Rohm and Haas New Product Marketing Strategy
Case Analysis: Rohm and Haas (A) New Product Marketing Strategy
2013-09-20
Team 8
HYEJIN CHO, RENE GEORG GEPPERT, RISHABH MEHROTRA, LIAO SHAOSHENG, DAN WANG
Problem Statement
The market manager of Rohm and Haas (R&H) Metalworking Fluids division is confronted with a poor market performance of R&Hs newly introduced product, Kathon MWX. Kathon MWX was introduced in response to a customer request to provide an equally effective solution as R&Hs well-established Kathon 886 MW, but targeted to metal working fluid tanks with a capacity less than 1000 gallons. The company launched the product with an extensive marketing campaign for 5 months, but the market results so far are well below the expected sales target of 1,350 boxes in the first year. ((74 [boxes] / 5 [months] = 14.8 [boxes / months]) leads to expected actual box sales in the first year of circa (14.8*12) =177.6.
Initial Analysis
Target customers of Kathon MWX
Self-Service Customers who:
– do self-maintenance
– own very small operations, typically one machine with one small fluid tank
– have very specific maintenance requirement
– are aware of the brands of products and purchase products from dealers
Mid-Size Customers who:
– use maintenance service package provided by dealers/formulators
– own mid-size machines with multiple tanks with less than 1000 gallon capacity
– have a wide maintenance requirement an microorganisms eradication is one of the treatments
– completely depend on the dealers to maintain their fluid tanks and machinery
– are not aware of the brands of the products used in service package
Actual observed customer characteristics
Potential customers are- concerned primarily about reduction of bacteria and odor levels
– demanding a fully-fledged metalworking fluid solution
– sensitive to location of product dealers (mainly small, local tool or supply shops)
– lacking Kathon MWX brand consciousness and loyalty in 50% of the cases
Indication for Marketing Strategy (short-term)
Distribution channel (refer to Appendix for graphical illustration)