Soren chemical case study

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San Diego State University *

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371

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Marketing

Date

Apr 3, 2024

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pdf

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3

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Questions for Soren Chemical 1. How did Soren Chemical’s lack of experience in marketing consumer-oriented products impact the success of Coracle’s launch and subsequent overall sales performance? Soren Chemical’s lack of experience in marketing consumer-oriented products impacted the success of Coracle’s launch and poor sales performance because of their lack of consumer understanding, their high price compared to competitors, the challenges with distributors and retailers, and their overall low recognition and awareness. Soren Chemical’s other products had been used in large recreational water park facilities and had been unsuitable for smaller, personal pools. Because of this, Soren Chemical historically only needed to concentrate on Business-to-Business marketing and relationships and no emphasis on consumer awareness. The primary reason that Coracle had a poor sales performance was simply because they did not understand the consumer who they were selling to. Soren Chemical did not look into the consumer behavior of their customers which resulted in a lack of communication of why Coracle was actually beneficial compared to other pool cleaning chemicals. Without this clear understanding of how Corcale could benefit consumers and what their value proposition was, Soren Chemical struggled to establish any sort of connection with their target market. Additionally, Soren Chemical also struggled with reaching the consumer based market because of the price they set Coracle at. Coracle was priced higher than their competitors and because of their lack of communication in regards to the benefits, it deterred price-sensitive consumers. The absence of experience in marketing consumer-oriented products led to inadequate research on pricing strategies and competitor analysis. Soren Chemical also faced challenges with their distributors and retailers. They had a lack of alignment in incentives with their distributors and retailers that ultimately limited the product’s visibility and availability in the market. Without prior experience in consumer product distribution channels, Soren Chemical struggled to negotiate favorable terms when looking to secure print shelf placement and incentivizing distributors and retailers to carry Coracle. Finally, Soren Chemical had low brand recognition and general awareness. Despite their efforts to promote the brand through a new website and advertising in industry publications, Soren Chemical was not able to generate any sort of recognition for Coracle. According to the survey results included in the case study, only 30% of pool service professionals and retailers actually knew about Coracle, which is an obvious teller of why the company struggled to create awareness with key stakeholders. Overall, Soren Chemical’s lack of experience in marketing consumer-oriented products impaired their launch and sales performance of Coracle by their inadequacy of understanding their target customers’ needs, their set competitive pricing, the shortcomings of their knowledge of navigating distribution channels, and their failure of generating awareness and recognition in the industry’s market. Question 2: In hindsight, what market research methods could Soren Chemical have employed to gain deeper insights into consumer behavior, preferences, and attitudes towards pool cleaning products?
After reading the study case it is obvious that Soren did not begin with the consumer. They did not understand what their thoughts, needs, and pain points were. They should have used surveys and focus groups to understand how people use pool chemicals and what they know about other products. They should then have realized that there was a large need for education regarding their product explaining that even though it was more expensive, usage is less and it is more effective. They should have understood that the consumer did not see differentiation of the product and their pricing strategy pushed consumers away. Other insights they should have found were usage patterns by finding observational research and pilot trials of their product. This would begin the education process and elaborate on what the consumer is looking for. Finally, they should follow and track reviews during product development and adjust to how their consumer views their product before launch. Question 3: How did Soren incorporate qualitative insights from customer feedback, such as the Van Westendorp Price Sensitivity Meter survey, into their quantitative analysis of the pricing tests? Soren certainly included qualitative insights from client input, such as the Van Westendorp Price Sensitivity Meter study, in its quantitative analysis of the pricing tests. They would have looked for common themes or patterns in the qualitative data to better understand how customers perceive price changes. They developed a better understanding of why specific consumer categories reacted differently to pricing changes by putting into perspective quantitative data with qualitative insights. This connection is likely to have helped Soren better analyze quantitative results, resulting in a more comprehensive perspective of client preferences and habits. Furthermore, qualitative feedback most likely influenced following versions of pricing strategies or testing, ensuring that customer input was included alongside quantitative measurements in decision-making processes. Soren Chemical may have also performed follow-up interviews or surveys to look deeper into specific aspects raised in qualitative feedback, validating or building on initial results from quantitative analysis. Question 4: How might Soren Chemical leverage its existing B2B relationships and industry expertise to facilitate a smoother transition into B2C markets in the future? How did they, or what are some tactics they should have considered? Soren Chemical can use its established relationships with business clients to gain valuable insights into the end-user needs and preferences. Feedback from B2B clients who serve the end consumers can help Soren tailor its products and marketing strategies to better appeal to consumer markets. They can use successful implementations and case studies from B2B clients to showcase the effectiveness and benefits of Soren’s products. These success stories can be powerful marketing tools when entering consumer markets. Before a full consumer market launch, Soren Chemical can initiate pilot programs or beta tests of new products with selected B2B clients. This allows Soren to collect feedback on product performance,
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