Page 141 - DMGT547_INTERNATIONAL_MARKETING

International Marketing

Notes
The test marketing ran for a year in which Dabur saw good institutional sales. Some 15,000
bottles were sold in just three months. The product was extended nationally by April 1998.
It took off well. But by late 1998, the sales graph took a deep dive.
Unlike Bangalore, the north has sharp winters and summers. As winter approached, prices
of lemons dropped sharply. So did the buying, since consumers in the north bought it not
so much for convenience as price. Also unlike Bangalore, other centres did not witness
high institutional sales.
It was then that Dabur thought of altering the brand positioning from pure convenience to
a more value-for-money platform. Ads released in late 1998 stressed on the per-unit price
of a glass of lemon juice. Also, the lower seasonality, Dabur planned combinations like
ginger-lemon or honey-lemon. That is still being debated upon but smaller packs – 50 ml
and 100 ml – did make an appearance last winter. They are working, to an extent.
Then deviating too much from test marketing mix can be disastrous too. Parle’s novel
gelatin-based drink, Jolly Jely, is one such case. Three years back, it was test marketed in
glass containers. The contents, as could be viewed in the container, had striking colours
which went down well with kids who glugged the jelly from the wide mouthed containers.
But the product that hit the market in April 1996 came in 200-ml tetra packs. The company
found that handling glass containers was not so easy. But that meant that the target audience
could not longer appreciate the colour. Nor could he or she consume it easily through a
straw provided, since the formulation was thick and contained globules.
The tetra packs killed the market for jolly jelly. “More often than not, the marketer’s
enthusiasm to launch rides on impatience,” agrees a marketer. Speed to market seems to
have become an over-riding concern in these hyper competitive times.
Question
Why did the above given situation arise? What went wrong?

Hint: Too many alterations in the set marketing mix can prove to be fatal for the brand as
can be seen in the case.
Source: International Marketing-3rd Edition, PK Vasudeva, Excel Books

7.10 Summary

This unit attempts to give an overview of the functions in as simple manner as possible.
Actually intangible products are a significant part of the export market. In many situations
both tangible and intangible products must be combined to create a single total product.

There are six distinct steps in new product development. The first step is the generation of
new product ideas. The second step involves the screening of ideas.

The third step is business analysis, the fourth is product development. Fifth step involves
test marketing to determine potential marketing problems and the optimal marketing
mix.

In the sixth step assuming that things go well, the company is ready for full scale
commercialization by actually going through with full scale production and marketing.
Before breaking into the foreign market, marketers must consider factors that influence
product adaptation. Wool coats are not needed in a hot country and products reducing
static cling (Cling Free) are useless in a humid country.

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