Marketing Profile of

Surf Excel Quick

Wash 500gm

BRAC Business School

Marketing Management
Marketing Profile of Surf Excel Quick Wash 500gm
Submitted by:
Tabassum Akhter - 13304131
Fariha Zafor Rima - 13304132
Sheikh Yasir Arafat -11204091
Mohaiminul Islam - 12204057
Ryvey Rahman - 13104195
Atik Ilman Hossain -13104205
Nafees Faraz - 12204077
Nafis Imtiaj Siddique - 12304026
Chowdhury Abdul Hasib - 11204079

Submitted to: G.M. Shafayet Ullah, Senior Lecturer, BRAC Business School
Date of Submission: December 10, 2014

Letter of Authorization
November 19, 2014
BRAC University
66 Mohakhali
Dhaka 1212
Bangladesh
Subject: Letter of Authorization to Conduct Research on Surf Excel.
Dear,
I am writing this letter to acknowledge you for your permission to complete the project on creating the
Marketing Profile of Surf Excel Quick Wash (500gm).
As part of the completion of the Marketing Management course (MKT301) under BRAC Business
School, you are required to submit a Marketing Profile on a specific Strategic Business Unit (SBU) of
an organization of your choice. After multiple discussions with the group members, it was proposed
that the SBU chosen by your group was the 500 gram pack of Surf Excel Quick Wash laundry detergent
by Unilever Bangladesh. I hereby authorize the group to complete the paper regarding this topic and
expect them to submit the complete paper in due time, meeting the expected requirements and
standards.
I wish the Team Dourer Upor (DU) all the best for their task and expect a complete paper of exacting
standards submitted in due time.

Sincerely,

G. M. Shafayet Ullah
Senior Lecturer
BRAC Business School

Letter of Transmittal
December 10, 2014
To
G.M. Shafayet Ullah
Senior Lecturer
BRAC Business School
BRAC University
Subject: Submission of report on Surf Excel Bangladesh
Dear Sir,
We would like to kindly inform you that we have completed the Marketing Profile for Surf Excel
Quick Wash as an integral part of successfully completing the Marketing Management (MKT301)
course.
The report is prepared to portray a wholesome view on the marketing related aspects of the 500 grams
pack of Surf Excel Quick Wash in Bangladesh. Through our best sincerity we tried to uptake all the
related issues in the report within several limitations. We would like to acknowledge our gratitude to
you for assigning us the project which allowed firsthand experience in producing a Marketing Profile
of acceptable format and standard. We sincerely hope and believe that these findings will be able to
meet the requirements of the course.
Therefore, we would like for you to kindly accept our report to acknowledge our effort and for your
kind evaluation.
Thanking you in anticipation.

Yours Sincerely,

Tabassum Akhter - 13304131

On behalf of Team Dourer Upor

Acknowledgement
With the great opportunity given to us for writing this report, it has brought a sense of pleasure to be
able to submit it. We would like to thank all the contributors of this piece of writing. Unfortunately, the
list of expressive gratitude- no matter how extensive- is always incomplete and inadequate. However,
to start with, we would like to thank our Almighty God for bestowing us with patience and courage to
finish this huge task with the given deadline and the entire group member for doing everyones work
properly.
In addition, we sincerely acknowledge our debt to our honorable faculty of BRAC business school and
MKT 301 course instructor Mr. G M Shafayet Ullah, for his valuable counseling to better our report.
Without his encouragement, this work would have been extremely difficult to accomplish.

Executive Summary
Marketing is widespread to reach out to the remotest of area with a companys offering which encloses
a mutual benefit for both the producer and consumer. This report will reflect all the marketing tools,
tactics, strategies that Surf Excel uses to spread out its area of service. Firstly, the potential market
needs to be understood by the producer so that the product is eligible for them and justifies the
allocation of resources. Surf Excel here is reported to a Strategic Business Unit (SBU). Effective
market segmentation and targets are well defined in perspective of Surf Excel. Secondly, branding
through intense planning, a great deal of long-term commitment and creatively designed and executed
marketing of Surf Excel is discussed. Brand is built on the foundation of a product and therefore Surf
Excels superior quality that surpasses customer value. Attached with a product are components such as
price of the product that needs to be carefully strategized for making profit and continuing the business.
Surf Excel, a well designed and marketed product can grasp a price premium and secure big profits in
Bangladesh Market. Lastly, value delivery through Surf Excels distribution and marketing channels is
talked about here.

Table of Contents
Letter of Authorization.................................................................................iii
Letter of Transmittal....................................................................................iv
Acknowledgement........................................................................................v
Executive Summary.....................................................................................vi
Introduction................................................................................................1
Chapter 1...................................................................................................2
Chapter 2...................................................................................................6
Chapter 5.................................................................................................13
Chapter 7.................................................................................................23
Chapter 8.................................................................................................32
Chapter 9.................................................................................................48
Chapter 10 and 11......................................................................................52
Chapter 14................................................................................................64
Chapter 15................................................................................................74
Conclusion................................................................................................78
Bibliography.............................................................................................79

Introduction
Bangladesh is a country of over 156.6 million people (2013) situated in the tropical regions of the
Asian subcontinent. High temperatures, humidity and rainfall rule over mostly in the weather scene of
the area. This weather, along with high levels of dust, coupled with the high density population makes
day to day travel tough for individuals, along with increased difficulties to keep surroundings clean.
Living life through so many people and obstacles day in and day out can be difficult on any individual,
young or old, not to mention through puddles in the roads, dust in the streets and mud in the sidewalks.
Even though the people accepted this reality, one article of their daily lives battles such elements every
day the clothes. Keeping these in mind, Unilever has made for the Indian, Pakistani and Bangladeshi
market Surf Excel, an all-in-one solution to peoples laundry washing powder needs. Although Surf
Excel has multiple versions in India and Pakistan, Bangladesh has only one: Surf Excel Quick Wash,
which comes in a 500 grams pack. Surf Excel claims to be a premium laundry powder providing all
in one solution to detergent needs. It has positioned itself to the homemakers of the country as a
solution to myriads of stains children come across through the learning process, and instead of taking a
stand against stains, they took up the motto Daag Bhalo (stain is good) as they believe if stains help
in learning, they are good.

Chapter 1
A product can be differentiated on the basis of whether it satisfies a customer needs, wants or demands.
As similar as the three terms may sound, there is a distinct line that separates the meaning of a need,
want and demand. Human needs are the basic requirements and include food clothing and shelter.
Without these humans cannot survive or face extreme difficulty to live. Wants are a step ahead of needs
and are largely dependent on the needs of humans themselves. A step ahead of wants is demands. When
an individual wants something that is premium, but he also has the ability to buy it, then these wants
are converted to demands.
Surf excel has been considered as one of the most favorite washing powder among the consumers in
Bangladesh. Even the brand value of the product is undeniable. Among all the brands, Surf excel has a
good image in front of the consumers. This is because they have been fulfilling the needs of the
consumers and creating customer satisfaction in general. The need of a consumer can be defined in
different type. Surf excel has been performing over these different types needs. Need comes out from
the basic requirement of an item. Surf excel has been proved a popular product among all other
products because it has been serving up and fulfilling the demand of the consumers.
The five types of needs are given below according to Surf excel 500gm:
Stated needs: A stated need of a washing powder should be to wash the clothes. Surf excel
perform this faster than most of the detergents in the market. In most general sense, it washes
any type of clothes.
Real needs: The real need of a washing powder should be affordability and its quality. Surf
excel is again serving people by fulfilling the real need. The price of Surf excel 500gm is 99
TK. This is quite affordable for the people in general. When the question about the quality
comes down, then the answer is very simple. They have been targeting the strongest stains and
always giving commercial for that.
Unstated needs: The unstated need of a washing powder can be no side effect on color and no
stiffness on the fabric. Surf excel has been maintaining this quality since it was introduced in
Bangladesh. The reputation of this product lays in its performance.

 Delight needs: The delight need of surf excel can be its eco friendliness and no side effect on
hands. The 500gm of Serf excel is quite maintaining these all. Even it is giving a container free
with the 500gm pack, which is filling up the delight needs of the consumers.
Secret needs: The consumer of Surf excel will always get higher benefits and priority than
other detergent users. The secret need is something that cant be accessed, as it is the latent
expectation of a consumer. In some point Surf excel fulfills this too.
The demand of Surf excel is quite strong in the existing market. Surf Excel Quick Wash is available in
many of the prominent supermarkets such Meena Bazar, Agora, Shwapno and etc. as stated earlier that
demands are wants for specific product backed by an ability to pay. This product is placed in the higher
price bracket in the laundry detergent line in Bangladesh. The marketing challenge in this type of
demand is to maintain the same level of interest in the product and the company.
Value, Satisfaction & Quality: A consumer gets a lot of alternatives to make a decision. But the
decision varies depending on the value and satisfaction of a product. Value reflects the sum of tangible
and intangible benefits and cost of consumers. Surf Excel Quick Wash 500gm offers the highest benefit
in case of washing a cloth and the cost is affordable enough for all. On the other hand, satisfaction is
the judgment of a consumer over the product. The judgment of Surf excel is quite positive towards the
product. Even the company sometimes arranges small events to collect opinion or suggestion from the
consumers. This actually creates satisfaction among the consumers as they see that they are taken care
of. At the end comes quality, which is the first priority of the product to maintain. Quality is one thing
that this product maintains without any doubt.
Exchange, transactions, relationships and market: Exchange is the process of acquiring a desired
good in return of something you already possess. Today the standard exchange unit is money and
therefore today money buys a persons needs and wants. Consumers can buy a pack of Surf Excel
Quick Wash of 500gm with Tk (currency of Bangladesh) 99. The consumers of this product are quite
loyal to the brand and they are willing to pay 99TK for the 500gm of Surf excel. Surf Excel also runs
routine market survey to better know their customers and understand what they like or dislike about the
product. This helps to maintain a relationship with the customers and show them that their views are
considered and cared about by the company.
Marketing Management Philosophy of Surf Excel:

Surf excel is one of the oldest detergent brand in Bangladesh. This brand believes that stains are good.
No kid should lose his or her childhood because of stains. Children all the time make their clothes dirty
by playing here and there. This is where Surf excel comes saying Dirt is good. This is because they
focus more on kids. They believe every kid should be grown both physically and mentally. This shows
how this company and brand is socially focused and they are trying to move the obstacle that keeps a
child idle at home. Every kid should experience life, share with each other and learn from each other.
This is what is Surf excel doing. A company when focuses on societies well being, it is basically
following societal marketing philosophy. Even a while ago Surf Excel arranged a story-writing contest
and gave tickets of Disneyland to the winner.
Production Concept- This one of the earliest marketing philosophy states that consumers accept
products which are widely available, is convenient and inexpensive. Companies that produce in bulk
can lower it production cost and keep the prices low. Surf Excel does not concentrate on producing
huge amount of product but only worry about maintains their quality. Therefore, Surf Excel cannot as
well as do not want to reduce its price.
Product Concept- The product concept shows consumers will favor products that offer the highest
quality, performance, or innovative features. This is why managers have to develop the product time to
time. In the initial phase, Surf Excel used product concept to improve their product and make it
competitive in the market. Surf Excel has continuously enhanced the product attributes by improving
its making process of the product. They transformed the detergent powder from just washing clothes
normally to washing the most stubborn stains with as little time as possible.
Selling Concept- The selling concept refers to take initiatives at large scale to sell the product in wide
range. In selling concept companies come up with an aggressive selling concept to make sell of
unsought goods or goods that do not sell on its own. The company to sell its products does not put in
the Surf Excel 500gm doesnt follow this concept as aggressive or extra affords.
Marketing Concept- The marketing concept holds that achieving organizational goals depends on
determining the needs and wants of target markets and delivering the desired satisfactions more
effectively and efficiently than competitors do. However Surf Excel not only focuses on its consumers,
but also focuses on the society. That is why it doesnt follow marketing philosophy.

Societal Concept- The societal marketing concept holds that the organization should determine the
needs, wants and interests of target markets. It should then deliver the desired satisfactions more
effectively and efficiently than competitors in a way that maintains or improves the consumer's and the
society's well-being. The societal marketing concept is the newest of the five marketing management
philosophies. Surf Excel deployed new technologies to lightweight packaging and cutting-edge
techniques to optimize material use across hundreds of different designs. They also work with others to
stimulate recycling infrastructures, particularly for materials which are important to us but which are
more difficult to recycle or recover, such as sachets in developing countries or aluminum aerosol
sprays. This can take time but they think is crucial for the long-term.

Chapter 2
Mission of Unilever Bangladesh Limited
Unilever's mission is To Add Vitality to Life. They meet everyday needs for nutrition; hygiene and
personal care with brands that help people feel good, look good and get more out of life.
Vision of Unilever Bangladesh Limited
To help people feel good, look good and get more out of life with brands and services that are good
for them and good for others. We will inspire people to take small everyday actions that can add up to a
big difference for the world. We will develop new ways of doing business that will allow us to double
the size of our company while reducing our environmental impact.

Strategic Business Units (or SBUs) are a fully functional and distinct unit of the business that
develops their own strategic vision and direction. Typically they will operate as an independent
organization with a specific focus on target markets and are large enough to maintain internal divisions
such as finance, HR, and so forth. In accordance with this definition, we can assume that Surf Excel
Quick Wash 500gm is a strategic unit of Unilever Bangladesh, because it has the four main
characteristics of SBU as explained below:

Every SBU has their own set of mission, goals and objectives The main mission of Surf Excel
Quick 500gm wash is To be the best possible cleaning solution in the market. The objective
of Surf Excel Quick Wash 500gm is to be the monthly cleaning solution pack for a household.

Every SBU has their own set of Marketing Mix Though all the three SBUs of Surf Excel
Quick Wash (500gm, 180gm and sachet packs) have the same product in different quantities;
however Surf Excel Quick Wash 500gm has its distinct price (99tk). Additionally, the
distribution channel (place) of Surf Excel Quick Wash 500gm mainly constitutes of the
supermarkets and grocery shops. Finally, Surf Excel Quick Wash 500gm has its distinct
promotional campaigns to boost sales.

Every SBU has their own set of competitors The competitors of Surf Excel Quick Wash
500gm includes producers who claim to offer similar product benefits in the same quantity
Kohinoor Detergent 500gm and Keya Lemon Powder 500gm.

Every SBU has their own set of consumers The consumers of Surf Excel Quick Wash 500gm
includes the households who look for premium cleaning solution, eco-friendly products and are
time-constrained.

BCG Growth Matrix is a management tool that serves four distinct purposes: it can be used to classify
product portfolio in four business types based on four graphic labels including Stars, Cash Cows,
Question Marks and Dogs; it can be used to determine what priorities should be given in the product
portfolio of a company; to classify an organizations product portfolio according to their cash usage and
generation; and offers management available strategies to tackle various product lines.
According to a report conducted in 2012
Brand
Brooke Bond
Knorr
Lux
Surf Excel
Lifebuoy
Rexona

Market share
45%
51%
21%
23%
15%
2%

Market growth rate

41.03%
29%%
29.15%
27.35%
85.03%
8%

We can see that Surf Excel has a large market share and a high market growth rate, if the number of
companies competing in that particular market is taken into account. Here, it can be termed as a Star
SBU. Hence, the objective of the brand should be to convert it to a Cash Cow. In order to do that,
they must hold their current market share while trying to capture new markets using market penetration
or market development strategies. This would require a lot of cash in creating awareness among
existing and potential consumers through advertisements and other promotional activities.

The Marketing Process

The marketing process consists of a five-step process companies use to create value for customers and
to build strong customer relationships in order to capture value from customers in return in the form of
sales, profits, and long-term customer equity. The 5-step model of marketing process and its utilization
by our SBU is explained below:
1. Understanding the marketplace and customer needs and wants Surf Excel Quick Wash 500gm
carried an extensive market research to identify the actual needs and wants of customers. They
identified that their target market in Bangladesh wants an eco-friendly product and opts for allin-one kind of cleaning solution.
2. Design a Customer-driven Marketing Strategy Surf Excel Quick Wash 500gm launched its
product with a customer-driven marketing strategy by aiming to transform the image of dirt as
being good and even vital for the growth and nourishment of children. This focused on the
consumers rather than simply on the product.
3. Construct an integrated marketing program that delivers superior value Surf Excel Quick
Wash 500gm has an integrated communication program, where it uses a combination of
marketing communication mix such as advertising, sales promotion, public relations and
interactive strategies in order to build its brand equity.
4. Build profitable relationships and create customer delight Surf Excel Quick Wash 500gm has
created loyal customers in the Bangladesh market, as reflected in their market share of 23%.
This has been due to their consistency in quality and brand image.
5. Capture value from customers to create profits and customer equity Surf Excel Quick Wash
500gm charges premium price (99Tk) for its superior value delivery, and makes a good amount
of profit from it.

The Four Ps and Four Cs:

The four Ps, or the marketing mix, consists of the tactical marketing tools, blended into an integrated
marketing program that actually delivers the intended value proposition to target customers. From the
buyers point of view, the four Ps are better known as the Four Cs. The Four Ps and Four Cs for
our SBU, Surf Excel Quick Wash 500gm, is elaborated below:

Product - This involves the goods-and-service combination that the companies offer to the
target market. Surf Excel Quick Wash 500gm consists of a combination of chemicals such as
sodium carbonate, active detergent, enzymes, whitening agents and many more. In addition to
these, Surf Excel Quick Wash 500gm also offers customer care line services where it listens
to the complaints of customers and aims to solve them. All of these together comprise the
product known as Surf Excel Quick Wash 500gm.
From the consumers point of view, product is known as customer solution, where Surf Excel
Quick Wash 500gm can be seen as an all-in-one cleaning solution.

Price This is the amount of money consumers must pay to obtain the product. The price of
Surf Excel Quick Wash 500gm is 99Tk in the Bangladesh market. It is known as customer
cost from the buyers view, as it the cost they have to incur in order to obtain the solution.

Place This includes the company activities that make the product available to target
customers. Surf Excel Quick Wash 500gm follows the conventional distribution channel, where
the product is distributed in all the supermarkets such as (Agora, Meena Bazar etc.) and also to
small grocery stores. This is referred as convenience in the four Cs, as consumers look for
the ease of travel in buying any product.

Promotion This refers to the activities that communicate the merits of the product and
persuade target market to buy it. Surd Excel Quick Wash 500gm uses a number of advertising,
sales promotion and public relation mediums to promote Dirt is Good and how the product
removes stains in half time. From the buyers point of view, this is known as
communication.

Core Competencies:
Any attribute of a firm that is a source of competitive advantage in that it makes a significant
contribution to perceived customer benefits, has application in a wide variety of markets and is difficult
for competitors to imitate is known as a core competency for that firm. In other words, it is a
combination of skills and resources a firm has that makes it unique in the market. For Surf Excels
parent company, Unilever, a major core competence in the Bangladesh market is their long standing,
tried, tested and trusted distribution network. This network of wholesalers and distributors make sure

the products of Unilever reach retailers in every major town(s) of each district and beyond. Hence,
although Surf Excel may be a premium washing powder brand, it does not fail to reach any customer
in any part of the country, who is ready to pay the higher price for the premium brand.

Ansoffs Product-market Expansion Grid:

To detect intensive growth strategies, Ian Ansoff proposed a product-market expansion grid framework
for firms to utilize. The basic grid and the strategies are outlined below:

Market Penetration: Growth can still be achieved by selling the same product in the existing
market. This is done by urging consumers to buy more, taking over competitors market shares
or by convincing more people to use the product, mostly by utilizing the promotional tools.

Market Development: Growth can also be achieved by launching the current product in new
markets by selling at new locations, expanding distribution networks or by identifying another
segment of potential users.

Product Development: When a completely new product is developed and launched in the
current market. This can also be done by developing new features, offering different quality
levels or through improving technology associated in the product.

Diversification: This is when completely new products are developed for new market segments,
allowing the firm to venture into other opportunities more profitable than the current one.

For Surf Excel Quick Wash, Unilever chooses to use market penetration techniques through extensive
advertising and promotional activities as there are no other markets to develop for the brand and new
products are not developed in Bangladeshs case. They encourage customers to buy more and try to
attract users of competitors products by stating and reinforcing the superiority of their offering in the
market.

Marketing Alliances:
Firms also target to increase effectiveness through strategic partnerships with more experienced and
specialized firms. These firms complement the processes or products of a firm and the partnerships
allow more concentration in developing and maintaining product or service superiority. The forms of
strategic alliances are outlined as follows:

Product or Service Alliances: This is when one company licenses another to produce the
products or they choose to market their complementary or new products as a bundle to help
achieve high sales for both firms.

Promotional Alliances: One Company decides to promote another companys product or

service as part of a strategic partnership where the first company is benefitted in some way
as well.

Logistics Alliances: One Company offers logistical services for another, such as
warehousing, delivery, supply chain management etc.

Pricing Collaborations: Companies join to form special pricing collaborations for

customers of their offerings.

Unilever has several strategic alliances with various firms from ice cream manufacturers to cosmetics
companies. Unilevers laundry care unit recently came into a strategic alliance with electronics
manufacturer Philips to design a state-of-the-art iron that would help keep clothes as good as new.

However, Surf Excel in Bangladesh has not come into any form of such alliances to the extent of the
knowledge gained when writing this report.

Chapter 5
Factors affecting Surf Excels Consumer behavior:
Surf Excels purchasing behavior is influenced by cultural, social, personal, and psychological
characteristics.
Cultural Factors: Culture is the fundamental basis of a persons way of being and lifestyle. The basic
elements of culture are value perception and behaviors, which are learned by a person through different
social institution like family, school, and college. There exists different distinctive social class in every
culture and sub culture depending on income, occupation, education and wealth. These social classes
are lower class, working class, middle class and upper class. Surf Excel quick wash 500gm detergent
powder is premium brand detergent powder and is also used in washing machine. So this is relatively
expensive for the consumer who exists in the lower and working class to buy washing machine and
buying premium banded washing powder. People who belong to upper class include those people who
have locally prominent families, third or fourth generation wealth.
Social Factors: Consumer buying behavior is also influenced through social factors that include
reference groups, family and social roles and status. Some of these are discussed below:

Reference Group- Surf Excel quick wash 500gm detergent powder consumer behavior is largely
influenced by reference group. Reference group refers to the group of people who serve as faceto-face or indirect comparison in forming a persons behavior. Reference groups play a key role
in defining individual consumer needs and opinions and exert a powerful influence on
purchasing decisions. This group can further be classified into primary group (the people that
consumers meet on a daily basis, e.g. family members, friends and etc.). Consumers most of the
time tends to pick the detergent that their family has been using from years. Reference group
also includes secondary group (the people with whom consumers have more formal and less
frequent interaction). At times, when consumers want to try any new detergent powder, they
tend to inquire people around them to know about their experience and opinion. The third
classification is aspirational groups (this group includes consumer who admire an ideal or
favorite personality). Bangladesh Surf Excel does not use any famous celebrity to influence the

aspirational groups. However, India uses a lot their daily soaps protagonists in their
advertisements that contribute a lot in influencing the housewives to buy their product. Finally,
there is dissociative group (people whose values and choice individual rejects or avoids). This
can be on a personal level for example; a consumer does not like her neighbor and therefore
rejects buying Surf Excel Quick Wash as the neighbor uses it.

Family- Family members establish the most persuasive primary reference group. There are two
family statuses in a buyers life: Family of orientation consisting parents and siblings and
family of procreation consisting spouse and children. A consumer spends their childhood in the
family of orientation and learns or perceives everything from them. They automatically walk,
talk, behave and use things the way their parents teach them. So when a consumer sees his/her
mother to use Surf Excel to wash cloths, the consumer routinely uses in it in the family of
procreation. This circle moves round and round. Additionally, the advertisements of Surf Excel
Quick Wash depicting Dirt s Good using a number of dirty children reflects that Surf Excel
Quick wash emphasizes upon the family of procreation to sell its products.

Role and Status- A role is built up of the activities a person is anticipated to perform and a role
determines status. A person with higher status and plays a vital role in the society will use
products that reflect their status and superiority. Therefore, all the high-income bracket people
tend to use expensive and exclusive products. People earning higher earnings use the premium
brand of detergent in Bangladesh, namely Surf Excel Quick Wash.

Personal Factors- A buyer purchasing decisions is also influenced by personal factors including age
and life-cycle stage, occupation, economic situation and life style. Surf excels quick wash 500gm
detergent powder is mainly a family product and people generally use the product when they get
married and have children. Children are boundless; they like to play in fields, around the house.
They are concern about stain and dirt. This is because when children go out and play they
experience life, make friends, share with each other and learn from each other. Surf Excel is the
oldest detergent brand to be present in Bangladesh to wash and clean dirt from clothing. Besides
this, when people have high standard occupation with handsome salary and follow standard
lifestyle use this kind of premium laundry product like surf excel in their regular life.

Psychological Factors- Psychological factors refer to thoughts, feelings and other cognitive
characteristics that affect the attitude, behavior and functions of the human mind. These factors can
influence how a person thinks and later affect his decisions and relations in his daily life. There are
different ways to affect the psychology of consumers and indirectly affect their purchasing behavior.
One way to motivate them psychologically is the Herzbergs Two-Factor Theory. Frederick Herzberg
believed that people could be motivated through two factors: Hygiene factors or dissatisfiers and
Motivational factors or satisfiers. The Hygiene factors can de-motivate or cause dissatisfaction if they
are not present, but do not very often create satisfaction when they are present; however, Motivation
factors do motivate or create satisfaction. The dissatisfiers are hygiene factors in the sense that they are
maintenance factors required to avoid dissatisfaction and stop consumers from being unhappy, but do
not create satisfaction in themselves. They can be avoided by using hygienic methods to prevent
them. The Hygiene factors have an end which once fulfilled then cease to be motivating factors while
the Motivation factors are much more open-ended and this is why they continue to motivate. In case of
Surf Excel Quick Wash, only the absence of the dissatisfiers (for example bad image, inconvenience or
etc) is not the key to motivate consumers to purchase the detergent. Therefore, marketers need to attach
some significant satisfiers (for example removing many stains at once with Surf Excel, care for fabric,
convenient to use by both hand and washing machine and etc.

Perception- Perception is the organization, identification, and interpretation of sensory information in

order to represent and understand the environment. The perceptual process allows us to experience the
world around us. The process includes the following steps:
I.

Selective Attention- The allocation of processing capacity of some stimulus is called attention.
Attention can be voluntary (purposefully or knowingly) or involuntary (unknowingly). Several
detergent advertisements are being broadcasted in Bangladesh television but only some catches
our attention through selective attention process. Therefore, Surf Excel advertisements, be it
printed or any television commercials, should use attractive elements and use the right message
and convey in the most attention grabbing way. Attention can be grabbed when:
The product is related to a current need- For example, in this detergent case, if an
individual intended to replace their current detergent powder with a better one, their

eyes will catch detergent commercials more than any other product.
Anticipated stimuli- Consumers tend to notice FMCG for their house related purchase in
a retail shop or small market as they already anticipated such products in those stores

and not some exclusive products.

People are more likely to notice stimuli whose deviations are large in relationship to the
normal size of the stimuli- Consumers attention is easily grabbed by advertisements that
conveys messages which can be of their benefit, for example Tk. 40 OFF by buying two

II.

packets of Surf Excel Quick Wash of 500gm.

Selective Distortion- It is the way people tend to interpret information in a way that best fits
consumers presumptions. Consumers often distort information to be steady with prior brand
and product beliefs and expectations. For example, a certain group of consumer will always
praise Surf Excel and take it to be the premium or best detergent powder in Bangladesh
although they do not even know what technical difference it has with any other Bangladeshi

III.

detergents.
Selective Retention- Consumers do not remember every advertisement they see in a day.
However, information that they want to remember or that supports their beliefs and attitudes is
retained by their mind intentionally or unintentionally. This process is called selective retention.
It can work in the favor of Surf Excel and make the consumers remember the positives of the
product and omit the negative by repetitively putting up commercial advertisements, billboards,
pictures in newspapers and magazines or any other form of advertisements.

Buying decisions behaviors

There are four types of buying behavior that differs greatly in terms of buyer involvement in the buying
process and the differences between brands in an existing market. These are;

Complex Buying behavior: Complex buying behavior occurs when consumers are highly
involved in a purchase and differences between brands are significant. Complex Buying
behavior is followed when the product is expensive, risky, purchased infrequently and highly
self expressive. Surf excel quick wash 500gm detergent powder is laundry product which does
not require complex buying behavior because it is inexpensive not risky and people usually

purchase frequently for their day-to-day life.

Dissonance-reducing buying behavior: Dissonance-reducing buying behavior occurs when
consumers buying behavior in situation characterized by high involvement but few perceived
differences between brands. When the product is expensive, risky and purchased infrequently
but there is no visible differences between brands consumer undertakes Dissonance-reducing
buying behavior. Although Surf excel quick wash 500gm detergent powder have little
differences between the competitors brand like Tide, Ariel, it is not an expensive and risky
product to purchase. From this point of view, Surf Excel quick wash 500gm detergent powder
buying behavior does not match with dissonance reducing buying behavior.

Habitual buying behavior: Habitual buying behavior is combination of low consumer

involvement in purchasing decisions and little significant brand differences between brands.
Habitual buying behavior occurs when the product is purchased frequently and most of the daily
commodity fall under this buying decision behavior. Surf excel quick wash 500gm detergent
powder fall under this buying behavior. Since it is a laundry product that is purchased
frequently and has little differences among competing brands. Consumers do not search
extensive for information about the brands, evaluate brand characteristics and make weighty
decisions about which brands to buy. They passively receive the information as they watch
television or read magazines. Ad repetitions help to make brand familiar among the consumer.

Variety-Seeking buying behavior: Variety-seeking buying behavior occurs under conditions of

low consumer involvement but significant perceived brand differences. Under this situation,
consumers tend to do a lot of brand switching. There is no real brand loyalty. Consumers

usually evaluate the brand during consumption. Consumer switch to another brand for the sake
of variety rather than dissatisfaction

The Consumer DecisionMaking process:

Every purchase made by the consumer is in response to a problem. Once he recognizes his need, he
wants to ascertain how best to satisfy it. The complexity of the consumers decision-making process
greatly depends on the extent of his involvement with the product of service in question the greater
the degree of involvement; the more complex is the decision-making process. There are at least five
major activities in which the buyer is actively involved in while making a purchase decision. These are

Need recognition: At this stage, the buyer recognizes the problem or need. As in this
case, the problem of stains or advertisements and discussions with peers might generate
a drive to purchase.

Information search: At this stage several measures are taken by different customers to
reach to a buying decision. In Surf Excels case, very few customers will undertake this
step due to the strong advertisement of the brand. Hence most of the people will gather
information from commercial source.

Evaluation of alternative: Different consumers have different evaluation process. This

depends upon several factors including their affiliation and past experience with the
product. In Surf Excels case, most of the customers will skip this step as we observe a
habitual buying behavior towards this detergent.

Purchase decision: Generally this decision might be influenced by attitude of others or

unexpected situational factors. However, in our products case, external determinants are
mainly economic factors and Surf Excels exclusion from social causes.

Post Purchase Behavior: Surf Excel has established certain expectations with its brand
that it aims to fulfill. Almost all of the consumers take certain actions after their
consumption based on their satisfaction or dissatisfaction. Moreover they undergo

cognitive dissonance, which means that the satisfaction or dissatisfaction involves

certain compromises. In Surf Excels case, the compromises made by new customers are
the advantages of close competitive detergent. In order to reduce this cognitive
dissonance, the parent company of Surf Excel, Unilever, tries to enhance the image of
the company by winning prestigious awards, such as Unilever Compass into Action
(CIA) Award at the Senior Leadership event on October 21st in London. This assures the
target market of Surf Excel about the products quality, and helps in keeping the
cognitive dissonance under control.

Stages in the adoption process of Surf Excel:

Consumers go through five distinct stages in the process of adopting a new product, as explained
below:

Awareness- In this stage people come to know about a new product. The people may become
aware of a product through advertisements, billboards, newspaper, and magazine or from
persons surroundings. Marketers put their best efforts and money to aware people about their
product. In order to be a pioneer, Surf Excel Quick Wash had to work hard to gain acceptance in
the early days. To educate housewives about its use, house-to-house demonstrations were
organized in many urban and sub-urban areas.

Interest- In this stage, people become aware of the product and seek to know more information
about the product. For this, Surf Excel Quick Wash has a wide of range of both paid and public
mediums such as Facebook and company website.

Evaluation- Consumers have already gathered relative information about the product and at this
stage determines whether the product will meet his/her demand or not. This is a very critical
stage where a consumer considers the products price, features, competitors offer and other
benefit. In order to turn the customers evaluation in the positive direction, Surf Excel Quick
Wash undertook many persuasive advertisements, using motivational or borrowed interest
such as cute babies to create positive appeal among the target customer.

Trial- In this stage, the consumer makes efforts to get experienced with the product to see
whether it matches or suits their expectations. They usually buy the product in a small amount
for experimental use and try to judge its value. For this, Surf Excel Quick Wash distributed

many free sample and coupons. Also, the Surf Excel Quick Wash sachet packs were introduced

to induce sales.
Adoption- The consumer decides to make full and regular use of the product. In this stage,
consumer belief and attitudes change towards the product, which creates a kind of brand
preference and loyalty to the product? There has been no looking back since the brand has
undergone numerous product quality improvements to offer best cleaning results. Over the year,
there has been emergence of middle price packs (Surf Excel 180gm packet).

Influences of Product Characteristics on the rate of adoption:

The following characteristics of Surf Excel Quick Wash determined its rate of adoption:
1. Relative Advantage- the extent to which a new product has more advanced features over
previous generation or existing products in the market is called relative advantage. The more the
advantages, the faster people become inclined towards it. Surf Excel Quick Wash provided two
attractive benefits to the Bangladeshi market ability to remove all type of stains with one
product, and being able to do that at just half the time. These attractive features successfully
captured a lot of market at the initial stage of Surf Excel Quick Wash 500gm.
2. Compatibility- the point to which a new product or idea fits or assimilates with the values,
norms, cultures into possible consumers life. In short, how hard is it to integrate this into an
individuals daily life? Surf Excel Quick Wash is very compatible with the norms and culture of
Bangladeshi people it is apt for the time-constrained and eco-friendly people of its target
market.
3. Complexity- this ensures whether or not the new product is easy to use or operate. The more
user friendly the higher the adaptation rate will be as people do not like complex usage or
operations. Surf Excel Quick Wash is very user-friendly, as it cleans clothes in just two simple
steps.
4. Divisibility- the degree to which the new product can be used on a trial basis or limited scale.
Surf Excel Quick Wash has divisibility in a sense that it was offered in small sachet packs to
encourage consumers to try the product, take their time to judge and assess the product.
5. Communicability- The extent that an innovation is visible to others. An innovation that is more
visible will drive communication among that persons peers and personal networks and will in
turn create more positive or negative reactions. The product benefits claimed by Surf Excel

Quick Wash have been successfully demonstrated at many supermarkets and public places. This
indicates that the innovation has been communicated properly with the target market, leading to
the success of Surf Excel Quick Wash.

Chapter 7
Market Segmentation Process and the Four Bases Used:
Segmentation is one of the most important factors of strategic marketing. Market segmentation is one
of the first steps that go into defining and targeting specific markets. It is the process of dividing a
market into a distinct group of buyers that require different products or marketing mixes. Markets can
be segmented or targeted using a variety of factor. Surf Excel uses a combination of Geographic,
Demographic, Psychographic and Behavioral segmentation, as described below:
Segmentation
Geographic

Details
Unilever segments the

Examples
Surf Excel mostly serves the urban and

population of the country

suburban population.

into three parts urban, sub

urban and rural area
Income

consumers
Consumers prepare to spend

Consumers of Surf Excel are ranged

according to their income

from High to moderate income, since it

positioned as a premium washing

Different classes people

powder brand.
Most upper to middle class they look

want different quality and

for the highest quality and are prepared

Benefits

prices to purchase.
Quality, service, economy

to pay a premium price for it.

The new Surf Excel Quick Wash offers

Sought

and convenience differ from

the following benefits to its consumers:

o Quick wash for its time-

Social Class

consumer to consumer.

constrained consumers
o Maintain fabrics care and color,
for the quality-sensitive
consumers.
o Saves water for the eco-friendly
Psychographi

consumers (LOHAS).
People who are hygiene conscious are

Surf Excel buyers

Four Target Marketing Strategies:

1. Undifferentiated Marketing: Under this marketing strategy, a company will decide to develop a
single marketing mix for the whole market. There is absence of segmentation. It is convenient
since a single product has to be developed. A company using an undifferentiated targeting
strategy essentially adopts a mass-market philosophy. It views the market as one big market
with no individual segments. The company uses one marketing mix for the entire market. The
company assumes that individual customers have similar needs that can be met with a common
marketing mix. This strategy is not adopted by Surf Excel Quick Wash, as we have seen above
that Surf Excel uses segmentation in choosing its target market.
2. Differentiated marketing: A differentiated marketing strategy exploits the differences between
marketing segments by designing a specific marketing mix for each segment. It is the most
sought after target market strategy because it has the potential to generate sales volume, higher
profits, larger market share and economies of scale in manufacturing and marketing. But the
strategy involves greater product design, production, and promotion, inventory, marketing
research and management costs. Surf Excel uses a Differentiated target market strategy. The
main target market of surf excel is the modern, energetic and outgoing female having two or
more kids. Women who are outgoing and get very short time to make up their homes, they often
face the problem of dirty clothes. As they stay less time at home and spend few times in
washing clothes, Surf Excel is a detergent, which can help her in washing clothes easily, saving
their time and effort in this work.
3. Concentrated marketing: Here, a company may target just one segment with a single marketing
mix. It understands the needs, and motives of the segments customers and designs a
specialized marketing mix. One danger that such niche marketers face is that is attracts
competition from larger organizations in the industry if they are very successful. Surf Excel
Quick wash does not follow a concentrated target marketing, as it serves to the lot of consumers
in a combination of market segments.
4. Micromarketing: In some markets, the requirements of individual customers are unique and
their purchasing power is sufficient to make designing a separate marketing mix for each

customer a viable option. These requirements, however, don not fit for the detergent powder,
and therefore, Surf Excel Quick Wash does not follow this strategy.

Choosing a Market-Coverage Strategy:

Surf Excel Quick Wash 500gm considered the following elements before deciding upon differentiated
marketing strategy

Company resources The manufacturing company of Surf Excel Quick Wash, Unilever, has
lots of company resources (such as finance and human resources) to back up the costs
associated with differentiated marketing strategy.

Product variability There are a number of product variations available for Surf Excel Quick
Wash in the form of different flavors, package sizes etc. For such kinds of product,
differentiated marketing strategy is most appropriate.

Product Life Cycle Stage- The products life-cycle stage also must be considered. When Surf
Excel Detergent Powder was initially launched, it offered only on variation and in only one
package size for which an undifferentiated marketing or concentrated marketing may make the
most sense. In the mature stage of the product life cycle, however, differentiated marketing
begins to make more sense.

Market variability Even though people mostly use detergent powder to get their clothes clean,
but they also want other things from their detergents such as economy, strength or mildness,
bleaching power, fabric softening, fresh smell etc. Due to this variation in the tastes and

preferences of market, Surf Excel Quick Wash opted for differentiated marketing strategy.
Competitors' marketing strategy - If competitors are already using differentiated marketing,
following an undifferentiated coverage strategy may be suicidal. For example, as P&G uses
differentiated marketing strategy in its detergent category (Tide, Cheer, Gain, Era, Dreft, and
Ivory Snow in the United States market), so does Unilever for Surf Excel Quick Wash.

Sources of Product Differentiation:

To build a lucrative relationship with the customers, better understand them and deliver the value of
their product in superior manner than the competitors, a company intends to serve; it needs to pursue
differentiation strategy. Differentiation leads buyers to perceive a difference between products.
Differentiation affects performance primarily by reducing direct competition as the product becomes
more different, categorization becomes more difficult, and the product draws fewer comparisons with
its competition. There are a number of sources using which a company can differentiate its offerings:
1. Product Differentiation- Some brands can be differentiated on features, qualities, performance,
design, style or such other factors. Thus, Surf Excel is able to differentiate from its competitors
through its added facilities of fragrance and increase life of fabric. The all-new Surf Excel has
the power of lemon, liquid blue and soap bar that helps in removing multiple stains with just 1
product. It does not only care about the fabric but also the users hand and keep them unharmed.

2. Service Differentiation- Service differentiation is the degree to which a product or brand can be
differentiated in the course of its convenience, customer service, delivery service and other such
services. Surf Excel enables the customers to buy their product from the nearest supermarket,
ensuring customers convenience and handiness.

3. Channel Differentiation- Through various channels such as brand performance, coverage and
expertise, a brand can be differentiated from the rest of their competitors. Surf Excel does not
directly use a channel differentiation; however it does emphasize their expertise and make sure
that the brand gets a good volume of coverage.

4. People Differentiation- Brands often hire, train and maintain a certain level of employees
competence, their courtesy towards customers, credibility, reliability, and responsiveness and
communication skill. In the case of Surf Excel, no particular people differentiation is applied on
field as the product is showcased in supermarkets and there is not much scope of
communication between a customer and employee. However, the parent brand, Unilever, is a
well- reputed and respected company and maintains employees profile sets to a relative
standard.

5. Image Differentiation- Brands can also be differentiated on symbols, colors, slogans, special
attributes, events and etc. unlike other mentionable detergent powder brands, Surf Excel has an
unique symbol that looks like a stain ( which immediately relates to the job it does that is
remove stains). They also have a very vibrant and colorful white, blue and orange package. In
addition, Surf Excel uses one of the most catchy tagline among all the other detergent brands;
Daag theke Darun Kicchu. They also undertake various customer participative events such as
art competition, storytelling competition and etc.

Differences used to Promote:

All brands differences do not fulfill the intended goal or objective, not all the differentiation strategy
makes up a good or appropriate differentiator. The other often-disregarded reality is that each
differentiator used as a marketing strategy creates costs for the company (companys marketing
budget), as well as benefits for the consumer. A differentiation is worth adapting to the extent that it
satisfies the following criteria and answer the following questions:
1) Importance: Does the difference deliver a highly valued benefit to the target customer?
Yes, Surf Excel delivers a highly valued difference from the values of other detergents that are
legally available in Bangladesh. They do this especially through their product attribute
differentiation where they highlight the different consumer valued attributes such as washing
quickly, proficiently, care about fabric and the hand too. To compete with other local and
international detergent powders, it is important for Surf Excel to differentiate their offering in
the best possible manner.
2) Distinctiveness: Do your competitors also offer the difference? Can you offer it to customers in
a more distinctive and meaningful way? The brand is popular enough get distinct from its
competitors, as they yet could not establish their brands to offer the facilities that Surf Excel
does.

3) Superiority: Is the difference superior to other ways that customers can obtain the same
"benefit"? Surf Excel enjoys an upper hand in Bangladesh as it is a Unilever product and has
finest quality.
4) Communicable: Can the difference be easily communicated and also visible to consumers? The
packaging that Surf Excel uses always displays the extra benefits of the product and therefore it
easily communicates with consumers. It is visible in most of Bangladeshs superstores.

5) Preemptive: Is it difficult for your competitors to copy the difference? Surf Excel has been
successfully carried its product developing strategies and thus it is difficult to copy Surf Excel
within a short time. Also, it is a trademarked product and cannot be copied by others.

6) Affordable: Can consumers afford to pay for the difference? Surf Excel is not made affordable
for all class of people. However, the customers of it do know the significant difference between
Surf Excel the brand and other local brands and therefore finds it valuable.

7) Profitable: Are you able to introduce the difference profitably. The product differentiation is
profitable as this is giving them the superior image than other detergent based products.

Value Proposition:
Value proposition is a marketing statement that summarizes why a consumer should buy a product or
use a service. This statement should convince a potential consumer that one particular product or
service would add more value or better solve a problem than other similar offerings. It is establishes the
products position in the market with all the set of benefits in can give to the customers.
There are a number of ways of possible value propositions based on which a brand can position itself in
the market and in the minds of the consumers.

Here in the figure above, the green cells signify the winning value propositions, that is the
differentiation and positioning that acts as the companys competitive advantage. On the other hand, the
red cells represent the lost value propositions in the market. The yellow cell in the center symbolizes
the best marginal position. Surf excel 500gm (99 Tk.) is the highest selling premium washing powder
in Bangladesh.
Following is the description of the five winning value propositions and their relations to our product;
Surf Excel:
1. More for more - is positioning a product that provides the most high standard product or service
for a higher price to cover the higher costs or so to make others think. Surf Excel Quick Wash
500gm charges a premium price of Tk. 99 hence it is offering more for more. Using morefor-more strategy facilitates the brand to position itself as a high quality, reliable and
trustworthy product. Customers think that Surf Excel, as it is charging a high price than others,
must be the best in the market and can never disappoint them.

2. More for the same - Companies can attack a competitors more-for-more positioning by
introducing a brand offering comparable quality but at low price.

3. More for less - Companies at times provide higher quantity or quality for fewer prices to
capture a market portion. Yet, in the long-run, companies will find it difficult to sustain best-ofboth positioning as offering more is costlier and pricing them less is challenging and a
unsuccessful deal.

4. The same for less - Many companies offer the same brands but at deep discount based on
superior purchasing power and low-cost operations. For example, Rin Power White 500gm (52
Tk.), another product from the house of Unilever, positions itself by providing same 500gm of
detergent powder for a lower price of Tk. 52.

5. Less for much less - The extent to which a companys products offers less and therefore costs
less. It absorbs the market whose requirement for lower performance or quality is met at a much
lower price. Wheel Lemon Powder 500gm (37 Tk.) illustrates this positioning.

Chapter 8
Product: A product is any offering in a market for the satisfaction of a need or want of the customers.
Products include all sorts of offerings, including physical goods (anything tangible), services (for
example banks), experiences (for example trips in abroad), events, persons, places, properties,
organizations, information, and ideas.
Product Classification:
Marketers classify products on the basis on its durability, tangibility and use. Durability and tangibility
can mean 3 sorts of products:
1. Nondurable Goods- These goods all the tangible goods that have low perishability and are used
once or a few times. As they cannot be preserved or kept for a long time and for many uses,
they are bough on a regular basis. Detergents are nondurable goods as they get used up with
every use. Therefore, Surf Excel quick wash is made available in the nearest superstores and
covered with heavily promotional activities to ensure they are always visible to their customers.
2. Durable Goods- Durable goods are tangible goods that can be used many times and still survive.
They are promoted and advertised on a personal level. They usually are more costly as they are
bought for a long time usage.
3. Services- These are intangible goods and cannot be separated or preserved; has high
perishability. As Surf Excel is tangible, it is a product and not a service of any kind.
Levels of Product:
In order to shape this conceptual value that a customer attaches to a product, Kotler uses five product
levels in which a product is positioned or viewed from the perception of the consumer. These determine
the customer-value hierarchy.

1. Core Product- This is the basic product and the focus is on the purpose for which the product is
intended. For example, a detergent powder, here Surf Excel, fulfills the purpose of cleaning
cloths.

2. Basic or Actual Product- This represents all the qualities and features of the product. For
example, the ingredients with which the Surf Excel detergent is made.

3. Expected Product- This is about all aspects the consumer expects to get when they purchase a
product. Surf Excel detergent powder should be really good at removing stain.
4. Augmented Product- Here, the market associates something extra with the expected product.
Most of the other laundry detergents just focuses only on stain removing and does not target
properly for the care of fabrics but Surf Excel does not only remove stains, but it also gives
fragrance and increases the life of fabrics.
5. Potential Product- This is about augmentations and transformations that a brand is undergoing
currently and the competitors may undergo in the future. Marketers try to think and avail
customers with new and innovative benefits and facilities to attract and overtly satisfy all of
their customers. For example, Surf Excel quick wash detergent powder contains Smart Stain
Sensor that directs active cleaning power to where it is needed most, and it does not only
remove stains, but it also gives fragrance and increases the life of fabrics unlike other laundry
detergents. Surf Excel also came up with the new and innovative idea of delivering a good
lather at the washing stage, and reduces the need for the rinsing saving two bucket full of
water per wash. The launch of Surf Excel Quick Wash have been supported with an advertising
campaign that promotes the message that you can have cleaner clothes with less lather with the
aim of helping to reduce the water used in washing even more in the future.

Types of Consumer Products:

Consumer goods are tangible goods that are purchased for direct consumption to satisfy a human need
or want. These goods are traditionally classified into 4 types of goods:
1. Convenience product- Those goods, which are comparatively easily available to the consumer
without putting in any extra effort, are convenience goods. There are conveniently available to
the customer in a wider variety. Convenience goods are normally non durable, and are of a
relatively low value like fast foods, cigarettes etc. Further these are classified into 3 categories:

Staple convenience goods: The staple convenience goods are the basic items that every
consumer buys regularly or plans to buy before entering a store and these include bread,
milk, paper etc. Surf Excel is a staple product as it is bought regularly if not daily and is
planned in mid before buying it.

Impulsive convenience goods: The impulsive convenience goods are purchased without
any prior planning and the examples include chips, candies, soft drinks, wafers, ice
creams etc. Detergents are a household necessity product, thus are bought when its stock
is finished at home and not through impulse stimulation.

Emergency convenience goods: Goods that are bought out of immediate urgency is
called emergency goods. As the urgency can take place anywhere, these goods are made
available in convenient places for easy and quick purchase. Household products are kept

track of by the home maker and, therefore, Surf Excel detergent powder does not fall
under the emergency convenient goods criteria.
2. Shopping Goods- The shopping goods are the products that a buyer purchases after conducting
a thorough comparison within the same product line but from different shops, stores or outlets.
These goods, are of a relatively more value than that of the convenience goods, and are bought
infrequently (unlike convenience goods) and are durable. Buying decisions are involved on the
basis of the price of the good, shape, color, size, quality etc. Surf Excel detergent powder is not
a shopping product as it is comparatively a low cost product and are nondurable. Shopping
goods are further categorized into 2 types:

Homogeneous shopping goods- These are goods do not differ much in terms of their
prices and at the same time are of similar quality, featured type.

Heterogeneous shopping goods- All goods that are unalike each other that is they are
different in quality range, in features etc are called heterogeneous products. Here, price
difference is given less importance that the quality of the product.

3. Specialty Goods - The unique and unusual products are specialty goods, which are at least
perceived as special in the customers mind. The buyer know exactly how much effort he has to
exert to obtain it normally these may or may not be of high monetary value as these products
are perceived to be special for the purpose they are buying it and not always dependable on its
monetary value. They also cannot, or can be durable. The price is not amongst the chief
considerations so these differ a bit from the shopping goods. Examples are of automobiles,
jewelry, antiques. Detergent powder, like Surf Excel, is not bought with a lot of involvement by
the buyer and therefore cannot be considered as a specialty product.
4. Unsought Goods- This category is really a specific category of the consumer goods where the
people do not have any desire or plan to shop the product. They normally do not have any need,
but instead of to be used on some special occasions. An example of unsought product can be life
insurance. Clothes always needs to be washed, cleaned and take care of and to do that a good,
premium quality Surf Excel detergent is listed in the one-month-shopping agenda.
Consequently, Surf Excel Quick wash is not an unsought product for the consumers.

Individual Product and Service Decisions:

Any company usually focuses on the important decisions in the development and marketing of
individual products and services. These decisions are about product attributes, branding, packaging,
labeling, and product support services. Companies have to develop strategies for the items of their
product lines. Marketers make individual product decisions for each product including: product
attributes decisions, brand, packaging, labeling, and product-support services decisions.
1. Product Attributes- On the rise a product or service involves defining the benefits that it will
offer and deliver. These benefits are communicated to and delivered by product attributes such
as:

Product Quality: Surf Excel Quick wash considers and takes care of the standard,
eminence and value of a saleable good that determines its desirability. A manufacturer to
meet certain basic requirements can control quality of the product. Surf Excel brand has
a product quality or assurance department, also called the total quality managementTQM) that monitors outgoing products for consumer acceptability. It is given the high
quality approach to it, creating a customer value and satisfaction. The detergent is
recognized to perform its quality consistently by delivering the task it has promised to
carry that is washing clothes quickly as it is named Surf Excel Quick Wash.

Product Features: Functions of Surf Excel Quick Wash and how it is capable of
gratifying a particular consumer need and is hence seen as a benefit of owning the item.
For a company, a product feature is one of the distinguishing characteristics of a product
or service that helps enhance its appeal to potential buyers, and might be used to
formulate a product marketing strategy that highlights the usefulness of the product to
targeted potential consumers. The talked-about features of Surf Excel Quick Wash is its
ability to wash clothes quickly, care the fabrics, gives more attention dirt area and saves
a lot of water because of it goo amount of lather washing.

Product Style and Design: Another way to add customer value is through distinctive
product style and design. Surf Excel has the reputation for appropriate style and design
being a detergent item. Design is a larger concept than style. Style simply describes the

appearance of a product. Styles can be eye catching and attract many customers and vice
versa. Contrasting style, design is more than skin deep--it goes to the very heart of a
product. Good design contributes to a product's usefulness as well as to its looks. Good
style and design can attract attention, improve product performance, cut production
costs, and give the product a strong competitive advantage in the target market.
2. Branding- To understand branding, it is important to know what brands are. A brand is the idea
or image of a specific product or service that consumers connect with, by identifying the name,
logo, slogan, or design of the company who owns the idea or image. Branding is when that idea
or image is marketed so that it is recognizable by more and more people, and identified with a
certain service or product when there are many other companies offering the same service or
product. Advertising professionals work on branding not only to build brand recognition, but
also to build good reputations and a set of standards to which the company should strive to
maintain or surpass. The legal term for brand is trademark. A brand may identify one item, a
family of items, or all items of that seller. Surf Excel itself is a brand in the detergent industry.
Surf Excel brand comprises of a exclusive logo that looks like a stain on clothe which helps
people to understand what the product is used for, the noticeable way the name is imprinted on
the packets and taglines or terms as famous as Dirt is Good, Daag theke darun kichu. All
these attributes help recognize this particular item as a brand that satisfies consumer value to a
certain level.
3. Packaging- Designing and producing the container of a product is called packaging. Packing is
done through three levels: to packet Surf Excel Quick Wash detergent in a 500gm pack referred
to as primary packaging, in a cardboard box called the secondary packaging, and in a ridged
box containing many Surf Excel packets called shipping package. They have a department
called packaging department. The employees of packaging department make a plan for how to
pack the product, what is the materials used to pack, how colorful will it be etc. While they plan
for packaging, they consult 3 models (General Trade, Local Modern Trade and International
Modern Trade).

Over the years it has anticipated the changing washing needs of the Bangladeshi homemaker and
constantly upgraded itself. It has been constantly improving its packaging. Its developing different
shapes and sizes of colorful packages in order to attract the customers and retain customers; however
Bangladesh has only one variant available. There are many factors that established packaging as a key
element to market a particular product:

Self Service- While shopping at any big supermarket in Bangladesh, a customer sees
more than ten brands of local and international laundry detergent powders. To grab the
attention of the customers as well as instigate them to buy their product only, Surf Excel
has adapted to a very attractive and bright color packet, described all the features and
unique components of how is works which ultimately gains the confidence of the
customers and influences them to buy it.

Consumer Affluence- this means making the customers pay a little more than usual for
the packets quality, handiness, form and degree of protection. Surf Excel has a premium
quality of packaging. The shape of the packet makes it easy to hold and handle. They
plan such a way for packaging, which symbolizes their proposition, create strong desires
to buy only Surf Excel and stand out among other laundry brands

Company and Brand Image- Surf Excel always plan to make a unique outlook of the
pack to allow instant recognition of the company and brand. After all the years that Surf
Excel has lived in Bangladesh, no one can miss the flashy orange and blue combination
of Surf excel Quick Wash Detergent packet. These prove the worthiness of their
packaging.

Innovation Opportunity- Many companies innovate new, interesting and more protective
ways of packing a product and earning customers confidence. Although Surf Excel was
always packed in a good quality and well designed packets, they were never very
experimental with its detergents packaging. They were always offered in a packet.

4. Labeling- Any product needs to be effectively labeled in an identifiable, descriptive, grading

and promoting manner. For example, Surf Excel is identified with its unique logo, color
combination and is stamped with Unilever logo in the backside. Bangladeshi products are not
usually graded with any alphabets. Surf Excels packet is vividly described by mentioning its

fast action particles, what does it do (remove tough stains from clothes), how does it do
(particles penetrate deep within) and what benefit does the customers get out of it (get great
cleaning everyday in just half the time).

Product Line Analysis

At the initial stage of building product-line, companies normally develop

basic platform and modules that can be added to meet different customer
requirements. The modular approach enables the company to offer variety and to lower production
costs. Not all products are of the same type and used for the same purpose. A company can classify its
product into four types that give in gross margins depending on sales volume and promotion. This is
applicable for a detergent market as well, as described below:
1. Core products- Sure Excel Quick Wash 500gm is not a core product, because even though it is
heavily promoted, it has high profit margin and are differentiated from the competitors
products.
2. Staples- Products purchased regularly and out of necessity are staple products. Traditionally,
these items have lower sales volume and no promotion. Surf Excel Quick Wash 500gm are not
bought on a daily basis; however Surf Excel Quick Washs sachet packets are bought on a daily
basis by most of the households.
3. Specialties- Specialty products gives low sales volume but highly promoted to the company.
Surf Excel Quick Wash 500gm, as it expensive compared to competitors products, have low
sales volume but is highly promoted and advertised.
4. Convenience- Convenience offerings are usually products that people use in everyday life, such
as bread, milk or matches. People do not devote too much time to choose what particular brand
to buy. Some people do prefer some brands, but will buy another if the favorite one is not
available. Convenience products are usually comparatively cheap and sold in many places.
Therefore, they generate high sales volume but receive less promotion. Surf Excel Quick Wash
500gm does not fall under this category.

Product Line Decisions

A product line is a group of products that are closely related to each other by function, customer group,
market, or price range. For Unilever, in the fabric-cleansing category, it has the following product-lines
Surf Excel Detergent Powder, Wheel Detergent Powder and Rin Power White (all the products in this
line have the same function).
The major product line decision involves product-line length, which is the number of items sold in a
particular product line. Surf Excel Quick Wash has expanded its product-line length in two ways, as
explained below:
i.

Line Stretching This occurs when a company lengthens its product-line beyond its current
range. The company can stretch its line in any one of the three ways explained below:
Down-market Stretching This involves introducing a low-priced product-line. Surf Excel
Quick Wash 500gm is positioned as a premium washing powder in Bangladesh. However,
since there is strong growth opportunities in the value-priced washing powder as majority of the
population is classified as middle-class; Surf Excel Quick Wash has adopted a down-market
stretching in its product line to absorb the opportunities. This has resulted in the introduction of
more value-priced Surf Excel Quick Wash packet Surf Excel Quick Wash sachet pack 20gm
(5Tk) - to encourage people to become loyal customers and buy the bigger packets. This enables
Surf Excel Quick Wash to position themselves as full-line manufacturers, and absorb the
middle-market of Bangladesh.

Up-market Stretching This strategy is adopted by companies who offer products in the middle
market and wishes to enter the high end of the market in order to achieve more growth or to
realize higher margin. Since Surf Excel Quick Wash 500gm is already positioned in the high
end of the market, this strategy does not apply for stretching its product line, as introducing an
even higher priced washing powder might not be feasible for Surf Excel in the Bangladeshi
market.

Two-way Stretching Companies serving the middle market might decide to stretch their line in
both the directions (i.e. both downwards and upwards market stretching).

ii.

Line Filling This involves adding more items within the present range of the line. Our SBU,
Surf Excel Detergent Powder 500gm, uses this strategy by filling one more SBU in its present
range - 180gm at 55Tk. This enables Surf Excel to obtain its motives of reaching incremental
profits, utilizing its excess capacity and allows it to be the leading full-line brand. However, in
order to refrain from cannibalization that occurs when line filling is overdone and customers get
confused, Surf Excel makes sure that the new items are noticeably different from the existing
ones, such as the sachet packs of 20gm have a different set of market and purpose compared to
the 500gm packet.

Product Mix Decisions

The product mix (or product portfolio) involves the set of all product lines and items that a particular
seller offers for sale. The wide array of product categories offered by Unilever includes - household
care, fabric cleaning, skin cleansing, skin care, oral care, hair care, personal grooming, water purifier,
and tea based beverage products. The entire product lines in these product categories and the items sold
in each of them comprises of Unilevers product mix (or product portfolio). The four important
dimensions of Unilevers product mix are explained below:
i.

Product line width This refers to the number of different product lines sold under a particular
brand name. For Surf Excel Bangladesh, there is only one product width Surf Excel Quick
Wash. However, for Surf Excel India, there are three product lines sold under the brand name
Surf Excel Surf Excel Detergent Powder, Surf Excel Liquid Wash and Surf Excel Detergent
Bar.

ii.

Product line length This refers to the total number of items that a particular brand name
carries within its product lines. For Surf Excel Bangladesh, there are three items in the product
line length the three packet sizes (500gm, 180gm and 20gm). Again, for Surf Excel India,
there are around 21 items in the product line length.

iii.

Product line depth This refers to the number of versions offered of each product in the line.
The product mix depth of the Surf Excel Detergent Powder includes only one product variant
(Surf Excel Quick Wash) for the Bangladeshi market. So there is no product line depth for Surf
Excel Quick Wash. However, we could demonstrate the product line depth for Surf Excel of
India, where the Surf Excel Detergent Powder comes in four variations (Surf Excel Matic Front
Load Power, Surf Excel Matic Top Load Power, Surf Excel Easy Wash and Surf Excel Quick
Wash).

iv.

Product line consistency The consistency of the product line refers to how closely the various
line and category extension of the original product are in end use, production requirements,
distribution channels, or some other ways. In the case of Surf Excel, the original product for
includes Surf Excel Detergent Powder. There is a strong product line consistency because all the
product line and category extensions have been related to clothing cleaning solution. The
product lines are less consistent insofar as they perform different functions for the buyers.

Product Mix Pricing

For companies like Unilever, that deals with different product lines, the firm searches for a set of prices
that maximizes profits of the total mix. There are six product-mix pricing strategy that Unilever can use
in pricing its products, as explained below:
i.

Product-line pricing Unilever adopts this strategy in pricing all the products in its fabric
cleaning product line by introducing price steps. For example, the 500gm packet of Surf Excel
Detergent Powder is prices at 99Tk, whereas the similar sized packet of Rin Power White is
priced 52Tk and Wheel Lemon Power is priced 37Tk. This reflects the different price steps used

by Unilever, and associate low-, average-, and high-quality image with each of the three price
points.
ii.

Optional-Feature Pricing This involves pricing optimal or accessory products sold with the
main product. This product mix pricing strategy does not apply for Surf Excel Detergent
powder, as it does not have any optional products or features. Theres only the main product
(i.e. Surf Excel).

iii.

Captive-product Pricing This involves pricing the ancillary or captive products. However,
since Surf Excel Detergent Powder does not require the use of any other captive product, this
product-mix pricing strategy also does not apply.

iv.

Two-part Pricing The service firms mostly use this strategy, which consists of a fixed fee plus
a variable usage fee. As the usage of Surf Excel Detergent Powder does not allow variable
usage fees to be charged, this strategy is not used in pricing its product mix.

v.

By-product Pricing Producing products and services often generate by-products. If the byproducts have value to a customer group, they should be prices on their value. This helps the
companies to be competitive in charging prices for their main product. Surf excel Quick Wash is
solely dependent on drying different types of chemicals and after a lot of steam they are shaped
into solidified form. There are other chemicals that are left after the procedure that can be used
as a by-product for Surf Excel Quick Wash.

vi.

Product Bundling Pricing This involves selling bundle products and features. Surf Excel
Detergent Powder uses mixed bundling, where the 500gm packet is available in both individual
and in bundles of two-500gm packet. The bundle of two-500gm packet is priced 40tk less than
if they were individually purchased.

Four Types of Brand Sponsorship

A manufacturer has four brand sponsorship options, as explained below:
i.

National Brand (or manufacturers brand) This is the brand that is created and owned by the
producer of goods and services and sold under their own brand names. This strategy is adopted

by Unilevers Surf Excel Quick Wash, which being the producer of the detergent powder sells it
under its own brand name.
ii.

Store Brands (or private brands) This is a brand created and owned by a reseller (middleman,
distributor or retailer) of a product or service. Such brands have gained a lot of market share in
the recent times, because they offer low-price alternative to national brands and results in higher
store traffic and loyalty. Such practice of brand sponsorship have not yet been very widespread
in the retail market of Bangladesh, but in UKs supermarket Sainsbury's, the store's own brand
of laundry detergents, called Novon, is marketed alongside products produced by P & G (Tide
and Ariel) and Unilever (Persil).

iii.

Licensing - A product or service using a brand name offered by the brand owner to the licensee
for an agreed fee or royalty. Unilevers Surf Excel does not practice such brand sponsorship

iv.

options.
Co-branding - Co- branding occurs when two established brand names of different companies
are used on the same product. Surf Excel detergent powder does not associate itself with any
other brand to sponsor it; hence it does not practice co-branding.

Four Brand Development Strategies

There are four options used by Unilever in developing its brand strategy in the fabric cleaning productline, as illustrated below:

Line Extention
Surf Excel Quick Wash
available in 3 packet
sizes : 20gm, 180gm and
500gm

Brand Extension
No brand extensions of
Surf Excel

Multibrands
Wheel Washing Powder
and Rin Power White

New Brands
Introduction of Vim
Dishwasher in its homecare product line

Line Extension - Line extensions occur when a company introduces additional items in a given product
category under the same brand name, such as new flavors, forms, colors, ingredients or package sizes.
Surf Excel Quick Wash practices line extension by introducing three varying packet sizes 20gm
(sachet packs), 180gm and 500gm.

Brand Extension - A brand-extension (or brand-stretching) strategy is any effort to use a successful
brand name to launch new or modified products in a new category. Surf Excel does not adopt this
strategy in Bangladesh, as the brand is only available in one product category (detergent powder);
however, Hindustan Unilever has a number of brand extensions under the name of Surf Excel, which
includes Surf Excel Blue, Surf Excel Automatic and Surf Excel Detergent Bar.
Multi-brands This is a strategy where a company introduces additional brands in the same category.
Unilever offers two other brands in its fabric-cleaning category (Wheel and Rin Power White) and
builds a multi-brand strategy. This allows Unilever to benefit from finer segmentation of the market,
with each brand name suggesting different functions or benefits for different customer segments.
Another advantage for Unilever is that it can differentiate its new products more effectively with

individual brand names, while also reducing the risk of individual brand failures harming the
company's overall reputation.
New Brands This involves introducing a new brand name in a new product category. For example,
Unilever extended the product categories in the home-care sector by introducing a new brand name,
Vim Dishwasher.

Four Service Characteristics

There are four special service characteristics that a company must consider when designing its
marketing program. These characteristics are explained below

Surf Excel is classified as

tangible good since it can be
seen, tested and felt before
purchase.

Servic
es

Perishability

Quality of Surf Excel does not

depends on who provides them
and when,where and how.

Surf Excel can be stored for

later sale or use.

Intangibility
Variability

Inseparability

Surf Excel has separability as

it can be divided in a number
of convenient packet sizes.

Chapter 9
Devising a Brand Strategy
A firms branding strategy reflects the number and nature of both common and distinctive brand
elements it applies to the products it sells. The main brand terms for Surf Excel Quick Wash and its
parent company, Unilever, are explained below:
a) Brand Portfolio The brand portfolio of Unilever comprises of the entire collection of
trademarks that the company applies to its products and services. Even though each of
Unilevers brands has its own separate trademarks and operates as an individual business entity,
the brand portfolio encompass all these entities under one umbrella as it lessens consumer
confusion in regard to who owns particular brands.
b) Brand Mix (or brand assortment) is the set of all brand lines that a particular seller makes
available to buyers. Unilever offers 19 product lines, all of which makes the brand mix of
Unilevers brand portfolio.
c) Brand line consists of all products original as well as line and category extension sold
under a particular brand. For example, all the products sold under the brand name Surf Excel
Surf Excel Quick Wash (available in 3 packet sizes) - comprises of a brand line.
d) Family Brand The existing brand that gives birth to a brand extension or sub brand is known
as family brand/ parent brand. Surf Excel Detergent Powder is the parent brand of its brand
extension Surf Excel Quick Wash.

e) Brand Extension This involves introducing a new product using an established brand. Brand
extensions fall into two categories:
Line Extension Surf Excel Quick Wash 500gm undertook line extension strategies by
introducing new package sizes 20gm (sachet packs) and 180gm packets -in order to
become a full-line provider of premium washing powder. In line extension, Surf Excel
Quick Wash stays within the same product category.

Category Extension This involves the parent brand (Surf Excel Detergent) entering a
different product category from the one it is currently serving. This category extension is
not used Surf Excel in Bangladesh. Though in other countries, such as Hindustan
Unilever (HUL), Surf Excel has undertaken category extension by introducing products
such as Surf Excel Gentle wash, a liquid detergent meant for woolens, baby clothes,
silks, crepes or other such clothes that gets damaged if washed with regular detergent
powder.

f) Sub-brand This involves combining a new brand with an existing brand. Surf Excel Detergent
powder has not undertaken this devising strategy, as it has not being associated with any other
brands.
g) Branded Variants Here, only specific brand lines are supplied to specific retailers or
distribution channels, due to the pressure some retailers put on manufacturers to provide
distinctive offerings. Surf Excel Quick Wash 500gm has no brand variants, since it distributes
the

same

product

to

all

the

retailers

in

the

distribution

channel.

h) Licensed Product is one whose brand name has been licensed to other manufacturers that
actually make the product. There are no licensed products of Surf Excel Quick Wash.
i) Brand Dilution - Brand Dilution occurs when a brand extension adversely affects perception
about attributes the core brand is believed to hold. Surf Excel Quick Wash is safe from brand
dilution as there are distinct differences between the brand extensions, and the customers do not
have conflicting perceptions about the offered brand extensions.

Brand Naming Decisions:

There are four brand-naming strategies that a parent company can choose from when developing a
brand name for its product. The brand naming practices followed by Surf Excel Quick wash is
explained below:

a) Individual Names Unilever follows an individual naming strategy in naming Surf Excel Quick
Wash, keeping the parent brand (Unilevers) name separate from its branding. This allows
Unilever to not tie its reputation with that of Surf Excel, and in case Surf Excel fails or appears
to have low quality, it does not hurt Unilevers image. Also, by using the individual naming
strategy, Unilever is able to introduce different quality lines within the same product class (such
as Rin and Wheel). Unilever, therefore, is known to be a house of brands.
b) Blanket Family Names Here, all products use a common family of brand names. This strategy
is not adopted by Unilever and our SBU (Surf Excel Quick Wash), since it does not follow the
branded house strategy.

c) Separate Family Names for all products This involves having separate names for the major
categories of products (such as oral care, fabric cleansing etc.). However, as Unilever uses
different

brand

names

under

each

category,

it

does

not

follow

this

strategy.

d) Corporate Name combined with Individual Product Names Since the brand name of Surf
Excel Quick Wash does not directly use its manufacturing companys name, Unilever, it can be
said to not following this strategy. The only brand in the product line of Unilever to follow this
strategy is Unilever Pureit, where the parent brands name is associated with the individual
brand name.

Brand Roles in Brand Portfolio:

Brands can play a number of specific roles as part of a portfolio. The Brand Role played by Surf Excel
Quick Wash 500gm in Unilevers Brand Portfolio is described below:
a) Flankers These are the fighter brands that are positioned with respect to the competitors
brands so that more important (and profitable) flagship brands can retain their desired
positioning. Unilever markets Wheel lemon detergent powder in a way that flanks the more
premium washing powder in its product line Surf Excel Quick Wash. In order to maintain the
fine line in designing fighter brands, Unilever promotes Wheel Lemon Powder to only give
some specific benefits (such as either extra whiteness or good fabric scent), whereas it promotes
Surf Excel Quick Wash as having the power to remove multiple types of stains while
maintaining the quality and scent of fabric.
b) Cash Cows These are the brands that are kept in the companys product portfolio despite
dwindling sales because they still manage to maintain their profitability with virtually no
marketing support. Surf Excel Quick Wash cannot be classified as playing the brand role of
cash cow as it is greatly supported by marketing activities to boost sales.

c) Low-end Entry Level This is where a relatively low-priced brand in the portfolio is introduced
to attract customers to brand franchise. The low-end entry level role of Surf Excel Quick Wash
can be said to be the 20gm sachet pack, which has been competitively priced at 5tk per sachet to
induce

customers

to

buy

and

create

loyalty.

d) High-end prestige Surf Excel Quick Wash 500gm can be seen to be playing the role of a highend prestige in the fabric cleansing line of Unilever, as it is the highest priced SBU among its
portfolio. It enhances the prestige and credibility of the entire Unilever portfolio.

Chapter 10 and 11
Price: The amount of money charged for a product or service, or the sum of the values that customers
exchange for the benefits of having or using the product or service. For instance, the amount of money
the customers are going to pay for the Surf Excel Quick wash 500gm is 99Tk.

Fixed Price: The term fixed price is a phrase used to mean the price of a good or a service is not subject
to bargaining. The term commonly indicates that an external agent, such as a merchant or the
government, has set a price level, which may not be changed for individual sales. In the case of
governments, this may be due to price controls.
Dynamic price: This is a pricing strategy in which businesses set highly flexible prices for products or
services based on current market demands. Dynamic pricing is a common practice in several industries
such as hospitality, travel, entertainment, and retail. Each industry takes a slightly different approach to
re pricing based on its needs and the demand for the product. This is not applicable for Surf Excel
Quick Wash 500gm.
Costs: This is the sum of the cost of production as incurred by the original producer, and further costs
of transaction as incurred by the acquirer over and above the price paid to the producer. Usually, the
price also includes a mark-up for profit over the cost of production. For example, suppose, if the cost of
manufacturing Surf Excel Quick Wash 500gm is 40Tk, and the cost of transaction incurred by the
distributor is 10Tk, then the total cost of Surf Excel Quick Wash 500gm will be 50Tk.
Fixed Cost: Costs that do not vary with production or sales level are called fixed costs. It is also known
as overhead. For example, the fixed cost in the production of Surf Excel Quick Wash 500gm would be
the

rent

of

the

factory,

cost

of

labor

and

cost

of

machinery.

Variable Cost: Costs that vary directly with the level of production. Such as, the variable costs of Surf
Excel Quick Wash 500gm might include the chemicals and components used to produce the detergent
powder, plus the packaging.
Total cost: The sum of the fixed and variable costs for any given level of production.

Marketing Objectives for Pricing:

In order to enter the market Surf Excel first needs to decide where it wants to position its market
offering and for that it needs to have a clear pricing objective. There are 5 major pricing objectives.
Surf Excel Quick Wash 500gm has to choose between one of these objectives. A brief discussion is
given below:

1. Survival: Survival is a short- run objective; in the long run the firm must learn how to add value or
face extinction and this is not the objective Surf Excel is looking for because it is already an established
brand in Bangladesh.
2. Profit maximization: In profit maximization the companies will try to set a price that will maximize
their current profits. They estimate the demand and costs associated with alternative prices and choose
the price that produces maximum current profit. Surf Excel also does not target this objective, as it
aims to stay in the market for the long run.
3. Market penetration: The company set a low initial price in order to penetrate the market quickly and
deeply to attract a large number of buyers quickly and win a large market share. This objective is
being ignored by Surf excel. This is because Surf Excel Quick Wash 500gm has been positioned as a
premium washing detergent powder in the Bangladeshi market, and applying market penetration
pricing strategy would ruin their value proposition.
4. Market skimming pricing: Companies that invent new products often use this objective. Market
skimming makes sense only under certain conditions. First, the products quality and image must
support its higher price and enough buyers must want the product at that price. Second, the costs of
producing a smaller volume cannot be so high that they cancel the advantage of charging more. Finally
competitors should not be able to enter the market easily and undercut the high price. Surf Excel is not
going to choose this objective as well, because charging too high prices will attract competitors in the
market who can also copy the product benefits offered by Surf Excel Quick Wash 500gm. Additionally,
following this objective will refrain Surf Excel Quick Wash 500gm from enjoying the benefits of
economies of scale which in return will increase their cost of production.
5. Product quality leadership: Finally, Surf Excel aims to be the product- quality leader in the market.
Many local or international brands strive to be affordable luxuries products or service characterized
by high levels of perceived quality taste and status with a price just high enough not to be out of
consumers reach. Surf Excel Quick Wash 500gm packet aims to do just that by pricing just less than
100 taka but with a quality matching the international standards.

Different types of Market:

Good pricing starts with an understanding of how customers perceptions of value affect the prices they
are willing to pay. Both consumer and industrial buyers balance the price of a product or service against
the benefits of owning it. Thus, before setting prices, we must understand the relationship between
price and demand for the companys product. Surf excel, before setting prices they set their target
market. There are 4 types of markets for Surf Excel to choose from but they choose only one. First, let
us know about the different types of markets:
Pure competition: In pure competition the market price doesnt vary that much and no distinguished
seller can change or affect the market price to the extent. A seller cannot charge more than the going
price, because buyers can obtain as much as they need at that price. In pure competition wheat, copper
or financial securities are good examples. Surf Excel wont target this market because of its own
product category.
Oligopolistic Competition: In this market the sellers are comparatively fewer than pure competition.
However the sellers are concerned about each others pricing and marketing strategy. It is
comparatively harder to enter the market as a new competitor. An example might be steel selling
company and its market. If the company reduces its price then every other company will have to do or
take certain steps to match their strategy or every buyer will buy products from them. The detergent
powder market of Bangladesh does not follow oligopolistic competition, and therefore Surf Excel
Quick Wash 500gm does not follow it either.
Pure monopoly: In here the market consists of one seller only. Generally the government is the perfect
example for this sort of market. Surf Excel does not operate in the pure monopoly market, and there is
more than one seller in the detergent powder industry in Bangladesh.
Monopolistic competition: The market consists of many buyers and sellers who trade over a range of
prices rather than a single market price. A range of prices occurs because sellers can differentiate their
offers to buyers. Either the physical product can be varied in quality, features or style or the service can
be varied. Sellers try to develop differentiated offers for different customer segments. Surf Excel Quick
Wash 500gm will target this market because of the offerings this market makes. In the pack of Surf
Excel Quick Wash 500gm it is mentioned that it can wash clothes in less than one minute and it will
save you extra 2 buckets of water. It is clear that Surf Excel is differentiating itself from the other

sellers on the market. Because there are many competitors in the market, Surf excel is less affected by
competitors pricing strategies than in oligopolistic markets.

Pricing Strategies
There are few pricing strategies that Surf excel needs to utilize to be in the market. They are explained
below:
1. Value-based pricing: In value-based pricing or perceived value pricing companies deliver the value
promised by their value proposition and the customers must perceive this value. Surf Excel Quick
Wash promises to remove all kinds of stains with just one product and that too in half the time with less
wastage of water. It charges its premium price on the basis of this value delivered, and the success of
the product in the Bangladeshi market reflects that consumers perceive the value delivered in the
similar manner.
2. Value pricing: This involves winning loyal customers by charging a fairly low price for a highquality offering. Value pricing is thus not a matter of simply setting lower prices; it is a matter of
reengineering the companys operations to become a low cost producer without sacrificing quality, to
attract a large number of value-conscious customers. Surf Excel, with its premium brand image and an
affordable price range, aspires to do just that.
3. Everyday pricing: An important type of value pricing is everyday low pricing, which takes place at
the retail level. A retailer that holds to an EDLP pricing policy charges a constant low price with little
or no price promotions and special sales. These constant prices eliminate week-to-week price
uncertainty and the high low pricing of promotion-oriented competitors. Therefore Surf Excel Quick
Wash will surely target this strategy to get customer attention due to the low price but better product
than the rest of the detergents in the market.
4. High Low Pricing: In high low pricing, the retailer charges higher prices on an everyday basis but
then runs frequent promotions in which prices are temporarily lowered below the EDLP level.
Although it is a very good strategy Surf Excel wont consider this because they want their consumers to
get the best possible product in the least amount of money used and High Low pricing generally
involves pricing a very high amount at the initial stage.

Competition-Based Pricing:
Surf Excel Quick Wash 500gm uses competition based pricing. There are 2 types of pricing techniques
in competition-based pricing, as explained below:
1. Going rate pricing This is when the firm largely bases its price on competitors price and if the
market leaders or the brand in the market changes the price they have to change it too.
2. Sealed-bid pricing This occurs when all the competitors of the market bid for something they
want to buy.
Surf Excel does not follow either of those. Its pricing technique solely depends on its other competitors.
In order to be the market leader it has to price in such a way that makes it better than any other products
but at the same time affordable in the eyes of consumers. The price has to be above other competitors
but at the same time within consumer reach and it has possibly done so. Surf Excel Quick Wash 500gm
packets price is less than 100 Tk that is highest in the market but at the same time within reach and not
that costly compared to other brands.

Product Mix Pricing Strategies:

The strategy for setting a products price often has to be changed when the product is part of a product
mix. In this case, Surf Excel Quick Wash 500gm looks for a set of prices that maximizes the profits on
the total product mix. Pricing is difficult because the various products have related demand and costs
and face different degree of competition. There are 5 types of product mix pricing strategies, as
explained below:
1. Product line pricing: Companies usually develop product lines rather than single products. Surf
Excel Bangladesh only has Surf Excel Quick Wash in its product line. However, Surf Excel India has a
number of product lines along with Surf Excel Quick Wash, which includes Surf Excel Matic Top
Load with special Multi Active System molecules, specially designed to work in large quantities of
water & remove tough stains in the washing machine itself; Surf Excel Matic Front Load with its
concentrated 'low foam'2X Formula designed to remove stains without generating excess foam that is
harmful for washing machine; Surf Excel Blue that is used for Fabric and Color Care. Now all of these
products carry different types of price suiting to the customers needs. For instance, Quick Washs price
is 99 BDT; where as Surf Excel Matic is over 150 BDT. The price steps take into account cost
differences between the products in the line and account for differences in customer perceptions of the
value of different features.
2. Optional product pricing: Companies use optional product pricing offering to sell optional or
accessory products along with the actual product. This product mix pricing strategy does not apply for
Surf Excel Quick Wash, as it does not have any optional products or features. Theres only the main
product (i.e. Surf Excel Quick Wash 500gm).
3. Captive product pricing: Companies that make products that must be used along with a main product
are using captive product pricing. Surf Excel doesnt have any captive product but special chemicals to
use alongside the detergent to help make the wash even better can be offered by the brand.
4. By- product pricing: Producing products and services often generate by-products. If the by-products
have value to a customer group, they should be prices on their value. This helps the companies to be
competitive in charging prices for their main product. Surf excel Quick Wash is solely dependent on
drying different types of chemicals and after a lot of steam they are shaped into solidified form. There

are other chemicals that are left after the procedure that can be used as a by-product for Surf Excel
Quick Wash.
5. Product Bundle Pricing: Using product bundle pricing, sellers often combine several of their
products and offer the bundle at a reduced price. Like Surf Excel offered all of their types of detergents
in one bundle in only 1050 BDT a few months back. This way all of their products can be sold easily
and customers also enjoy the full pack with all types of formula for washing different types of clothes.
Surf Excel Quick Wash uses mixed bundling, where the 500gm packet is available in both individual
and in bundles of two-500gm packet. The bundle of two-500gm packet is priced 40tk less than if they
were individually purchased.

Price Adjustment Strategies:

The price adjustment strategy in the most basic sense is the strategies, which are followed to set or
adjust the price of a product. These strategies are commonly used to change the prices for different
markets or to stimulate sales. Some of them are discussed below:

Discount and allowance pricing: Discounting and allowance are similar yet different. Discounts
are offered to the consumers; it refers to the reduction in price for a specific period of time or on
purchasing of a certain quantity of the product. Allowance on the other hand is provided to the
retailers by the wholesalers. Allowance is the offering of money (of some free quantity) in
exchange of agreement to feature the product on some way. Surf Excel Quick Wash 500gm
often provides such discounts every now and then, offering price cuts and sometimes 20%
extra.

Segmented pricing: Segmented pricing is adjusted pricing to allow for differences in customer,
location or the product itself. In other words, different prices are set for different locations,
customers and product forms. Surf Excel Quick Wash 500gm does not offer segmented pricing

in Bangladesh. However, they do tend to sell large packs in the urban regions and small sachets
in the rural areas with respect to the needs and purchasing power of the people.

Psychological pricing: Psychological pricing says something about the product philosophy, not
just the cost of manufacturing. Surf Excel Quick Wash 500gm follows this strategy. It identifies
itself as a highly effective fabric cleaner but also believes that its a must have around
households with young kids who tend to get their clothes dirty every now and then. So instead
of charging a high price as per its effectiveness, Surf Excel Quick Wash 500gm is moderately
priced around its competitors.

Promotional pricing: Promotional pricing is reducing the prices for a short period of time, often
in a certain place, typically to stimulate the market and increase sales. Surf Excel Quick Wash
500gm has sponsored/organized various different events throughout the years and it has offered
various promotional prices and gifts in those events.

International pricing: International pricing means to set prices differently in different global
regions, adjusting with the regions culture, peoples purchasing power and other related factors.

Conditions Necessary for Segmented Pricing Effectiveness:

For segmented pricing to be effective, it must fulfill some certain conditions, such as:

The market must be segment able, and each of the segments must show a different level of
demand for the product. Surf Excel Quick Wash 500gm follows the mass marketing strategy so
there is no need of segmentations.

The segmented market should be sustainable, meaning the business must be able to operate at
that segment with a profit at that segmented price, while also being within a legal and logical
margin. This includes the costs of segmenting and reaching the market, which should be below
the generated revenue. Since Surf Excel Quick Wash 500gm is a product for the mass market, it
is safe to assume that their customer base is sustainable.

But more importantly, the segmented price should reflect the real differences in the customers
perceived values. A customer who is paying a high price for the product must feel like they are
getting the value worth the extra they are spending while the budget customers should feel like
they are getting the proper value for the price they are paying. Ignoring this will result in
customer resentment and harbored ill feelings towards the product. Surf Excel Quick Wash
500gm is offered in only one variant so this point can be ignored.

Price Changes:
Price changes are changing the prices or readjusting it. Price changes may refer to price cuts or price
increases.

Price cuts: This involves reducing the price. Price cuts can be initiated to aggressively promote
the product to attract sales to increase the revenue or to get ahead of the competitors. Surf Excel
Quick Wash 500gm has, on numerous occasions reduced its price or provided extra percentage
of the detergent. In addition, it has also included gift like tiffin boxes, containers to store as
well.

Price increases: Price increase is not always a negative thing. Firms tend to increase prices to
retain its profit margins during the inflations. In Bangladesh, inflation is widely noticed in the

mid-year, during the time of national budgeting. Surf Excel Quick Wash 500gm changes its
price during the budget period as per the rate of inflation to retain their profit margin.

Initiating price changes: Initiation of the price changes depend on the companys preferred
strategy. In case of Surf Excel Quick Wash 500gm, before initiating a price change, they tend to
make the customers aware through TVCs, advertisements on the print media and distributing
leaflets and flyers.

Buyer and competitors reaction: Price changes are not always directly interpreted by the buyers
and competitors. During the budget season, when everythings prices are increasing, a decrease
in price is supposed to be increasing; a price cut is interpreted as a decrease in quality as well.
Also, a price increase in excess proportion is interpreted as a corporate agenda for the top
management to increase digits of their bank accounts. Competitors focus on the price changes
seriously as a price change can also change the companys market share quite rapidly so they
need to react fast to either get more of the share or retain the current shares.

Alternatives To Increasing Prices: There are many alternative to price changes. Price changes
commonly refer to the changes in price only and not the quantity. Surf Excel Quick Wash

500gm often, instead of a price cut, provides a certain percentage of bonuses with purchase,
typically 10-33% extra.

Differentiated pricing:

Customer-segment price: Customer-segment pricing means the customer base is divided into
different segments and each segment pays a different price for the product. Surf Excel Quick
Wash 500gm is sold to all segments at the same rate, so it does not follow this pricing.

Product form pricing: In this case, the price of the product depends on the form of the product.
A non-assembled product typically costs less than a fully assembled product. Surf Excel Quick
Wash 500gm is sold on as detergent powder in Bangladesh but it is sold in liquid form in India.

Channel pricing: Chanel pricing depends on the distribution channel and costs. If the cost of
distribution rises, or the distributor of some certain region requires more funds, the price of the
product rises accordingly. Unilever has its own distribution channel so the price is the same all
over the country, where it is available.

Location pricing: Image pricing means the price changes with the region of the product. It
transportation means are more difficult in a certain region, the product costs higher there than
the regions where the product can be easily transported. Instead of following this pricing, Surf
Excel Quick Wash 500gm s sold in urban areas and sachets are sold in rural areas.

Time pricing: Time pricing means the price of the product depends on the time of
purchasing/selling of the product. This implies that a product may be priced differently if it is
purchased on a different period of time. Surf Excel Quick Wash 500gm again, does not follow
this pricing strategy since it is not applicable in case of most essential products.

Chapter 14
The promotion mix:

Advertising: Advertising is any paid form of presentation or promotions of a product (and

services or ideas) with identified sponsors. Over the years Surf Excel Quick Wash 500gm has
launched a number of advertisements. While the early TVCs show experts using Surf Excel
Quick Wash 500gm to remove steins, their recent TVCs are creative. They are sending a
message to the parents, especially the mothers who tend to do the laundry in Bangladesh to let
kids be creative and leave the steins to Surf Excel Quick Wash 500gm.

Sales promotion: Sales promotion is short term incentives to increase sales of the product or
service. Surf Excel Quick Wash 500gm has done different types of sales promotion in
Bangladesh. From offering packs at a reduced price to giving a small percentage extra or giving
a container along with the large 500g packs, Surf Excel Quick Wash 500gm has done them all.

Personal selling: Personal selling is done by the relevant people of the company personally
presenting the products to the customers, often exchanging experience. Since Surf Excel Quick
Wash 500gm is a product for the mass population, they do not do that.

Direct selling: Direct selling involves company employees directly seeking out the potential
customers to sell to them. This usually happens in case of high end products which not
everybody can afford. Again, Surf Excel Quick Wash 500gm being a product for the mass
population segment, they do not conduct direct selling.

Integrated marketing communications:

Over the years, the marketing managers have perfected the art of mass marketing and have come up
with some effective strategies of mass marketing communications. The big marketing corporations
routinely spend millions of dollars on TVC and print media ads. This sector is dynamic and ever
changing. In the words of Kotler and Armstrong, integrated marketing communication is Carefully
integrating and coordinating the companys many communications channels to deliver a clear,
consistent, and compelling message about the organization and its products. Surf Excel, every years
spends tons of money on coming up with innovative TVC and advertisements to retain the attentions of
the consumers through sending messages about their product and their vision.

The changing communication environment:

The marketing communication environment is ever changing. A few decades ago television used to be a
primary source of entertainment. Back then people would sit through commercial breaks and retains a
lot of the TVCs they watched. Back then, Surf Excel would have gotten away with a simple
commercial that shows how effective Surf Excel is against tough steins. But now due to the rapid
progression of technology, the scenario has changed. People live fast paced lives now. Also, there are
many options available. During a commercial break people these days would not sit through the whole
break, they are likely to switch programs. Surf Excel had to get creative. Their recent commercials
show how kids are prone to stein their clothes. Surf Excel sends a message to the parents that they
should not be worried about them; Surf Excel is there to take care of that. And as for the kids, some
rough steins should not hinder their nurturing of creativity.

The need for integration

Integrated marketing communication is very crucial for marketers. Nowadays consumers are
bombarded by barrages of advertisements on different media. These media often can mix the messages
sent to the consumers by the producers, which may result in confusion and product resentment by the
consumers. For example, the message an old home would want to send is that at an old age, people are
lonely which lead to depression; so send the old people to the old homes so that they can remain in the
company of people of same age and experiences. Some media may send a message in a different

manner which may be interpreted into old people are unwanted, get rid of them easily! This may
cause massive public uproars. The cause of this problem is the different parts of the promotional tools
come from the different departments of the company. Later in the term paper we shall discuss
integrated marketing communication in detail.

A View of Communication Process:

Communication process is the process of communicating in a business; most commonly it refers to the
process of communication between manufacturers and consumers. This process has several stages,
which are very specific. These stages are discussed below in brief.

Sender: The communication starts with the sender, which in this case is Surf Excel Quick Wash

500gm.
Encoding: Encoding is conceptualizing the message they want to send. Being a detergent
producer, Surf Excel Quick Wash 500gm wants to send a message to its consumer regarding

steins on clothes.
Message: The message is the actual TVC, or other advertisement depending on the media.
Media: The media is the carrier of the message. Surf Excel Quick Wash 500gm uses both TV

commercials as well as printed advertisements.

Decoding: Decoding in this case refers to how the consumer is interpreting the message, or the
advertisement. The consumers understanding and relating the advertisement to something is the

decoding process.
Receiver: The receivers are the consumers, or the ones on the viewing ends of the
advertisement.

Response: Response is the receivers reaction after viewing the advertisement. This includes the
numerous possible actions, such as the receiver may be annoyed by the repetition of the TVC,
he may have become aware so now he likes Surf Excel Quick Wash 500gm more, dirty laundry

reminding him of Surf Excel Quick Wash 500gm or doing nothing.

Feedback: Feedback is the receivers reaction sent back to the sender. Some viewer may contact
to praise Surf Excel Quick Wash 500gms advertisement if a contact address or number is

provided or to drop suggestions or complaints.

Noise: Noise is the distortion of the message the sender is trying to pass, which includes the
possibility of receiver misinterpreting the message or missing the key points of the message
Surf Excel Quick Wash 500gm was trying to pass on.

Buyer readiness stages:

Buyers readiness process is the process of making the aware of need of the product and moving the
buyer to the point of purchasing from there. There are several stages of buyer readiness process.

Surf Excel Quick Wash 500gm started making their potential customers aware of the products by airing
TV commercials that showed tough steins on clothes are being removed by Surf Excel Quick Wash
500gm. Over the years, Surf Excel Quick Wash 500gm commercials on TV and print Medias have
become common. After making people aware with the commercials, they tend to pursue knowledge
about the product; where it is available, how is it priced etc. Small sachets are available in the market
for trails. So after the trial, if the customer finds it satisfactory, he takes a liking on the product.
Through trial, the customer gets to compare the product to the other existing competitors in the market,
like Ariel, Tide etc. and the customer builds a preference when he finds Surf Excel superior compared
to its competitors. In this way the customer builds a conviction towards the product and purchases Surf
Excel for regular laundry purposes.

AIDA Concept

AIDA is an acronym used in marketing which stands for attention, interest, desire and action; it helps
marketing managers build communication process and how to better communicate with the customers
to respond to their interests, needs and desires.

A stands for attention or awareness. It refers to the ability to again the attention of the
customers. Surf Excel Quick Wash 500gm is regularly featured in creative advertisements to

attract the attention of the customers.

I here is for interest which is generated in the customers mind by demonstrating the benefits.
Surf Excels advertisements show what chemical components they are using and how they
benefit the customers. This allows the customers to decide for themselves how it is different

from the other existing detergents.

D represents desire. Surf Excel has dedicated hotline service to listen to the customer

suggestions and what more the customers want from them.

A refers to action, which leads the customers to take action i.e. purchasing Surf Excel Quick
Wash 500gm

Three Appeals Used for Creating Message Content:

The three main appeals used in creating Surf Excels Message Content are as follows

Joy The advertisements associated with the Surf Excel Quick Wash 500gm shows the end user
being completely satisfied with the results as well as projected joyful behavior towards the
product. This creates a positive nudge by the message content of the ads.

Trust Each advertisement relative to the Surf Excel Quick Wash 500gm projects a trustful
image of the product. The advertisements feature household use and portray complete trust by
the end user (the home maker). The tactical use of kids in the advertisements drives a
psychological message into the consumers that the brand is trust-worthy.

Surprise When the new Surf Excel Quick Wash 500mg was introduced, the ad involved a new
consumer using it for the first time and being completely surprised by the superior results of the
product. This drove newer consumers to buy and try the product.

Three Message Structures:

Most advertising featuring Surf Excel products has common components within the message including:

The Appeal This refers to the underlying idea that captures the attention of a message receiver.
Appeals can fall into such categories as emotional, fearful, humorous, and sexual. The most
emphasis that Surf Excel Quick Wash ads put on is the brighter sides of emotions. Things like
the wife being satisfied with using the product and kids being joyful and convey humorous and

adorable messages that drive up the positive appeal of the products in different households.
Value Proposition The advertising message often contains a reason for customers to be
interested in the product, which often means the ad will emphasize the benefits obtained from
using the product. The ads that features the said Surf Excel Quick Wash product manages to put
out the benefits of using this product and displays brighter clothes from using the product,

happy mothers/kids.
Slogan To help position the product in a customers mind and distinguish it from competitors
offerings, advertisements contain a word or phrase that is repeated across several different
messages and different media outlets. The slogan used by Surf Excel Quick Wash across most
of its products is Dirt Is Good which portrays the good things that can happen because of dirt.
The Surf Excel Quick Wash 500gm ad features a boy finding his grandfathers shoes and
polishing it to make him happy, even if it meant getting his clothes dirty.

Selecting the message source:

The most common source of Surf Excel products is as follows:

A real customer Most Surf Excel ads feature a portrayal of a real customer, may it be a
housewife, or a group of people in a laundry. This allows the real customers to be able to relate
to the use of the product and the character in the ad as well.

An expert Some ads feature an expert explaining the technology/product benefits of using
Surf Excel products. This allows the consumers to get informative insight on the product and
what they will be paying for and what to expect out of that said product.

The firms employees There are Surf Excel ads that show volunteers from the company doing
public comparison tests to show the superiority of Surf Excel products compared to generic
local brands. This shows and proves that the product offers superior quality in terms of use.

Two promotional mix strategies:

The two most prominent promotional mix strategies used by Surf Excel are as follows:

Advertising Advertising has always been the primary promotional strategy for every Surf
Excel product. Starting from its early days, Surf Excel has aired numerable advertisements of
different sorts on variable media, television, newspapers, and lifestyle magazines being the
most prominent.

Sales promotions Surf Excel has done different kinds of sales promotional activities to
promote its newly introduced products. When the Surf Excel Quick Wash 500mg first came out,
they were featured in trade-shows in fairs and samples were offered for a limited time.

Promotional Budget
The promotional budget of Surf Excels marketing department is confidential and the authorities
declined to share this sensitive information.

Number of Intermediaries:
Marketing intermediaries refers to physical distributors, re-sellers, marketing services and financial
middlemen of a product or service. Depending upon the nature of product, companies need to choose

the most profitable number of intermediaries at each channel level. There are three strategies that
companies can choose from, as explained below:
1. Exclusive Distribution means severely limiting the number of intermediaries. This is not
appropriate for fast-moving-consumer-goods like Surf Excel Quick Wash.
2. Selective Distribution relies on more than a few but less than all of the intermediaries willing
to carry a particular product. This strategy can be said to be appropriate for Surf Excel Quick
Wash 500gm, as it is monthly pack for a household, and not something that households need to
buy every day.
3. Intensive Distribution Here, the manufacturer places the goods and service in as many outlets
as possible. Surf Excel Quick Wash sachet packs can be seen to be following this distribution
strategy.

Channel Power
Channel Power refers to the influence one party within a channel of distribution has over other channel
members, which may allow those with power to make demands of others.
A distribution channel used by a business to delivery its product to market is typically composed of a
number of parties - often with differing degrees of channel power - that each add value to the product
by bringing it closer to potential consumers. There are 5 channel powers that a manufacturer may have,
as explained below:

Coercive Power Here, the manufacturer threatens to withdraw a resource or terminate a

relationship if intermediaries fail to cooperate. The manufacturer of Surf Excel Quick Wash,
Unilever, does not exercise coercive power upon the intermediaries as it leads to conflict and
may provoke intermediaries to organize countervailing power.

Reward Power This involves offering intermediaries extra benefits for performing specific
acts or functions. Unilever can be said to drawing upon this kind of power since it offers
special trade discounts to distributors and wholesalers.

Legitimate Power Here, the manufacturer requests a behavior that is warranted under the
contract. Unilever cannot exercise this power, as it does not have any contract to do so.

Expert Power In this channel power, manufacturers have specialized knowledge that
intermediaries value. The manufacturer of Surf Excel Quick Wash, Unilever, has extensive
research and development centers, which in return enables the manufacturer to exercise expert
power.

Referent Power This involves a highly respected manufacturer, with whom intermediaries are
proud to be associated with. Unilever has high reputation in Bangladesh, and brand image is
associated with superior quality. This allows Unilever to exercise referent power over its
intermediaries.

Chapter 15
Advertising is defined as any form of non-personal presentation and promotion of ideas, goods or
services that has an identified sponsor. Through Surf Excels carefully designed advertising campaigns,
Unilever accomplishes to carry out informative, persuasive and reminder advertisements all at once, as
described below:

Informative - Advertisements related to Surf Excels Daag Bhalo (stains are good) campaign
manage to inform consumers about how the active molecules in the detergent work to achieve
various desirable results.

Persuasive - The highlighting of the superiority of their product builds the brand image and also
encourages more consumers to use their product.

Reminder - The general premise of the advertisement, saying that children are prone to staining
their clothes but it is only a part of the growth and learning, reminds consumers to always have
some at their home if they want their clothes to be stain free and clean. Also, since the product
has been in the market for a long time, the advertisements also remind consumers of their
presence in the market.

Unilevers message about Surf Excel is all about targeting mothers or homemakers who are in charge
of doing laundry, especially that of the household children. They integrate staining as part of the
learning process of a child and encourage consumers not to fret over them as Surf Excel provides a fullfledged solution removing multiple types of stains. The tones are very positive and formal as educated
mothers and homemakers are targeted, since it is a premium washing powder.

Message Execution Styles

The intended message is executed using one of the following 9 approaches, and the ones Unilever uses
for Surf Excel are outlined:

Slice of Life: The product is shown as being a regularly used product in the usual day-to-day
activity of the consumer. Surf Excel shows its product being used for laundry, which is a regular

daily chore.
Lifestyle: The product is displayed as compliant with a certain kind of lifestyle people choose.
For instance, Surf Excel is best for mothers with sporty or curious children, or for those low on

time, looking for a quick solution to washing needs.

Fantasy: A fantasy is created surrounding the product or the use of the product. This is not used

for Surf Excel, as it would deviate from its image of practicality in terms of use and benefits.
Mood or Image: A certain image of the product or service is created around the product to
trigger relative response from consumers. Surf Excel uses it to a limited extent as it targets to
create the image of an all in one solution to washing powder needs. Also, in the Daag theke
darun kichu (something wonderful from stain) campaign, they appeal to the family emotions
of the consumers by exemplifying the brother-sister relationship and the bond it creates after the

brother ruins his shirt to make his sister happy.

Musical: This execution uses songs and jingles while making people or cartoons dance to the

music. Surf Excel does not employ this style, as it does not support their product style.
Personality symbol: The product creates a real or fictional persona representing the product.

Surf Excel does not use this, as they have no need for this style of execution.
Technical expertise: This execution shows the companys reliability through displaying their
expertise in manufacturing the product. Unilever does not apply this for Surf Excel, as it would

complicate the advertisements for their target audience.

Scientific evidence: This execution highlights why the brand is better or more successful than
the competitors. Surf Excel uses this to some extent by mentioning their blue and red molecule

action which makes it sufficient to do the works of both a washing powder and liquid blue.
Testimonial evidence and endorsement: This employs testimonies from regular users or
celebrity figures to reinforce the popularity of the product. Unilever does not employ this in
Surf Excels case, as they tend to promote it as a brand with a story rather than a generic,
endorsed brand.

Reach, Frequency and Impact f Advertising Media:

Unilever goes for high reach and frequency through the radio and television media. They also advertise
in newspapers and magazines to achieve high reach. To ensure high impact, television and radio ads are
run mostly during the afternoon and evening times and around cooking or home improvement shows to
ensure effective targeting. Print ads are also usually put in lifestyle section of newspapers and home
magazines to secure high impact and engage consumers.

Sales Promotion Tools:

Surf Excel also frequently employs short-term sales promotion campaigns to enhance the brand image
and boost sales. Sampling is handing tester packs to consumers for free, but Surf Excel has not done
this in long as mostly new products do this. Coupons, cash rebates and premiums are also popular sales
promotion media they prefer not to use. They do, however, frequently offer price packs at supermarket
chains where they provide discounts if two packs of Surf Excel are bought together. They sometimes
give promotional products in the form of bathroom mugs to consumers for free to encourage sales.
Recently, they have taken up a type of point-of-purchase promotion campaign where they demonstrate
the use and high quality of the product by staining pieces of cloths with various tough stains and using
Surf Excel Quick Wash to clean them quickly and effectively. Another recent campaign was a short
story contest titled Daag Theke Darun Golpo (Wonderful Stories from Stains), where consumers
sent in short stories about their children and related to stain. Three lucky winners won tickets to visit
Disneyland in Hong Kong, while others won tablets, washing machines and years supply of Surf Excel
Quick Wash 500gm.

Public Relation Tools

Public relations (PR) are major mass-promotion tools for an organization. It is the practice of managing
the flow of information between an organization and its publics to build rapport with employees,
customers, investors, voters, or the general public. Unilever spends a significant amount in sponsoring
events. Surf Excel recently sponsored an art competition and exhibition featuring artwork by autistic
children, titled Emerged from Unknown VI. The exhibition was organized in partnership with HANS,
to raise awareness about autism and was part of the public relations of Surf Excel. This is one of the
ways that Surf Excel uses public relation tools to influence their target groups and build the corporate

image of their brand. They also achieve this by sponsoring school sports events and by publishing
leaflets to promote their brand and events.
Another example of their PR campaign includes "Surf Excel Dekhao Protibha Mukhoshey Mukhoshey
in 2010, where a mask exhibition with 400+ masks was held in Hotel Sheraton with the aim to involve
school-going children of Dhaka with the Bengali tradition of mask making. The masks were made by
children all of whom received training from the students of Faculty of Fine Arts, University of Dhaka.

Conclusion
The people of Bangladesh are increasingly placing importance upon improved and advanced features
from any cleaning solution; where previously, a simple whitening detergent powder would have
delighted the customers, nowadays consumers opt more for better hand care, better fabric care,
environmentally substantial product and obviously all these at an affordable range.
The marketing profile of Surf Excel Quick Wash 500gm indicates that it has successfully
acknowledged the changing consumers needs and demands in Bangladesh, as reflected by its
significant market share and profitability. The SBU has, keeping a perfect balance of product benefits
and attractive marketing communication, been able to position and justify its premium price in the
consumers minds. However, lack of product variations under the product name Surf Excel in
Bangladesh indicates that the manufacturing company (i.e. Unilever) does not still find enough
potential in the market for further extensions, as it has done in the neighboring countries like India and
Pakistan.

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