Read the following caselet carefully and answer the following questions:
1. What positioning strategy would you suggest that Rohilla adapt? Justify your answer.
2. Explain the concept of Niche marketing vis-a-vis Customer Comforts Limited?
‘A glorious morning!’ muttered Ms Shakti Rohilla to herself as she arranged her agenda for the day. Ms. Rohilla was the newly appointed marketing manager of Customer Comforts Limited (CCL) – an Rs.20 crore company in Bombay. First on her engagement for the day, she had a meeting with her Director, (marketing) early in the morning. This meeting was to evaluate the initial thoughts of Ms Rohilla on how to plan marketing efforts for ‘water-beds’– a major product developed recently by CCL.
Customer Comforts Limited (CCL) was set up about a quarter of century ago in New Delhi by Harjinder Singh to create and market a variety of inflatable products. The organization manufactured rafts, boats, life jackets and collapsible containers for bulk storage purpose. It has acquired both quality image and customer satisfaction. Over the years, the only change that Mr. Singh had allowed in company philosophy was to innovate and add more vigorously to the consumer products in the inflatable category to meet new customer desires.
The waterbed was a major offering in the series by CCL in the middle of 1991 to Indian markets. The product had already been accepted to a large extent abroad and it was hoped that Indian consumer too would accept it.
THE WATERBEDS
Waterbeds are made of PVC with mattresses full of water. This water needs to be changed once in six months. In winter, if customers desire, the water could be heated to a required temperature.
Among the major benefits of waterbeds over the conventional beds and mattresses whether made of jutes, cotton, or foam, was that a waterbed applied equal pressure on every point in the body. This ensured its users a healthy and comfortable night’s sleep. Ms. Rohilla believed that this benefit was its chief attraction and needed to be communicated.
Further, the PVC used in making waterbeds was of high quality. They are sturdy enough, as the in-house research and limited field experiments proved, to withstand children romping on them. One could even stub a cigarette without springing a leak. Ms Rohilla knew that this would be a major hurdle to cross, as it would take some communication to convince customers. However, she felt confident that the benefit would reach customers.
Ms. Rohilla was to design a comprehensive market plan for the waterbed. Before it, however, she consulted her Director (marketing) with her initial thoughts. The Director seemed to agree but asked her to marshal them in writing and discuss the same again that afternoon.
As she began, as if on cue, her study room clock chimed. “Oh, nine-thirty! Time to get ready for the office” said Ms. Rohilla and spurted out of her study.
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Marketing case study 