I took into consideration the problem of the Aqualisa Quartz shower line and found out how to solve it. I discovered how to turn an enormous problem into an opportunity. This company did a great job with its research and creation of a product that takes advantage of its competitors by meeting all the needs of customers. However, there is no connection between plumbers and customers, which affects sales due to bad experiences with previous products. As a result, customers do not trust this new product.
Aqualisa needs to position itself in the market as a high-quality, multifunctional product that offers good value. Additionally, the company requires a marketing plan for its new products. Aqualisa must determine which distribution channels to focus on and clarify whether it wants to be a standard or premium brand. The text indicates that Aqualisa had an 18% market share in 2000, and approximately 60% of people use showers instead of bathtubs. If the remaining 40% were also shower users, demand for these new showers would increase rapidly.
After conducting extensive research and surveys, it became evident that customers were dissatisfied with two main issues: temperature fluctuations and water pressure. To address this situation, Aqualisa must develop a new and innovative solution that sets them apart from their competitors. The CEO of Aqualisa should consider lowering expectations as high prices are hindering sales growth.
If the company prefers to stay in the premium level, they will not be able to compete effectively with their competitors. However, if Aqualisa decides to decrease their prices, their product would have a great chance of success in the market due to its easy installation. The Aqualisa Quartz shower would be particularly attractive to “Do it yourselfers”. This strategy is not targeted directly at developers because price expectations for showers are more flexible in that market. Additionally, this market is considered much smaller than the one created by plumbers and their impact on customers.
In fact, creating new options and additional features that some highly qualified exclusive brands” already sell at a relatively high price is not effective. It is not profitable. Aqualisa’s CEO believes that targeting consumers directly would cost him a lot of money that he cannot afford to spend. A large-scale consumer campaign would cost 3-4 million pounds over two years, which is also not profitable.
In my opinion, both customers and plumbers should have a thorough understanding of the product they are using, specifically Aqualisa’s Quartz showers. Customers should be able to make informed decisions without being influenced by plumbers who may recommend a different product simply because they are not familiar with how to install the new Quartz showers.
Aqualisa should pay more attention to plumbers as they can bring a great amount of sales to the company. Customers trust their opinion, and if plumbers are interested in this product, everyone would benefit. Customers would have access to a better shower product, plumbers would have more installations, and the company will experience an increase in sales.
SWOT Analysis
Strengths:
- Easier installation
- Improved design and quality
- Strong brand recognition and safety features
- Innovative light indicator system
- User-friendly interface for easy operation
- Consistent water pressure performance
- Precise temperature control settings
- Effortless one-touch control functionality.
Weaknesses:
- Had a bad experience with previous products.
- Has a bad reputation.
- Finds manual controlling uncomfortable.
Opportunities:
- Low water pressure
- Poor water control
- Oversized shower systems
Threats:
- Aqualisa’s prices are too high.
- There is a risk of cannibalizing existing shower product models.
- Competitors are improving their quality and technology, catching up to Aqualisa.
- The expiration of patents is a concern.
Strategic Market Plan
If more attention is given to the distribution channels of plumbers, sales of Quartz showers would significantly increase. However, the problem lies in the fact that plumbers are not yet familiar with this new technology of Quartz showers. Based on statistics, Quartz showers have the highest contribution margin per unit and the largest potential market with no direct competitors offering similar products.
The company has a strong and well-known brand name among plumbers, which has resulted in reliable and loyal relationships with them. A suggested solution to this strategy is to decrease or eliminate resources for all other high-quality shower products from Aqualisa. However, it may be difficult to successfully produce Quartz showers without negatively impacting other shower products. This could result in a significant loss of profit from investments rather than maintaining the current prices of Quartz showers.
Marketing Mix Strategy
To reduce prices only on Aqualisa Quartz would not be logical as customers may not understand it. The price should either be similar to other products or reduced for all products. Aqualisa needs to pay more attention to product awareness, especially among plumbers who have a significant influence on customer choices. Plumbers need to be familiar with the advantages and benefits of the product for them to recommend it. Showcasing Quartz in showrooms can also increase sales, and the company should provide free demonstration models for both showrooms and plumbers.
Marketing Resources
Aqualisa should:
- Create awareness.
- Increase the marketing budget to support the growth strategy of a new product.
- Concentrate attention on plumbers.
- Decrease marketing expenses for other premium brands.
- Validate customers’ new needs and satisfy them.
