Colgate-Palmolive Case Study Analysis: Marketing Strategies

This case study analysis examines the marketing strategies of Colgate-Palmolive, focusing on the Precision toothbrush. It begins with a SWOT analysis, identifying the company's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats within the global and local markets. The analysis then delves into the changes occurring in the toothbrush category, highlighting the emergence of premium segments and evolving consumer preferences. The study explores market segmentation, comparing Colgate-Palmolive's strategies with those of competitors like Oral-B. It then evaluates the pros and cons of launching the Precision toothbrush as a niche product versus a mainstream product. The analysis concludes with recommendations for Steinberg, suggesting a niche market approach followed by a potential mainstream relaunch. The study is based on the Harvard Business School case study and includes supporting references.

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COLGATE- PALMOLIVE CASE STUDY ANALYSIS
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2/8/2020

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Answer 1: SWOT Analysis of Colgate-Palmolive
Strengths:
 Global diversified presence among
the popular brands
 Strong engagement among the
customers
 Continues growth and innovation
 Strong development as well as
research
Weakness:
 Saturated market
 Dependency on one single product
and category
Opportunities:
 Potential in the emerging markets
 Mergers, acquisitions and divestitures
Threats:
 Local and global competitors
 Currency fluctuations in foreign
 Issues and threats from the
counterfeit products.
Swot analysis of Colgate-Palmolive toothbrush
Strengths
 Raised trip for cleaning
 Availability of various multiple
variants
 Unique cheek and tongue cleaner
Weakness
 Not focused toothbrush for the
children
 Premium products and high price
Opportunities
 Creating awareness regarding hygiene
 A good media campaign to showcase
various multiple features
Threats
 Various competitors in the market
 Use of toothbrush still not there in the
rural parts of the country
Answer 2: changes in the toothbrush category
Following are the changes in the toothbrush category from the case study
 The emergence of the other category which is called the super-premium other than
the value and professional (Quelch & Laidler, 2006)
 Oral- B and Johnson and Johnson trying to capture more market in the super-
premium range

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 Increase of awareness for healthy gum and plaque removal categories when
compared to the traditional thinking of just cleaning the teeth
 Consumers are now willing to pay a premium for the new products addressing the
issues about the health of their gums
 48% of the consumers also claimed to change the brushed every 3 months
 Consumers focus on choosing the brands based on the comforts, features and the
recommendation of the professionals
 Competitors offer refunds and coupons for the competitive edge
 Sizeable revenues which are spent on the adverting as well as the marketing (TV
commercials, store display, banners, and others)
Answer 3 market segment of toothbrush
There are mainly 2 competitors for the Colgate Palmolive which are Johnson and Johnson
and Oral B, most of the companies which include these 2 competitors are releasing the
products that meet the oral hygiene of the customers. The Oral Care market is becoming
profitable and also a high margin business. This has also become a very high margin business
as more and more people are getting aware and worried about oral hygiene. Apart from this,
the managers are also making various changes and are innovating new designs in order to
meet the needs and wants of the customer’s concern. This can also range from the changes in
bristles that change color whenever the brush is ready. Some of the other changes also
include the change in the dynamics and the size of the toothbrush head. The market is divided
into markets of value, profession, and super-premium.

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Answer 4: Niche Market
Niche marketing is considered as a targeting plan of marketing that mainly focuses on a
particular section of the market which has the highest potential to connect with a service or a
product. When considering launching the Precision it as a Niche has both its pros and cons.
As the Precision will be in a superior market using Niche would make it more reachable. As a
niche product, challenging that 15% price premium over Oral-B, Colgate-Palmolive could
capture 3% of the toothbrush market but year one (Quelch & Laidler, 2006). Capturing that
3% means that Colgate-Palmolive has utilized their research and development wisely to
market directly to the 67% mentioned and not the uninterested. This marketing is done with
publicity such as radio and newspaper after the person has selected the target listeners with
audience segmentation. The con with niche marketing would be if done properly retail sales
of other products would reduce.
Mainstream is distinct as whatever that is usually accessible in overall. Launching the
Precision with a mainstream approach allows the communication to be shown to all
toothbrush buyers, not just those the Precision would entice based on its topographies. Not
only would this communication be showed to customers it would also be mass production
and distribution. In just twelve months this position can secure 10% of market share and
14.7% by year two (Quelch & Laidler, 2006). This route will also increase the price of the
actual product. I feel that the mainstream would be the best approach if the market share was
the only variable to evaluate.
Answer 5: Recommendations
My recommendation for Steinberg is to release the Precision as a niche product. On the basis
of the pros and cons, this would help in allowing the Colgate Palmolive to release the
products in the big markets but not at an increased price where the consumer would be afraid

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of the same. If the precision is released once as a niche product then it will become a “cash
cow” for Colgate-Palmolive. It will be deliberated as a cash cow since it will reduce its
market growth rate but uphold the market share. I would recommend when this will reach
after the release of the Precision as a niche product that Steinberg considers is a position of
re-launching as a mainstream brand. At that time, they can have enough money on the risks
of targeting the larger market and would recover if the re-launch failed.

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REFERENCES
Quelch, J., & Laidler, N. (2006). Colgate-Palmolive Company: The Precision Toothbrush.
Harvard Business School, 1-24.