“to provide maximum satisfaction to our consumers and customers with high standard of products and s

“To provide maximum satisfaction to our consumers and customers with high standard of products and services

Executive Summary In concurrence with Kallol Group’s objective of launching a premium quality liquid detergent, Jet Liquid, in the Bangladesh market, an in-depth market research was undertaken between April 20 and June 4, 2010. In parallel with the company’s decision, the target respondents for the research were set to be upper middle income and high income households residing in urban and semi-urban areas with a MHI of BDT 25,000 and above.

The research was conducted in 3 phases within this period starting with depth interviews with 10 respondents after a period of 1 week of trial usage with Jet Liquid. The interviews aided in forming the framework for developing a full-fledged category survey. The findings suggested that customers consider cleaning ability, ability to remove tough stains, preservation of fabric and color, and easy of washing and price to be important when deciding on their brand of detergent. Most respondents also employed separate detergents for house clothes and formals. In addition, the data indicated that respondents often relied on visual cues such as the amount of foaming, as an indicator of the cleaning ability of the detergent. The research also indicated that customers liked Jet liquid for its ease of preparation, ease of use, ease of storage and packaging, while being somewhat apathetic towards the large quantity of liquid that was required for washing their clothes.

The second phase, the Category surveys were conducted among 85 respondents using quota sampling with the objective of developing an insight into the detergent category in context of the target market. The research identified that most of the respondents did not wash clothes themselves, rather relied on their domestic or washing machines. The target market puts a lot of emphasis on their appearance, and tries to preserve their clothes. The research identified that cleaning ability, preservation of fabric and color, cost of the detergent and smell are the most critical factors to consumers with respect to their purchase decisions. In addition, the data also indicated that the determining factor in most cases is cleaning ability and price of the detergent respectively. The responses also pointed to the main reason for respondents to switch brands were either due to cleaning ability, or availability of the product. Consumers considered Surf Excel to be the best in terms of cleaning ability, but pricy. In contrast, Jet detergent has been considered mild by many respondents, though it is perceived to be gentle on the fabric and the color of the clothes.

The Trial User survey highlighted the actual experience of 80 trial users after 2 weeks of washing clothes with Jet Liquid. While majority of the consumers considered their overall experience to be very good, a number of issues did surface at this stage. Jet liquid, while adept at cleaning clothes, was found wanting by respondents, when trying to remove tough stains. In addition, the data suggested that the respondents had to use large amounts of the liquid to clean their clothes properly, which raised questions regarding the products cost effectiveness. However, the product scored higher than its key competitors with respect to preservation of fabric and color, smell and ease of use and storage. Consumers perceived Jet Liquid to be innovative and creative, while they considered the Brand JET to be traditional and classic, concurrently creating a potential hurdle for the company to position the liquid detergent under the Jet Umbrella. Finally, the research indicated that most consumers expected the product to be priced at around BDT 125 – 150, and were willing to buy the product again based on their positive experience with the brand.

Part I Orientation to the Report In accordance with the partial requirement of the BBA program, each BBA student is required to complete an internship period lasting 10 weeks within an organization, applying the knowledge and skills acquired during their BBA course, and illustrate sound judgment within a professional environment.

In lieu of this requirement, Mr. Shahed Ibne Mahbub has served in Kallol Group of Companies (KGC) in the capacity of Management Trainee (MT) from 1 st March 2010 to May 31st 2010. KGC had its roots in distribution, being incepted in 1972, with a handful of local FMCG brands. By 2010, the company had diversified significantly, foraying into both

consumer durables such as watches as well as acquiring the manufacturing and distribution rights for Jet and Kohinoor brand of detergents.

During his tenure in the organization, Mr. Mahbub was engaged in the Marketing department in charge of new business development. The position entailed identifying potential opportunities for diversification, conducting feasibility studies within these categories and markets, and developing strategies to strengthen KGC’s existing product portfolio through market penetration and market development.

In addition, Mr. Mahbub was also tasked with working alongside other marketing executives to devise and conduct an in-depth market research in the Detergent category within Bangladesh. Subsequently the findings of the research will be applied in devising appropriate marketing strategies for launching a new liquid detergent in the Bangladesh market, while identifying potential steps that can be taken to strengthen the competitive position of KGC’s existing detergent offerings.

The market research was conducted in three phases. The first stage of the research involved conducting depth interviews with respondents from the target segments to identify the key issues involved in detergent purchase as well as gauging their perceptions and expectations from the category. The depth interviews were conducted at the respondents own home between April 20th and May 1st. The second phase, namely, the questionnaire phase, sought to identify the current usage, application, attitudes and behaviors of detergent users was conducted between May 14th and May 24th 2010. The final phase of the research, titled, The Trial User Surveys, entailed providing actual samples of the liquid detergents to the respondents, and conducting an in-depth survey to gauge their response to the product. The aim of the final stage of the research was to identify the extent to which Jet liquid was able to satisfy the specific needs and expectations of the consumers.

In addition field visits, observational research and interviews with KGC’s channel partners, sales representatives (SR) and brand managers were conducted to develop a 360-degree understanding of the dynamics of the detergent market, employing both quantitative and qualitative data to determine the readiness of KGC itself in launching and sustaining the Jet Liquid detergent brand within the Bangladesh market.

Part II Kallol Group of Companies II.I

A brief overview of Kallol Group of Companies (KGC)

Kallol Group of Companies (KGC) had its humble beginning in 1972, with a handful of local brands. Over the years, the company has grown in both size and stature and currently represents 25 international brands in the Bangladeshi market, in the FMCG and Consumer Durables categories. In the FMCG category, the company represents well-known brands such as Fay, Cadbury’s Éclair, Nutri-C, Kellogg’s, Kit-Kat, Ujala and Jet, to name a few. The company has recently forayed into the consumer durables category, acting as the sole distributors of Romanson, Timex, Rado, Tissot, Guy Laroche, and Parker in Bangladesh through its exclusive Timezone outlets. The company currently owns and operates 32 dedicated Timezone outlets in Dhaka, Chittagong, Rajshahi, Sylhet and Barisal, in addition to employing 14 Timezone franchise throughout Bangladesh. Kallol also manufactures and distributes its own line of detergents, in the form of Jet and Kohinoor, and posted revenues of US $ 52 million in 2009.

Traditionally a distribution company, Kallol’s strength lies in its pervasive network, consisting of 282 distribution partners, and a team of 1000 dedicated professionals throughout the nation. However, in today’s cut-throat competitive world, Kallol has come to the stark realization of the imperative of transitioning from a distribution company to a marketing one. Maintaining a strong presence in the minds of the consumer, not just in the shelves of retailers, is pivotal in the success of the company’s present and its future ventures.

In line with the company’s vision to broaden its brand and category depth, Kallol has decided to launch a liquid detergent, the first of its kind for Bangladesh, under its brand umbrella Jet. Concurrently, the report focuses on conducting an in-depth market research necessary to craft an effective marketing strategy to launch this new category of detergents in the Bangladeshi market.

Mission Statement of Kallol Group of Companies (KGC)

“To provide maximum satisfaction to our consumers and customers with high standard of products and services” Vision Statement of the Company “To be recognized as the most eminent and professional business house in Bangladesh with an array of comprehensive team of professionals and high quality products” II.II

Current Product Portfolios

KGC current product offerings can be divided into four groups based on the Consumer Durables and FMCG categories. Watches and Writing Instruments account for the Consumer Durables SBUs, while FMCG category comprises of goods KGC distributes, and KGC’s own manufactured and marketed brands.

Figure : Product Portfolio of KGC The company also acted as the official distributor for Marico India, for its Parachute line of Hair Oil between 1993 and 2003. In addition, KGC was also responsible maintaining customer care points for Banglalink between 1998 till the end of 2004. In 2005, the company acquired TLRA holdings, the manufacturing concern for Jet Detergent.

Subsequently, the company also purchased the brand Kohinoor Detergent from Kohinoor Chemicals ltd in 2007. These two detergents constitute the primary manufacturing concerns of KGC in the FMCG category.

The company is essentially an amalgamation of a number of private limited companies each having a clearly defined sphere of responsibility and strategic functions, including: Kallol Industries Limited (KID): This organization is primarily responsible for the manufacture of Fay tissues, Fay air fresheners, and Fay Cotton buds. The company currently owns and operates the tissue factory and warehouse at 199, Tejgaon C.A, Dhaka.

Kallol Distributions Limited (KDL): KDL’s sphere of responsibility is in the importing of key consumer products such as Nutri-C, Kit-Kat, Milo, Cadbury, Kellogs, Ujala, Fox etc. KID

essentially deals with the import wing of Kallol and maintains contacts and strategic ties with foreign suppliers.

Kallol Enterprises Limited (KEL): This organization maintains and operates Kallol’s Timezone outlets, while managing contacts with foreign manufacturer of consumer durables such as Rado, Tissot, Espirit, Longines etc. The company operates 32 dedicated Timezone outlets throughout Bangladesh and has a number of licensed third party operators of Timezone outlets as well. In addition, Kallol Enterprises also deals with importing and marketing exclusive writing instruments such as Parker, Cross, Waterman and Guy-Laroche.

TLRA Holdings Limited: An integral part of Kallol, TLRA holdings is responsible for manufacturing Jet and Kohinoor brand of Detergents. The company owns and operates the detergent factory located in 163, Gazipur, which employs around 40 workers in two shifts to manufacture, pack and distribute Jet and Kohinoor throughout the country. A part of the factory has been leased out to Marico International, which manufactures their Aromatic soap in the vicinity. While TLRA is responsible for the maintenance and upkeep of the factory, as well as providing laborers, Marico is responsible for the actual manufacturing of the Aromatic soap.

Apart from these existing concerns, the company has a number of potential joint ventures in the works, which will inevitably help it to broaden its product and brand base in the near future.

II. III

An Overview of the Detergent Industry in Bangladesh

According to interviews conducted with wholesalers, brand managers and SRs, the estimated size of the detergent market in Bangladesh in 2009 was worth BDT 617.1 crore.

While the detergent industry is considered by many as relatively mature market, the industry has grown significantly in the last few years, especially in the upcountry areas of Bangladesh. Table 1 aggregates the size and growth rate of the detergent industry between 2005 and 2009.

Market Size

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

436.8

474.8

539.5

580.1

617.1

2005-2006

2006-2007

2007-2008

2008-2009

Market Growth Rate 6.4% 7.5% 13.6% 8.7% Table 1: Market size and growth rate of the Detergent Industry (in BDT crore) As the data indicates there has been significant growth created from penetration into the rural and semi-urban, where rising adoption rate of detergent has fueled growth in the detergent industry. In many parts of the country however, especially in places like Khulna and North Bengal, detergents prove to unpopular due to the high salinity in the water.

Evidently, consumers prefer using ball soaps such as Tibbet 570, Pocha and Wheel Bar for their washing, rather than detergents. It is to be noted however, that with respect to Jet Detergent, KGC only earns around 17.5% of its revenues from upcountry areas.

Jet faces competition from a wide sphere of alternatives. On the broadest level, the brand competes with ball soaps, dry cleaners, liquid soap, and other detergents and washing powders. Essentially, the differentiation between detergent and washing powder lies in its bulk density and cleaning process. Washing powders employ oils, which coagulates with the dirt and pulls it out of the fabric, and this residue precipitates to the bottom of the container. Preparation of detergents requires a high velocity spray drying mechanism as well. In contrast, washing powder essentially employs burst technology, where the dirt is pushed out of the fabrics, in the process often damaging the fabric itself. With respect to the specific competitive sphere for Jet Detergent Powder, the following figure shows its relative position within the overall industry. However, field visits and interviews with KGC's channel partners indicate that the market for Detergents is highly segmented with respect to price. It should be noted that Wheel dominates the low price segment in terms of volume, while Surf Excel has the largest share with respect to the high price premium detergent segment. With respect to the overall market, Jet detergent's overall sales value only accounts for only 4% of the overall industry.

II.IV A SWOT Analysis of Kallol Group of Companies

Figure : Market share of key brands in the Detergent

KGC's inherent strength lies in its rich product-base and its strong ties with its channel partners throughout the country. The following SWOT analysis has been prepared with respect to KGC predominantly in the context of the detergent industry.

Strengths

Weaknesses 1. Strong, burgeoning product base – 1. Taking into account the fact that KGC exclusive

does not enjoy many of the economies of

distribution and reselling rights to a

scale of its other FMCG counters parts

number of globally renowned brands

such as Unilever and Marico, the

such as Kellogs, Cadbury, Fay, Soltaire,

company’s pricing has been significantly

Ujala and Polo, Nutri-C, Milo, Kit-Kat, etc.

higher than its competitors. In addition,

Concurrently, the company enjoys a

the company also employs premium

strong

with

pricing in many of its products, especially

wholesalers and retailers throughout the

in categories where it enjoys being the

KGC

currently

holds

bargaining

the

power

country with respect to shelf-space and trade margins.

2. Wide

distribution

network

throughout the country with 118 and 110 channel partners in upcountry and

pioneers. In context of products such as Fay tissue paper and Jet Detergent, the company’s pricing has been significantly higher than that of its competitors.

Hence, while the company enjoys higher margins, they are losing customers to

metro areas respectively allows KGC to

cheaper, local alternatives available in

plan product placements and manage

the market.

inventories in a cost effective manner, 2. In contrast to KGC’s key competitors, the enabling it to operate its inventory close company has a significantly smaller to its EOQ and ensure wide distributional

promotions budget, relying more on

coverage within the least amount of

word of mouth, and existing brand

time.

equity to maintain sales within its FMCG

3. Having a strong product base, and a

brands. In contrast, companies such as

long term positive reputation in the

Unilever, MGH and Marico have been

market, allows KGC to enjoy strong relationship

with

key

wholesalers

throughout the country. Effective CRM also enables the company to strengthen its existing networks, while seeking out new channel partners when needed.

4. Being one of the oldest distribution

spending significantly more in creating market pull, resulting in nagging sales in a few of its product lines.

3. Relatively low pay structure compared to

other FMCG companies, and higher pressure has also resulted in high staff turnover.

4. There is clear evidence of demotivation,

companies, KGC’s management has a

especially

wealth

Supervisors,

of

expertise

and

excellent

amongst

the

who

SRs

believe

and the

knowledge of the distribution networks

management is not doing enough to

throughout the country

create sales opportunities.

Opportunities

Threats 1. Jet is the oldest detergent brand in the 1. The

recently

passed

budget

has

country. Once a household name, the

increased Advanced Income Tax (AIT)

brand has had a strong, loyal customer

from 3% to 5% for importing firms.

base even before the liberation war.

Concurrently, in a price elastic market,

Hence, while the brand enjoys significant

Kallol may see its revenues and indeed

brand awareness and recall, being able

its profits shrink in the coming years.

to effectively leverage that equity into its

Furthermore, in the short-run, Jet Liquid

liquid detergent can create a significant

will be imported from Thailand, and

impact in the Bangladesh market.

hence, the rise in AIT will have an

2. Rising economic growth and growing

number of middle income households,

adverse impact on its bottom line profits and price.

especially in the metro areas are creating 2. While Sales volume for Jet Detergent has grown over the last 3 years with a CAGR a growing and viable market for FMCG of 9.95%, the tales volume (in tonnage)

organizations such as KGC. 3. The potential of the growing, lucrative

markets are attracting a number of renowned foreign FMCG brands to forge strategic alliances with local distribution companies such as Kallol and MGH group to penetrate and establish their brands in the market.

within this period. The increase in sales revenue can be largely attributed to the increase in the pricing of all the Jet SKUs, which were put into effect from April 1, 2008.

3. Aggressive price cuts from Unilever, with

respect to their flagship detergent,

4. Kallol has established Bangladesh’s first

chain of exclusive and dedicated watch outlets in the form of Timezone.

Concurrently,

has actually declined by 6.71% annually

given

the

company’s

strong ties with international watch

Wheel Power White, along with large scale ATL promotions for Wheel Lemon in recent months can also potentially jeopardize the growth rate of Jet in the coming months.

makers, Timezone outlets have the 4. Fledging sales of Kallol’s other washing potential of becoming one of KGC’s star

powder brand; Kohinoor is also a

performers.

significant cause of concern. While the brand initially enjoyed a brief period of growth and financial success in 2007, the overall sales and customer base for the brand has been on a steady decline since that point onwards.

Table 2: A SWOT analysis of KGC II.V

Boston Consultancy Group Matrix (BCG)

A key resource of strategic planning is the ability of the management to envision its current product base, with respect to product life cycle (PLC), cash flows, and the extent of financial and non-financial support required and justified by each product. Concordantly, the BCG matrix is an effective strategic tool that can help the management decide on which products to build on, which products to support, which ones require corrections, and which brands should be let go off. The following figure illustrates the current positioning of KGCs main bread earners with respect to their market share, and market growth.

Timezone can be considered as one of KGC’s rising stars. The company’s pioneering foray into exclusive watch distribution has been one of most lucrative and profitable ventures.

Apart from its own 32 retail outlets, the company also controls a number of franchisees throughout the country. It plans to develop a further 18 new showrooms in Dhaka and its suburbs within 2012. In addition, the company also enjoys significant cash flows from its veteran products such as Kellogg’s Corn flakes, Kit-Kat, Jet Detergent and Nutri-C. However, brands such as Cadbury’s Éclairs has been facing an uphill battle with both Perfetti and Mentos (in an industry which has been growing Figure BCG Matrix for the Product Portfolio of KGC at an estimated 22% annually), while Jet liquid currently suffers from lack of exposure since its test marketing launch in June 2009.

Part III Market Research for Launching Jet Liquid in the Bangladesh Market

III.I

Background to the Report

According to Peter F. Drucker, "The fundamental purpose of a business is to create a customer. And since, the purpose of a business is to create a customer, there are two, and only two core functions of a business, marketing and innovation" (Drucker, 1954).

Marketing, according to Drucker, is the distinguishing function of a business. In other words, marketing is what makes a company different from its competitors. Innovation, is entailed with creating better values for a firm's customers, which the latter finds compelling and more than those offered by its competitors. Hence, the genesis of creating value, to satisfy this core purpose lies in the firm's ability to identify the needs and expectations of its target market, and implementing the right strategic and operational steps to design, communicate and deliver these relevant values.

Concurrently then, the viable starting point for any successful market driven company must be to identify who their current and potential customers are, what they want, and how to cater to these wants in a more compelling way than its competitors. Hence, the cornerstone of any viable marketing strategy should be a sound, and well thought out market research.

A targeted market research can play an integral role in the marketing efforts of any company, even more so in the FMCG industry, which is prone to variety seeking behavior, where products are often consumed on the basis of brand loyalty, rather than any significant perceived difference in attributes (Hawkins, Best, & Coney, 2004). Sound market sensing abilities can guide a company in identifying segments within a market, target the most viable ones, and understand what positioning strategies they would need to employ in order to reach their desired outcome. In addition, market research can play a pivotal role in shaping the marketing mix of the relevant products, and provide a statistically significant projection of the likely customer response from launching a new product within a market.

Hence, for Kallol Group of Companies, conducting an in-depth market research in the Detergent category in Bangladesh to identify current customer wants, and to gauge the viability of launching a liquid detergent in the market was imperative. Furthermore, past research have indicated consumers to be more price elastic in the detergent category in the subcontinent, compared to the U.S. and European markets (Unitrend, 2006). Hence, a

proper research in the price sensitivity of consumers with respect to liquid detergent was also essential in devising the pricing strategy for KGC's new product.

III.II

Objectives of the research

In light of the management's decision to launch a premium quality liquid detergent in the Bangladesh market, KGC sought to identify the key dynamics of the upper middle income and high income households within the metropolitan areas of the country. Concurrently, the following broad objective was set for the research: •

To identify the viability of launching Jet Liquid Detergent in the Bangladesh market.

In light of the broad objective, a number of specific objectives were crafted for the research.

1. To identify the current usage and application of detergents with respect to the target

market 2. To identify the perceptions, attitudes and beliefs of the target market with respect to

detergent and the activity of washing in order to develop a customer profile of the target market.

3. To identify the most critical factors to target consumers, with respect to detergent

purchase.

4. To identify the relative positioning of Jet Detergent powder and its key competitors

with respect to the critical factors for purchasing detergents.

5. To identify the extent to which Jet Liquid detergent will be able to meet the needs

and expectations of the target market.

6. To identify the current positioning and perception of Jet Detergent and its key

competitors among the target market.

III.III

Methodologies of the research

In conducting the market research, both qualitative and quantitative data were collected, from both primary and secondary sources. Primary data were collected through depth interviews, category survey, and Trial User surveys, in three phases. In addition, secondary data was collected from statistical year books, KGC's internal databases and from relevant government publications to chalk out the current economic, demographic and social

scenario, with respect to the detergent market in Bangladesh. In addition, a number of interviews were conducted with KGC's managers, and key channel partners, in a bid to gauge the readiness of the organization itself in launching and sustaining the Jet Liquid Detergent brand.

The research employed both descriptive statistics and a multiple regression model to identify which factors have had the most significant impact on the overall customer satisfaction. Furthermore, the research also employed a simple conjoint analysis to gauge the desirability of the attributes provided by Jet Liquid Detergent, with respect to the target market. In addition, T-test and One-way ANOVA was employed with respect to the critical factors of customer satisfaction and in the multiple regressions for testing statistical significance of mean rankings of consumers where appropriate.

The primary phase of the research involved conducting depth interviews with 10 respondents from families with a target income of BDT 25,000 and above with the goal of identifying the attributes that consumers find relevant in purchasing detergents. In addition, the depth interviews were designed to identify the current knowledge base of the respondents with respect to detergent features, price and quality. The respondents were also given a week to use Jet Liquid and provide both qualitative and quantitative feedback on their experiences in a second round of interviews. A detailed account of the findings of the interview can be found in Part IV of the report.

The second phase of the research involved conducting an in-depth category survey among 84 respondents throughout Dhaka city, who fall within the target income group with a MHI of BDT 25,000 and above. Subsequently, these respondents were given samples of Jet Liquid Detergent, and allowed to use the product for a period lasting no longer than 2 weeks. At the end of this period, a final round of surveys were conducted to gauge their response to the product, and hence identify the relative strengths and weakness of the liquid detergent as perceived by the consumers.

Sampling Plan For the depth interviews, a sample of 10 respondents were chosen, based on nonprobabilistic convenient sampling method. For the second phase of the research, titled

'Category survey of Detergents' the sample size was fixed at 96 respondents in light of the following research parameters: Level of significance, α = 10%, z = ±1.65 Sample size, n = z2(pq)/d02 = (±1.65)2x0.5x0.5/(±0.09)2 = 84 respondents Concordantly, at the sample size of 84 respondents, the accuracy of the research has been computed to be + 9%. Lack of any viable sampling frame had led to the application of a nonprobabilistic sampling method, namely quota sampling. The sample respondents were divided according to strata based on geographic location throughout Dhaka city. In addition, the size of each stratum was determined according to the density of middle and high income earners in each area. The breakdown of the sampling distribution can be found in Appendix B. The respondents from each designated area, was then chosen on the basis of convenience, according to the screening process determined within the research parameters, which are outlined in Part IV of the report.

In the third and final stage the same sample respondents were provided with the product, and their responses were recorded after 2 weeks of usage.

III.IV

Scopes and Limitations

The research focused on the performance and category positioning of Jet Detergent and Jet Liquid Detergent with its key competitors as determined by KGC's top management. Hence, the SWOT and other relevant analysis of the report focus on the Detergent Category only.

While it is undeniable that Jet liquid will face competition from product type and generic markets, such as dry cleaners, ball soaps and the like, the research solely focuses on the prospects of Jet Liquid with respect to detergent and washing powders in the market. In addition, in accordance with KGC's management's objectives, the product will be launched, keeping the urban upper middle income and high income consumes in mind, concurrently, the sample respondents chosen, reflects KGC's decision. The research assumes that there is no autocorrelation or heteroscedasticity in the way the respondents filled out their questionnaires. In accordance to the methodologies and scopes outlined, the following can be considered as limitations of the report:

1. The research was conducted throughout Dhaka city only, concurrently, the findings

indicated in the research may not be an accurate representation of detergent consumers residing in other metro or upcountry areas throughout Bangladesh.

2. The research employed non-probabilistic quota sampling technique; hence, the

findings in the study may not be statistically significant. Concordantly, with an accuracy of + 9%, the findings may be biased and subject to stochastic or sampling error.

3. The surveys were conducted among high and middle income households, hence

ignoring the expectations and need sets of consumers at the bottom of the pyramid.

4. A dearth of available literature on the topic of Detergent and customer satisfaction

within the context of the subcontinent had meant that the research had to be crafted based on the depth interviews with respondents from the target segment rather than on any existing literature.

Part IV Research Planning and Data Collection The market research for launching Jet Liquid Detergent was conducted in three phases, with the aim strengthening and augmenting each stage of the research with the findings of the previous stage. In addition, a number of pilot surveys and subsequent modifications were undertaken for both the category surveys and the trial user surveys.

IV.I

Phase One: Depth Interviews

The Depth interviews were conducted between April 20 and May 1, 2010. The break-down of the respondents with respect to their gender, age, and income group have been aggregated in the following table: Male Respondents Female

2

Owns

8

machine MHI

Respondents Age Distribution of the Respondents Below 18 18 – 25 1 3 Table 3: Profile of the depth interview respondents

washing

2 BDT: 25,000 – 100,000

25 – 40 4

Above 40 2

The respondents were chosen through convenience sampling, in concurrence with three major criteria.

•

The respondent must be involved in the decision making process of which brand of detergent is purchased.

•

The respondent must have washed clothes at least once in the last six months.

•

The respondent’s household income must be BDT 25,000 and above.

The respondents were provided a sample of Jet Liquid and the interviews were conducted one week from the day the sample was provided. The primary goal of the depth interview was to identify what are the factors that respondents look for in their detergent purchase.

Concurrently, the interviews were conducted with the goal of identifying the key factors that are a part of their decision making process, the nature and sources of influence when deciding on their brand of detergent, as well as their perception of detergent pricing and perceived quality. In addition, the interviews were conducted to identify any potential issues or suggestions that respondents may have had regarding their experience with the liquid detergent. The interviews provided useful insights into the underlying issues involved with the activity of washing clothes, the nature and sources of influence in deciding the detergent as well as key areas where they believe Jet liquid had room for improvement.

The findings of the depth interviews, which can be found in Part IV of the report, were employed in designing the next stage of the market research, The Category Survey. The question set employed in the depth interview can be found in Appendix A of the report.

IV.II

The Category Survey Development

While the category questionnaire started its development on May 2, 2010, the survey went through a number of iterations, before it was finalized on May 15, 2010. The main objective of the Category surveys was to identify what the target market looks for in a detergent, and to what extent their needs are being delivered by existing detergent brands. In addition, the Category Survey also sought t identify the current usage and applications for detergents, perceptions that respondents have towards washing, which brands they previously purchased, and what caused them to switch. The following accounts for some of the key changes that were made throughout its development.

Phase 1 May 2 till May 7, 2010 The first draft of the questionnaire was crafted with three segments focusing on Detergent category usage and applications, identification of the critical factors in choosing detergents and competitive positioning of Jet detergent and its competitors. Initially a 10 point scale was employed in identifying the relative strengths and weaknesses of Jet with respect to other detergent and washing powder brands in the market. Pilot testing indicated that respondents were having difficulty interpreting the 10 point scale. Inputs were also taken from Unitrend Bd. at this stage to augment the existing questions base.

Phase 2 May 8 till May 13, 2010 Questions regarding ownership and application of washing machines were added, in addition to reverting back to a 5 point scale for identifying the most critical factors influencing detergent choice. In addition, a basic conjoint analysis was added as well. At this stage, a number of Likert Scale questions were also included in order to identify the current perceptions of consumers with respect to washing, washing machines, their correlation between price and perceived quality of detergents and their sentiments towards appearance, preserving clothes and frequency of washing clothes. Once the questionnaire was finalized, a codebook was developed for facilitating data entry and question tracking.

The category survey was conducted between May 14 and May 24, 2010 among a sample of 84 respondents. The surveys were conducted by five research associates within the designated areas (Appendix B). The following table aggregates the research parameters for the Category Surveys.

Sample Size 85 respondents Accuracy + 9% Significance + 0.05 on each tail Table 4: The Category Surveys Parameters

Sampling Method Surveyors Duration

Quota Sampling 5 Researchers 2 weeks

At the conclusion of the surveys, the respondents were given a 200 ml sample of Jet Liquid to be used for 2 weeks, and their responses were collected in the next stage, The Trial User survey. Furthermore, each respondent’s authenticity was verified via telephone calls, and in a few cases, through personal visits from KGC's own staff. The responses of the category

survey were tested for reliability according to Cronbach's alpha, and the findings have been aggregated in the following table: Q30 Brand Satisfaction No. of items 35 Q35 Importance of features in Detergents No. of items 14 Q36 Preference of Detergent No. of items 4 The three key questions of the

Alpha 0.785

Alpha 0.813 Alpha 0.825 Category survey were tested for reliability, and while

Importance of Detergent Features and Preference of Detergents (Conjoint Analysis) scored high reliability, Brand satisfaction only scored moderately high. The latter may not come as a surprise, since there was a large deviation in the way the respondents ranked each of the six brands.

Table 5: Reliability for the Category survey Q8 Customer Satisfaction for Jet Liquid No. of Alpha items 16 0.867 Q9 Competitive Scoring of Jet Liquid No. of Alpha items 56 0.926 IV.III The Trial User Surveys The Trial User Surveys were conducted between May 25 and June 10, 2010 among the same respondents who were selected for the Category surveys. After a period of 2 weeks of trial usage, their responses were recorded in terms of overall satisfaction, their likes and dislikes regarding Jet Liquid and how they rank the attributes of Jet Liquid with their current brands.

Concurrently, a detailed account of the findings of the Trial User Surveys have been

Table 6: Reliability for Trial User Surveys

provided in Part V of the report. The Trial User Surveys, which employed both multiple choice and open-ended questions, was conducted within a 2 week period by 5 research associates. The following table aggregates the reliability scores of the key questions of the Trial User Survey. At the conclusion of the final round of surveys, each of the respondents were provided a gift hamper, with compliments of KGC, while the research associates attended a business briefing, where they shared their findings. It should be noted, that ultimately, a 6 point Likert Scale was employed in both the degree of customer satisfaction and competitive scoring of Jet liquid in a bid to avoid central tendencies of the respondents.

IV.IV

Overview of the Research – Timeline and Budget

The entire research project was undertaken between April 20, and June 15, 2010. The following Gantt chart illustrates the progression of the research and its various stages, over the stated duration.

Apr.20 – May.4

Week3

Week4

Week5

Week6

Week7

Week8

Week 9 June 22.

Report Writing Depth Interviews Category Survey Development Meeting with Researchers Category Survey Trial User Survey Development De-briefing of researchers Trial User Survey Category Survey Analysis Meeting with Researchers Data analysis Figure 4: Timeline of the Research The overall project was completed within 8 weeks, while the remaining two weeks were reserved for data analysis and report writing. Concurrently, the research budget for the survey has been aggregated in the table in the following page: Phase One: Surveys

Units

Unit Cost

Total Cost

Researcher 1 Researcher 2 Researcher 3 Researcher 4 Researcher 5

16 16 16 16 16

300 300 300 300 300

4800 4800 4800 4800 4800

Kallol Staff Kallol Staff 2 Kallol Staff 3 Total Responses

6 5 5 96 Units

Unit Cost

Total Cost

Researcher 1 Researcher 2 Researcher 3 Researcher 4 Researcher 5

16 16 16 16 16

300 300 300 300 300

4800 4800 4800 4800 4800

Kallol Staff Kallol Staff 2 Kallol Staff 3 Total Responses Total Researcher Costs

6 5 5 95

Phase Two: Trial Usesr Survey

48,000

Other Expenses Survey Photocopies Interview Sheets Liquid Detergent Gifts

Unit 576 570 34 -

Unit Cost 1.5 1.5 40 -

Total Cost 864 855 1360 -

Buffer Cash Total Cost of Research

3000 54,079

Table 7: The Proposed Budget for the research As indicated in the table, the initial target for the research was 96 respondents; however, due to lack of time, the surveys which were to be conducted by KGC’s own staff were not completed. Concurrently, the actual number of respondents reached decreased to 84, and subsequently the accuracy of the research came down to 9%.

Part V Findings and Data Analysis The overall findings of the research have been arrayed according to the specific objectives of the research. Concordantly, a detailed breakdown of the respondents profile has been provided in Appendix B of the report.

V.I

Current Usage and Applications of Detergent

Most respondents wash their clothes in the morning, closely followed by afternoon. It is important to understand when and in what sequence households carry out their daily routines. In addition, the research also indicated that most respondents dry their clothes in direct sunlight.

In fact 49 respondents dry their clothes in direct sunlight, notwithstanding the fact that direct sunlight actually damages the color of the clothes. Most of these respondents dry their clothes in the morning, to ensure the highest intensity of the light on the clothes when drying. Only 29 respondents try their clothes in a shaded area indicating that there is a need for educating the consumers on how to preserve their clothes better.

Figure 5: Time of washing clothes

Another key area of interest to the research was whether respondents washed their colored and white clothes separately, and whether or not they used separate detergents for each. In addition, which detergents were used for colored clothes and for whites?

92% of the respondents washed their colored and white clothes separately, however, only 19% of the respondents used separate detergents for each. The data indicates that Wheel Power White and Surf Excel are generally used, when washing colored clothes (Appendix B). With respect to whites, the most popular detergent in this category proved to be Surf Excel, closely followed by Wheel Power White. Most respondents pointed to the fact that Surf Excel’s strong cleaning power to remove tough stains makes is suitable for white clothes. However, it should be noted that 29 of the respondents who did not use separate detergents used Surf Excel on all their clothes.

The respondents were also asked whether or not they employ separate detergents for their formal and house clothes. This concept was first brought up in the Depth interviews where it was seen that a number of households employed multiple detergent brands.

Households often used a premium brand (such as Surf Excel or Jet Detergent) for their formal clothes and a budget variant (such as Wheel Lemon) on their house clothes, bed sheets curtains etc.

30% of the respondents used separate detergents for their formal and house clothes. 7 of the respondents used Surf Excel, closely followed by Jet (5) and Wheel Power white (4). The detailed break-down of the brands employed in washing formal clothes can be found in Appendix B of the report. For house clothes, the most popular choices were Jet and Surf Excel (7) and Wheel Lemon (3).

The research also sought to identify what were the other applications of detergents for households. The following table summarizes the various applications of detergents according to their respective brands:

Jet Detergent

Usage Cleaning crockery Cleaning Bathroom

Frequency 10 1

Cleaning floor Cleaning shoes Cleaning Kitchen Washing car Surf Excel Cleaning Bathroom Cleaning floor Cleaning Shoes Washing car Wheel Cleaning Crockery Lemon Cleaning Bathroom Cleaning floor Cleaning refrigerators Washing Basin & Racks Wheel Cleaning floor Power Cleaning Crockery Table 8: Alternative uses of Detergent and Washing powders

6 1 1 2 3 2 1 1 1 4 4 1 4 1 1

Interestingly, Jet detergent appeared to be popular among respondents for cleaning crockeries and floor, while Wheel Lemon was employed by respondents for cleaning bathrooms, crockeries and floors. Further discussions with respondents indicated that those who applies Jet for cleaning crockeries believe the detergent to be mild, and concurrently the respondents believe this indicates the detergent to be safe for washing utensils and plates.

The research also aimed to identify where and how respondents stored their detergents, as well as whether or not they have any difficulty in storing them. A common phenomenon with detergents that is known is the fact that detergents often harden up and coagulate, if moisture seeps into the packaging. Subsequently, the detergent can no longer hold its fine powder form, and becomes pellets. The depth interviews indicated the consumers rely on a number of verbal cues when judging detergent quality, such as the amount of foam, and the color and texture of the detergent powder. A detergent which has hardened into pellets because of poor storage or packaging is an indicator of poor quality. These cues are especially important for respondents who do not wash clothes

themselves. The research indicated that most users are aware of this issue, and opt to store the detergent in air-tight plastic jars, either in their bathroom; kitchen closets (Appendix B). Jet Liquid detergent does not suffer from this problem; however, this benefit may only be relevant for those consumers who store powdered detergent in their original packaging.

The research also aimed to identify who actually washes the clothes within the target market, there by gauge the relevance of Jet Detergent’s core value proposition: Soft on Clothes, soft on skin. Concurrently, the research pointed that most of the washing in the respondents’ house is done by the made, with occasional washing done by the respondent themselves. In addition, the research also sought to identify the viability of the launching Jet liquid in the segment that owns washing machines. Hence, the research also aimed to shed light on the number current and potential washing machine owners, the steps that they follow when using a washing machine, and their perceptions and attitudes towards using washing machines as well.

Taking into account that many respondents may not wash clothes themselves, as iterated by figure 5, another area of interest was, if the respondents do not wash clothes themselves, they how do they ensure detergent quality. The findings suggest that in most cases where the respondent did not wash clothes themselves, relied on checking cleanliness after washing (57) and supervising while clothes are being washed (17). This along with the fact that consumers consider foaming to be an indicator of quality, albeit, it does not in reality influence cleaning, points to the fact that Figure 6: Who washes the clothes

foaming is especially important, as a psychological factor, for

those respondents who judge the quality of the detergent through supervision (Appendix B).

Yes No, but plan to buy one No

Frequency 31 26 27

Percent 37% 31% 32%

Total 84 100% As the table suggests, 31 respondents owned washing machines and a further 26 plan to purchase one in the future. With respect to application of washing machines, the findings suggest that most users employ washing machines for almost all types of clothes (45%), while the remaining users employ it for washing heavy laundry such as bed sheets, curtains, towels etc.

With respect to steps involved in using the washing machine, the majority of the users employ top loading machines, where they add the detergent and the water first, let it mix, and then load their laundries.

In lieu of understanding the detergent category, the research also sought to

Table 9: Who washes the clothes?

identify the attitudes and beliefs of washing machine users with respect to using washing machines. Concurrently, two statements with a Likert Scale ranging from Strongly Disagree to Strongly Agree were also included, the findings of which have been aggregated in table 10.

Statement

Strongl y Agree 7

Agre e 20

I believe washing machines does not clean clothes properly I feel guilty for using a washing 3 14 machine I Do not like too much foam when 5 11 using a washing machine Table 10 Sentiments regarding usage of washing machines

Indifferent Disagree Strongly Disagree 11 17 8 15

19

3

13

12

5

As the data suggests, most respondents do not strongly believe washing machines to be ineffective in cleaning clothes. However, 20 respondents agree with the notion, that washing machines may not always clean clothes properly. In addition, the data also points to the fact that opinions are divided with regards to respondents feeling guilt when using washing machines. The washing machine owners segments were also asked about their perception on the amount of foam they desire. As statement 3 indicates, 16

respondents indicated that they did not want too much foam in their detergents, whereas respondents disagreed with the notion.

In addition, the research also indicated that the decision for choosing the brand of detergent lies with the housewife in almost 70% of the time. In addition, 68% of the respondents indicated that they do not generally use brighteners, while among those who do, Ujala and Robin Liquid Blue proved to be most popular (Appendix B) V.II

Perceptions and Attitudes towards washing clothes

The research sought to identify the associations, attitudes and values of the target consumers with respect to washing, and thereby develop a viable customer profile of the target market. Hence, a 5 point Likert scale was devised, with responses ranging from Strongly Agree to Strongly Disagree, applied across twelve sentences aimed at identifying the respondent’s attitudes and perceptions. The detailed breakdown of the findings can be found in Appendix B of the report. The respondents were asked to reply to the following sentences: 1. I enjoy washing my own / family’s clothes 2. I believe properly washing clothes makes me happy 3. I feel guilty when I am not able to wash clothes myself 4. I believe washing clothes is just as important as cooking and cleaning.

5. I believe supervising the maid to ensure proper washing is very important 6. I find the activity of washing a repetitive and tedious activity.

7. The clothes I wear are an expression of my personality 8. I try to preserve my clothes so that I can wear them for many years 9. I try not to wear the same clothes frequently (especially at the same place) 10. I wear the same clothes multiple times without a wash 11. I do not want my clothes to smell like the detergent 12. I believe it is important to dress appropriately for every occasion

Table 11: Identifying respondent attitudes regarding washing clothes With respect to statement 1, 35 respondents disagreed or strongly disagreed with the notion that they enjoy the activity of washing clothes. In contrast however, 32 respondents agreed with the notion, indicating that opinions are indeed divided on the issue. In context of statement 2, 60 respondents agreed that washing clothes properly makes them happy. This indicates the existence of a viable creative strategy that can be employed to sell detergents in the Bangladesh market. 73 out of the 84 respondents believed washing to be equally important to other household chores such as cooking and cleaning. Concurrently, while detergent powders are often categorized as shopping products, related to little or no information search activity (Unitrend, 2006), majority of the respondents believe washing to be an important part of their daily life. In lieu of statement 6, again the opinions of respondents were clearly divided. While 35 respondents agreed that washing is a tedious and repetitive activity, 30 respondents actually strongly disagreed or disagreed with the notion, while 14 respondents were indifferent. I should be noted that 36 of the respondents did not wash clothes themselves, or employed a washing machine, and a cross tabulation indicated that all the most of the respondents who did not wash clothes themselves disagreed with statement six. 78 respondents strongly agreed or agreed with statement 7, indicating that they are very conscious about their attire and appearance. Hence, it can be safely inferred that the target segment considers their appearance to be an important factor in their lives. In context of Statement 9, 68 of the total 84 respondents strongly agreed or agreed that they do not wear the same clothes frequently, especially at the same place. Statement 12 is another indicator of the importance that respondents put on their attire. 60 respondents strongly agreed with the notion that it is important to them to dress appropriately for every occasion. A further 20 respondents agreed with the statement. Hence, by taking into account the responses from statement 7, 9 and 12, it can be inferred that the target market does consider attire and appearance to be very important.

Statement 8 was devised to identify whether preservation of clothes was a relevant attribute to the target market. Concurrently, 41 respondents strongly agreed while a further 25 respondents agreed with the notion that they do try to preserve their clothes, so

that they can wear them for many years. It should be noted that statement 8 aims to identify the respondents' attitudes rather than the frequency or importance of preserving clothes.

V.III

The most critical factors in choosing detergents

On the basis of the Depth interviews the following attributes were considered to be pertinent enough to be included in the Category Survey, where each respondent was asked to market each detergent on a 5 Point Likert scale ranging from least important to most important. With respect to question 3, 43 respondents disagreed with the notion that they feel guilty when they are unable to wash clothes themselves. This is consistent with the initial findings, where only 8 respondents actually washed clothes themselves. As majority of the respondents did not wash clothes by themselves too often, the extent to which they believe supervision of the maid is important was identified using statement 5.

Figure 7: Critical factors for Detergents Concurrently, the research indicated that the most critical factors to consumers were Cleaning ability, Preservation of Color, Preservation of fabric and ability to remove tough stains respectively. The data suggests that Cleaning Ability is the most important factor, scoring 4.92 out of a maximum of 5. In addition, the low standard deviation indicates that there is a high degree of uniformity in the way respondents ranked this criterion. In addition, the low standard error augments the reliability of the data. In contrast, preservation of color and fabric are also imperative to the consumers. The table suggests that consumers do consider a detergent that does not harm the color or the fabric to be very important. However, the ability to remove tough stains is just as important to them. The prevalent trade-off between the ability to remove tough stains, and not damaging the fabric or color would be the most difficult challenge facing KGC in its venture to launch Jet Liquid in the Bangladesh market. However, the relatively higher standard deviation indicates that there was less uniformity in the way respondents ranked these criteria. Soft on the washer’s skin, softening

of clothes after wash, and less scrubbing were seen to be moderately important, whereas smell, ease of following instructions and foaming were considered to be less important. It is important to note however, despite the lower rating of foaming, the depth interviews and subsequent communication with the respondents indicate that foaming, while not perceived to be important, does play a crucial role in enhancing the perception of cleaning in the respondent’s mind. The aggregated findings have been aggregated in Table 12.

Critical Factors

Mean

Std. Error

Std. Deviation

How Important is cleaning power to you?

4.92

.052

.474

How important is the ability to preserve color to you?

4.73

.064

.586

How important is the ability to preserve fabric to you?

4.65

.074

.671

How important is the ability to remove tough stains to you?

4.57

.081

.736

How important is it, that the detergent should be soft on your skin?

4.14

.115

1.049

How important is softness of clothes after washing to you?

4.10

.126

1.144

How important is it for you to scrub less when washing?

3.94

.132

1.203

How important is the smell of the detergent to you?

3.86

.135

1.231

How important is it for the detergent to have easy to follow instructions?

3.59

.132

1.200

How important is easy to prepare the detergent to you?

3.55

.130

1.182

How important is foaming to you?

3.55

.154

1.399

How important is it to reduce the time of washing to you?

3.49

.135

1.233

How important is easy storage of the detergent to you?

3.34

.135

1.232

.140

1.275

How important is the packaging of the detergent to 3.10 you?

Table 12: Scores of Critical Factors in choosing detergents

Test of significance was conducted using the apriority that all factors are equally important, hence the mean importance of each of the factors would be 3 (i.e. each factor is equally important). Due to a lack of preceding research on the topic, there was no available data on the population mean, concurrently; the test value was fixed at 3 on the basis of mean importance (Appendix B). The T-test indicates that apart from packaging, all other variables included in the research are indeed significant at alpha at 0.05%.

It is important to note, that detergent price was not included in the critical attributes. Given the wide ranging prices of detergents in the market (Unitrend, 2006), the notion of price is invariably compared to the overall benefits and costs associated with the detergent. Hence, given the contingent nature of price on the overall value provided by the product, the variable was excluded from the above question.

Another area of interest in the research was, whether there was any statistical difference between benefits sought by those who owned washing machines and those who did not. Concurrently, a one-way ANOVA analysis was conducted (Appendix B), to determine if there were indeed any statistically significant difference sought by the two groups of respondents. In parallel to the Apriority expectations of the research, there weren’t any statistically significant difference with respect to cleaning ability, ability to preserve clothes and color, and the ability to remove tough stains. In contrast, softness of Detergent on skin is ranked more important by respondents who do not own washing machines. A look at the ANOVA indicates that the difference sought by these

two groups is indeed different. Another area of interest is the importance of smell to the respondents. Respondents owning washing machines considered smell to be more important (with a mean ranking of 4.4) compared to the respondents who do not own (with a mean of 3.54). The reason behind this statistically significant difference could be due to the fact that most washing machine owners employ spin drying, which facilitates retaining the smell of the detergent compared to drying clothes out in the open. Those respondents owning washing machines again ranked packaging to be a more important factor (a mean of 3.5) against respondents without washing machines (with a mean of 2.87).

While these differences are statistically significant, the overall importance of these factors did not merit any relevant adjustments to Jet Liquid’s product mix, and the overall conclusion was drawn that there are no significant difference in the benefits sought from detergents, between groups of respondents who owned washing machines and those who did not.

The research also focused on the main reasons behind the respondent’s purchase of their current brand of detergents. Despite ranking preservation of clothes and color as important factors, 63 respondents indicated Cleaning ability to be the most important factor behind their purchase of current detergent. 11 respondents considered price to be a key factor as well. Cross tabulation between important factors and the purpose for which the detergent is used indicated that consumers who considered price of be the determinant factor in their detergent purchase purchased multiple brands, concurrently they are more price sensitive when purchasing detergents which they use in washing house clothes. Hence, it can be concluded that cleaning ability, preservation of color and fabric and ability to remove tough stains are the most pertinent factors for consumers with respect to the detergent of their choice.

V.IV

The competitive positioning of Jet Detergent

Figure 8: Most important factor, when purchasing detergents

The fourth objective of the research was to identify the relative positioning of Jet Detergent with respect to its key competitors. For the purpose of the research, Jet Detergent's competitive market space had been broken down into 3 levels.

The Generic Product Level: At this level, Jet detergent competes with other products and services at the core benefit level. Hence, the core benefit of clean clothes. Concurrently, at this level, Jet faces competition from Dry cleaners, ball soaps, and washing powders. While the impact of generic competition may be imprecise, it is undeniable that these firms do have an overall impact on Jet's bottom line sales, and thus, its profitability. At this level Jet has to compete with dry cleaners, ball soaps, liquid soaps, and other detergent and washing powder categories.

The Product Type Level: At the product type level, the competition and its impact on Jet Detergent becomes relatively clearer and more precise. At this level, Jet is competing with different product categories such as Ball soaps, washing powders and other detergent brands. At this level Jet is competing with other cleaning type of products such as Tibbet 570 ball soap, Wheel Bar etc.

At the Product Variant Level: This was the key area of interest in the research, where Jet's key competitors in the detergent category were identified and subsequently were placed in the category survey for respondents to score. Parallel to KGC's view, Surf Excel, Wheel White, Wheel Lemon, Tibbet and Chaka were considered to be the relevant competitors of Jet, with Surf Excel and Wheel White being the closest competitors with respect to Jet's target market.

The research sought to get a barometric reading of what is the current perception of the consumers with respect to the key attributes of detergents, for Jet and its competitors. Concordantly, respondents were asked to the aforementioned brands according to the fourteen attributes identified in objective III of the research. In terms of the current brands house, figure 8 provides a breakdown of the brands that the respondents currently purchase. Surf Excel has the highest frequency. However, it is important to note that a number of households use multiple brands, and as evidenced in the research a number of household use Surf Excel on only

their formal clothes and dresses, and usually a cheaper detergent for their other clothes. Wheel Power white has the next highest usage frequency, closely followed by Jet and Wheel Lemon. There were a few respondents who purchased more expensive detergents such as Tide, Ariel and Persil as well.

With respect to the competitive ranking, the respondents were asked to score their current and past according to six critical factors, namely, cleaning ability, price, gentleness on clothes, packaging, smell and color and company reputation. The scoring was done on a 5 point scale, ranging from very satisfied to very dissatisfied. The aggregated findings of the competitive ranking has been reproduced in Table 13, in addition a break-down of the number of respondents who scored each brand can be found in Appendix B of the report.

Surf Excel Cleaning Ability

Jet

Wheel

Wheel

Lemon

White

Chaka

Tibbet

4.62

3.86

4.21

4.36

3.71

4.25

Price

2.99

3.98

4.21

4.19

3.71

4.25

Gentleness on Clothes

3.88

3.86

3.68

3.78

4.14

4.00

Packaging

4.88

3.35

3.55

3.89

3.14

3.50

Smell & Color

4.20

3.64

3.73

3.63

3.71

4.00

Company Reputation

4.30

3.76

3.62

3.94

3.29

3.50

Figure 9: Current Brands purchased by respondents

Table 13: Competitive Positioning of Jet with respect to its key competitors.

As indicated in the table, Surf Excel's strength lies in its cleaning ability, Packaging, and company reputation. It should be noted, given the fact that cleaning ability is the most important factor in purchasing detergents, Surf Excel, Wheel Power White and Tibbet received the highest scores. Surf Excels premium pricing strategy can be considered its weakness. From the perspective of Jet

detergent, the research indicates that the brand is still significantly lagging behind its main competitors with respect to cleaning power packaging and aesthetics. With respect to price, Tibbet received the highest scores, while Chaka received a highest marking with respect to gentleness on clothes. Concurrently, a more expansive comparison was undertaken in the next phase of the research, where consumers ranked Jet Detergent along with Jet Liquid on fourteen critical factors identified in the category surveys.

In addition, the research also sought to identify which brands the respondents were using before settling on their current brands, and more importantly, what were the reasons for their switch. The research identified the main reasons for switching being Cleaning ability, and availability (Appendix B). In fact, 43% of respondents who switched brands did because of cleaning ability.

Availability had the next highest frequency accounting for 26% of reason for switching. With respect to Jet detergent the data pointed to a somewhat alarming trend. Among the respondents, 26 of them switched away from the brand, out of which 16 respondents switched due to lack of proper cleaning ability while 5 respondents witched due to lack of availability.

V.V

Meeting customer needs with Jet Liquid

The last question of the Category survey employed a rudimentary conjoint analysis with the aim of identifying the nature and extent of trade-offs among the respondents with respect to benefits and attributes of the detergents with respect to price. The respondents were asked to rank, according to preference, a 1 Kg packet of four potential detergents with different set of benefits and prices. It is important to point out that each of the four detergents were actually modeled against Wheel Power White, Surf Excel, Jet and Jet Liquid without explicitly mentioning their names in the survey. The aim was to identify strictly the trade-offs respondents were willing to make, without being influenced by branding of the products.

Figure 10: Conjoint Analysis

The findings suggest that the most preferred detergent is detergent 3 with a mean ranking of 1.59 with a standard deviation of 0.78 (Appendix B). Concurrently, while Detergent 3 was modeled after Jet Detergent Powder, it suggests that the respondents do not believe Jet detergent to provide the relevant attributes associated with the detergent. Concurrently, it raised a number of questions regarding the efficacy of Jet Detergent's current promotional and marketing activities. Interestingly, detergent 4, which was created in parallel with the potential pricing and benefit set of Jet liquid, was ranked second most preferred detergent despite its rather steep price tag, at 1.94 with a standard deviation of 0.86. Concurrently, it indicated that, provided Jet liquid delivers those promised benefits, there could be a high adoption rate within the target market. Detergent 1 was ranked the lowest, with a preference of 3.73. There appeared to be a positive correlation between consumer preference and pricing as well.

A comparison between preferences of detergent based on the actual amount of washing done by the respondents also indicated that there were statistically significant different between how these respondents ranked their detergents (Appendix B). For detergent 4, respondents who did or most of the washing themselves consistently ranked it lower than those respondents who employed the maid or a washing machine. A cross tabulation of the respondents against ranking also indicated a positive correlation between income of the respondents and the preference for detergent 4.

50

41

40 28

30 20 10

7 2

1

Poor

Average

0 Good

Very Good Excellent

At the conclusion of the 2 week trial period, the users were required to

complete the Trial User Survey which aimed to categorically identify the extent to which Jet Liquid was able to meet their expectations with respect to the critical factors identified in the Category Survey. Figure 11 provides a break-down of the overall level of satisfaction of the consumers that these were the same respondents

with Jet Liquid. It should be noted

Figure 11: Overall Experience with Jet Liquid

who took part in the trial user

surveys, hence the sampling distribution and the respondent profile remained unchanged from the Category surveys. However, due to personal reasons, one of the respondents could not be reached for the second phase of the survey, as of the time of writing this report. Concurrently, at this stage, the sample size of the research was 79 respondents. 48 respondents (out of 79) rated their overall experience to be either excellent or very good, while only 2 respondents ranked the product to be poor. A more pertinent area of the research was the extent to which Jet Detergent was able to meet the respondents’ expectations with respect to each of the critical factors. Table 14 provides a birds-eye view of the overall findings of this objective.

Degree of Customer Satisfaction

Importance

Mean

Std. Deviation

Smell

3.86

4.19

1.10

Ease of Storage

3.34

4.09

0.95

Packaging

3.1

4.05

0.89

Ease of Preparation

3.55

4.00

0.84

Preserve Color

4.73

3.98

0.89

Soft on skin

4.14

3.98

0.93

Preserve Fabric

4.65

3.88

0.85

Cleaning Power

4.92

3.85

0.82

Soften clothes after Wash

4.1

3.78

0.97

Ease of following instructions

3.6

3.65

1.02

Amount of Time needed to wash

3.5

3.50

0.85

Amount of Scrubbing needed to wash

3.94

3.43

0.91

Amount of foaming

3.55

3.38

1.15

Quantity Washing

of

Liquid

required

for

4.2

Ability to clean Tough Stains 4.57 Table 14: Customer Satisfaction for Jet Liquid on a 6 point scale

1.33 2.99 2.95

1.02

The respondents were asked to rank their level of satisfaction for Jet liquid on a six point scale ranging from Very Unsatisfied to extremely satisfied, with respect to the 15 key criterions identified in the Category Survey. To reiterate, pricing was excluded from this portion of the questionnaire, given the contingent nature of pricing perceptions on the overall value of the product. For easier comparison, the level of satisfaction was converted to a 5 point scale for this analysis. As the data indicates, Jet liquid scored the strongest with respect to smell, ease to storage, packaging, and ease of preparation, preserving color, softness of skin and cleaning power. However, with respect to the importance of the factors, preservation of color and fabric and softness on skin are the most relevant. In contrast however, the lowest score obtained by the liquid is in its ability to clean tough stains. Taking into account the relative importance of the attribute, this could be the biggest hurdle for Jet Liquid to overcome. A more pertinent point however,

was how Jet liquid scored with respect to its closest competitors in terms of the key attributes. The respondents, hence were asked to rate Jet Liquid, Surf Excel, Wheel White and Jet Detergent powder, in a 6 point Likert Scale ranging from Very Poor to Excellent.

The findings have been summarized in Table 15.

Surf Excel Cleaning

Gentle on clothes Softness Aesthetics Effort

Convenience

Jet Wheel Detergen White t

Jet Liquid

Cleaning ability

4.3

3.8

3.7

4.1

Ability to remove tough stains

4.1

3.4

3.3

3.7

3.8

3.5

3.7

4.2

Preserving Color

3.6

3.5

3.8

4.1

Soft on Skin

3.5

3.3

3.5

4.2

Soften clothes after wash

3.7

3.4

3.6

4.1

Smell

3.9

3.5

3.6

4.1

Amount of Foam

3.9

3.7

3.8

3.8

Amount of time needed

3.8

3.6

3.4

3.8

Amount of scrubbing needed

3.8

3.4

3.3

4.1

Ease of Use

3.9

3.6

3.7

4.3

Ease of storage

3.8

3.5

3.6

4.1

4.0

3.5

3.3

3.4

Preserving Fabric

Economy Amount required per wash Table 15: Competitive Positioning of Jet Liquid

The comparative scores of Jet liquid fares significantly better than the isolated scoring of Jet Liquid with respect to customer satisfaction. For convenience, the scoring was converted to a 5 point scaling. The overall competitive performance was broken down into seven factors, as indicated by table 15. With respect to cleaning ability, Jet liquid ranked second, falling slightly behind Surf Excel. However, the liquid's inability to remove tough stains appears to be less, when compared to its key rivals. Both Wheel and Jet Detergent scored low in this criterion. As identified in the category research, preservation of color and fabric is imperative to the target market, and this is where Jet Liquid had excelled the other brands in the market. With respect to preserving fabrics, the product has scored significantly, higher than both Surf Excel and Jet Detergent. This finding is further vindicated by the high scores received by Jet Liquid with respect to preservation of color. However, it should be noted that given the timeframe of only 2 weeks, the consumer’s judgment on how gentle the liquid detergent is on clothes may not be entirely accurate. Aesthetics is another strong area for Jet liquid, where it scored significantly higher than its competitors with respect to smell. However, in a few cases, responses indicate that the trial users were not happy with the quantity of foam. In light of the findings and the psychological impact that foaming has on the consumers, a decision was taken to increase the overall foaming agent of the detergent by 15%. An area of interest for Jet Liquid was the amount the respondents needed to wash 8 - 10 pieces (a bucket) of clothes. The findings from the depth interviews indicated that a relative strength of Surf Excel is that respondents believe, despite being more expensive, the detergent can clean a large volume of clothes with a small amount of detergent. Concurrently, this was verified in the research, where the average quantity of Surf Excel required by users to wash 8 to 10 pieces of clothes amounted to 30 grams, while on an average the respondents needed 45 grams of Wheel lemon for the same quantity of clothes. This provides Surf Excel with a psychological edge, and subsequently creates a relative weakness of Jet liquid as respondents scored the Jet liquid to be the second lowest in this criterion, just above Jet Detergent. Concordantly, given the premium nature of the product, and hence a premium price, combined with the perception of requiring a large amount to clean clothes can act as a significant weakness in the market.

However, an important point to note in this regard, would be the fact that the trial 200 ml bottle did not come with any measuring

cup, and while it is recommended on the bottle to use 30 ml of liquid for 8 - 10 pieces of clothes, the respondents may have used more than the prescribed amount, especially in light of those respondents who scored the detergent low on the foaming attribute. It came as no surprise that Jet Liquid scored high on convenience with respect to ease of preparation and storage, as the product does not need to stored in a dry place to avoid moisture, neither does it require the water to be warmed up to ensure proper mixing and foaming. Most users indicated that the liquid was easy to mix, with clearly written instructions on the bottle, and could be stored anywhere, and easily poured into the washing crucible.

In addition to the structured questions, the survey also provided to open-ended questions for the respondents to outline their likes and dislikes about the product (Appendix C). The responses indicated that majority of the consumers liked the smell of the liquid, while another 32 respondents found the cleaning ability of the liquid detergent to be pleasing. Ease of use and preparation were, unsurprisingly also a commonly occurring attribute. On the other side of the coin, the major areas of dislike for consumers were, the amounts needed to wash 8 - 10 pieces of clothes, the lack of a measuring cap and its inability to remove tough stains. However, it should also be noted that 23 respondents stated that they found nothing that the disliked within the period of their usage. The key positives and negatives of Jet Liquid from the trial users have been aggregated in Table 16, while a full break-down has been attached to Appendix C of the report.

What trial users did like Frequency What trial users did not like Smell 47 Requires large amount Cleaning Ability 32 No measuring caps Easy to use 17 Cannot clean tough stains Easy to mix 8 Insufficient foam Soft on skin 8 Smell too intense, lasts after wash Unique Packaging 7 Large amount of water Table 16: Consumer likes and dislikes about Jet Liquid

Frequency 14 12 11 5 3 3

The issue relating to the lack of a measuring cap was also apparent in the depth interviews, and subsequently, has been addressed by the management, through the decision of including a measuring cup with the 1 liter bottle that will be launched in July, 2010.

V.VI

The current perceptions and associations of Jet Detergent and its competitors

The final part of the Trial User survey sought to trace the current perceptions that consumers have with respect to Jet Detergent, Surf Excel and Wheel. As a compliment, the research also sought to identify how consumers perceived Jet Liquid. From a marketing perspective, it is always easier to position a product in the minds of the consumer using attributes and associations that are already held by them (Reis, 2002). Concurrently, the aim was to identify how consumes looked at Jet liquid, which can play an integral role in the subsequent positioning strategy of the brand. Concurrently a brand association grid was devised with 10 key associations, which are considered to be relevant to detergents. These associations were based on the five key brand archetypes, and concurrently, based on a brand positioning study done by Tide in 2003, the most appropriate associations were included in the trial user survey.

The consumers were asked to pick the most appropriate associations in two stages, in order to differentiate primary association and secondary associations (Appendix C).

With respect to Surf Excel, the most commonly held association among the respondent is power, followed by efficient and expert.

This etches out a brand personality of an achiever. In contrast, for Wheel, associations were largely divided. The most commonly held opinions were efficient, expert and classic. Interestingly, 7 respondents considered Wheel to be honest, while the same number of respondents considered the brand to be caring as well. With Jet Detergent, the primary association was classic, with 34 respondents considering this to be their primary association with the brand. In addition, 9 respondents considered the brand to be honest, and 13 considered it to be efficient. These associations indicate Jet's personality to be that of a Traditionalist, or the classic brand. A potential area of exploration, and indeed a key area of this objective were to explore the nature and extent of contradiction that might exist between the perceptions held by the target market with respect to Jet Detergent, and a potentially new and

innovative product such as Jet Liquid. 25 respondents associated 'new' with Jet Liquid while a further 18 respondents considered the product to be innovative. A further vindication to this was 11 respondents who considered the product to be innovative. However, only 8 respondents considered the brand to be efficient, and 4 respondents considered the brand to be an expert. This indicates that while the product is considered innovation by some respondents, there are a number of alternatives that can be pursued to etch out a brand personality for Jet Liquid.

The Trial user survey also asked respondents to rank 5 statements, on a 5 point Likert Scale, with responses ranging between strongly agree to strongly disagree. Table 17 summarizes the findings from these statements.

Statements 1. I believe Jet Detergent is used by past

Strongly Agree Indifferent Disagree Strongly Agree Disagree

37 27 generations 2. I believe Jet Detergent is a premium 3 25 product 3. I believe Jet Detergent is classic and 17 45 traditional 4. I believe Jet Detergent is an innovative 7 17 and creative brand 5. I believe Jet Liquid is an innovative 43 28 product 6. I believe Jet Liquid will make washing 31 38 clothes easier 7. I believe Jet liquid is a brand that I will 37 27 purchase in the future Table 17: Responses to Attitude towards Jet and Jet Liquid

10

3

2

27

21

3

14

2

1

31

15

9

5

2

1

8

2

10

3

2

The overwhelming response to statement one was strongly agrees and agree. 64 out of the 80 respondents agreed that they consider Jet to be a brand that was used by past generations. This indicates the existence of a hurdle with respect to positioning the KGC needs to overcome if they are to successfully leverage the equity of Jet Detergent in launching the Jet Liquid brand. With respect to statement 2, another potential weakness of Jet Detergent's image was identified. 27 respondents were indifferent, while only 3 respondents strongly agreed with the notion. However, statement 3 showed a strong correlation with statement 1. In fact 62 of the respondents who agreed with statement 1 also agreed with statement 3. Concurrently, the apriority has been vindicated by the research, that Jet indeed is a classic brand that respondents perceive was used by their parents, but not necessarily by the respondents themselves. Likewise, only 7 respondents strongly agreed with the notion that Jet Detergent is an innovative brand, while 31 respondents were indifferent and 9 strongly disagreed with the notion. In stark contrast, 43 respondents considered Jet Liquid to be an innovative product and another 28 agreed with the notion, indicating that there is indeed a significant difference in how consumers perceive Jet Detergent and Jet Liquid. Statement 6 and 7 also indicated that the experience most respondents had with the brand was positive. 69 of the 80 respondents agreed that Jet liquid makes washing easier while a further 37 respondents strongly agreed that they will buy Jet liquid in the future, indicating the potential viability of repeat purchases.

A potentially integral part of the market research was to identify the viable price that could be charged for a 1 liter bottle of Jet Liquid, which will be the flagship SKU of the brand. Concurrently, at the conclusion of the trial user survey, the respondents were asked to estimate how much a 1 liter bottle of Jet Liquid would cost and whether or not they will buy it at that price. It is also to be noted that trial usrs at the end of the depth interviews, at the onset of the research were also asked to do the same, first in an unaided manner, and then with guidance to potentially gauge their elasticity of demand. A comparison of the findings between the depth interviews and the Trial user survey indicated a parallel. Most consumes have a mental construct where they compared the liquid with the price of their current detergent, and in most cases, respondents compared Jet liquid's price with that of Surf Excel, ultimately arriving at the average price of BDT 120. The depth interviews also indicated that, even in high income households (MHI

Figure 12: How much will 1 liter of Jet Liquid cost, and would you buy it at that

above BDT 50,000), respondents, mostly housewives and working women, were very cost conscious with respect to detergent prices, although many were not able to recall prices of these detergents accurately. Hence, it can be inferred that the respondents in the target market does have a strong mental construct of 'what a detergent should cost' and concurrently, a somewhat narrow and of elasticity within which they will purchase a brand. Further research in this area is needed to identify the viability for value addition, and the potential attractiveness of such a move to the target market. Concurrently, in order to validate the findings of the market research, KGC has agreed to undertake 3 more Focus Group discussions, to further its understanding of the detergent category as well as the pricing elasticity of the target market. The findings of the pricing perception has been illustrated in figure 12.

Most of the respondents believed the price of the liquid detergent to be between BDT 100 and 125. In addition, it was observed that above the price range of BDT 200, many of the customers actually responded negatively to purchasing the detergent that price. A total of 11 respondents stated they there were undecided on the product, while 12 respondents stated that they will purchase the liquid at a price between BDT 150 and BDT 175.

V.VII

A Regression Analysis of Customer Satisfaction for Jet Liquid Detergent

Mod R el

Model Summary R Adjusted Square R Square

Std. Error of the Estimate a 1 .759 .634 .566 .579 As further verification of the extent to which the critical factors had an impact on the overall customer satisfaction for Jet Liquid, a multiple regression analysis was carried out with the dependent variable being the overall satisfaction with Jet Liquid, and the level of customer satisfaction in each of the fourteen critical factors (identified in the Category Survey) as the independent variables. The regression was also tested for VIF to indicate if there was indeed any multicollinearity between the variables. The summary of the

Table 18: Regression Summary

regression has been aggregated in Table 18, and a full breakdown of the regression can be found in Appendix C of the report. The overall level of significance of the regression was calculated to be 0.08. This along with the small standard error of 0.58 indicates that the regression is reliable. However, the adjusted R 2 indicates that the variables included in the model was able to explain only 56% of the overall variation in the dependent variable, i.e. the overall satisfaction. Concurrently, the based on the standardized beta coefficients, the following equation can be constructed which includes the variables with the highest estimated contribution to the overall level of customer satisfaction. An analysis of the residuals indicated normality; hence, the factors considered in the regression are significant. However, it should be noted that factors such as price of the detergent may have a significant impact on the overall level of customer satisfaction, as well as the color and type of clothes being washed, and in what manner.

Overall Satisfaction = 2.8 + 0.48X3 + 0.36X1 + 0.3X4 + 0.3X2 + 0.2X7 – 0.12X5 + 0.09X10 + 0.08X13 Where X3 is the Satisfaction of Preserving Fabric, X 1 is the Satisfaction of Cleaning Ability, X 4 is the Satisfaction of Preserving Color, X 2 is the Satisfaction of Stain removing ability, X 7 is the Satisfaction of the amount of time taken, X 5 is the Satisfaction of Gentleness on skin, X10 is the Satisfaction of the amount of foam and X13 is the Satisfaction of the ease of storage respectively. The model suggests that preservation of the fabric, cleaning ability and preservation of color had the highest impact on the overall customer satisfaction.

Interestingly, softness on skin actually had a negative coefficient. However, given the low magnitude of the coefficient, and the high significance, it is likely to be a sampling error than a true population parameter.

Part VI Recommendations for Marketing Jet Liquid Detergent VI. I

Establishing and Strengthening Jet Liquid's Value Proposition

Figure 15 Value proposition for Jet Liquid Jet Liquid Detergent is a new category, one that many consumers in Bangladesh are unfamiliar with. Hence, at the outset, the product will need to establish itself as a serious contender in the minds of the consumers. To reiterate on the findings of the research, the core benefit of any detergent is its ability to clean clothes and removing tough stains. While Jet Liquid performed aptly in the former, its scoring in the latter is a cause of concern. Thus, at the launch stage, the brand needs to establish itself as a cleaning product first. As the research indicated, most respondents purchase their current brand due to its functional attributes, namely cleaning ability, rather than any explicit brand loyalty or emotional resonance. Concurrently, while Jet Liquid has the option of establishing its brand equity based on imagery, its primary laddering strategy needs to be attributes driven, at least while the product is still in its introduction stage with respect to its product life cycle. At the basic product level, Jet liquid comes in a convenient packaging and attractive packaging, with easy to use instructions and a measuring cup. Jet Liquid's strength lies in the expected product level. The detergent's ability to preserve color and fabric has the potential to become a favorable, strong and unique association for the brand. Concurrently, subsequent marketing communications strategies should be based on positioning the brand as the 'Color Expert' to further entrench itself in the minds of the target market along with its attribute of being the first liquid detergent in the market. The highest amount of competition takes place at the augmented level (Keller, 2008), and a number of key attributes can help Jet liquid to etch out a competitive advantage in its relevant market segment. The fact that it is a liquid detergent helps to differentiate it from its competitors, and creates a unique vista of opportunity to employ distinct imagery to create differentiation in the minds of the target market. In addition, the product also provides a number of key augmented benefits, as indicated by the research findings, such as its softness on the washer's skin, its ability to soften clothes, and the lack of any residue (as indicated in the depth interviews) which makes it suitable for washing machines. Emotional resonance can be built up in the long run through the potential and the branding level. A key attribute of Jet liquid, as inferred from the research findings, is its

convenience. The product is easy to store, easy to mix with water, and requires less time to wash clothes. Concurrently, it can be a viable strategy to leverage the imagery of an easy life with Jet Liquid providing the brand with a long-term path for creating emotional resonance. This is further enhanced by the existing brand equity of Jet Detergent powder. While many of the respondents currently do not use Jet, the research indicated that the brand still enjoys very high levels of brand salience and recognition with respect to almost all of the respondents. While the current perception of Jet being a traditional and classic brand has the potential to conflict with Jet liquid's innovative nature, there is also a potential for mutual synergy, if Jet Liquid is able to reposition the Jet brand as an explorer rather than a traditionalist. Indeed, as the Trial User Surveys indicated, a handful of respondents actually considered Jet to be a creative brand after learning about and using Jet Liquid detergent. Hence, if done successfully, Jet liquid can leverage the existing brand salience of Jet Detergent, and establish itself as the premier liquid detergent, not only enhancing its own image, but giving the brand Jet a much needed face lift.

VI.II Customer Based Brand Equity Model Given the nature of Jet Liquid, the product is in a viable position to leverage both brand imagery and performance to work its way into establishing an emotional bond with the target market in the long run.

At the introduction stage, the product will likely benefit from the high levels of Brand Salience of Jet Detergent. However, effectively positioning Jet Liquid, so as to not cannibalize Jet Detergent's own market share, and at the same time ensuring that the image of the two products do not contradict are of pivotal importance. Hence, the route for Jet Liquid for building strong brand equity can be illustrated using the Customer Based Brand Equity Model (CBBE).

Brand Resonance Makes life easier, delivering innovation and better value, but still an old friend

Keeps your clothes as good as new, a friend that takes care of the clothes, and the family

Premium priced product that keeps colors intact, cleans well Brand Brand and makes washing easier Judgments Feelings Good Cleaning ability, Preserve Color and Fabric. Soft on skin, soft on clothes Leverage Jet Detergents existing Brand Equity and recognition

Brand Brand Performance Imagery

Brand Salience

A creative and innovative brand that takes care of the clothes, makes life easy

vhgyg

Liquid Detergent, Jet's well recognized colors and logo, achievers Create a synergy by positioning Jet as innovative and creative

Figure 16: The Customer Based Brand Equity Model

As figure 16 suggests, there are two paths Jet liquid can employ to ultimately create a loyal customer base and craft its competitive advantage in the long run. Initially, KGC needs to focus on establishing the liquid detergent as a genuine alternative to detergent powders, while ensuring that it is able to successfully leverage the salience enjoyed by the parent brand. However, with respect to Jet's overall goal of bonding with its target market, the primary route must be through brand performance and Judgment.

Concurrently, it needs to establish liquid as a product first, along with the bundle of tangible and intangible benefits it brings to the table for the target market. Consistent positive experience is essential in this regards to ensure positive brand judgments from the respondents. Hence, quality control and distribution has a key role to ensure consumer satisfaction. It should be noted that, given

the contingent nature of liquid detergent, the overall level of customer satisfaction also lies significantly with the end users, and how they choose to use the product. Concordantly, there may be a need to properly educate consumers with respect to how to apply liquid detergent in their daily washing activities. In parallel to activities which ensures brand performance, Jet can create a viable differentiation strategy by associating itself with distinct imagery such as liquid detergent, the unique logo and color. Establishing Brand Feelings in the long run can be a challenge, and the company needs to commit a consistent Integrated Marketing Communication Program for both the liquid and the powdered detergent, to consistently reinforce the association of convenience and nurturing nature of the liquid detergent.

Part VII Conclusion to the report If one thing has been made abundantly clear at the end, it is the fact that the market research is only the beginning of the journey for Jet Liquid Detergent. While the research has been as much a learning experience, as it has been enlightening, there were indeed many indicators along the way which points to the existence of many more unexplored vistas, in the proverbial black box, that is the consumer’s mind. While the research has been able to fulfill the objectives set at its genesis, there is definitely much room for improvement. A larger, probabilistically selected sample, comprising of respondents from all five metropolitan cities would have provided a much more statistically accurate result, among other areas of improvement. In addition, in parallel with the depth interviews, a number of focus group discussions would have created an opportunity for delving deeper into the consumer psyche with respect of detergents and the activity of washing clothes. These facts notwithstanding, the research project, and consequently the entire internship experience has been an invaluable lesson through practical experience on what it takes to work within a professional environment, as a part of a team, within organizational guidelines and constraints, to achieve results. In many ways, it was a humbling, often times challenging, but inevitably a rewarding experience that can only help to augment a young business

graduate’s repertoire of skills and while creating a deeper appreciation of the integral role that information plays in the contemporary marketing strategies within this breakneck competitive FMCG industry.

Part VIII Bibliography and Appendices Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics. (2009). Statistical Yearbook.

Cravens, D. W. (2008). Strategic Marketing. New York: McGraw Hill.

Drucker, Peter F (1954). The Practice of Mangement. New York: Harper Collins Hawkins, D., Best, R. J., & Coney, K. A. (2004). Consumer Behavior. New York: McGraw Hill.

Keller, K. L. (2008). Strategic Brand Management. New Jersey: Prentice Hall.

Kotler, P. (2006). Marketing Management. Prentice Hall.

Levin, R. I., & Rubin, D. S. (2007). Statistics for Management. New Jersey: Prentice Hall.

Trout, Jack (2002). Marketing Warfare. New Jersy: Prentice Hall.

Unitrend, B. (2006). Understanding the home managers. Dhaka: McCann PULSE. Appendix A The Depth Interview Questions Depth Interview Profile Gender: M____.

Geographical:

MHI: _____________________

Family Size:

F_____ Dhaka Shopping Point: _________________________

_____ Owns Washing Machines: Y/N

Q:3) Which brand of detergent powder do you currently use for washing? ______________________________ Q:4) Do you use more than one brand? Y / N ___________________________and________________________ For what purpose – Brand 1 ____________________________________Brand2____________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________ Q:2) Over all how would you describe your experience with Jet liquid? # Cues: Very satisfied

 Satisfied

 Indifferent

 Unsatisfied

 Very Unsatisfied

# talk about your experience with Jet Liquid. (what are the things you liked? General and unaided). _____________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________ # Aided:  Cleaning Power

 Easy to use? Was it convenient?

 Foaming

 Any Residue?  Impact on clothes

 Smell and Color  Impact on skin

(skip any factor if already discussed) _______________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________ Q:3) Imagine, that you never heard of Jet Liquid. Now, if you came across this product while shopping what would you do? #Cues: Be curious and inspect the product (would you buy it?)

Packaging?

Liquid Detergent?

The brand name of Jet?

 Ignore the product: (probe why?)

Don’t buy unfamiliar products?

_____________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________ Q:4) How would your rank the following brands of detergent?  Wheel

 Surf Excel

 Jet

(Ask to mark them according to rank out of 10) _____________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________ Q: 5) What are the things you didn’t like about Jet Liquid Detergent (try to find 3 or more factors – probe why?) _____________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________ Q:6) Will it be more convenient for you to buy it in a 1 liter bottle than a 200 ml ? (probe on why….?) _____________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________

Q:7) What do you think is the price of a 1 liter bottle of Liquid Jet? (allow them to guess): __________________ # Go into aided discussion: Jet Liquid will cost roughly 0.8 tk to wash a cloth, against 0.5 tk for surf excel. Will you be willing to pay a premium for this product? _____________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________ Q:8) What changes do you think would make the product better? _______________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________

Appendix B Respondent Name: ____________

Address: _____________

Phone: _______________

Questionnaire for Detergent Powder

Dear Sir/ Madam, we are conducting a survey on consumer perceptions of the detergent industry in Bangladesh. Please fill up the questionnaire below to help us understand the current scenario better. Thank you for your time and cooperation.

Section A Screening Q1. Have you washed any clothes personally in the last six months?  Yes

 No

Q2. Have you purchased any detergent for your household in the last six months?  Yes

 No

(If both answers are no, end interview)

Q3. Do you make the decision on which detergent brand to use in your family?  Yes

 Sometimes

 No

(If no, then end interview)

Section B Usage and Application Q4. At what time of the day do you usually wash your clothes?  Morning

 Afternoon

 Late Afternoon  Evening

 Night

 Late night

Q5. Do you wash your colored clothes and whites separately?

 Yes

 No

Q6. Do you use separate detergent for color and white clothes?

 Yes

 No

Q7. Please specify the detergent brands

(If the respondent uses only one detergent skip this question)

Detergent for Colored clothes:

____________

Detergent for White clothes:

____________

Q8. Do you use separate detergents for formal clothes, dresses, and bed sheets, curtains?  Yes Q9. Please specify the detergent brands Detergent for dresses:

 No

(If no, skip to Q.10)

____________

Detergent for bed sheets, curtains: Q10. Do you own a washing machine?

____________  Yes

 No, but plan to in the future

Q11. What kind of clothes do you use the washing machine for?

 All

 No (If no, skip to Q.13)  Specific types of clothes

Types of Clothes _______________________________________________________________________________ Q12. What are the steps you take when using a washing machine?

(Preparation, what brand is used etc)

_____________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________ Q13. Who actually washes the clothes?  I do all the washing myself  I do most of the washing myself, the rest is done by the maid  I occasionally wash clothes, but most of the washing is done by the maid.  The maid does all the washing, but I supervise  I use a washing machine

Q14. If you do not wash the clothes, how do you ensure that the detergent is effective (judge its quality)?  Check cleanliness after washing  Supervise the washing  Take feedback from the maid / others  Check to see the amount and color of the foam  I do not judge the quality since I trust my current detergent.  Other methods:

___________________________

Q15. Who decides which brand of detergent will be used?  I do myself  I do, but after consultation with:

 Mother-in-law  Husband  Maid

 I do not decide it, buts others do. (Please specify) _____________

Q16. Do you use detergents for other purposes? Please specify the brands and the purposes.

(If the respondent does not use detergents for other purposes apart from washing clothes, skip to Q17) Purpose: _________________________________________________________Brand: _______________ Purpose: _________________________________________________________Brand: _______________

Q17. What quantity of each brand do you use in washing 8-10 pieces of clothes?

Brand: ___________

Amount: ____________

Brand: ____________ Amount: ____________

(Focus on how they measure the amount as well)

Q18. How do you dry your clothes after washing them?  In direct sunlight

 In a shaded area

 In direct sunlight & windy area  In a windy area

Q19. Where do you generally store your detergents?  Bathroom

 Closets

 Kitchen cabinets

 Others ____________________

Q20. How do you generally store the detergent powder?  In their original packet

 Plastic Jars

 Other methods: _____________________

Section C Consumer Behavior Q21. Please indicate to what extent you agree or disagree with the following statements.

 1 = strongly agree

 2 = agree

 3 = indifferent

 4 = disagree

 5 = strongly disagree

Statements

(write n/a where

necessary)

Remarks

13. I enjoy washing my own / family’s clothes 14. I believe properly washing clothes makes me happy 15. I feel guilty when I am not able to wash clothes myself 16. I believe washing clothes is just as important as cooking and cleaning.

17. I believe supervising the maid to ensure proper washing is very important 18. I find the activity of washing a repetitive and tedious activity.

19. I believe a washing machine does not clean clothes properly 20. I feel guilty for using a washing machine 21. I believe good detergents are generally expensive 22. I will pay a higher price for a better quality detergent 23. The clothes I wear are an expression of my personality 24. I try to preserve my clothes so that I can wear them for many years 25. I try not to wear the same clothes frequently (especially at the same place) 26. I wear the same clothes multiple times without a wash 27. I do not want my clothes to smell like the detergent 28. I believe it is important to dress appropriately for every occasion

Section D Brands and Attitudes Q22. What are the brands that come to your mind when you hear the word “Detergent�?

 Brand 1 ________________________

 Brand 2 ________________________

 Brand 3 ________________________

 Brand 4 ________________________

Q 23 – 25. Top of the Mind and Spontaneous Recall

Brand Awareness Q24

Q25 Prompted

TOM

Spontaneou s

Q23

Surf Excel

1

1

1

Wheel

2

2

2

Chaka

3

3

3

Keya

4

4

4

Tibet

5

5

5

Jet

6

6

6

Ariel

7

7

7

Tide

8

8

8

Kohinoor

9

9

9

Bright

10

10

10

Nirala

11

11

11

Don’t Know / Can’t Say None of the Above

Q26. What comes to mind when you hear the name

(e.g. Lux  beauty / glamour etc)

 Wheel ________________________

 Surf Excel ________________________

 Chaka ________________________

 Jet

________________________

Q27. For how long have you been using your current brand/s of detergents?  Brand one: ___________

 Years: __________

 Brand two: ___________

 Years: __________

Q28. Which brand did use before settling on your current brand?

_________________________

Q29. What was the main reason for your switch?  Cleaning ability Price  Gentle on Clothes Gentle on skin  Promotions Reputation  _______________________________________________________

 Smell other

Availability reasons

 Recommendations (please

 Size specify):

Q30. Based on your experience with detergents, please indicate how satisfied you are with each brand.  1= very unsatisfied

 2 = Unsatisfied 3 = Indifferent  4 = Satisfied

 5 = Very satisfied

(Respondent should mark only those brands that they have actually used, mark C for current and P for past brands)

Cleaning Power

Price

Gentleness on clothes

Packaging

Smell &

Company

Color

reputation

Surf Excel Jet Wheel Lemon Wheel White Chaka Tibbet Q31. What are the most important features that you think a good detergent should have?

(Try to be specific)

_____________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________ Q32. What is your main reason for purchasing your brand of detergent?

BRAND One: __________

 Cleaning ability  Price  Gentle on Clothes  Gentle on skin  Promotions Reputation  ________________________________________________

 Smell other

Availability reasons

 Recommendations (please

 Size specify):

(If the respondent uses only one brand, skip to question 34)

Q33. What is your main reason for purchasing your brand of detergent?

BRAND Two: ___________

 Cleaning ability Price  Gentle on Clothes  Gentle on skin  Promotions Reputation  ________________________________________________

 Smell other

Q34. How much do you think a 500 gram pack of each detergent costs?

Availability reasons

 Recommendations (please

 Size specify):

 Surf Excel _______

 Wheel White _______  Jet _______

 Chaka _______

Q35. How important the following features are to you, when choosing your detergent.  1 = Least important Features a. Cleaning Power – the detergent should be able to clean clothes b. Ability to remove tough stains – the detergent should able to remove oil stains

etc. c. Preserving the fabric – the detergent should not damage the clothes d. Preserving the color – color of the clothes should not fade after washing e. Soft on the skin – the detergent should be gentle on the skin of the washer f.

Time taken – the detergent should reduce the time taken to wash clothes

g. Scrubbing – the detergent should be able to clean clothes without too much

Scrubbing h. Softness of Clothes – the clothes should be soft after washing. i.

Foaming – the detergent should have a lot of suds

j.

Smell – the clothes should have a pleasant smell after washing

k. Packaging – the detergent should come in an attractive and protective

packaging l.

Storage – the detergent should be easy to store.

m. Ease of Preparation – it should be easy to mix the detergent with water before

washing n. Ease of use – instructions on how to use the detergent must be easy to follow

 5 = Very important Rating

Q36. Please rank which of the following 1kg detergents you would prefer and at what prices

Detergent #1

Detergent #2

Detergent #3

Detergent #4

Cleans Clothes May damage fabric May damage color Can’t remove tough stains

Cleans clothes May damage fabric May damage color Removes tough stains

Cleans clothes Does not damage fabric Does not damage color Can’t remove tough stains

Price: Tk.50

Price: Tk. 130

Price: Tk.150

Cleans clothes Does not damage fabric Does not damage color Can’t remove tough stains Doesn’t harm the skin Soften clothes after wash Easy to store Price: Tk.200

Rank

Rank

Rank

Rank

Section E Q37. Age (Tick appropriate box):  below 18

 18-25

Q38. Gender (Tick appropriate box):

 26-40

 40 and above

 Male

 Female

*Respondents should rank the boxes from 1 (most preferred option) to 4 (least preferred option).

Q39. Monthly Household Income (Please specify in BDT):

________________________________________

Q40. How many members are there in your household?

Please specify in numbers

~~ Thank You for your Time and Cooperation ~~ Surveyor Name:____________________ Date:

____________________

Signature:

____________________

Sampling Distribution for the Category Survey Area (+code) Dhamondi (1) Gulshan (2) Banani (3) Motijheel (4)

Quota 8 8 8 6

Area (+code) Moghbazar (5) Mohammadpur (6) Mirpur (7) Uttara (8)

Quota 16 14 16 8

___________

Total

84

Respondent Profile for the Category Survey Age of the Respondents Below 18 Between 18 to 25 Between 26 to 40 Above 40 Gender Male Female Family Members 1 2 3 4 5 6 8 and above Income Groups (In BDT) 25,000 – 40,000 40,000 – 55,000 55,000 – 70,000 70,000 – 85,000 85,000 – 100,000 Above 100,000

Frequency 2 9 18 54 Frequency 4 80 Frequency 2 1 10 34 20 13 2 Frequency 12 16 8 13 22 13

How respondents dry their clothes after wash

Drying Method Direct Sunlight and windy Shaded area Direct Sunlight

Frequency 32 29 17

Windy area Total Detergents used for Colored Clothes No separate detergents Jet Surf Excel Tibbet Wheel Lemon Wheel Power White Total

6 84 Frequency 67 1 8 1 3 7 84

Separate Detergents for Formals and House clothes Detergents for Formals No separate Detergents Ariel Chaka Jet SurfEx Tibbet Tide

Frequency

Percent

62

74%

1 1 5 7 1 1

1% 1% 6% 8% 1% 1%

Wheel 1 1% WheelL 1 1% WheelPwr 4 5% Total 84 100% Location and Method of Detergent Storage How do you ensure Detergent Quality?

Current Attitudes and Perceptions towards washing

Mean Importance of Critical Factors N Mean Std. Deviation How Important is cleaning 83 4.92 .474 power to you?

How important is the 83 4.57 .736 ability to remove tough stains to you?

How important is the 83 4.65 .671 ability to preserve fabric to you?

How important is the 83 4.73 .586 ability to preserve color to you?

How important is it, that 83 4.14 1.049 the detergent should be soft on your skin?

Std. Error Mean .052 .081

.074

.064

.115

How important is it to reduce the time of washing to you?

How important is it for you to scrub less when washing?

How important is softness of clothes after washing to you?

How important is foaming to you?

How important is the smell of the detergent to you?

How important is the packaging of the detergent to you?

How important is easy storage of the detergent to you?

How important is easy to prepare the detergent to you?

How important is it for the detergent to have easy to follow instructions?

83

3.49

1.233

.135

83

3.94

1.203

.132

83

4.10

1.144

.126

83

3.55

1.399

.154

83

3.86

1.231

.135

83

3.10

1.275

.140

83

3.34

1.232

.135

83

3.55

1.182

.130

83

3.59

1.200

.132

Test of Significance

t

How Important is cleaning power to you?

How important is the abilityto remove tough stains to you?

How important is the ability to preserve fabric to you?

How important is the ability to preserve color to you?

How important is it, that the detergent should be soft on your skin?

How important is it to reduce the time of washing

Test Value = 3 df Sig. (2tailed)

Mean Differenc e

95% Confidence Interval of the Difference Lower Upper 1.81 2.02

36.8 33

82

.000

1.916

19.3 95

82

.000

1.566

1.41

1.73

22.4 27

82

.000

1.651

1.50

1.80

26.9 68

82

.000

1.735

1.61

1.86

9.93 9

82

.000

1.145

.92

1.37

3.64 9

82

.000

.494

.22

.76

to you?

How important is it for you to scrub less when washing?

How important is softness of clothes after washing to you?

How important is foaming to you?

How important is the smell of the detergent to you?

How important is the packaging of the detergent to you?

How important is easy storage of the detergent to you?

How important is easy to prepare the detergent to you?

How important is it for the

7.116

82

.000

.940

.68

1.20

8.73 5

82

.000

1.096

.85

1.35

3.60 9 6.33 1

82

.001

.554

.25

.86

82

.000

.855

.59

1.12

.689

82

.493

.096

-.18

.37

2.49 4

82

.015

.337

.07

.61

4.27 3

82

.000

.554

.30

.81

4.48 2

82

.000

.590

.33

.85

detergent to have easy to follow instructions?

Critical Factors according to ownership of Washing Machines

How Important is cleaning power to you?

How important is the ability to remove tough stains to you?

How important is the ability to preserve fabric to you?

How important is the ability to preserve color to you?

How important is it, that the detergent should be soft on your skin?

Yes No Tota l Yes No Tota l Yes No Tota l Yes No Tota l Yes No Tota l

Mean Std. Deviatio n 4.94 .250 4.90 .569 4.92 .474

Std. Error

4.61 4.54 4.57

.667 .779 .736

.120 .108 .081

4.65 4.65 4.65

.661 .683 .671

.119 .095 .074

4.77 4.71 4.73

.425 .667 .586

.076 .092 .064

3.98 4.52 4.14

1.110 1.016 1.049

.199 .141 .115

.045 .079 .052

How important is it to reduce the time of washing to you?

How important is it for you to scrub less when washing?

How important is softness of clothes after washing to you?

How important is foaming to you?

How important is the smell of the detergent to you?

How important is the packaging of the detergent to you?

How important is easy storage of the detergent to you?

How important is easy to prepare the detergent to you?

Yes No Tota l Yes No Tota l Yes No Tota l Yes No Tota l Yes No Tota l Yes No Tota l Yes No Tota l Yes No Tota

3.52 3.48 3.49

1.363 1.163 1.233

.245 .161 .135

3.90 3.96 3.94

1.423 1.066 1.203

.255 .148 .132

4.35 3.94 4.10

.985 1.211 1.144

.177 .168 .126

3.55 3.56 3.55

1.434 1.392 1.399

.258 .193 .154

4.39 3.54 3.86

.803 1.335 1.231

.144 .185 .135

3.48 2.87 3.10

1.208 1.268 1.275

.217 .176 .140

3.61 3.17 3.34

1.145 1.264 1.232

.206 .175 .135

3.65 3.50 3.55

1.199 1.180 1.182

.215 .164 .130

l How important is it for the detergent to have easy to Yes 3.68 1.107 .199 follow instructions?

No 3.54 1.260 .175 Tota 3.59 1.200 .132 l One Way ANOVA for Differences in means between washing machine owners and non-washing machine owners with respect to critical factors

How Important is cleaning power to you?

Between Groups Within Groups Total How important is the Between ability to remove Groups tough stains to you? Within Groups Total How important is the Between ability to preserve Groups fabric to you?

Within Groups Total How important is the Between ability to preserve Groups color to you?

Within Groups Total How important is it, Between

ANOVA Sum of Squares .019

df 1

Mean Square .019

18.390

81

.227

18.410 .108

82 1

.108

44.278

81

.547

44.386 .001

82 1

.001

36.866

81

.455

36.867 .076

82 1

.076

28.092

81

.347

28.169 .624

82 1

1.86

F

Sig.

.086

.771

.197

.658

.003

.955

.220

.640

.564

.045

that the detergent should be soft on your skin?

Groups Within Groups Total How important is it Between to reduce the time of Groups washing to you?

Within Groups Total How important is it Between for you to scrub less Groups when washing?

Within Groups Total How important is Between softness of clothes Groups after washing to Within you?

Groups Total How important is Between foaming to you?

Groups Within Groups Total How important is the Between smell of the Groups detergent to you?

Within Groups Total How Between 7.429 important Groups is the Within 125.800 packaging Groups

89.641

81

1.107

90.265 .024

82 1

.024

124.723

81

1.540

124.747 .066

82 1

.066

118.633

81

1.465

118.699 3.305

82 1

3.305

103.924

81

1.283

107.229 .002

82 1

.002

160.504

81

1.982

160.506 13.987

82 1

13.987

110.278

81

1.361

124.265 1

82 7.429

81

1.553

.016

.900

.045

.832

2.576

.112

.001

.977

10.274

.002

4.784

.032

of the Total 133.229 82 detergent to you?

How Between 3.757 1 3.757 2.519 .116 important Groups is easy Within 120.797 81 1.491 storage of Groups the Total 124.554 82 detergent to you?

How Between .409 1 .409 .291 .591 important Groups is easy to Within 114.097 81 1.409 prepare Groups the Total 114.506 82 detergent to you?

How Between .375 1 .375 .258 .613 important Groups is it for Within 117.697 81 1.453 the Groups detergent Total 118.072 82 to have easy to follow instruction s?

Mean Rankings for Preference of Detergents according to who washes the clothes Std. Std. Mean Deviation Error Preference of All washing by respondent 3.8750 .35355 .12500 Most washing by respondent 3.0000 1.06904 .37796

Detergent 1 Preference for Detergent 2

Preference for Detergent 3

Preference for Detergent 4

Occasional washing by respondent All washing by maid Employs washing machine Total All washing by respondent Most washing by respondent Occasional washing by respondent All washing by maid Employs washing machine Total All washing by respondent Most washing by respondent Occasional washing by respondent All washing by maid Employs washing machine Total All washing by respondent Most washing by respondent Occasional washing by respondent All washing by maid Employs washing machine Total

3.8065

.54279

.09749

3.8462 3.7000 3.7349 2.8750 2.3750 2.9032

.61269 .48305 .64552 .64087 1.06066 .59749

.12016 .15275 .07085 .22658 .37500 .10731

2.7692 2.6000 2.7711 1.1250 2.0000 1.4839

.51441 1.07497 .70409 .35355 1.06904 .76902

.10088 .33993 .07728 .12500 .37796 .13812

1.7308 1.6000 1.5904 2.1250 3.0000 1.8065

.77757 .69921 .78143 .64087 1.06904 .65418

.15249 .22111 .08577 .22658 .37796 .11749

1.6538 2.1000 1.9398

.79711 .99443 .86037

.15633 .31447 .09444

ANOVA for Preference of Detergent according to Who washes the clothes

Preference of Detergent 1

Preference for Detergent 2

Preference for Detergent 3

Preference for Detergent 4

Sum of Squares 4.970

Between Groups Within Groups Total Between Groups Within Groups Total Between Groups Within Groups Total Between Groups Within Groups Total

df 4

Mean Square 1.243

29.198

78

.374

34.169 2.176

82 4

.544

38.475

78

.493

40.651 3.940

82 4

.985

46.132

78

.591

50.072 12.200

82 4

3.050

48.498

78

.622

60.699

82

F

Sig.

3.319

.

015

1.103

.

361

1.665

.

166

4.906

.

001

Breakdown of Respondents for the competitive ranking of detergents: Brands

Surf Excel

Jet

Number of

69

51

Wheel Power White 36

Wheel Lemon 34

Chaka

Tibbet

7

4

respondents who scored them * in order for a respondent to be able to rank a detergent, they must either currently use the brand or have used it at some point in time in the past.

Reasons for switching brands: Cleaning Price Ability

Gentle Other on Availability Recommendations Promotions Reputation Total reasons clothes

Ariel Jet

61.5%

Keya

100.0%

3.8%

3.8%

Surf Excel 22.2% 44.4% 11.1%

50.0%

16.7%

16.7%

19.2%

3.8%

3.8%

16.7%

100% 3.8% 100% 100%

22.2%

Tibbet570 50.0%

100% 50.0%

83.3%

100%

Tide

16.7%

100%

Wheel

50.0%

50.0% 100%

Wheel bar 100.0%

100%

WheelL

33.3%

WheelPwr 50.0% Total

42.6%

33.3%

33.3%

100%

50.0% 8.2%

6.6%

26.2%

100% 6.6%

4.9%

1.6%

3.3% 100%

Conjoint Analysis

Attributes

N

Mean

Std. Deviation

Detergent 3

Cleans clothes, does not damage fabric, does not damage color, can’t remove tough stains @tk.150

83

1.59

.78

Detergent 4

Cleans clothes, does not damage color or fabric, can’t remove tough stains, easy storage @ tk.200

83

1.94

.86

Detergent 2

Cleans clothes, may damage fabric and color, cleans tough stains @tk.130

83

2.77

.70

Detergent 3

Cleans clothes, may damage fabric and color, can’t remove tough stains @tk.50

83

3.73

.64

Appendix C The Trial User Survey Respondent Name: ____________

Address: _____________

Phone: _______________

Questionnaire for Jet Liquid’s Trial Users

Dear Sir/ Madam, we are conducting a research on the feasibility of launching a liquid detergent in the Bangladesh market. Please take a few minutes of your time to fill out this brief survey. Your time and cooperation will be greatly appreciated.

Section A: Attributes and Efficacy Q1. How would you describe your overall experience with Jet Liquid?  Excellent

 Very Good

 Good

 Average

 Poor

 Very Poor

Q2. What types of clothes did you wash with the liquid detergent?  All types of clothes  Formal clothes: (please specify)

 Dresses  T-shirts

 Shirts & Pants

 Shawls

 Sarees

 Suits & Jackets

 Others (please specify):

__________________________

 House clothes: (please specify)

 Dresses

 Shirts & Pants

 T-shirts

 Sarees

 Others (please specify):

 Bed sheets  Curtains __________________________

Q3. Did you use a Brightener (Neel) when washing the clothes with Jet Liquid?

 Yes

 No

Q4. Do you generally use a brightener with you detergent when washing clothes?

 Yes

 No

Q5. If yes, then which brightener do you use?  ____________________________________ Q6. Please indicate the things you liked about Jet Liquid and why.

(Please try to be specific)

______________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ Q7. Please list the things you did not like about Jet Liquid Detergent

(Please try to be specific)

______________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ Q8. How would you rate Jet Liquid in the following areas based on your experience with the brand?

Very Unsatisfie Very Extremely Unsatisfie Indifferent Satisfied d Satisfied Satisfied d

Ability to clean clothes Ability to clean tough stains Preserving the Fabric Preserving the Color Soft on the user’s skin Quantity of liquid needed to wash clothes Amount of time taken to clean the clothes Amount of scrubbing needed to clean clothes Softness of the clothes after washing Amount of Foam Smell of the detergent Packaging Convenience of storage Ease of Preparation Ease of following instructions

Q9. How would you score Jet Liquid with respect to the following brands?

6 = Excellent

5 = Very Good 4 = Good

3 = Average

2 = Poor

1 = Very Poor

(Applicable for only those brands the respondent has used) Surf Excel Please indicate C for current or P for past brand Cleaning clothes Cleaning tough stains Preserving the Fabric Preserving the Color Soft on the user’s skin Quantity of detergent needed per wash Time taken for washing Scrubbing needed to clean clothes

Wheel

Jet Detergent

Jet Liquid Others:

Softness of the clothes after washing Amount of Foam Smell of the detergent Packaging Convenience of storage Easy to use for washing Q10. When using Jet Liquid, who actually washed the clothes?  I did all the washing myself  I did most of the washing myself, the rest was done by the maid  I occasionally washed clothes, but most of the washing was done by the maid.  The maid did all the washing, but I supervised  I used a washing machine

Section B: Brand Perceptions Q11. Which of these elements would you relate to the following brands? a. Surf Excel

 New  Expert

 Classic

 Efficient

 Caring

(Multiple options are allowed)

 Innovative

 Honest

 Powerful

 Sophisticated  Creative

b. Jet Detergent  New

 Expert c. Wheel

 New  Expert

d. Jet Liquid

 New  Expert

 Classic

 Efficient

 Caring  Classic

 Classic

 Honest

 Efficient

 Caring

 Powerful

 Sophisticated  Creative

 Innovative

 Honest

 Powerful

 Sophisticated  Creative

 Innovative

 Honest

 Efficient

 Caring

 Innovative

 Powerful

 Sophisticated  Creative

Q12. Please indicate to what extent you agree or disagree with the following statements:  1 = strongly agree

 2 = agree

 3 = indifferent

 4 = disagree

Statements 8. I believe Jet Detergent is used by past generations 9. I believe Jet Detergent is a premium product 10. I believe Jet Detergent is classic and traditional 11. I believe Jet Detergent is an innovative and creative brand 12. I believe Jet Liquid is an innovative product 13. I believe Jet Liquid will make washing clothes easier 14. I believe Jet liquid is a brand that I will purchase in the future 15. I do not like too much foam when washing clothes using a washing

machine

 5 = strongly disagree Remarks

Q13. Which of the following statements best represents how you feel about your current brand of detergent?  My current brand of detergent satisfies all my cleaning needs, and I do not plan to switch  My current brand of detergent satisfies all my cleaning needs, but I will switch, if I find something better  My current brand of detergent satisfies most of my cleaning needs, but I am looking for something better  My current brand of detergent does not satisfy all my needs and I am looking for a better one.

Q14. Which of the following statements best represents your view of Jet liquid detergent?  I believe Jet liquid detergent is better than powdered detergent  I believe Jet liquid detergent is as good as powdered detergent  I believe Jet liquid detergent is inferior to powdered detergent

Q15. How much do you think a 1 liter bottle of Jet Liquid will cost?

Q16. Would you buy Jet Liquid at that Price?

 Yes

 __________________________

 No

 Undecided

Section: C Customer Profile Q17. Age (Tick appropriate box):  below 18

 18-25

 26-40

 40 and above

Q18. Gender (Tick appropriate box):

ď Ż Male

Q19. Monthly Household Income (Please specify in BDT):

________________________________________

Q20. How many members are there in your household?

Please specify in numbers

ď Ż Female

~~ Thank You for your Time and Cooperation ~~ Surveyor Name:____________________ Date:

____________________

Signature:

____________________

Likes and Dislikes of Consumers with respect to Jet Liquid What consumers liked Smell Cleaning Ability Easy to use Easy to mix Soft on skin Unique Packaging Easy to store

Frequency 47 32 17 8 8 7 5

What trial users liked Not Too much foam1 Good For whites Good for Silk clothes Good for Synthetic and woolen clothes Good for Delicate Fabrics Clothes Shine Not Too much foam1

Frequency 1 1 1 1 1 1 1

___________

Less scrubbing Lot of foam Soft on clothes Good for Colored Clothes Innovative - Liquid Requires small amount Cleans tough stains

5 5 4 4 4 3 2

Consumer Dislikes Nothing Requires large amount No measuring caps Cannot clean tough stains Insufficient foam Smell too intense, lasts after wash Large amount of water Small Size Cap comes off Design of the bottle Lot of scrubbing Not good for cleaning heavy clothes Works on only delicate materials Opaque bottle Cap makes it difficult to pour accurately Cannot clean cotton clothes Hard to follow instructions

23 14 12 11 5 3 3 2 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1

Brand Persona of Surf Excel Brand Persona of Wheel

Brand Persona Jet Detergent

Brand Persona of Jet Liquid Detergent I believe Jet is an innovative and creative Brand I believe Jet Liquid is an innovative product I believe Jet Liquid will make washing clothes easier I believe Jet Liquid is a brand that I will purchase in the future What trial users think about Jet Liquid Multiple Regression Model

Model 1

Regression

Sum of Squares 15.113

ANOVAb df 14

Mean Square .865

F 2.578

Sig. .008a

Residual 12.774 47 .336 Total 27.887 61 a. Predictors: (Constant), Q9d2JetLiquidEase, Q9r1JetLiquidSmell, Q9n1JetLiquidFoam, Q9f1JetLiquidScrubbing, Q9xJetLiquidQuantity, Q9dJetLiquidCleaning, Q9z1JetLiquidStorage, Q9tJetLiquidSoftonskin, Q9jjJetLiquidSoft, Q9hJetLiquidStains, Q9v1JetLiquidPack, Q9b1JetLiquidTime, Q9pJetLiquidColor, Q9lJetLiquidFabric b. Dependent Variable: Q1OverallExp Model

Unstandardized Coefficients

B 1

(Constant) Q9dJetLiquidClea ning Q9hJetLiquidStain s Q9lJetLiquidFabric Q9pJetLiquidColor Q9tJetLiquidSofto nskin Q9xJetLiquidQuan tity Q9b1JetLiquidTim e

Std. Error

2.810 .357

.741 .130

.297

Standardiz ed Coefficient s Beta

t

Sig.

Collinearity Statistics

Toleran ce

VIF

.335

3.793 1.970

.000 .055

.416

2.401

.131

.236

.741

.463

.357

2.804

.478 .299 -.121

.186 .161 .128

.416 .322 -.124

.418 1.241 -1.644

.678 .221 .107

.155 .179 .309

3.459 2.585 3.232

.013

.087

.023

.146

.885

.488

2.048

.206

.129

.324

1.599

.117

.292

3.421

Q9f1JetLiquidScru bbing Q9jjJetLiquidSoft Q9n1JetLiquidFoa m Q9r1JetLiquidSme ll Q9v1JetLiquidPac k Q9z1JetLiquidStor age Q9d2JetLiquidEas e

.081

.109

.129

.740

.463

.397

2.519

-.076 .093

.130 .080

-.390 .148

-2.112 1.153

.040 .255

.354 .730

1.827 1.370

-.047

.098

-.070

-.479

.634

.564

1.773

.015

.154

.018

.095

.924

.349

2.869

.080

.159

.079

.500

.620

.484

2.065

.005

.147

.006

.035

.972

.410

2.437

Overall Satisfaction = 2.8 + 0.48X3 + 0.36X1 + 0.3X4 + 0.3X2 + 0.2X7 – 0.12X5 + 0.09X10 + 0.08X13 X1: Satisfaction of Cleaning Ability X2: Satisfaction of Stain removing ability X3: Satisfaction of Preserving Fabric X4: Satisfaction of Preserving Color X5: Satisfaction of Gentleness on skin

X6: Satisfaction of Quantity required per wash X7: Satisfaction of the amount of time taken X8: Satisfaction of the amount of scrubbing needed X9: Satisfaction of the detergent’s ability to soften clothes 10: Satisfaction of the amount of foam