, interests, age, etc.
Social media is also a great way to promote products or resources organically to your
followers, and engage with consumers, cultivate positive experiences and customer
loyalty. Finally, marketing teams can use social media to build their brand and
establish a voice that can make them popular to follow and share. For example,
Wendy’s flippant and funny tone has made them exceptionally popular on Twitter,
commonly earning likes, retweets, and responses.
2. Influencer Marketing
Another effective way to harness digital channels to reach target audiences is
with influencer marketing. Brands can partner with celebrities, sites, or others that
are considered experts in their field, that share similar values. Here is an example of
influencer marketing: GoPro partnered up with this Colorado-based influencer, Loki,
whose followers include many outdoor enthusiasts. This put their product in front of
their target audience, with a recommendation from a like-minded, trustworthy
source.
3. Email Marketing
Email marketing campaigns allow organizations to stay connected with
prospects and customers, sending them customized newsletters or offers based on
past shopping history or brand engagements. If an individual has interacted with a
few of your branded touchpoints – like an email offer for 10 percent off the items
they have been considering, or free shipping - that may be what ultimately brings
about a conversion.
4. Content Marketing

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Content marketing allows marketing teams to be proactive in answering their
users’ questions. Marketing teams create content, videos, and other assets to answer
questions or provide context to consumers throughout the three stages of the buyer’s

journey:
-

The awareness stage: Buyer realizes they have a need

-

The consideration stage: Buyer determines a course of action to meet

this need
-

The decision stage: Buyer decides on a product / service to purchase to

meet the need
5. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Marketing
Search engine optimization often goes hand in hand with content marketing.
When the customer from the above example is conducting research for which gym
shoes to buy, they will probably click on one of the first three results that appear on
Google. With this in mind, the athletic shoes’ marketing team wants to ensure their
article appears in those top results.
6. Pay-per-click (PPC)
Pay-per-click is a form of paid advertising that allows marketing teams to
essentially purchase traffic to their website. Marketers place ads on websites or
search engines such as Google and Microsoft Bing, and pay a fee each time the ad is
clicked on. These ads often appear at the top of the search results page, andare
typically determined by bids on specific keywords, while banner ads on websites
usually have set prices.
7. Affiliate Marketing
Affiliate marketing is similar to referral programs, it involves working with

outside individuals or companies under the agreement that they promote your
product in exchange for a commission from each sale that can be attributed to their
efforts. This is a way to cut down on costs and outsource some of the heavy lifting of
promotion, however, you’re putting your brand's reputation in someone else’s hands,
so this type of marketing often requires more extensive monitoring and tracking.

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An example of affiliate marketing would be when an ad running on a podcast or
radio show offers a discount code for listeners to use when purchasing the product.
The customer may receive 30% off their purchase, for example, and in return, the
show gets a small percentage of each purchase that is made using the code.
8. Mobile Marketing
Mobile marketing initiatives can include many of the digital marketing
strategies mentioned above, and typically leverage a combination of text messages,
social media, email, push notifications, and mobile applications. With the clear move
to mobile, marketers need to think about how they can optimize their current
marketing efforts for mobile to be able to deliver a seamless and user-friendly
experience.
2.2. Current situation of digital transformation in marketing activities of Phu
Thai Health and Beauty Care Joint Stock Company
2.2.1. Marketing activities for Wella brand on digital platform
First, let’s take a look at the marketing situation in Phu Thai HBS.,JSC
compared to Digital Marketing Transformation framework.
Going through 6 stages of digital transformation in marketing is inevitable to
every company on the journey in the scenario of Industry 4.0. The problem here is
now or later depending on the company’s capacities. The transformation of Phu Thai
HBS.,JSC stops at Stage 3 (conducting experimentations based on online platforms)
for the following reasons:

1.

Using common social media such as Facebook, Instagram to approach

target customers. Facebook is the main channel to public product
information/content and events to customers. Specifically, 3 main Facebook
pages for Wella product brands are Wella Professionals, System Professionals
(SP) and Nioxin in which closed deals are mainly made. Instagram and
Website is created but not active usually; so its traffic is not counted for
marketing performance.
2.

Launching stores on E-commerce platforms (Shopee, Tiki, Lazada). In

the context of customers shopping behavior changes online, especially in the
Covid-19 pandemic, it is important for the company to engage in e-

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commerce channels to level up its competitiveness. Phu Thai has official
stores for Wella products on 2 channels: Shopee and Lazada.
3.

Booking influencers and KOLs to build trust on products. Customers

purchase when they trust and trust is built from someone they know, they
admire and are interested in.
However, the marketing activities still have limitations. All of these activities
stop at the planning and implementing phase without effective conversion.

-

No useful insights of customer demand to improve the next marketing

campaigns.
-

Lack of financial resources: Getting engagement in digital platforms

requires a large amount of instant capital for advertising, agency outsourcing,
KOL booking, and many other activities.
-

Lack of executive support and commitment: Senior company

leadership is still fully behind the transformation effort. Therefore,
transforming marketing functions will become just another project and a side
job for a few.
-

Staff and company culture have not been ready to go digital and open

to high technologies.
To go beyond Stage 3, the company must make changes to the company
culture to be successful and manage to wade through the roadblocks of entrenched
work culture and executive buy-in and have moved towards creating a strategic
roadmap. Individual groups and departments have recognized the power and strength
in digital collaboration and are moving towards investments in technologies that will
transform the business.
Today, digital marketing often focuses on reaching a customer with

increasingly conversion-oriented messages across multiple channels as they move
down the sales funnel. However, among 8 types of marketing strategies, Phu Thai is
at 4 common channels: social media, influencer marketing, content marketing,
affiliate. In July, the marketing department launchs a promotion for all Wella line
products to boost sales in the quarantine time. At the same time, the company makes
funny content especially videos related to the Covid-19 and hosts a live stream on


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page to both increase interaction and raise social responsibility. All programs run on
online sites such as Facebook, Instagram and Tiktok.
Below is data illustration on social media as main tool of Wella’s marketing
strategy in Figure 2.3:

Figure 2.3: Facebook analytic insights in July of Wella Professionals page
(Source: Wella Professionals Facebook page) The data collected by the Facebook
team shows analytics insights on Wella Professionals Facebook page in July 2021. In
general, the page has positive signals through indicators. The number of page views
in this month reaches 528 views and Page previews is 9 views. In this month, page
likes increase 162 likes compared to the previous month. The red arrow below the
numbers shows if the indicator is up or down compared usually to the last week
according to the Facebook policy, not the last month. Therefore, the indicator might
be down at that time but it increases in the whole month as we see in the next part.
Finally, total posts go up significantly for 30 posts is 32,060 reaches, up 3% thanks
to the new marketing campaign. The data insights allow the company to grasp its
business health on social media to
make right decisions on the next programs.
2.2.2. Assessment

Although Industry 4.0 emerges very soon before in the world in general and in
Vietnam in particular, it seems to be hard for Vietnamese enterprises, especially
SMEs to make digital transformation comprehensively. They are in the very first
stage of the transformation mostly because of limited resources of capital, high

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