Soren Chemicals Essay Example

a competitor to their own brands and thus attempted to suppress information about Coracle from reaching customers. This theory is supported by a survey among pool service professionals and specialty retailers who had inquired about Coracle, which revealed that only 30% of respondents recalled receiving Coracle materials.

Soren Chemical responded to inquiries from customers. However, despite sharing contact information with wholesale distributors, almost 70% of respondents claimed that their distributors did not offer Coracle. Coracle was sold in half-gallon containers for $25 each, while its closest competitor, ClearBlu, was priced at $15 per gallon. As a result, consumers likely perceived ClearBlu to be cheaper.

Despite the belief that ClearBlu required fewer ounces per treatment, it actually necessitated 32 ounces compared to Coracle's 10 ounces. The annual cost for Coracle was approximately $39.06, whereas ClearBlu cost $75. However, the customer was unaware of this information due to inadequate marketing strategies. Coracle's marketing focused on its efficiency in reducing reliance on chlorine, enzymes, and shock treatment, resulting in a 20-30% decrease in chemical expenses. Unfortunately, this message was only visible on the bottle and failed to reach potential new consumers.

The press announcement highlighted that Coracle is particularly effective at capturing waterborne pathogens, a concern in the commercial pool market but not as much in the consumer pool market where appearance and hygiene are more important. The impact of the off-season, spanning from September 2006 (when the product was launched) to February 2007 (when data collection took place), on sales is still uncertain. Typically, sales are higher during spring and summer months (March to July) due to increased pool usage by a larger number

of people as a result of warmer weather.

Moritz may have overlooked this point and not factored it in when estimating demand. Alternative strategies and recommendations? The current annual cost at retail price is $39.06, which is lower than the average annual cost of clarifiers at retail prices ($50). This provides an opportunity to raise the retailer and distributor's gross profit margin and consequently increase the retail price of Coracle by around $10 without significantly impacting sales.

To encourage distributors and retailers to promote the sales of Coracle, Soren Chemicals plans to lower its gross profit margin from 35%. This will benefit the retailers and distributors by increasing their gross profit margin without impacting the retail price for customers. Although this strategy may result in reduced profits for Soren Chemicals, it can help the company quickly establish a strong market share, especially as a new player in the market.

Only 25% of consumers understand and use clarifiers regularly. Therefore, there is an opportunity to educate consumers about the benefits of using clarifiers through mass advertising campaigns. However, these campaigns may be expensive and face competition from ClearBlu, who would also benefit from them. According to Moritz's estimates, Coracle would need a budget of $600,000 for a mailing campaign and advertising in industry publications to generate more demand from service professionals.

It is crucial to address the lack of awareness among residential pool owners regarding Coracle's superior value compared to other clarifiers. A marketing strategy should be implemented to educate consumers about this fact.

To effectively reach residential pool owners, we need to consider multiple channels through which they can acquire

Coracle. These channels include mass retailers, pool specialty retailers, and pool service professionals. Currently, around 20% of pool owners rely on the services provided by the approximately 40,000 to 50,000 available pool contractors and service companies. Conversely, the remaining 80% purchase clarifiers from mass retailers or pool specialty retailers, which typically have a gross profit margin of 15%.

Soren should sell exclusively through the retail distributor with a larger customer base. This allows Soren to negotiate for a smaller gross profit margin in exchange for higher volume from the exclusive retailer. Implementing a marketing and advertising strategy can highlight the cost advantages of using Coracle over competitors and other subpar chemicals like chlorine, UV, and shock treatment. This approach will increase consumer awareness of the brand and improve sales for other products currently being developed by Soren Chemicals.