Overview of Sensodyne
Sensodyne is a brand name for a tooth paste and mouth wash. The brand comes in with a wide variety of products. The brand has enjoyed a wide market base for many years as most. It is popular among consumers with dental problems due to the pain relieving g attributes attached to the products. Some of the most common sensodyne products include ; rapid relief mint, Rapid Extra Fresh, extra whitening protection 24/7 , full protection 24/7 Protection and Fresh Mint 24/7 Protection. Other Sensodyn products include Sensodyne Repair and Protection and Sensodyne Repair and Protect Extra Fresh. Despite all these product variety that bare the brand of Sensodyne, the advertisement of the brand has been based on general qualities of the toothpaste and mouth wash (Zeithaml 2011, p. 20). The advertisements by the company are tailored to portray the product as the solution to the dilemma of tooth sensitivity. However, the compact has been focusing on the production of tooth pates that aid in tooth whitening and mouth refreshing. However, the marketing technique that the brand has adopted seam to mislead the consumers. While the band advertisement focused on the pain relieving quality of the product, the manufactures of the product focused producing tooth pastes and mouth washers that refreshes the mouth and whitens the teeth. The advertisement therefore provides misleading information about Sensodyne products (Madzharov, Block, and Morrin 2015, p. 86). As a result, the customer base of the brand has declined the product does not meet the customer demands. Since advertisements play a vital role in the promotion of the products and the brand, it is therefore paramount essential to provide relevant information on the advertisements to attract the right group of customers and to ensure that the product meets the customer preference.
According to the recent research conducted among the consumers of Sensodyne toothpaste, it is evident that a wide range of factors influences the consumer behavior of the customers. These factors influence the consumer taste and preference of a product. The manufacture of the product operates in a free market economy and therefore it is vital to understand the consumer tastes and preferences to develop products that are in line with the tastes and preferences (Grewal, Monroe, & Krishnan 2015, p. 193). While advertising is an important tool of marketing, it does very little in terms of keeping the customers or making one customer come for the same product again. In order to maintain a wide customer base, the company should consider changing the approach they give in advertising the brand and ensure that the product is in line with consumer preferences. Failure to reconsider changing the marketing technique might cost the brand a number of loyal customers. Some of the factors that influence consumer preference are the customers’ perception of the product, motivations, preference for healthy living, pear influence, culture, family and life style.
Critical Analysis of Consumer Behavior Factors
Perception of the consumer on the product has a major bearing on the final decision of the customers (Ghose and Lowengart 2012, p. 56). This fact is confirmed by the research that shows that a majority of consumers would go for high quality products irrespective of the price of the product. It therefore means that customers who by Sensodyne products believe in the quality of the product and they are likely to continue buying the product so long as they still believe that the quality of the toothpaste is high. However, if the consumer perception of the quality of the toothpaste change, the consumers of the products are likely to settle for the second best perceived product in terms of quality. The advertisement used by the brand help in the creation of the first perception of the product by portraying the toothpaste and mouth wash as pain tooth pain relievers. However, the nature of the product and the customer experience plays key role in the determination of the number of customers who will come for the product for the second time. It the perception of the customer on the product change after using the product, then chances are that the brand will not maintain its customer base. It leads to lose of loyal customers and low retaining rate of the new customers.
The interview points out that majority of consumer believe that high product prices are associated with high quality products (Yin, Qian and Singhapakdi 2018 p. 332). It therefore means that low priced products of similar nature are perceived to be of low quality by the consumers. Lowering the price of a commodity therefore may have an impact in shaping the perception of the consumers of the product. A great percentage of the participants in the research also agree that the brand name of the tooth paste contributes to the perception that they hold on the toothpaste. The perception of the consumers therefore does not only determine the consumer preference by also impacts on the burr decisions of the consumers among different alternatives.
Consumer’s attitude toward Sensodyne toothpaste was positive among users until the brand chose to use an advertising strategy that portrayed the product to have a soothing effect on tooth pains while it only whitened the teeth and kept the mouth fresh (Hee & Jieun 2016, p. 9). The attitude to words the Sensodyne branded shifts and it led to decline in the sales of the products. The brand made an effort to use tooth sensitivity awareness to create a positive perception of the product (Holbrook 2013, p. 250). According to the research, a greater percentage of the participants in the research agree that the camping had an impact in terms of influencing the attitude of the consumers towards the product. Even though the attitude of the consumers is changed by the advertisement, it does not translate into sales of the Sensodyne products directly. The nature of the campaigning matters too. Even though the campaign is aimed at raising awareness about tooth sensitivity, it does very little when it comes to increasing the customer base of Sensodyne products. The campaign creates a loop hole for the consumers to use other products and methods handling tooth sensitivity. It is important to note that there exists a thin line between consumer attitude and consumer perception.
Perception and Purchase Decisions
A number of other product oriented factors might motivate consumed decisions (Grewal, Monroe, & Krishnan 2016, p. 67). Some of these factors are pear influence, advertisement motivations, and life style motivations. The people around a first time buyer may determine the attitude and the perception of the buyer on the product. A number of consumers ask for their peers opinions on the products that they have never used before (Özmete, 2012, p. 56). The decisions they make majorly depend on the perception and the attitude of the informant on the products. The larger portion of the participants in the research agrees the pear influence, lifestyle and adverticement motivate their preferences and choice. It therefore means that the product design must take into consideration the cultural believe in a community in order to bust its preference among the possible customers in that society.
Advertisements on the other hand, help in spreading knowledge about the product. It is a vital tool of getting new customers and creation of new markets (Ghose and Lowengart 2001, p. 26). Also, a tool can help in the creation of the initial consumer perception and attitude on the product. However, the perception and the attitude of the consumer after the first purchase rely on the quality of the product and the consumer preference. The physiological approach of advertising the products using health benefits makes it easy for the brand to sale (Holbrook 2013, p. 89). People are motivated by the desire of living a healthy life such that they are willing to buy products that help them maintain their health. In the teeth sensitively awareness campaign, it is vital for the company to not only inform the prospect customers about tooth sensitivity but make use of the opportunity to provide the solution to tooth sensitivity using Sensodyne products as well. However, the campaign without the mention of Sensodyn product does not translate into sales and market dominance of the product.
Maintenance of a wide customer base by the Sensodyne requires use of a mix of strategic methods. According to Yin, Qian, and Singhapakdi (2016), such methods will not only help in spreading the knowledge about the product among the consumer population but also help in shaping the perception and the first time customers as well as their attitude. This report recommends a change in marketing strategy, maintenance of the high quality of the products and sales promotions in order to gain more customers and also shape the consumer perception and attitude.
The Role of Attitude in Shaping Purchase Decisions
The current strategy that the brand uses involves tooth sensitivity awareness campaigns which are aimed at educating the population about tooth sensitivity (Bhattacharjee and Wertenbroch, 2014, p. 89). Additionally, the brand creates a notion that the Sensodyne products help ease tooth sensitivity in their adverts. While it is true that part of the Sensodyne, toothpastes and mouth wash help with tooth sensitivity that is not the only function of the Sensodyne products. The brand should consider including information about teeth whitening and keeping the mouth fresh in the adverts. Furthermore, the adverts should also clearly categories the Sensodyne products according to the functions that they perform so that the consumers can make informed purchase decisions depending on their preference or the purpose intended for the product.
The quality of the product is in the perception of the consumer (Sorensen 2017, p. 9). The brand should therefore focus in creating the perception that Sensodyn products are of high quality. This can be achieved though maintenance of relatively high prices of the Sensodyne brand products. Since the consumers believe that the higher the quality of a product the higher the prices, the brand should maintains prices higher than that of similar products.
Sales promotions are vital part of marketing that helps in the market domination and a way of getting into new markets (Zeithaml 2011, p. 9). In the effort to create a positive attitude and to shape the perception of prospect customers of the product, sales promotions are necessary. The promotions may include giving offers such as by two get one free or including gifts on every purchase made. The strategy fills any gap that may have been left by the advertisements.
Conclusion
Consumer preference is key factor to consider in product manufacture and branding. Consumer preferences and tastes are majorly determined by the attitude and the perception that the consumers have on a product. Some of the factors that determine the perception and attitude of a consumer are peer influence, societal norms, and advertisements. Sensodyn brand has made us of tooth sensitivity awareness as part of the marketing strategy. This marketing strategy did not address key factors such as invitation to purchase particular Sensodyne product. The other advertisement used by the brand only emphasized on how Sensodyne products are good for sanative teeth and failed to handle the teeth whitening and ability to keep mouth fresh in the advertisements. Furthermore, the production majored on the production of teeth whitening and mouth refreshing products hence giving contradicting information to the customers. To avoid further disappointments, the brand should consider conducting sales promotions, maintenance of the perceived high quality products and change the advertising strategy.
List of References
Bhattacharjee, A. and Wertenbroch, K. (2014) ‘A Matter of Taste: Consumer Tastes and Judgments of Artistic Quality’, Advances in Consumer Research, 42, pp. 189–193. Available at: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=buh&AN=100073001&site=ehost-live (Accessed: 4 October 2018).
Ghose, S. and Lowengart, O. (2011) ‘Taste tests: Impacts of consumer perceptions and preferences on brand positioning strategies’, Journal of Targeting, Measurement & Analysis for Marketing, 10(1), p. 26. Available at: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=buh&AN=6614036&site=ehost-live (Accessed: 4 October 2018).
Grewal, D, Monroe, KB & Krishnan, R 2016 ‘The Effects of Price-Comparison Advertising on Buyers’ Perceptions of Acquisition Value, Transaction Value, and Behavioral Intentions,’ Journal of Marketing, vol. 62, no. 2, pp. 46–59, viewed 4 October 2018, <https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ufh&AN=467988&site=ehost-live>.
Hee J. K. & Jieun, K (2015) ‘Stand-Alone Sale of a Free Gift: Is It Effective to Accentuate Promotion Value?’, Social Behavior & Personality: an international journal, 43(10), pp. 1593–1605. Available at: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=s3h&AN=111059561&site=ehost-live (Accessed: 4 October 2018).
Holbrook, M. B. (2013) ‘Nostalgia and Consumption Preferences: Some Emerging Patterns of Consumer Tastes’, Journal of Consumer Research, 20(2), pp. 245–256. Available at: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=buh&AN=9401112115&site=ehost-live (Accessed: 4 October 2018).
Madzharov, A. V., Block, L. G. and Morrin, M. (2015) ‘The Cool Scent of Power: Effects of Ambient Scent on Consumer Preferences and Choice Behavior,’ Journal of Marketing, 79(1), pp. 83–96. Available at: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=buh&AN=100279008&site=ehost-live (Accessed: 4 October 2018).
Özmete, E. (2012) ‘Parent and Adolescent Interaction in Television Advertisements as Consumer Socialization Agents’, Education, 129(3), pp. 372–381. Available at: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=36984927&site=ehost-live (Accessed: 4 October 2018).
Sorensen, H. (2017) Inside the Mind of the Shopper?: The Science of Retailing. Old Tappan, New Jersey: Pearson FT Press. Available at: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nlebk&AN=1601954&site=ehost-live (Accessed: 4 October 2018).
Yin, J., Qian, L. lixian. and Singhapakdi, A. (2018) ‘Sharing Sustainability: How Values and Ethics Matter in Consumers’ Adoption of Public Bicycle-Sharing Scheme’, Journal of Business Ethics, 149(2), pp. 313–332. doi: 10.1007/s10551-016-3043-8.
Zeithaml, V. A. (2011) ‘Consumer Perceptions of Price, Quality, and Value: A Means-End Model and Synthesis of Evidence,’ Journal of Marketing, 52(3), pp. 2–22. Available at: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ufh&AN=6354303&site=ehost-live (Accessed: 4 October 2018).
Order an Essay Now & Get These Features For Free:
Turnitin Report
Formatting
Title Page
Citation
Outline
