preview

Colgate Palmolive Case Report

Better Essays

Colgate-Palmolive (CP), the leading retail toothbrush manufacturer in the United-States is looking to expand its market share by entering into the competitive high-end toothbrush market segment with the introduction of its technologically innovative Precision. Though the product 's introduction promised highly profitable returns, it also presented Colgate with a number of challenges including a significant financial investment, fierce competition, manufacturing limitations, and potential cannibalization. After assessing the company 's positioning in the market with the consumers perception of the colgate brand and the nature of its competitors SWOT and market share, CP is faced with the decision of how to position, brand, and communicate …show more content…

They are not as religious with following oral care professional 's advice, but will follow it because of cosmetic benefits. If the classical or Plus offering can take care of their needs they would not bother with the super premium class toothbrush. Right now, CP 's Plus and Classic hold a huge market share in this segment.
Uninvolved Brushers: Consumers in this category are basically indifferent to the advantages of one brand or class over the other. Their primary decision maker for a toothbrush is the convenience to acquire one. The two decision makers that determine their purchase are the ease of availability and most attractive price. The plus will be the obvious choice for most of the brushers in this market segment, but in time, Precision will attract them, with specials and stock-outs of other brands and segments.

Niche vs. Mainstream Marketing
Niche Marketing
Positive: By targeting the Therapeutic brushers CP would be able to:
Charge a Premium Price
Differentiate the Precision toothbrush from other toothbrushes, because of its technological superiority over the other toothbrushes on the market
Maintain its level of SKU because it would be going after a different niche
Reduce the losses of Precision if cost were to decrease if it were not successful.
Negative:
Maintain its current level of sales in mass merchandiser
CP 's retail sales would be less than if mainstream

Get Access