Rin Powder

PRODUCT DESCRIPTION

Name of the product: RIN

Parent company: Unilever

Category: Detergent

Tag line: Chamkte Rehna

Why i chose this product?

• Rin and Tide have always been tough competitors to each other. However in 2010 Hindustan Unilever strategically launched an ad which was derogatory towards Tide. Due their stunt they had to pay P&G a compensation prescribed by the high court, however their market share increased considerably after this stunt.

Target market: Home makers, Bachelors, Laundry services, Hotels

Position

Rin Powder has positioned itself between Premium (Surf) and Economic (Wheel) detergent powders.

Value Proposition

Removes stains and dirt efficiently from white clothes and makes them clothes demonstrably sparkling white.

Offerings

1. Providing consumers an efficient detergent powder that removes any kind of stain, especially on white clothes
2. Make the product available and accessible at any time and place to the consumer.

VLAUE

Total Customer Value

 1. Quality

• As Rin is a better detergent than Wheel powder but is priced less than Surf powder, hence it is imperative that the quality of the product is maintained.
• To maintain it's position in the market, it is necessary for Rin to maintain it's quality. 

2. Price

• Increase or decrease in the price of Rin will affect the demand for Wheel and Surf respectively.
• Rin and Tide are priced very closely . Hence if the price is increased there would be a drastic fall in demand for Rin  

3. Availability

• In order to maintain the current consumers it is necessary to keep the product available to the customer at all times.

4. Accessibility

• The availability of the product in every grocery store in the neighbourhood gives easy access to the consumer to the product. Hence adds value to the consumer.

Total Customer Cost

1. Monetary cost: RIN is comparatively expensive than other detergents (except for premium detergents).

Competition and Substitutes

1. Tide (Rin Vs Tide)
2. Rin Perfect Shine

CONSUMER DECISION PROCESS ELEMENTS

Factors influencing Consumer Behaviour

1. Social Factors

• Family: Family plays an important role in deciding which detergent is to be used.
• Status: RIN powder is priced above the economical detergent powder hence a consumer will purchase RIN as it matches his/her status.

2. Personal factors

• Economic Circumstances: As RIN is more expensive than the economic detergent powders (Wheel, Ghari, etc.) it will affect the consumers decision depending on his/her income. 
• Lifestyle: RIN helps reduce the physical labour for washing clothes. Hence, consumers prefer using RIN than a economic detergent powder.

 Important Attributes

• Position:  Rin Powder has positioned itself between Premium (Surf) and Economic (Wheel) detergent powders. Hence Rin satisfies the demand for "a economic-premium detergent" which acts like a premium detergent but is available at a cheaper price.

• Comes in various packaging: Rin powder is available in various packaging ranging from 500 grams to 6 Kilo grams. This allows the consumer to buy the right quantity of the product with respect to their needs.

• Availability: In order to maintain the current consumers it is necessary to keep the product available to the customer at all times.

• Accessibility: If Rin powder is not accessible to the consumer he/she may not buy the product even if it is cheaper than it's competitor.

First time decision

• The brand RIN has been in the market since 1969, hence it is an established brand in the Indian market
• RIN has also been excessively advertised due to it's rivalry with Tide, therefore a consumer would know about the product
• According to his life style and economic circumstances the consumer will narrow down his options to RIN and Tide
• Since RIN is cheaper than Tide he/she will most probably choose RIN.

Repeated decision

• The consumer would evaluate the performance of the product.
• He/she will realize that the product is easily available and accessible at any store in any region.

COMPETITION AND INDUSTRY

1. Threat of new entrants: Rin is an highly elastic product. Hence introduction of any new competitor would hamper the demand for Rin.
2. Threat of substitute product: If a substitute product is introduced to the market that is cheaper than Rin but is more efficient, then the demand for Rin would fall drastically.
3. Rivalry among existing competitors: Rin and Tide have been aggressively competing with each other. They shall continue to do so as their products are equally potent in the market.
4. Bargaining power of the buyers: As there are only two detergents that lie in the position between premium and economic detergents, customers do not have much liberty to bargain on the price of the product.

PRODUCT LIFE CYCLE

1. Introduction: The RIN detergent was launched in 1994. At the time there was no competition in the market. RIN powder slowly started gaining acceptance in the market.
2. Growth: In the year 2007, Tide enters the market. RIN loses a considerable amount of market share to Tide. Therefore RIN upgrades it's powder to compete with Tide and win back the market share they lost.
3. Maturity: RIN slashes down it's price by 30% to maintain it's market share. However Tide continues compete aggressively Throughout this phase. 
4. Decline: At present Tide has captured 8% of the market share as compared to RIN which has only 5.1% of the market share.

MARKETING MIX

• Mcarthy's 4 P's

1. Price: Rin is aggressively priced to compete with its rival Tide. Hindustan Unilever allows it's distributor a credit period of 1.5 months. 
2. Place: There are 35 Carrying and Forwarding agents who supply to regional distributors all over India. The distributors supply the product to rural and urban retailers.
3. Promotion: 1994- Rin Detergent Powder was launched. This was the first product extension from
   the iconic brand that stood for whiteness in laundry.
   2007- The brand made an addiction in its portfolio with the introduction of “Bleach”-another ‘whiteness’ solution for the Indian household. It even added the Rin Matic, a
   specialist washing machine powder, based on the insight that ordinary powders do not
   deliver performance in a machine wash thus leading to an unsatisfied consumer need.
   
   
   2012- Rin Perfect Shine, a liquid blue was launched. It is yet another extension of the
   brand that promises to deliver sparkling white clothes.
4. Product: Rin is a premium detergent available at a lesser price. Over the years the, due to it's development in quality and heavy advertising the product has established it's brand name. The product is available in 500 gm to 6 Kg packages so the consumer can purchase according to their needs. 

• 4 A's 

1. Awareness: Unilever has heavily advertised Rin since it's launch. Today Rin is a well established brand in the market. Unilever also spreads awareness of the brand via NGO's and distributors in rural areas
2. Availability: Unilever has a strong distribution channels, therefore Rin powder is available at any place at any given time.
3. Affordability: Rin is priced slightly higher than economic detergent powders, therefore only the middle class and rich would it affordable. Rin will find market in rural areas where the population is financially stable. 
4. Acceptability: Rin is a highly acceptable product as it can be used by anybody. 

• SAVE the new 4 P's

1. Solution: Removes stains and dirt efficiently from white clothes and makes them clothes demonstrably sparkling white.
2. Access: Due to it's dense distribution channels Rin is available in the remote areas as well
3. Value: Providing consumers an efficient detergent powder that removes any kind of stain, especially on white clothes. Make the product available and accessible at any time and place to the consumer.
4. Education: Rin powder was designed taking onto consideration the customers need for a quality detergent that is available at lesser prices.

PRODUCT LEVELS

1. Core Benefit: Washing white clothes.
2. Basic product: Making the white clothes look new every time. 
3. Expected product: The produvt is available at a competitive price, i.e. it is priced less than the premium detergent and it's competitor Tide.  
4. Augmented product: Rin commercials have always depicted that Rin gives the brightest white color to the clothes.
5. Potential product: Unilever have evolved Rin detergent powder into liquid Rin detergent.

PRODUCT CLASSIFICATION

DURABILITY AND TANGIBILITY

Non durable goods: It is a tangible product and is consumed in a few uses. Therefore it is purchased frequently. The product is available and accessible throughout India. 

CONSUMER GOODS CLASSIFICATION

Convenience goods: Rin powder is frequently consumed. As it is available at every local grocery store, it does not need much effort to buy it. Rin has only one competitor (Tide), therefore it is relatively easy for the consumers to choose the product.

PRODUCT DIFFERENTIATION

Performance quality: Rin delivers higher value as it is a premium detergent powder available at a lesser price.

Conformance quality: Every unit of Rin will perform equally well. It is always available in uniform sizes i.e 500gms, 1kg, 2kg and 6kg.  

Reliability: Over the years Rin has won the trust of the consumers. Up till date there have hardly been any instances where Rin has malfunctioned or has failed within a specified time period.

PRODUCT AND BRAND RELATIONSHIPS

THE PRODUCT HIERARCHY

1. Need family: Hygiene
2. Product family: Personal care
3. Product class: Soaps and Detergents
4. Product line: Fabric care
5. Product type: Detergent powder
6. Item: RIN

PRODUCT MIX PRICING

Product line pricing: 1 kg Surf Excel, RIN and Active wheel are priced at Rs. 185, Rs. 80, Rs. 47 respectively. Therefore, the consumers will associate low quality, average quality and high quality of the detergents according to the price of the detergent.

SETTING THE PRICE

Maximum Market Share

• RIN aims at maximising their market share.
• Market for RIN is highly price sensitive.  
• Production cost per unit decreases with increase in number of units produced
• Low prices discourage potential competitors.

 Elasticity of demand

• Existing competitor, Tide.
• Price of substitutes are closely placed.   
• Increase in price of the product would hamper the demand for the product.
• Therefore the demand for the product is elastic.

Value Pricing

• Rin has won loyal customers as it is of high quality for a low price.

DISTRIBUTION CHANNELS

Channel levels

• Consumer marketing

• Distributors  are few in number as compared to wholesalers and retailers. They are allotted specific regions to cater to. The distributors sell directly to the the local wholesalers.
• Wholesalers  exist in local areas, however they sell RIN powder in bulk to the retailers.
• Retailers 
  •  exist in local areas and are prevailing in huge numbers, as result, are deep rooted. They sell RIN to the end customer.
  
  
  
  
  PROMOTION
  1994- Rin Detergent Powder was launched. This was the first product extension from the iconic brand that stood for whiteness in laundry.
  
  
  
  2007- The brand made an addiction in its portfolio with the introduction of “Bleach”-another ‘whiteness’ solution for the Indian household. It even added the Rin Matic, a specialist washing machine powder, based on the insight that ordinary powders do not deliver performance in a machine wash thus leading to an unsatisfied consumer need.
  
  
  
  
  
  2009- Unilever airs an ad against Tide for three days.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  TARGET MARKET
  ·         Home makers
  ·         Bachelors
  ·         Laundry services
  ·         Hotels
  
  
  POSITION
  Rin Powder has positioned itself between Premium (Surf) and Economic (Wheel) detergent powders.
  
  
  SEGMENTATION
  Rin powder lies under the broad head of Detergents. Rin detergent is in the form of powder.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  BRANDING
  The consumer views RIN as a detergent that makes the clothes sparkling white without any hassle. It is viewed a s a detergent that is of premium quality but is also affordable.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  BUSINESS MARKETS
  B2B
  ·         Hotels
  ·         Local laundry services
  B2C
  ·         House wives
  ·         Bachelors