MARKET

RESEARCH

AT P&G-THE ART OF UNDERSTANDING THE MARKET

BY DEV CHANDAN

1

BACKGROUND• Procter & Gamble was established

in 1837 at Cincinnati.

• P&G’s foray into MR was a mere

coincidence.

• From its inception, it sought product

response from customers.

• P&G used several innovative market

tools for research such as “MARKET

TESTING”.

• In late 1990’s, the extensive use of IT

helped its MR operations, which

resulted in greater efficiency and

savings in time and cost.

2

• Emphasis on PRODUCT.

• It emphasizes on quality, safety, investment in new technology.

• Failed to understand the changing needs of their customers.

3PRODUCT ORIENTED FIRMS

• Emphasis on MARKET.

• It organises its activities, products and services.

• Focusses on wants and needs of its customers.

4MARKET ORIENTED FIRMS

MARKET RESEARCH TOOLS

USED BY P&G

QUALITATIVE RESEARCH

TOOLS

QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH

TOOLS

ONLINE RESEARCH

• P&G had set up its MR

department in 1924.

• The company had two

independent in-house

research groups.

• The were responsible for

organizing customer

interviews.

• Developed set of qualitative

and quantitative research

tools and then switched to

online research.

5

QUANITATIVE RESEARCH

ANALYSIS• It refers to the systematic

investigation of social

phenomenon via statistical,

mathematical or numerical

data

• Helped in generating new

product ideas for P&G.

• The major tools used are:

• Blind tests

• Concept aided usage test

• Habits and Practices

• Quality monitoring

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BLIND TESTS:• Used whenever items are to be

compared without influences from testers preferences or expectations.

• Comparative testing of commercial products to asses user preference without being influenced by branding.

CONCEPT AIDED USAGE TEST:• To evaluate consumer response

before the introduction of the product.

• Consumers were pre educated about a product and then their reactions are recorded.

7QUANITATIVE TOOLS

HABITS AND PRACTICES:• To capture user’s unmet needs.

• It uses opportunity index scores which identifies key areas of unmet needs.

QUALITY MONITORING:

• To check whether the products bought by the customers actually met their needs and the product design criteria.

8QUANITATIVE TOOLS

Bar Graph

Page Layout

9

Line Graph

Page Layout

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5

10

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SWOT ANALYSIS

• Diversification

• Strong market

penetration

• Use of it

• Product availability

• Premium pricing

• Tap rural market

• Mergers and

acquisitions

• Stiff market

competition

• Saturation of

demand

STRENGTHS WEAKNESSES

OPPORTUNITIES THREATS

12

24%

9%

14%

4%

30%

19%

Beauty Grooming

Health Care Snacks and Pet Care

Fabric and Home care Baby Care and Family Care

41%

20%

14%

9%

16%

North America

Western America

Central & Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa

Latin America

Asia

P&G’s GEOGRAPHICAL

DIVERSIFICATION

P&G’s PRODUCT

DIVERSIFICATION

• Growing competition between all the leading

FMCG companies of the world.

• Diversification into different sectors apart from

healthcare and personal products.

• Revenues generated using market research has

been huge.

• They need to keep a count on the amount of

prominent law suits being filed against them.

ROADS AHEAD

THANK YOU