CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR CASE ANALYSIS
OF
SUPER SHAMPOO PRODUCTS AND THE
INDIAN MASS MARKET
GROUP 11
GROUP MEMEBERS:
SRIHARI 27-066
GEETANJALI 27-076
HARSHA VARDHAN 27-078
MANI CHANDANA 27-088
T.V. SWATHI 27-112
INTRODUCTION
In 2010, Suresh Venkataraman, following a successful period of marketing
industrial products in the city of Coimbatore in the Southern part of India
(a city known for its textile industries and entrepreneurs), became
interested in consumer products.
He had always been fascinated with single use packaging, and wondered
how shampoo as a category was transformed from an unaffordable product
to an affordable one with the invention of sachets.
His aspirations took shape when he decided to launch a product called
Super Shampoo for this target segment. He selected the name “Super” as
it was easy to pronounce, more specifically, he chose it because the word
“super” was amplified by the media to celebrate film stars by projecting
them as “superstars”.
Venkataraman had adequate business experience to know that a name alone
cannot create a superior brand: the challenges were indeed quite
confounding.
How could established brands of shampoos be addressed? Super Shampoo
would not have the financial muscle to compete against the advertising
blitzkrieg of the megabrands.
Were there ways to compete in the war of marketing communication when
communication held much sway in such a competitive and glamour-ridden
category?
Venkataraman decided to consider such issues through a market survey set
in a rural market in the Indian context to help analyze marketing
communications and its impact on consumer behavior.
SHAMPOO MARKET IN INDIAN CONTEXT
Shampoo fall under the hair care category of the FMCG sector. The value
of the shampoo market in India is US$ 600 million with a penetration rate
at 13 percent. But it is expected to increase because of the potential
recognized in the rural market by the major players in this segment. The
market is also expected to increase due to lower duties and aggressive
marketing by players. Shampoo is also available in a sachet, which is
affordable and makes up to 40% of the total shampoo sale.
Since long HUL has been the market leader in the shampoo industry. With
rivals like Procter & Gamble and Dabur giving tough competition, FMCG
major Hindustan Unilever’s market share in shampoo segment is declining
and analysts pointed out that there is a concern over the firm losing out to
competition in its other core segments.
According to the Neilsen’s January-February data, HUL’s market share
(volumes) in shampoo segment declined by 1.3 percentage points to 47.3
per cent while P&G gained by 2.4 percentage points with a market share
of 17.7 per cent.
Dabur on the other hand gained 0.8 percentage points capturing 6.7 per
cent market share in the estimated Rs 3,000 crore Indian shampoo market.
The company’s brands ‘Clinic Plus’, ‘Dove’ and ‘Pantene’ competes
against the likes of P&G’s ‘Head & Shoulder’ and Dabur’s ‘Vatika’, ITC’s
‘Fiama Di Wills’
The Indian shampoo market is characterised by a twin-benefit platform:
cosmetic and anti-dandruff.
It is basically an upper middle-class product, as more than 50% of the
consumers use ordinary toilet soap for washing hair. While the awareness
level is high, the penetration level is very low even in the metros which is
only 30%. Urban markets account for 80% of the total shampoo market,
the penetration level is rapidly increasing due to decline in excise duty,
which was 120% in 1993 to 30% currently. The hair conditioner market is
estimated at around Rs 200 crores and is growing at about 40 to 50 percent
a year. In India, the share of hair conditioners is merely one-fifteenth of the
shampoo market. In most mature markets, the share of hair conditioners is
about one-third.
Problem Statement
Super shampoo being a new brand, had to face challenges like:
Addressing the established competitors like HUL, P&G, cavin care.
Competing against the advertising methods of the established brands.
Understanding the diversity of cultures in the rural market.
Understanding the consumer psyche in the changing environment.
Low per capita income.
STRATEGIES ADOPTED BY MR. VENKATARAMAN
Females aged 18 to 50, belonging to rural or semi-urban household basis
income classification (annual household income of less than Rs 75,000 or
between Rs 75,000 and Rs 150,000).
Category (shampoo) non-users or low frequency users, yet aware of the top
three shampoo brands in the market.
Significant TV media consumption and enjoys watching advertisements.
The sampling unit was households, since the income parameter was used
at the household level. The second level included individuals fitting the
demographics. About sampling frame, the basis of selection of
representative elements of the target population were taken as gender, age
group, household income, category consumption and media consumption.
The extent was rural Karnataka; specifically, two towns (Bidadi and
Hoskote) which are part of the Bangalore Rural District and a cluster of
adjoining villages (Jigani) were selected for the study. The questionnaires
formulated in English as well as the brand communication material were
translated into the local language of the consumer while it was
administered.
The selection of the towns was performed based on the judgement of rural
household penetration and category awareness. Within these geographies,
probability sampling was the chosen technique, in which simple random
sampling was performed to select the elements. The individuals were tested
through the filter questionnaire to ensure that they met the demographic
and category criteria that was required for the study. Seventy-five
respondents were chosen based on the above criteria.
CONCLUSION
It is quite evident from the case that a proper market survey is required for
a new FMCG product in general and a new shampoo product to enter into
the rural market.
There were days when huge organizations flocked to rural markets to
establish their brands.
Today, rural markets are critical for every marketer be it for a branded soap
or an automobile. As urban markets are getting saturated for consumer
goods (FMCG & Durables), marketing executives are fanning out and
discovering the strengths of large rural markets.
The Indian hair care market is undergoing a sea change in the respects of
the buying behaviour and consumer preferences.
The consumers are willing to experiment with new products and
manufacturers can therefore take advantage of this situation and gradually
venture into the market.
The income pattern of the population in rural areas is a bit wayward and
the manufacturer can tap this situation and make profit by use of “Sachets”.
According to the analysed data, the major dilemma for companies today is
the gap between the rural and the urban consumer.
The reason why only few companies have managed to venture out is
because of the lack of understanding into the psyche of the rural consumer.
Thus, looking at the challenges and the opportunities which rural markets
offer to the marketers, it can be said that the future is very promising for
those who can understand the dynamics of rural markets and exploit them
to their best advantage.
