CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR

Case Analysis on
Super Shampoo Products and the Indian Mass Maret
Su!mitted !y"
#roup $%
Ronit O&ra
Arpita 'oshi
Srishti Siaria
Astha (Atta
Su!mitted on"
)*+*%+)*,-
Institute o. Mana&ement/ Nirma Uni0ersity
For Office Use:
Grade
Executive Summary
The case is about Mr.Suresh Venkatraman who wants to launch his own shampoo brand in the rural areas of
Karnataka and before he does that he is trin! to anal"e that how does the rural market respond to
consumer products and how this can be used for successful launch. #t present he has two options bein!
either manufacturin! bottles plus sachets or $ust sachets which has been accepted in the rural market. The
launchin! of the product should be phased %phase & bein! launch of sachets so as to understand the
acceptance of the product and then later comin! out with the bottles. The brand can be positioned as hi!h
'ualit brand
.
Situation Analysis
The case is about the detailed analsis of the shampoo market both rural and urban. (t features Mr.suresh
Venkatraman who is interested in the shampoo se!ment of the consumer product and is studin! a detailed
analsis of the sur)e to understand the impact of marketin! communication on consumer beha)ior.
The Fmc! marketin! in the (ndian scenario is poised at US *&+ billion in ,-&- and this shampoo market.s
share in this is of /s 0- billion and en$oed considerable consumer awareness in both rural and urban
se!ment. #lthou!h the market of shampoo was characteri"ed b low fre'uenc users in the lar!e se!ment%
this presented a hu!e opportunit to new plaers.The top competitors were 1U2% cal)in and care and dabur.
345 of the total market was contributed b the rural market and the important medium of communication
was tele)ision and melas which could be used for lar!e scale consumer awareness !eneration.
Mr. Venkatraman launched his own shampoo in the rural market with the name Super shampoo. 1e
conducted a sur)e to understand how he could tap the rural market and how he should henceforth desi!n
marketin! strate!ies and decide on how to tackle the e6istin! competitors.
.
Problem Statement
Successfull launchin! the shampoo brand 7Super8 in South (ndia
Alternatives
&. 2aunch the shampoo in primar stock keepin! units 9SKUs: i.e. bottles and sachets both as per
current cate!or norms
,. Offer the shampoo in sachets SKUs onl as the tar!et !eo!raph is rural South (ndia
Evaluation of Alternatives
&. 2aunch the shampoo in primar stock keepin! units 9SKUs: i.e. bottles and sachets both as per
current cate!or norms
Mr. Venkataraman does not ha)e prior e6perience in this business and since plans on tar!etin! the rural area
of South (ndia% followin! the leaders would be a safe option. The top three plaers in the shampoo market
9namel ;linic <lus% 1ead = Shoulders and ;hik: alread offer their brands in bottles ran!in! from ,3ml to
3--ml and also in sachets ran!in! from 3ml to +ml. #lso% the rural consumers ha)e a willin!ness to spend
e6tra on products that will offer )alue and with hi!h penetration of media in rural areas% the awareness le)els
of rural consumers are hi!h. Thus% the want is backed b the abilit to pa% which means the demand e6ists.
This makes it eas for Mr. Venkatraman to launch the product successfull in the path alread chalked out
b the market leaders. The flip side to this is the fact >-5 of sales of shampoo brands occurs in sachets%
especiall in South (ndia sachets ha)e hu!e popularit. Venturin! into an unchartered territor that re'uires
in)estments on a lar!e scale% and !oin! all in at the first tr would not be wise. The other plaers are well
established and ha)e other S?Us to support an loss made b a sin!le shampoo brand in a sin!le market.
1ence launchin! in bottles as well as sachets is a hi!h@risk step.
,. Offer the shampoo in sachets SKUs onl as the tar!et !eo!raph is rural South (ndia
/ural area consumers in the south (ndian re!ion contribute to 4-5 of the total shampoo sales )olumes. From
A6hibit + ou can see the mean )alue for 7( alwas tr new products in small 'uantities first8 is )er hi!h.
This clearl indicates the demand for the new option and small window of acceptance for the same. The
drawback for this could be the fact that BSuper. will not be competin! on le)el !round with the other plaers
that offer more )ariet in terms of SKU si"e. ?ut since there is a difference in financial muscle stren!th
between the established companies and Super% it will be able to match up in due course of time.
Recommendation
Mr. Venkatraman sees hu!e opportunit in the lower economic strata of consumers in the rural area. #lso% he
is fascinated b the sin!le use packa!in! of shampoo brands that ha)e made the product a)ailable to these
strata of consumers. 1e is )er clear about the cate!or and tar!et audience and hence it makes sense to
launch the product in phases. <hase & should be sachet SKUs and later on% dependin! on the acceptance of
the product% bottle SKUs can be launched. From A6hibit >% ou can tell that rural consumers belie)e in the
functional aspect of the shampoo% and also feel more confident after usin! it. C.& is a )er hi!h mean )alue
for 7( alwas bu shampoos in sachets onl8 which et a!ain supports the recommendation. The Shampoo
;ate!or Duestionnaire D+ is also a stron! e)idence of the fact that practicall all the rural consumers bu
shampoo sachets onl.
The ne6t challen!e is to market the brand successfull so as to compete with the current plaers. One ke
recommendation here is that Super should position itself as the hi!h 'ualit brand that has a local appeal.
The word Super associates itself with Superiorit and the product should satisf the aspirations of the users.
4 Ps Analysis:
</OEU;T:
F45 of respondents use Shikakai to wash their hair 9from A6hibit >:. There are no such products a)ailable
currentl in this market 9from A6hibit 0:. 1ence this is the !ap that Super should tr to fill which will !i)e a
local feel to the brand. The respondents like to spend time and e6tra mone to take care of their hair and
hence this product would be a perfect fit.
</(;A:
Since the product is bein! launched in sachets% Mr. Venkatraman should adopt the competiti)e pricin!
approach. The brand should be priced in a wa to induce trials.
<2#;A:
The tar!et !roup is pre defined b Mr. Venkatraman% which is G /ural South (ndia. Since he has conducted
the sur)e in small towns of Karnataka@ ?idadi and 1oskote% it is safe to assumer that this could be the place
that he wishes to distribute his product in.
</OMOT(OH:
The respondents clearl are influenced b 0 factors 9A6hibit +:
1. TV
2. ;elebrities
3. /eference !roups that include famil and friends and local kirana walas
From the Shampoo ;ate!or Duestionnaire 9A6hibit >: D0 and D> show TV and /eference !roups to be the
ke sources from where the consumers learn about shampoo brands. (n the same 'uestionnaire% DF and D4
combined show the impact of TV ads on the consumption of shampoo brands. 1ence% TV as a medium
should definitel be used when in the launch phase. From e6hibit >% we can infer that consumers in this TG
belie)e in the product when ad)ertised b a celebrit and hence% Super must ha)e a female brand
ambassador that has rural appeal. For e!. ?ollwood star Vida ?alan or a TV personalit like Eeepika
Sin!h who plas the lead prota!onist in the number & hindi soap Diya aur Bati Hum.
A6hibit 4 sheds li!ht on the Media ;onsumption habits of the respondents. Iou can see that the listen to
radio and connect with the /J b name and stle of talkin!. ?oth these can be used to reach consumers.
/adio $in!les and tie@ups with radio shows to wea)e the product into the /J link 9script: can be looked at.
#part from that% Super can participate in e)ents such as the melas for on !round promotions for the brand.