A Marketing study of Gillette company

1) Razor Stand for washroom - Gillette Mach 3 and Mach 3 turbo packs should be accompanied with a plastic stand that can be placed on the washroom wall next to the mirror. This would lead to added convenience for the user. A holder can be provided which could be used for keeping the razor along with other toiletries like tooth brush, tooth paste etc.

2) Travel Pouch for razor: it has been seen that most people face a problem in keeping their razor safely when travelling (in a way that does not damage the blade). Thus the company can provide a small (plastic/Rexene/polyester) pouch with mach3/mach3 turbo purchases or with a bulk (3-4) purchase of presto (as many people use presto while travelling rather than their normal Gillette razor)

3) Warranty card - As mentioned above, this could be included for all Mach 3 and Mach 3 razors and cartridges. It gives the buyer, especially those who perceive the product to be expensive a sense of value for money.

4) Information Leaflet - A leaflet could be included as a part of the pack which would include the following information

How to use Mach 3 - the ideal way

Cleaning your Mach 3 (tips like use of hot water is better than cold water)

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The ideal shave /tips on shaving

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relating to the user's experience with Mach 3 could be included as a tear sheet which consumers could send back to the company. It has two advantages

It gives valuable data to the company of what Mach 3 users think about and expect Размещено на http://www.allbest.ru/

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from the product

It makes the customer feel special.

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Gillette Shopping Card

Gillette could actually come up with the idea of launching a “Gillette shopping card” , one for supermarkets and another for locality stores.

In up-market departmental stores/supermarkets:

This would be exactly like a credit card minus the magnetic strip i.e. just like the Planet-M card, or the Ebony card. The card can be initially given with the purchase of a MACH 3 razor or the gift pack. When a customer makes a purchase, he automatically gets some points, which can be later redeemed for any product at the store, instead of just Gillette products. Also the card hРазмещено на http://www.allbest.ru/

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olders would be entitled for events like lucky draws, donor passes to musical events, tickets to a newly released cinema, discounts in select eating joints and shopping malls for transactions above a certain amount, even grocery items, etc.

Another way of getting a shopping card is to tie up with supermarkets and shopping malls, like Ebony, Big Bazaar, Giant, Nanz, etc. that have their own shopping cards. In this type of agreement, whenever a person buys a Gillette product, he would be given more points in Размещено на http://www.allbest.ru/

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addition to the normal points system followed by the store, which could be redeemed for any purchases from the store.

Advantages:

The incentive of redeeming points would surely induce the customer to buy Gillette products.

Since the range of products is betРазмещено на http://www.allbest.ru/

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ter displayed in a supermarket, a customer may be influenced to buy other Gillette products also; maybe even a higher version of the razor he usually buys.

The store would also be benefited as more customers would now be motivated to buy their Gillette products from them rather that a kirana store.

In locality stores:

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It would be issued at select merchant establishments that stock Gillette products. The cards would be for different pre approved values of 500/-, 1000/, 2000/- , carry a certain validity period and be used for purchasing Gillette products within that validity period. In case the total purchase value is less than the card value the customer would be reimbursed the remaining amount in cash. At the time when the customer purchases the card he would be entitled to certain sops like movie tickets, free passes to music concerts, lucky draws etc.

The merchant would be paid the cash value of the card upon depositing the same with the company.

Benefits:

The company is getting the consumer's commitment beforehand to make Gillette purchases in the coming future.

Privileged Gillette consumers would be eligible for attractive offers. They would feel different from users of other brands.

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The maximum benefits would be tagged with the highest value card. The nature of the benefits that would come with the card would be as mentioneРазмещено на http://www.allbest.ru/

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d before.

Youth

In our consumer survey, we realized that a majority of the respondents who were between 18-25 years of age were using Gillette because of a “sense of pride” apart from its `Brand value'. Gillette we believe stands to gain if it positions itself as the `Brand of the youth'. It can do this in two ways.

College Festivals

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Since the scope of our project is limited to NCR, we recommend that the company associates itself with festivals and other events carrying mass appeal in Delhi University ,Indraprastha University, IIT, DCE,etc.

The Gillette card

The youth is the segment that is most attracted to a concept like a shopping card, either exclusively for Gillette or one combined wiРазмещено на http://www.allbest.ru/

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th a store. They are, in fact, the most impulsive customers who would be influenced by add-ons like entry to musical shows, movies, etc.

Pitching retailer against retailer

We questioned even some retailers during the course of our project. Upon enquiry, we found out that competitors were giving a higher margin to the retailer than Gillette. The retailer is a very crucial element in the distribution strategy. He even plays a vital role in shaping the image of a product, which means he cannot be neglected for long. In spite of this, they do not have specific targets. Therefore, the company can actually fix incentive based targets.

The company could have a concept of monthly / quarterly lucky draw for retailers exceeding their targets and could keep a holiday package or high value consumer durable as the prize for the winner of the draw.

R & D : Giving a Technical push

At present along with the Malhotras, there are a number of local players in the market selling twin blade razors. Even though Gillette is the market leader there still is scope for them to increase their market share further. One way of doing this is to constantly come up with newer versions or products.

Gillette could also work on coming with special razors

For trimming corn and callous in the feet

To prevent skin irritation caused by shaving (people with sensitive skin)

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Single blade disposable (or non-disposable) for the more price conscious.

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Strong Advertising Pitch

Gillette has traditionally been using foreign models in its Mach3 ad campaigns & for its other products like vector plus, presto they have not used any specific Indian brand ambassador. Therefore, the amount of mind share that the ad is able to capture is on the lower side. (this is backed by our survey ).

It is suggested that the company uses an Indian model or actor or sports person to cash in on his appeal to promote its range of shaving razors.

Through our survey, we were able to narrow down on 4 choices: Sharukh Khan, Fardeen Khan, John Abraham and Sachin Tendulkar.

We believe that John Abraham would be best suited for a Gillette shaving range ad campaign because he generally remains unshaven and has that image in the public mind. Therefore a clean shaven John Abraham will have a lasting impact in the consumer's mind.

Also, all Gillette products except for Presto are manufactured outside India. The fact that none of their products (except Presto) are touched by a human hand is an additional selling point for the company and should be highlighted in a subtle manner in the advertisements. We found consumers lacked awareness of this fact and were impressed when they were told about this during the course of our survey.

The company can make use of the latest ad medium of SMS. The huge spurt in cell phone usage can be wisely tapped by Gillette for reaching its customers. Since this medium maybe costly so the company can use it for communicating offers and discounts on its products if not for general advertising .e.g. communicating the latest price cut on vector plus

Guerilla warfare

The company could occasionally take on its competitors completely by surprise by coming out with new and innovative Ideas.

Some possible strategies could be:

Vector plus free with purchases of INR 500 and above at select grocery / departmental stores

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Presto free with purchases of INR 200/250 and above at select grocery / departmental stores

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This would be in the nature of a limited period offer.

The above strategy can be extremely successful in penetrating those households (through the housewife) wherein the males of the household are loyal customers of another brand for years & no sales pitch or salesman can change their preference except maybe a experimental use of the free product.

The Barber Shop

3.9 billion blades are consumed annually in India, a third of which sits in barbershops. So technically, 50 per cent of the shaving population goes to barber shops.

Therefore Gillette could develop a strategy wherein its sales force specifically targets people frequenting barbershops.

The primary challenge in this regard is the cost per shave, which is much lower for a conventional double edge razor than for even the lowest variant of twin blade (Presto). It is not feasible to try and upgrade a price sensitive consumer in this segment.

We therefore suggest the following

1) Bulk Deals of Gillette 7'o Clock, Wilman & Wilkinson with Barbers :

The three come closest in the Gillette product chain to the low cost products of House of Malhotras. Barbers can be convinced & financially motivated to move from either unbranded blades or from competition to these basis the following strengths:

a) Demand is inelastic. The barber will always have a steady flow of customers. He can therefore afford to make bulk purchases (if given proper incentives).

b) A blade is a durable product. Bulk Purchases made can be stored with ease.

A barber provides numerous services apart from shaving like hair cuts, head massage, etc .customers waiting for their turn typically watch TV or flip through magazines. we suggest that the barbers could be given incentives to stock some of Gillette's razors & other products to attract the attention of waiting customers. This exercise may induce self shavers to make on the spot purchases and saloon shavers to try out new products

2) Making /Production of Shingle outside shops:

We suggest that Gillette starts a scheme wherein it makes the shingle carrying the name of the barbers shop. While it would produce these for the barber at a subsidized cost (i.e. less than what the barber would incur by getting it made himself), approximately a 10% strip at the bottom would be dedicated to the Gillette name and punch line.

This would help promote brand recall among consumers frequenting the shop and increases the possibility of them moving from barber shaving to self shaving. Since such an activity is not in line with Gillette's core competence, it could be outsourced to a third party.

3) Shaving Mugs & Brushes at Barber shop carrying Gillette name

It is suggested that Gillette could offer free shaving mugs and brushes to barbers who enter into Bulk deal contracts with it. These would have 'Gillette' along with its punch line embossed on them. A consumer typically sits for 10-15 minutes in a fixed position while getting a shave done. Since the consumer is not in a position to move/undertake any other activity during that time; we believe that this becomes a good strategy to get him thinking about Gillette- capturing his attention span. We further believe that this would definitely prompt a one time purchase of Gillette shaving products and may push the customer in the medium to long term towards self shaving.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

1. Porter, E Michael, Competitive Strategy: Techniques for Analyzing Industries and competitors,1970.

2. Kotler, Philip Marketing Management, chapters 3,5,6,8,9 and 13, the millennium edition, 2000.

3. Ries, Al and Trout, Jack, The 22 Immutable Laws Of Marketing

4. Ries, Al and Trout, Jack, Positioning, (few specific points)

5. http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/796982.cms

6. http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/761804.cms-

7. http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/757445.cms

8. http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/756896.cms

9. http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/705603.cms

10. http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/758829.cms

11. http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/665732.cms

12. http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/653580.cms

13. http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/648475.cms

14. http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/628507.cms

15. http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/575888.cms

16. http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/553014.cms

17. http://202.87.40.171/comp/CompanyIndex.asp

18. http://202.87.40.171/comp/ChairSpeech.asp

19. http://202.87.40.171/comp/News.asp

20. http://syndication.indiatimes.com/articleshow.cms?msid=19996485

21. http://www.valuenotes.com/krc/apr2001.asp?ArtCd=27039

22. http://www.mouthshut.com/readreview/31405-1.html

23. http://tss.indiatimes.com/sampet-mkting.htm

24. http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/cms.dll/articleshow?msid=185104

25. http://www.hindu.com/2003/10/30/stories/2003103001791603.htm

26. http://www.bcg.com/publications/publication_view.jsp?pubID=451&language=English

APPENDIX AND ANNEXURES

THE CONSUMER QUESTIONNAIRE:

Name:

Age:

Address:

Monthly Income/Expenses Groups:

o Up to Rs 5,000

o Above Rs 5,000 to Rs 10,000

o Above Rs 10,000 to Rs 15,000

o Above Rs 15,000 to Rs 20,000

o Above Rs 20,000

1 What brand do you associate with shaving razors/cartridges ?

_______________________________________________

1. From where is the razor/blade/cartridge generally purchased?

q Departmental store

q Chemist

q Grocery

q Gift Shops

q Locality store

q Other: _____________

2. Which razor do you use?

q Disposable

q Double Edged

q Twin Blade

q Triple Edged

( QUESTIONS IF RESPONDENT IS A DOUBLE EDGE USER )

1 How often do you shave?

q Daily

q Every alternate day

q Once in 3- 4 days

q Once a week

q Fortnightly

2 Which blade do you use?

q Laser

q Topaz

q Supermax

q 7'o clock

q Wilkinson

3) Reasons for your choice-

a) ( try and gauge natural response without giving options i.e. impromptu )

_________________________________________________

b) (give attributes and ask them to rank their preference in case respondent opts for more than one choice)

q dad or peer has been using it

q convenience of use

q quality of shave

q use of less shaving cream and/or water

q price

4) Have you faced any problems while using a Double edged razor?

q Problem of cuts

q Time consuming

q Maintenance and handling

5) Have you ever tried a twin blade razor?

If yes, why did you switch back to double-edge________________________

if no, reason for not trying ______________________________________

( QUESTIONS FOR TWIN/TRIPLE/DISPOSABLE RAZOR USER )

1. How often do you shave?

q Daily

q Every alternate day

q Once every 3-4 days

q Once a week

q Fortnightly

2. Reasons for your choice-

a) ( try and gauge natural response without giving options i.e. impromptu )

________________________________________________

b) (give attributes and ask them to rank their preference in case respondent opts for more than one choice)

q dad or peer has been using it

q convenience of use

q quality of shave

q use of less shaving cream and/or water

q price

3) Problems faced if any in twin edged?

q Cuts

q time consuming

q maintenance and handling

q clogging of hair

q hard shave

4) Have you ever used a double edged razor?

If yes, reasons for shifting to twin edged

_____________________________________________________________

5) Which razor /cartridge do you use?

Razor : Gillette / 7 o clock / Wilkinson / Wilman / Gallant

Cartridge: Gillette / 7 o clock / Wilkinson / Wilman / Gallant

6) If Gillette then which?

q Presto

q 7oclock

q Vector

q Sensor Excel

q Mach3

q Mach3 turbo

(For respondents who have never used Gillette or have moved away from it after using it)

1) Have you ever used a Gillette razor?

Yes- Why did you switch over to ____________________________

no---reasons? ____________________________________

a) unaware

b) associate it as a product of upper segment

c) problem in availability

d) price (if yes-are you aware that Gillette imports razors- if no then ask--does this knowledge change your perception?)

3) Which of the following attributes do you associate with Gillette; how do you rate them

Parametres	strongly agree	agree	disagree	strongly disagree
Value for money
Technology
Safety
Quality of shave
Sense of pride

3) Do you recall any ad of Gillette?

If yes, What do you like in the ad? _________________________________

What do you think was the intended message?________________________

Suggest a possible brand ambassador for Gillette.______________________

4) Is your buying behaviour affected when Gillette comes out with promotional schemes .

(price discounts, one cartridge free with 4,etc)

q Yes

q No

q Maybe

5) Did you know that 7'o clock and Wilkinson sword are actually Gillette products?

THE RETAILER QUESTIONNAIRE:

Name :

Address:

What are the different shaving products you deal in?

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Which all Gillette products do you deal in?

q Razors

q Shaving Gel / foam

q After Shave Gel

q After shave lotion

q Cartridges

q Deodorant

Which Gillette razors and cartridges do you deal in?

RAZORS	CARTRIDGES	MARGINS
Presto
Vector Plus
Sensor Excel
Mach 3
Mach 3 Turbo

What is the form of purchase?

q Cash

q Credit

q Both Combined

q Any other ____________

Please give details of retailers you supply to

Location	Number

What is the basis of delivery?

q Fixed / pre determined

If yes, please specify

o Weekly

o Fortnightly

o Monthly

q As and when the retailer orders

From where do they obtain the stocks?

q Directly from the company

q C&F agents

q Others

Any problems faced in purchasing of stocks? Were they properly handled?

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

What is the form of sale?

q Cash

q Credit

q Both combined

q Others

If the form is credit, then is there any scope for sales returns?

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Is there provision for online booking?

q Yes

q No

Is there any provision for Vendor feedback?

q Yes

q No

What are the competitive / other brands that you deal in?

RAZOR	CARTRIDGES	MARGIN ON RAZORS

How would you compare Gillette with others on the following parameters :

	GILLETTE	OTHERS
Margin on razor
Schemes to dealers
Delivery system
Convenience
Dealing with co./agents
Payment systems
Handling of stocks
Handling/solving problems/queries
Efficiency-online booking

COMPANY CHECKLISTS

Reasons for hike in price of Presto from Rs 7.5 to Rs 12 to Rs 15.

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Gillette ad strategy and why the company continues to pursue it despite poor ad recall.

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Reasons for advertising only at the time of new product launches and price cuts and not on a regular basis otherwise

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Reasons for not projecting Wilman and Wilkinson as products from Размещено на http://www.allbest.ru/

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the Gillette stable despite acquisition of ISPL

Cost to company of a Gillette wall

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Reasons for not playing upon the fact (in ads) that all Gillette shaving razors (except Presto) are imported and not locally manufactured.

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