Does Shobha have enough needed data on consumer behaviour? What type of consumer research should Shobha conduct
Does Shobha have enough needed data on consumer behaviour? What type of consumer research should Shobha conduct
Consumer Behavior
Case IV
Mouse-Rid
One hot May morning, Shobha, general manager of Innotrap India Ltd., entered her office in Delhi. She paused for a moment to contemplate the quote, which she had framed and hung on a wall facing her table.
“If a man can make a better mousetrap than his neighbour, the world will make a beaten path to his door.” She vaguely recalled that probably it was Ralph Waldo Emerson who said this. Perhaps, she wondered, Emerson knew something that she didn’t. She had the better mousetrap – Mouse-Rid – but the world didn’t seem all that excited about it.
Shobha had just returned from a Trade Fair in Kolkata. Standing in the trade show display booth for long hours and answering the same questions hundreds of times had been tiring. Yet, this show had excited her. The Trade Fair officials held a contest to select the best new product introduced at the show. Of the more than 150 new products, her mousetrap had won first place. Two women’s magazines had written small articles about this innovative mousetrap, however, the expected demand for the trap had not materialised. Shobha hoped that this award might stimulate increased interest and sales.
A group of investors who had obtained rights to market this innovative mousetrap in India had formed Innotrap India in January 2001. In return for marketing rights, the group agreed to pay the inventor and patent holder, a retired engineer, a royalty fee for each trap sold. The group then appointed Shobha as the general manager to develop and manage Innotrap India Ltd.
The Mouse-Rid, a simple yet clever device, is manufactured by a plastics firm under contract with Innotrap India Ltd. It consists of a square, plastic tube measuring about 6 inches long and one and one-half inches- square. The tube bends in the middle at a 30-degree angle, so that when the front part of the tube rests on a flat surface, the other end is elevated. The elevated end holds a removable cap into which the user places bait (piece of bread, or some other titbit). A hinged door is attached to the front endofthe tube. When the trap is “open”, this door rests on two narrow “stills” attached to the two bottom corners of the door.
The trap works with simple efficiency. A mouse, smelling the bait enters the tube through the open end. As it moves up the angled bottom toward the bait, its weight makes the elevated end of the trap drop downward. This elevates the open end, allowing the hinged door to swing closed, trapping the mouse. Small teeth on the ends of stills catch in a groove on the bottom of the trap, locking the door closed. The mouse can be disposed of live, or it can be left alone for a few hours to suffocate in the trap.
Shobha felt the trap had many advantages for the consumer when compared with traditional spring-loaded traps or poisons. Consumers can use it safely and easily with no risk for catching their fingers while loading. It poses no injury or poisoning threat to children or pets.
Shobha’s personal and informal inquiries with acquaintances and friends suggested that women are the best target market for the Mouse-Rid. Most women stay at home and take care of household chores and their children. Thus, they want a means of dealing with the mouse problem that avoids any kind of risks. To reach this market,
Shobha decided to distribute Mouse-Rid through grocery stores, and kitchenware stores. She personally contacted a supermarket and some departmental stores to persuade them to carry the product, but they refused saying that they did not sell such contraptions. She avoided any wholesalers and other middlemen.
The traps were packaged in a simple cardboard, with a suggested retail price ofRs.150 for a piece. Although this price made Mouse-Rid about five 1;0 six times more expensive than standard traps, those who bought it showed little price resistance.
To promote the product, Shobha had budgeted approximately Rs. 300,000 toward advertising in different women’s magazines, such as Grah Shobha, and Good Housekeeping. Shobha was the company’s only salesperson, but planed to employ sales people soon.
Shobha had forecasted Mouse-Rid’s first year sales at 2 million units. Through Aril, however, the company had sold only few thousand units. She wondered if most new products got to such slow start, or if she was doing something wrong.
Shobha knew that the investor group believed that Innotrap India Ltd. had a “once-in-a lifetime chance” with its innovative mousetrap. She sensed the group’s impatience. To keep the investors happy, the company needed to sell enough traps to cover costs and make a profit.
QUESTIONS
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Has Shobha identified the best target market for Mouse-Rid? Why or why not?
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Does Shobha have enough needed data on consumer behaviour? What type of consumer research should Shobha conduct?
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What type of advertising can influence consumers for this type of product?
Does Shobha have enough needed data on consumer behaviour? What type of consumer research should Shobha conduct
