MARKETING MICROWAVE OVENS TO A NEW MARKET SEGMENT
I. The advantage of microwave ovens for food preparation
II. The values and customs that might affect opinions about microwave ovens
- III. New marketing strategy 1. Target market -upper middle class - Indian family and focus on housewife - single male 2. Long-term marketing programs - Pay more money for R&D and product innovation - Building call center to help customer (after sales service) … - Foundation team service and guarantee 3. Short-term marketing programs - product: microwave ovens with more function and easy to use, with a lot of size that suit with a family. - service: give more service such as: cooking book (uses microwave to cook Indian food), guarantee,… - Price: at most 20,000 - Distribution: focus on big cities - Promotion: + advertising: website, TV, and use image of successful woman who can balance work and family life; media exposure such as in movies where the actors, in one part of the movie, use a microwave for cooking In addition the advertising can focus on man who is husband with message: “Not only woman can do it” + freebie: + installment plan: pay half and then have fixed monthly payments afterward
Effects of competition in the market: -competition tends to drive down the price, but there is a wide contention between prices and volume (chicken and egg problem) - wider diffusion of knowledge because of the competitors’ efforts to educate the market
Conclusion: There is still a huge, untapped market in India for microwaves. Marketing strategy should be tailored to the customs and values of the Indian