Reference no: EM133342901

Case: Suppose you are a P&G salesperson and you are to pitch P&G's Herbal Essences shampoo to a large retailer who has opened a new store in the northern part of Canada. Make a persuasive presentation to pitch your brand to the retailer.

The retailer is reluctant to order (enough quantity or any quantity at all) because the area of the new store has low-income households and he is concerned that Herbal Essences, being a relatively expensive shampoo, will not move out quickly enough. The shelf space of the retailer is, obviously, limited and he has got good offers from 'cheaper' brands. These brands, to complete the picture, do not do well in the overall market as far as sales is concerned.

P&G has about 30-40% share of all the shampoo shelves (all types of shampoos) in all major supermarkets and outlets in Canada. Herbal Essences Shampoo also has a large share of the shelves, as compared to its competitors, in these outlets.

Major competitors for P&G are Johnson and Johnson, Unilever, Colgate-Palmolive. There are host of other brands, both with herbs and otherwise, which also exist in Canada. While top brands of P&G, Unilever and J&J compete on quality and brand differentiation, other brands tend to compete on price and rebates to the consumers.

Unilever and Procter & Gamble are two of the biggest multinational consumer goods brands in the world and, together, they are responsible for the majority of products in your local supermarket. As of March 2018, Unilever is valued at $143.9 billion and P&G is valued at $228.1 billion. It is clear which is the bigger of the two companies and this disparity is reflected in a comparison of their patent portfolios.

Unilever and P&G separate product branding from company branding. This is known as multibranding strategy. Unilever focuses on "brand love" to identify the people with their brands, not just their products. P&G, on the other hand, focuses on innovation to differentiate their brands from the competition.

P&G spends the largest percentage of its sales on brand advertising to create strong brands that consumers prefer. It positions each brand to meet the needs of the consumers and does not generally believe in price-offs. Unilever also spends on advertising but is also known to offer promotions to the consumers.

Herbal Essences is for those consumers who prefer natural ingredients and herbs to take care of their hair as opposed to other types of shampoo which rely on chemical substances. Natural ingredients are generally more expensive to produce (costs higher), hence prices are higher too for herbal shampoos as compared to other regular shampoos. As Herbal Essences is the brand leader in its category in Canada and offers unique benefits, it is 5-8% more expensive than its nearest competitor.

PG and Unilever sell packaged goods through mass merchandisers, e-commerce, grocery stores, membership club stores, drug stores, and department stores.

Nearly two-thirds of P&G's revenues are generated from developed markets, while Unilever gets the majority of its revenues from faster-growing emerging markets.

P&G has an especially strong presence in household care products.
Household Products Personal Care
P&G 32% 24%
Unilever 17% 32%

As Herbal Essences is expensive and the store is in a relatively low-income area, the objections you can expect from the retailer are:

I allocate space based on the movement of brands. Why should I give you (enough) space when I expect that your brand will not move out fast enough?
How will you support the brand?

You have discovered that the main buyer of the retailer has a collaborating negotiating style with a touch of competitiveness. He is analytical in nature. How will you incorporate this knowledge in your presentation?

Since this is a major retailer in the region, you are tasked by your company to convince him to give you the dominating space (in the herbal shampoo category) the company wants on the shelf. How will you do it?

Some points to consider for the Sale Pitch:

Try to list all the features of your product, client reviews and testimonials, and more.

Provide a description of the solution - make sure the retailer sees the connection to his interest in buying the product.

Tell the retailer how much money he will make.

Try to find some kind of unique angle so you can better position your product.

Make sure to discuss about the return on investment.

Also, cite statistics that demonstrate how effective the product is.