Q1.What factors determine demand for toothbrushes? Which of these factors are environmental?

Do the marketers have control over them? Which factors could be influenced by marketing program? If Cottle intends to develop a primary market (primary demand) for toothbrushes, at which different levels should it influence the target market? Factors determining demand for toothbrushes are: (a) Amount of disposable income/income. (b) Oral hygiene awareness. (c) Accessibility to quality toothbrushes- Distribution. (d) Frequency of brushing the teeth. (e) Competitors products (toothbrush in this case). (f)Advertisements, Promotional expenditure. Few of the above factors are influenced by economical and social environment. Factor (a) is economical in nature and factors (b),(d) and (f) are influenced by social factors. Marketers have control on few of the factors mentioned above such as oral hygiene awareness, distribution and advertisement and promotion of the toothbrushes. Factors (b), (d), (f) can be influenced by marketing programs. Cottle can develop primary market in rural areas for toothbrushes by promoting low end toothbrushes to people who do not brush , medium range toothbrushes to the people currently using low level brushes and finally for primary market in urban area battery operated toothbrushes should be promoted. Q2.Theoretically, how many marketing objectives Cottle can have. Make a comprehensive list of all the alternatives. List of possible marketing objectives of Cottle: Securing early market share in emerging markets. To achieve a toothbrush unit growth rate of 25-30% in 2010 in India. To educate consumers from semi urban and rural areas about oral hygiene so as to increase the oral care sectors growth rate and in turn their own companys market share by being the pioneers in that field. Q3.Has Cottle enjoyed the first mover advantage? How? The company developed a first mover advantage because the company established brand awareness and distribution networks before its competitors so that they were in a position to introduce more profitable lines and more advanced products. Also, Indians considered Cottle an authority in oral care and held their products in high regard because Cottle partnered frequently with IDA.Cottle, while focusing on the toothbrush market, introduced low and mid range products, being first to secure the market initially by creating brand awareness.

Roll no: 11162,11163,11164,11165,11166,11167

Q4.In your view, who should Patel target with low-end manual brushes Vs. mid-range manual Vs. battery-operated? For the low end manual brushes: Patel should target consumers from semi urban and rural India, as they are not concerned on spending a part of their disposable income (if any) on sophisticated products. For the mid-range manual brushes: Patel should target middle class consumers from urban areas, with medium price sensitivity. For the battery-operated brushes: Patel should target consumers from upper middle class or upper class, who are, to a large extent, aware of oral hygiene and who do not mind spending on sophisticated products (including battery-operated brushes) for oral care. Q5.Apart from Cottles segmentation, what else could be the bases for segmenting Indian toothbrush market? Cottles current market segmentation is on the following factors such as Area: Rural, Semi urban and urban , Income and Oral Hygiene Awareness. Other possible segmentation bases are : education and age. Q6.What is your view on Patels current proposal of allocating promotion budget equally in three activities as explained in the case? Should Cottle spend promotional dollars for battery operated brushes? Why or why not? Patels current proposal of allocating promotion budget equally is on the following three activities such as Persuading consumers to brush for the first time, increasing the incidence of brushing and Persuading consumers to upgrade to mid-range or premium products. We feel that allocating promotion budget equally on these three activities is a wise idea because: More than 50% of Rural India do not use a toothbrush to clean their teeth. Among the brushers, only 23% of the sample surveyed brush 2 times/day. Only 8.6% of the toothbrush users replace the brush every three months (ideal replacement time).

Spending promotional dollars on battery operated brushes to a large extent is not a good idea because only 0.5% of the sales of Cottle India come from battery-operated brushes. Q7. Determine the revenue and contribution for each toothbrush product using data from case exhibit 6 (using Cottles 2009 sales and Patels 2010E plan as a start). Then devise your own product mix and calculate product gross margin for your plan. Finally, using the sample percentage income statement from case exhibit, create your income statement for your own allocation. The solution is with the excel document attached.

Roll no: 11162,11163,11164,11165,11166,11167

Roll no: 11162,11163,11164,11165,11166,11167