Formulate, evaluate, and record the alternative courses of action
MANAGEMENT DECISION CASE Selling to the Bottom of the Pyramid: Marketing Unilever Products in Rural Villages Around the World When assessing the viability of a country or region for global expansion, one of the first factors marketers examine is the ability of consumers to afford the product being offered. With that criterion in mind, would you consider marketing your product to people making only $1,500 a year? What if there were 4 billion of those potential customers?42 This is the challenge and opportunity that marketers face when expanding into bottom of the pyramid markets (BOPM). Successfully (and profitably) marketing to this group requires a focus on two key priorities: changing consumers' behavior and changing the way products are made and delivered. The first can require innovative forms of education. The second may mean a change in features, quality, or portion size to bring costs and prices to an affordable level. These often remote areas create special challenges in the distribution and promotional parts of the marketing mix as well. 43 Unilever, known in the United States for its Dove soap and shampoos, took on this challenge when it decided to sell Its Wheel brand of detergent In India. The company had a head start In that It already had well-established distribution and retail channels serving the middle and poorer classes. Also, detergent was already a known product class, so they did not have to educate the population on the purpose of the product. However, to get the word out about Wheel, they used an unusual sales force: an army of approximately 70,000 shakti women (and later, their husbands) to sell their product In 165,000 rural villages. Shakti-which means "strength" or "power" In Hindi-gave Unilever the power of a large, Informal sales staff that reached Into rural areas across India. With intimate knowledge of the geography and communication styles, as well as having existing relationships with people In the villages, the women in this group could quickly become effective brand ambassadors for Unilever's new product. The product also had to be packaged in a small and affordable size. Unilever pioneered the use of "sachets"- single-use packages that met the price target and conformed to the shopping habits of Indian consumers, who often shop dally for necessities. Sales of these packets reached a quantity of 27 billion per year. Since that success in India, Unilever has expanded these concepts into rural areas in other countries. In Pakistan, women are trained as beauticians, learning how to apply makeup and shampoo hair, as well as how to sell Unilever products. In Thailand, Unilever's Platinum store initiative supports rural retailers by helping with layout and promotions. A 10-cent deodorant packet innovation in the Philippines led to a market penetration rate of 60 percent for their Rexona product. 46 Unilever's BOPM innovations have also included novel approaches in communicating with customers. Many rural customers in India have cell phone service, but they limit their costs by using the "missed call" strategy. Mobile users dial a number, then hang up-avoiding a charge, but letting someone know you want to reach them. Unilever exploited this practice in a promotion for its Active Wheel detergent. Consumers were asked to call a special number programmed to cut off after two rings, costing the caller nothing. They then automatically received a call back from Unilever with a comic message from a Bollywood star-and an ad for Wheel. Page 50 The result? Sixteen million calls and triple the sales for Wheel detergent in the region. While these ventures led to Unilever becoming the world's fifth-largest consumer goods manufacturer, it also allowed them to "do well by doing good." Their education programs have helped reduce child mortality by teaching more than 300 million consumers to use soap. The agricultural practices of 600,000 farmers in the Unilever supply chains have been strengthened through the company's "Sustainable Living Plan," a program that helped put Unilever in the number one spot in GlobalScan's survey of companies most respected for their sustainability efforts. 48 Unilever's success has not gone unnoticed, particularly by rival Procter & Gamble. 19 As global companies like these and others continue to stretch the boundaries of customer viability, they will also have to continue to innovate in the production of affordable products, in their distribution methods, and in finding creative ways to reach consumers In remote parts of the world with their promotional messages
