D.

VINEET RAO (15103)

HOUSEHOLD PRODUCTS LIMITED

1.

Should the company launch the product nationally? If yes, what marketing plan
would you suggest? If no, what action plan would you suggest? And why?

The product should not be launched nationally. The reasons for it are the following
a.

It has not managed to achieve the target figure of 14% in either of the two cities which
is a concern if it is going national. It is around 5-5.5% while Jaymala has a share of around
13.8%
b.
The market share in Indore has been very low, despite the expectation that being a Hindu
city, it would connect to the purity argument.
c.
This may be due to the fact that Indore does not have a large market for high-priced toilet
soap, since even Jaymala has a 1.6% market share by value despite having nearly 14%
market share of market share
These values seem to fall well short of the expected targets of at least 10%. The following
steps must be taken
a.

Get more analysis as to the reasons for the low market share, and if possible determine
the reasons for the low share in Indore- something that was not expected.
b.
Try to determine if the claim of purity is ringing true with the customers (as the sales
have been very low in Indore- despite expectations). Also, this point was made in the
interviews.
c.
The perfume is being perceived as weak by the users, something that needs to be
improved on.
2.

Chart out the process followed by the company to introduce the new product.

a.

Segmentation of the brands on those that offered medical benefits, selling on appeal of
perfumes, and cosmetic appeal
The perfume segment was identified, and an additional value (purity) was added to it
The pricing of the product was fixed , and the product development was handed over to
R&D Dept. Product testing was done to determine the best of the final two shortlisted
products
Advertising Campaign for Sehra was designed
Test markets of Hyderabad and Indore were identified, and the product was launched
there
Various feedback mechanisms were put into place to gauge the performance of the
product sales data, shop audits, consumer panel, and also a consumer survey (results
pending)

b.
c.
d.
e.
f.

3.
a.

Evaluate the decisions taken at critical stages of the new product introduction

Product Concept The market segment targeted This decision seems well thought out
since the market of high-value soaps was not saturated, and the perfume segment was not
a bad decision. In addition the purity concept, while nice was not conveyed very effectively,
which was reported later
b.
Product Development Here, while a variety was developed, it appears that the
chosen fragrance was not evaluated on its strength during tests. Hence it was later pointed
out that the perfume was weak

D.VINEET RAO (15103)

HOUSEHOLD PRODUCTS LIMITED

c.

Advertisement An advertisement incorporating the purity angle, and the fragrance

was developed, which seems to be a good strategy
d.
Test Marketing Selection of the two cities appears to be done a little arbitrarily. Also,
while Indore should have responded well, it appears to not have done so, something that
needs to be figured out. Also, Indore and Hyderabad were used to test only the
purity/animal fat content benefit. Other cities might have been considered in terms of
various preferences in terms of perfumes themselves