Good Cottle-Taylor: Expanding The Oral Care Group In India Case Study Example

In Cottle-Taylor’s case Brinda Patel is the Managing Director Cottle –Taylor firm and Michael Lang is her direct manager whose motive is to increase profits to the company through raising market share and sales. The firm manufactured arranges of product brands which include home care products, oral care as well as personal care products. They both examine the market structure critically and needs of consumers to identify an opportunity to be spotted. Lang had implemented a marketing plan that did so well in Thailand, and therefore he wanted to implement same marketing strategies in United States of America where Cottle-Taylor’s marketing strategies performed dismally resulting in massive losses. To offset the losses, the two wanted to come up with a superb marketing plan at home in order to boost for more sales and higher profit margins.
Brinda, who is well versed with market, know-how in India and with sufficient information on the hygiene practices of the locals wants to foster awareness of dental health and home care products to various regions in India. However, she was at a crossroad on how the native Indians would be convinced to purchase Cottle-Taylor’s products since they were more expense compared to other competing substitute products in the market. For example, the Indians used Charcoal, twigs and other ashes to brush their teeth therefore they were not aware of the toothbrushes Brinda wanted them to purchase. Similarly, the Indians had little spending capability. Therefore, an extra problem to be considered when formulating a marketing strategy was culture and consumers’ purchasing power.
Lang discerned that there was need to persuade new consumers on the need to adopt new and standardized dental hygiene or to switch to expensive oral care products as those provided by Cottle-Taylor firm. He argued on the premise that to welcome a new customer, one needs to sensitize for an intensive persuasion on consumers to brush their teeth and gradually increase the same thus raising purchase of Cottle-Taylor’s products. With his capability of reasoning, Lang wanted to distribute the advertising cost evenly across the three fundamental regional where the Cottle –Taylor wanted to experiment its products. However, Lang was not sure of the outcome of his strategies. This case provided a vivid explanation that the Indian natives were to be educated and persistently made aware of the existing oral products as well as on how to carry dental hygiene. The modes of customer sensitizing and increased awareness include advertising, educating and experimenting. Concerning these, Lang proposed to use billboards, radio, and television to advertising his product brands. To create a better product mix, Lang suggested for a dentist to be hired so that he or she could educate consumers who would have come to the free clinics established. This case further illustrated that the firm was established in 1815 where it offered hand soap Philadelphia. Its gradual growth in 2009 where it had emerged to offer an approximated number of 200 different kinds of products in various countries and three product lines. In 1815, the company had made total revenue of $11.5 from oral care and emerging markets and significantly managed to revise on new Human resources.
In India, Cottle –Taylor firm focused exclusively on manufacturing oral dental care products from a wide range. The market in India was mainly focused on three main products which included toothbrushes, toothpowder, and toothpaste. These products were also sold from at least 450,000 outlets, vendors, supermarkets and retail shops. In order to market oral care products, Cottle-Taylor developed a definite plan that aimed to increase sales of the products as mentioned earlier. To sell the products, an intensive market analysis was to be done critically to examine the attitudes and habits of consumers. For example, the 2004-IDA sensitization campaigns indicated that most of the client surveyed did not seek supportive services from any dentist. Those done in the year 2007 showed that more than 50% of native Indians never used a toothbrush.
Reports from market surveys in the year 2009 market survey I affirmed that an approximate number of at least 50% had no information about dental health. The researchers who were employed to conduct the research also concluded that most of the rural Indians used neem twigs, ashes, and tobacco. The study also affirmed that the native Indians could easily refrain the modern oral care products if they were introduced to them. Lang critically examined all the recommendations and proposed for dentists to be hired in order to educate the poor Indians on oral care. The dentists were believed to address 10,000 persons each. Despite the need to increase sales, the Indians lived on lower than two dollars a day as indicated in Exhibit 4;
John &Alisa (2012) affirmed that the rural and semi-urban consumers had a lower purchasing power of the oral care products. This made the company focus on packing their products into smaller and affordable sizes. However, those customer who lived in urban showed improving purchasing powers. This made the products be sold in both smaller and large packages in the outlets. Statistics from the frequency of teeth brushing and replacements showed that in 2007, the firm had significantly made a lot of profits from sales. The studies affirmed that in 2009 alone the firm had a larger market share than the other competitors who manufactured similar products. The results showed that 21%, 11%, 46% and 22 % were market shares by Hindi-Dalton, Sandia, Cottle Taylor and other imports cheap imports from China respectively. Analysis of the table above indicates that over the five years period, individual’s income dictated his or her purchasing power. This means that individuals with higher income purchased more products than those with lower incomes.
Despite the drawbacks such as negative culture, low purchasing power, and poverty amongst Indians, in this case, the firm managed to make larger profits because there were subsectors that preferred modern expensive products. For example, the urban Indians preferred to purchase expensive products than the local ones. Cottle-Taylor’s product promotion strategies comprised of persuading consumers to buy the products, awareness to increase customer information on brushing and persuading other customers to upgrade into modern products such as those provided by Cottle-Taylor Firm.
Issues that arose from the marketing plan developed by both Lang and Patel included marketing difficulties, rural retailer uncertainties, and purchasing accuracy among others. Concerning purchasing efficiency, only 8.6 % of the customers who bought Cottle-Taylor’s brushes replaced them within a span of three months. Further, 4 out of 5 potential brush users who were surveyed had an ability to utilize the brush three months effectively and above after purchasing. This meant that the purchasing powers of the consumers in India was small, and hence a thorough marketing strategy and plan was to be improvised. There were difficulties in product distribution amongst the distributors. The channels of distributing Cottage-Taylor’s products. Distributors did not understand where the definite selling points of the toothbrushes and other products were. For instance, distribution of products to rural areas was cumbersome and persistent language barrier made it worst. This is because there existed retrogressive cultures that complicated delivery channels. In addition, uncertainties in inventory planning and wages that fluctuated also complicated the selling procedures lowering profit margins.
The market plan that Patel wanted to develop was a data-based and revision driven market plan where the decreasing revenues from the United States of America needed modernized strategies and plan which could increase sales and offset losses. On one side, Lang emphasized on high sales, believed in promotional advertising that could escalate the market. She thought of three vital elements that included eliminating equal advertising distribution, and she further projected on raising toothbrush sales. Patel on the other side believed on first sales on the conservatives even though he persistently doubted. He belied in even distribution and increasing toothbrush sales. Their projections were as shown below:
These were the expected (E) outcomes from both Lang and Patel. From the table it is clear that Patel’s projections could be realised and more profitable than Lang
The most alternative marketing strategies that can be used besides the one elaborated in the case study include the use of ATL and BTL marketing strategies. Besides advertising using Billboards, we can use mass media which include television promotional media, radios, newspapers, and magazine articles. Other strategies are improvising on BTL strategies that can capture non-media methods. This will be cost effective because it could have targeted the Indian rural and equip them with sufficient information about the Toothbrush and pastes manufactured by Cottle-Taylor firm. Such modes include giving of free samples to affected people such as those with bleeding gums and persistent toothaches. Free check-ups on the consumers will also welcome new ones boosting sales.
Targeting potential customers such those found in market places during market days and sell ton them at discounted rates. Conducting product placements is yet another media that can considerably boost sale. In this mode product such as toothpastes and other branded toothbrushes will be incorporated in popular videos, films and radio broadcasts to attraction the attention of the consumers. Such media will enable the customers to recall the product image and brand changing their attitude and purchasing powers. Advertising through small leaflets or flowers which will be given to distributors who in turn avail them to consumers will further increase sales hence profit margins.
In conclusion, the use of modern media of product promotion such as product placement, use of advanced advertising technologies and non-media methods would have increased the Cottle-Taylor;s cause. This is because, such modes will convince buyer who will in turn flock purchase the product increasing optimal profits to the firm. In addition, the strategies and marketing plan used will dictate the profitability of a firm. Lang and Patel could have therefore used non-media methods in the three region since most of the inhabitants were rural and had a problem in language. The use of samples and free dental check-up perhaps could have increased awareness to the consumers changing their attitudes and purchasing powers.