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Acknowledgement This report was arguably one of the most painful yet thrilling experiences in this semester. There were times when we were thankful, times when we were frustrated, and times when we were filled with disbelief. And yet, then were times where we simply stopped caring … and then, that last ounce of perseverance paid off recharging us with passion and desire to endeavor beyond the ordinary limits of our 9 to 5 lives. It’s paid off we believe, and we have an above average report for you all to read. Thanks to Allah for giving us the skill as well as the will to survive with our heads held high throughout the last 4 months.
To our parents and family who have supported us, our salutes! To Aleem Durrani (Tapal), Mehmood Nanji (Tapal) and those anonymous angels at Tapal who helped us get information about the industry. To Mr. Javaid Ahmed for giving us chance and polishing us manifold. Through the agony of bearing with your demands and expectations, we truly got to discover our limits. Making this report has immensely helped us in understanding the skills of marketing management. Thanks! And finally … thanks to those 15 thousand cups of tea we’ve all had in the last 4 months!! Executive Summary
Tea is considered to be an essential consumption item in many countries of the world, including Pakistan. The history of tea drinking in the subcontinent can be traced far back. Over a period of time, the colonials improved the quality and taste of tea. At present there are two kinds of tea available in the market: branded and unbranded (loose) tea, the ratio is (54:46) respectively. Bulk importers sell tea to retailers in loose form, while the second category of bulk importers sell packaged tea under brand names. Branded VS Unbranded Unbranded 46% Branded 54% Branded Unbranded All tea in Pakistan is imported.
Therefore, tea, a traditional hospitality item in Pakistan, consumes a large amount of foreign exchange. Pakistan mainly imports tea from Kenya and other African countries like Uganda, Burundi and Tanzania, while multinati onal companies in Pakistan also import tea from Sri Lanka, Indonesia and Bangladesh. The current tea imports are approximately 150,000 tons. There are unlimited quantities of smuggled tea flooding the market. The main problem at present is that smuggled t ea has now taken over the market, simply because of the high duty and taxes levied by the government on branded tea.
Smuggled tea escapes all duties and levies, and therefore can be sold cheaply, as loose tea. Now efforts are being made to grow tea leaves locally. History of Tea Origin of Tea ??? Legend Myths and Facts First Discovery According to Chinese mythology, in 2737 BC the Chinese Emperor, Shen Nung, scholar and herbalist, was sitting beneath a tree while his servant boiled drinking water. A leaf from the tree dropped into the water and Shen Nung decided to try the brew. The tree was a wild tea tree. There are many authentic and supposed references to tea in the centuries before Christ, according to the Chinese dictionary dated circa 350 AD.
The Chinese t’u was often used to describe shrubs other than tea, hence the confusion when Confucius allegedly referred to tea or t’u when writing about the “sow thistle” plant in the Book of Odes. From the earliest times tea was renowned for its properties as a healthy, refreshing drink. By the third century AD many stories were being told and some written about tea and the benefits of tea drinking, but it was not until the Tang Dynasty (6818 – 906 BC) that tea became China’s national drink and the word “cha” was used to describe tea.
The modern term “tea” derives from early Chinese dialect words such as Tchai, Cha and Tay – used both to describe the beverage and the leaf. Known as Camellia sinensis, tea is an evergreen plant of the Camellia family. It has smooth, shiny pointed leaves which look similar to the privet hedge leaf found in British gardens. The Tea Plant There are more than 1,500 teas to choose from more than 25 different listed countries around the world but the main producers are India, Sri Lanka, Kenya, Malawi, Indonesia and China. It is cultivated as a plantation crop, likes acidic soil and a warm climate with at least 50 inches of rain per annum.
Other factors affecting flavor characteristics are the methods of processing and, of course, the blending together of teas from different areas and regions OR the additions of flowers, fruit, oils, herbs or spices from other plants. Overview of tea industry in Pakistan Product Lifecycle Matrix Introduction Growth Maturity Decline Sales Lipton Tapal Supreme Tetley Time Company Introduction Tapal Tapal is a well known name in Pakistan. In 1947, it started business and now are a Tea leader and so celebrated its 55 th anniversary in 2002. Their first shop was in Jodia Bazaar.
The journey of Tapal’s remarkable success is the combined efforts of three dynamic generations of the Tapal Family. Tapal started out as a family concern under the personal supervision of its founder, Adam Ali Tapal. The company continued to grow under the management of th e founder’s son, Faizullah A. Tapal. . Currently it is managed by the founder’s grandson, Aftab F. Tapal who has continued giving further strength to the foundations of quality laid by his family. Making a modest beginning over half a century back, today Tapal has become the largest, 100% Pakistani owned Tea Company in the country.
It has modern tea blending and packaging factories, warehouses equipped with state-of-the-art equipment and a team of highly dynamic professionals headed by Aftab Tapal himself. He was the first to introduce soft packs in the country. He developed an entirely new brand and category- Tapal’s Family Mixture (the mixture of tea & dust). Mr. Aftab Tapal was the first to invent the highly successful brand Danedar Leaf Blend. In December 1997, Tapal Tea became the first Pakistani Tea Company to earn the ISO-9001 certification: a symbol of the highest international quality standards.
Again in December 2000, Tapal acquired the ISO-9001: 2000 certification, making it one of the first few companies in the world to achieve this milestone. In addition to the standard requirements, the ISO -9001: 2000 certification system includes requirements for environment improvement, concepts of TQM (continuous improvement) with major emphasis on consumer requirements and satisfaction. SWOT ANALYSIS Tapal’s success has left many astounded. No magic formula however, lies behind its growth other than hard work, dedication and of course unique blends and better quality. Lipton Yellow Label
Lipton was first introduced in Pakistan in 1948. Tea was sold in tin packs at the time. The year 1989 was a major milestone in Lever’s history. The tea giant Lipton was merged with Lever Brothers that year in Pakistan, five years after the international takeover of the Lipton Company by Unilever Lipton Yellow Label’s main feature is that it is tea of the “finest blend” available. The benefits offered by Lipton Yellow label to its consumers are “good quality and good ta ste” since it is and international brand, PRODUCT Danedar Jar Pack Soft Pack Soft Pack Soft Pack Tea Bags Tea Bags
SIZE (IN GRAMS) 450 400 200 100 100 tea bags 50 tea bags Brooke Bond Supreme In 1997, Brook Bond, another leading player in the tea business in Pakistan, was merged with Levers, so that Lipton and Brooke Bond, once fierce competitors in the local market now belonged to the same parent company. Brooke Bond had long been part of Unilever globally but in Pakistan it remained a separate entity until 1997. Levers came to realize that it did not make sense to have two Unilever companies competing with one another. The solution to any potential cannibalizing was to position the two brands differently.
This effort was successful and Supreme, with its distinctive red packaging, came to firmly represent the aspirations of the people of Pakistan. Supreme cuts across class, region and gender divide. Its success is also due to the brand’s catering to Pakistani tastes. Tetley Tea Tetley Tea is a product of Tetley Clover Private Limited, hoping to capture six to eight per cent share in a market dominated by Unilever and Tapal Tea. Tetley tea was due to hit the market in October 2003 but it had been delayed. The delay was caused by late shipments of blending plant and machinery from abroad at Hub, Balochistan.
Lakson Group and Tetley UK had entered into a joint venture investment of Rs150 -170 million in 2003 to form TCPL, a company incorporated in Pakistan. Tetley Clover has planned to import tea from Kenya and Sri Lanka due to good aroma and taste of tea of these countries and at the same time Indian Tea might be used for blending. COMPETITIVE STRATEGIES Tapal is a clear market leader in all over Pakistan. There is ample display in wide range of tea available under Tapal tea company banner offering varying brands catering to different segments of society.
Among these Tapal Danedar hold a leadership position not only within company but in country’s market as a premium brand, as it caters to all the areas rural and urban alike thus Tapal is definitely a market leader. But before going any further in their competitive strategies we would like to demonstrate Tapal’s competitive strategies from the very beginning when they started their production in Pakistan. Competitive strategy when the tapal brand was launched OVERVIEW Tapal tea is a perfect example of a gorilla brand becoming a market leader through consistently improving themselves through different strategies and creating value addition.
When they started off in Pakistan they were doing retail and whole sale business with shop in Jodia Bazar. With foresight Tapal evolved formidable two ???prone strategy maintaining and continuously improving blending quality and vigorously pursuing band building exercises. So in this way they shifted from a well planned gorilla attacks to a frontal attack which Brooke Bond and Lipton were unable to defend because of being engage in fighting for there market share with each other,and under estimating a brand which was few years ago a shop in jodia bazaar. that clearly demonstrates the real essence of marketing & war that is THE unknown…meaning who is the enemy, where is the enemy, how to find the enemy, how to beat the enemy before the enemy gets over you ENEMY=COMPETITOR . ) Now Tapal is playing defensive strategies against Brook Bond who are imitating their marketing strategies and they are attacking Lipton which has reached a saturation point and that presents opportunities for Tapal to gain control of that territory the Lipton has been able to manage
Strengths Weaknesses ??? Danedar, Family mixture ??? Tapal Safari and wide range of variety (wrong positioning) ??? Karachi’s largest selling brands Kenya leaf Opportunities Threats +Brooke bond = ??? Research and development ??? Lipton (Northern Areas) Unilever ??? Exports ( USA, UAE, CANADA) ??? spread in rural Punjab HOW THEY IMPLEMENTED THE STRATEGY RESOURCES: Tapal people knew that they are up against the industry giants BROOKE BOND & LIPTON who are giving each other a hard fight.
They being in Pakistan for long time and being operated by multi national the have un limited amount of funds and they knew that being a seth own company they nothing to fall back on as far as finacing is concern. So they decided that we wont go in direct competition with these leader and let them(Brooke bond &Lipton) fight with each other for their share . What they plan was a perfect frontal attack which comes in shape of Tapal Danedar but financing it effectively in order to improve the brand
RETURN Tapal people knew if the are able to do effective frontal attack they would be able to capture 1:5 of they branded tea market RISK Financially they were not very strong so there was a risk that if the project is failure then their would be great loss of money and may be that can effect there establish trading business in JORIA BAZAR. Secondly there were very strong player(multinational) already well established in tea industry KEEPING ABOVE FACTORS IN MIND THEY FORMULATE STRATEGY IN THIS WAY PRODUCT With foresight Tapal evolved formidable two ???prone strategy maintaining and continuously improving blending quality and vigorously pursuing band building exercises. Significant among other variants was TAPAL Danedar backed by planed strategy implementation. Danedar brand born our of the very ingredients and the look the Brand represent. it almost became generic and was even used later by tea company abroad. (in this way DANEDAR brand represented altogether a different product category) PRICE Tapal people never wanted to compromise on quality so they set the same prices what LIPTON and Brooke BOND were charging.
Place In the beginning the company sole aim was to capture the tea market of Karachi(as they were already in tea business here) only and then strategically build there network to other cities of Pakistan. But making sure that product is available through out the country PROMOTATION Backed by planed strategy implementation and follow up with affective communication, advertising and promotion touching all aspects of media and market opportunities. But they planned not to overspend during the initial stages of brand as the skates were high STRATEGY TAPAL IS PLAYING NOW
Now Tapal is playing defensive strategies against Brook Bond who are imitating their marketing strategies and Lipton which has reached a saturation point and that presents opportunities for Tapal to gain control of that territory the Lipton has been able to defend. . SUGGESTED UPGRADE FOR COMPETITIVE STRATEGIES They say that marketing is a war where your brand is your hero, advertising is your artillery, your sales teams are your tanks, your R&D is that nuclear deterrent and a new product is little short of another Hiroshima.
And who is on the other side of the defense… the enemy? Close enough. It is your competition… that untamed animal you are trying to tame to your advantage. In Today’s tactical and psychological marketing warfare the need for drawing first blood through product innovations(tapal DANEDAR) and taking the offensive to the competition by being the first to launch such innovations with a combination of head-on and flanking strategies is more important than ever before.
Big companies that fail to keep pace with changing times by technologically advancing themselves or failing to keep a finger on the pulse of the consumer often become so complacent that they tend to become almost like dinosaurs…flirting with extinction. For companies today, new product introductions based on consumers need and backed by explicit points of differentiation, play a pivotal role in grabbing the leader ship position from jaws of competition. Revitalizing confidence of sales team in their “heroes”, winning the hearts of consumers and putting animal back in the cage where it belongs.
Timing is of quintessential importance. The generals staging the these wars, need to be proactive, always two steps ahead of the competition, know precisely when their pray is most vulnerable and then move in with agility of commando to unleash mayhem by striking the dagger in the animal’s heart. for people who find cola wars interesting…sip into this…and get taste of tea war where one brand, our hero, that is Tapal Danedar , has almost single-handedly run through the enemies camps like hurricane Katrina did on that fateful day in New Orleans.
Here the attacked with all marketing strategies as mention above and becoming market leader now Tapal with such a product organogram is strategically aligned to defend them selves. Some of the strategies they must be using are given below: Pioneer of the Danedar category in Pakistan, Tapal Danedar remains a favorite around the country with its grape-nutty appearance, rich golden color and strong refreshing taste.
In fact its popularity is such that other companies have launched their own versions of this blend, but Tapal’s remains the original and ultimate Danedar because of its unique color, aroma and taste. Today, Tapal Danedar enjoys the position of the “No. 1 Tea Brand” in Pakistan. COMPETITIVE STATEGY 1. They should try to continuously improve themselves through creating value addition and focusing on the image it has been able to develop. This can only be done when they are able to maintain Dramatic difference of there Brand from other Brand th rough image & product differentiation 2.
Tapal should never play defensive but a strategy should be aligned that they should be attacking themselves and improving them self with time as the Change(effective change) has become the order of the day) and thus not becoming complacent. 3. Tea as a nature is a habitual buying, and Lipton being there for decades has become a household name and shifting from Lipton to Tapal is not easy. So it is very important that Tapal make strategies in increasing their market share by shifting consumer behavior from HABITUAL BUYING BEHAVIOUR TO COMPLEX buying behavior, . 4.
Brooke Bond had long been part of Unilever globally but in Pakistan it remained a separate entity until 1997. Levers came to realize that it did not make sense to have two Unilever companies competing with one another. The solution to any potential cannibalizing was to position the two brands differently. This effort was successful and Supreme, with its distinctive red packaging, came to firmly represent the asp irations of the people of Pakistan. Supreme cuts across class, region and gender divide. Its success is also due to the brand’s catering to Pakistani tastes.
Now the partnering of LIPTON AND Brooke BOND has lead to even more intense competition with Lipton competing with TAPAL DANEDAR & BROOKE Bond’s Supreme competing with Tapal Family mixtureAs Brooke Bond is imitating Tapal so it is important for Tapal Family Mixture Brand to consistently being able to differentiate Tapal Family Mixture by product development and continuously advertising and communicating strategically that consumer feels the differentiation. For other brands like Tapal Tez Dum, Tapal Safari Chai, Mezban Premier Dust, Chenak Dust and Tapal Jasmine Green Tea, Tapal Safari Kenya leaf :
As these products are strategically segmented for different target market so they should be supported with active marketing activities for building these line extensions and they shouldn’t commit mistakes like they did with Tapal Safari Kenya leaf which was very weak positioned because these mistakes can harm the brand image of the Tapal. Important note: Unilevers has enough resources to compete directly with Tapal and can use a frontal attack attacks so Tapal should be ever-ready because in warfare everyday is a new day with new front to conquer.
CONSUMER BUYING BEHAVOUR Customers value those products whose targeting and positioning is done effectively. Tapal being the market challenger has the main task to create the value for its target audience. Marketers at Tapal need to have a close look at what the consumers are actually looking for, at what price plus the benefits through the sales promotions that it offers. They closely monitor the buying behavior of the consumers, as how long is it taking a consumer to make the decision and are they making a difference between Tapal and the competitors’ product or not.
Consumers buying decision varies from product to product, Tapal is a beverage and some value it as an important part of their lives while some just value it as a necessity in the winters. It is basically a FMCG. Tapal is a low involvement product and there are few significant differences between the brands. It is basically a habitual buying behavior for the consumers but for 10% of the consumers it is a dissonance-reducing buying behavior. HABITUAL BUYING BEHAVOUR Tapal is a low involvement product and consumers don’t take much of their time while making a buying decision.
Consumers when buying a beverage simply pick the one that they have been drinking since their childhood or whatever has been going on around their house, there are no problems for acquiring Tapal as it is available in all available shops. Consumers normally do not search extensively for information while buying tea but the passive recipients of information value their decision. The passive recipients of information are repetitive ads that they see in television, magazines or hearing it from others. This passive recipient of information creates brand familiarity and this helps in molding their buying decision.
Even though Tapal follows under the Habitual Buying Behavior it has a high involvement, as there are many significant differences in the product as compared to the other products. Thus it could also be applied for Dissonance-Reducing Buying Behavior. Tapal is a dissonance-reducing buying behavior for those 10 % consumers in the beverage market who had a bad experience with competitors’ tea. Being dissatisfied with the competitors’ product they take the decision of buying another product in the same category with much high involvement. Buying decision behavior MODEL
Complex buying HIGH behavior INVOLVEMENT HIGH LOW INVOLVE Variety seeking behavior Habitual buying behavior TAPAL Dissonance reducing buying behavior TAPAL’S UNDERSTANDING OF CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR Since blending tea has been a passion at the core of sales activities for three generations. Tapal family had its finger on the pulse of tea tasting buds of consumer. Their likes and preferences…………….. the most important ingredient for not only understanding consumer need but making the brand succeed. For Tapal, Its DANEDAR & FAMILY MIXTURE Brands are foremost examples.
Back in 1947 Adam Ali Tapal successfully created a new taste variant by blending dust and leaf tea which was then known as family mixture. Thirty years later in 1977 Aftab Tapal, the present “Managing director” was at helm of company affairs after returning to his native land on completion of academic and insightful tours of tea-producing countries abroad with foresight, Aftab Tapal formidable two-prone strategy to achieve company goal: maintain and continuously improve blending quality and vigorously pursue brand-building exercise.
Besides its legacy of tea being a habit and a light-hearted social need Tapal realize early that tea drinking is a serious business at both individual and collective level. While the competitors were producing blends based on Srilankans tea imports, Tapal for the first time introduced tea from Kenya which was stronger in taste and the satisfying blend was happily accepted by the consumers. SHIFTING HABITUAL buying behavior to Complex buying behavior IT is important for tapal that tey should work out strategies so that the can shift people from HABITUAL buying behavior to Complex buying behavior
VALUE DELIVERY NETWORK Tapal imports its raw materials like tea leaves from Kenya. These raw materials reach the Karachi port from where they are taken to the factory. They are also growing tea leaves locally. The raw materials are then used to manufacture the actual product: Tapal Family Mixture, Tapal Danedar, Tapal Tez Dum, Tapal Safari Chai, Mezban Premier Dust ,Chenak Dust and Tapal Jasmine Green Tea, Tapal Safari Kenya leaf. Most of the raw materials are imported, and of course the packaging for the product is done in Pakistan. Raw materials imported Kenya and grown locally Production of the tea (Factory)
Wholesalers Retailers Consumers After the product is made, it is taken by the distributors who distribute the final product all over Pakistan. The wholesalers take the products in large bulks from the factory on a fixed profit margin and then sell it to other channels like retailers of general store, super stores, beauty shops etc. who then sell the product to final consumers. These distributors are not permanent but when the product is about to enter the market, they are informed about it and they themselves buy it in any quantity they want (usually a fixed volume set by the company).
As for the retailers, it is also their wish in how much volume they would buy the product because sometimes they already have large inventory and sometimes they have small volume to serve consumer demands. The profit margin between the retailers and distributors is decided amongst themselves because usually retailers can sell the product upto 15-20% profit margin. So some of the profit has to be shared with the distributors also. SUGGESTED UPGRADE FOR THE VALUE DELIVERY NETWORK
Tapal imports its raw materials from Kenya that could prove to be very risky as in case of economic crisis or natural calamity. Such situations can cause the orders for raw materials not to be completed on time, or may have problems in completing the orders at all. Tapal should try to build such relations that would assist in delivering the raw materials even if there is a crisis in the supplier’s country (they must not back out in such times) or be able to help when there is excess demand in the market and company’s stock is low.
Tapal can also think of making its own raw materials in Pakistan the long term it can help ponds reduce its costs, so on the same time reduce its price which can bring it closer to the competitors and in the long-run they can even export it to other countries which is going to be strategically very crucial in future times. Tapal, with its strategy of importing the raw materials has to bear the shipping costs and the taxes. Though this plan, if implemented needs a lot of investment but the returns would be high.
Raw materials would be available on short period notices, foreign exchange would be saved which is spent on paying taxes, shipping costs and to importers. Basically, the company would be able to look after the quality of raw materials and closely monitor its costs because fluctuating exchange rates and inability to check on raw materials sometimes creates problems. Although Tapal is available in more places like in villages etc easily than other brands but it should make its distribution more stronger. It should hire its own distributors and give them incentives by not allowing them to sell the competitors tea products.
Permanent distributors would always stay loyal because presently Tapal and Lipton dominate the market but arrival of any another good tea brand may compel distributors to buy more of that product if they are given good incentives like greater profit margin. Distributors chosen should also be such that run their channels on large and wide scale; selling and making the product available even in remote areas. Making the distributors part of the company is necessary and keeping positive relations is essential part.
Therefore, any break in the value delivery chain would prove to be harmful not only for company but for the consumers also. Consumers not getting the product on time would compel them to ask for the competitor’s product and the company would lose out its profits and customers. In between, other channels would encounter the same problems. So these actions are necessary in order to strengthen the value deliver chain network. Segmentation ,Target Marketing and Market Positioning Mass marketing ? segmented marketing Market Segmentation ??? ??? ???
Distinct needs – regular tea/ green tea Characteristics ??? taste, aroma, strength Behavior ??? in terms of 4 P’s Segmentation of consumer market CURRENT STATUS OF SEGMENTATION There are two clear segments of consumers in the market, branded tea consumers and un-branded tea consumers. In Sindh, branded tea is consumed by most of the cities, whereas in the rural areas both branded and unbranded are equally popular. In Punjab, the city dwellers as well as a majority of rural areas are absolutely brand loyal while unbranded tea is only popular in teashops and hotels.
In NWFP and Balochistan, 90% of the population still prefer the unbranded form as it gives them the chance of see and smell what they buy before paying for it. In addition, the mindset is such that now no other tea brand can compete because consumers are strongly brand loyal. Tapal’s consumers can be segmented on the basis of income strata. Class A: Consists of consumers who have disposable monthly incomes of Rs. 20,000. Class B: Consists of consumers who have disposable monthly incomes between Rs. 20,000 and Rs. 12,000. Class C: Consists of consumers who have disposable monthly incomes between Rs. 2,000 and Rs. 8,000. Behavioral SEGMENTS: Geographic Country region All Pakistan World region or country Urban, Rural Density Climate Any Demographic Age Gender Family size Family life cycle Income Income group Occupation 18-35. 35-50,50-70,70&up Both male and female Nuclear family size Young, single married, married with children 8000 and above no children, Middle, upper middle and high class. White collar and service workers Occasion Benefit sought Loyalty status Readiness stage Attitude towards product Any Flavor, easy availability, brand status.
Significantly high Conviction and purchase Enthusiastic, positive. SUGGESTED UPGRADE FOR SEGMENTATION Demographic segmentation should also be done for teenage tea drinkers: Over the years the trend of drinking tea has increased amongst teenagers. Some 6- 7 years ago teenagers were more interested in cold beverages such as soft drinks and juices but now the trend has changed and teenagers prefer to drink tea so Tapal can segment the market in terms of teenage tea drinkers enabling it to serve this segment by using applying its brand in such a way that it seems appealing to this its young customers.
Geographic segmentation can be done for specific areas in major cities: In every city there are particular areas where most of the high-income group people reside. For instance in our city Karachi, the areas of Clifton, Defence, K. D. A etc are assumed to be the elite areas occupied by the high income class. Tapal can also segment the market in terms of area for example catering to the people living in Defence; it can observe their buying pattern that how much they buy? How often they buy? Etc and based on that it can make a new line extension suiting the needs of such users.
Catering to such users is important because they are heavy users of tea for their usage rate is high compared to other people living in areas besides these. Occasional segmentation can be done: Tapal has currently not segmented the market for special occasions. But it should do so as the consumption of tea increases on occasions such as Eid, Basant and during the monsoon season for people tend to drink more. This occasional segmentation will result in increase of sales plus customer satisfaction. Segment the market in terms of heavy and medium users.
Tapal can segment the market in terms of heavy and medium users. For instance, Tapal can consider hotels and big organizations as heavy users of their product and home users as medium users and then go for different marketing plans for both the two segments. For the heavy users It can provide tea in bigger quantities at reduced price or may be it can come in contract with such heavy tea users, this thing will not only increase Tapal’s sale but will also increase awareness among the people who drink tea in such organizations and hotels.
For the light users Tapal can do a market research and find out that what is the best quantity-price package the home users look for and then target this segment with an appropriate marketing plan. TARGETING Targeting a segment means the company is making a selection and targeting a certain group of consumers or buyers for its product or services. Evaluation of different segments that companies make is most critical before targeting any segment, every company have its own criteria of selecting a segment such as size, potentiality of growth, profitability, economies of scale, or low risk in the segment.
TAPAL HAS target different market segments through different brands it is marketing. Tapal’s Organogram includes Tapal Family Mixture, Tapal Danedar, Tapal Tez Dum, Tapal Safari Chai, Mezban Premier Dust ,Chenak Dust and Tapal Jasmine Green Tea, Tapal Safari Kenya leaf Tapal Family Mixture The family mixture is targeted for joint family system which still prevails in Pakistan Tapal Tez Dum This brand is targeted for segment who like strong cup of tea. Like in one Tapal Tez Dum advertisement its statement is ” Tapal tazdem lagay tha ker ke” Mezban Premier Dust
A full-flavored dust that delivers high quality at a very economical price, Mezban Premier Dust is the blend for consumers who prefer t ea with a strong flavor & taste. Originally developed for tea shops (dhabas), Mezban has become a favorite amongst household consumers as well. It is the most popular brand of tea in Sindh. The name of the brand itself is a characterization of the typical hospitality that is inherent to and a matter of pride for the people of Sindh. Chenak Dust Highly popular in Sindh, Chenak is known for its extra strong flavor, color and taste. As a result of these features and high quality of tea it is No. in its category TAPAL DANEDAR AND DANEDAR TEA BAGS TAPAL basically has targeted the urban areas and has concentrated on the upper and middle classes {preferable age group ranging from (18 ??? 45)}. Therefore despite the fact that it uses a mass marketing approach it can easily be denoted that this product is catered to a particular segment. Even in its marketing approach for TAPAL, the product is presented in a different way for instance the teabags are targeted toward the upper high class, while soft packs and jar packs are targeted for middle and middle lower class.
Today as both men and women consume equal amounts of tea the age group segment selected for Lipton is between (18 on ward), for they want to target those people who are young, trendy, cosmopolitan, hip, and cosmopolitan. SOME SUGGESTIONS FOR BRAND TARGETTING Even in their advertising Tapal Danedar should target young couples (as they are starting their life recently so they haven’t have any particular preferences so they can be easily targeted and attracted to this brand) And lastly the strategic thrust of keeping focus on young house wives has been successful so they should continue focusing on it.
IMPROPER AGE SPECIFICATIONS: Focusing on the advertisements, one would notice that they usually specify the age group of about 18-45 maximum 50 years. But one should realize that the story of good taste goes beyond that age limit. Many people older than the age of 50 prefer to have Tapal compared to other brands. The company should extend the age limit to at least 70 years and grandparents both maternal and paternal should be portrayed in the advertisements as well.
If Tapal loses its focus on these consumers then there is a possibility that some other competitive brand may come up and target this line of consumers eventually resulting in a loss of market share for Tapal. Apart from that they should concentrate on further targeting the younger age group between (15 ??? 25), and create an image which appeals to this generation, as this age group are not only their expected present customers but they would also be their future major consumer. TARGET WITH DIFFERENT PRODUCT SHOULD BE SPECIFIC
As the Tapal has so many products in there organogram and for some product line it is not certain that which market they are targeting as in the case of TAPAL SAFARI CHAI which has weak positioning and targeting. So the should be careful in targeting so that TAPALS brand image is not effected. POSITIONING CURRENT STATUS OF POSITIONING TAPAL caters to its customers by providing Tapal Danedar and Family Mixtures to more than 140,000 outlets in Pakistan, which include superstores, department stores, general stores, medical stores, paan walas, grocery stores, merchants, etc.
Grocery stores and merchants together provide 80% volume of the tea sales. To position TAPAL in the market a list of differentiation variables such as its form, features, performance, conformance, services, media and events have been applied. These are further discussed below: Form Differentiation Tapal DANEDAR is, as we know, fine quality tea that is being offered to the middle and upper class customers, therefore Tapal assumes that the form of their product plays an important part in differentiating their product in their target customer’s mind.
So that way with TAPAL DANEDAR they form a different product line which was a very successful . Basically the company provides the differentiation for its tea by claiming that it tends to be thicker than other brands and contains no dust for it is the finest available blend being called as danedar. Features Differentiation Since its claimed that TAPAL is thicker than any other brand other features need to be attached too such as its taste which tends to be lighter than most other teas, the smell is known to have its own distinctive aroma and its brightness tends to be relatively higher than the others.
Performance Differentiation In this aspect of differentiation TAPAL differentiates itself on quality of its product by proving that their product is more refined, and hygienically processed and packed. Conformance Differentiation TAPAL has high conformance for Tapal, for they claim to use the best possible blend available and because of their international nature are required to maintain this characteristic of their product through out. Services Differentiation Tapal is providing tea dispensers at various colleges and institutions through out. Image differentiation
Tapal is one of the few brands that rely heavily on image differentiation by sponsoring various events such as concerts and celebrities in their numerous advertisements. Recently they are sponsoring a TV Show which aware the consumers of the TAPAL Brand. It also benefits from a wide variety of mass media tools such as billboards, spectaculars and shows and time checking clocks at various traffic signals. Tapal is one of the Brands that has created value to its consumer by continuous product development and consumers have an emotional attachment with Tapal Brand.
To position Tapal Danedar in their target customer’s mind they have selected all of these differentiation variables. Tapal’s Danedar main feature for positioning is that, it is tea made of the “finest blend” available. The benefits offered by Tapal Danedar to its consumers are of “high quality and good taste”. Brand image and position of Tapal Danedar is of a Discerning, Cosmopolitan, Elegant, high class and sophisticated tea and is portrayed through their entire marketing campaign by making it clear that
Danedar, Aur Kiya chahiye! “. “Tapal SUGGESTED UPGRADE FOR POSITIONING SUGGESTION FOR FEATURES DIFFERENTIATION Tapal claims that its tea is thicker than any other brands and its taste is lighter yet when one actually drinks the tea one can actually feel a slight bitter tinge in it and clearly it isn’t thicker than the other brands for Lipton has the same thickness that Tapal have. To sort out these features Tapal should be properly tested so that these attributes are always clearly seen. SUGGESTION FOR SERVICES DIFFERENTIATION
Tapal is portrayed as a high quality product mostly catering to the affluent or the middle class yet they provide tea dispensers all over Pakistan even the rural areas where the consumers are not interested in such high priced tea and would rather purchase the low priced in expensive smuggled tea that is provided to them. Tapal therefore keeping its attributes in focus provide a brand Mezban Premier Dust and Chenak Dust to them which is low priced and definitely better than the smuggled tea provided to them.
By providing tea to colleges and other institutions Tapal is focusing on students who will be the future consumers of tea but even then while they are providing tea to the younger generation by making it available for them no value as such is being projected for these youngsters. Therefore Tapal needs to position Tapal Danedar and Family Mixture through the media to appeal to this generation as well. SUGGESTION FOR IMAGE DIFFERENTIATION Tapal portrays itself as a cosmopolitan, elegant, high class and sophisticated tea .
By doing this they are limiting their market to only the upper and upper middle class whereas they are providing the tea to all and sundry. Due to the image projection that they have done they should focus on the upper and upper middle class like they do but for the others who would like to drink their tea they should make available Mezban Premier Dust and Chenak Dust so that Tapal itself doesn’t lose its image. SUGGESTION FOR THE PRODUCT DIFFERENCIATION DEVELOPING of TEA as a cold drink …… Tapal has a good brand equity in the tea market .
So the can differentiate them self by development of the different product like developing a beverage that has ingrediants of the tea mixed with lime or something and postion is refreshing drink with highlighting the benefits associated with tea. Developing a technology that keeps tea fresh for longer period of time as because due to weather condition in karachi tea is not able to remain fresh for longer period of time Branding TAPAL’S MARKET SHARE: The company has enjoyed a phenomenal growth particularly during the last decade to expand its base in the branded market which for long were dominated by multinational competitors.
Tapal today enjoys over 17 per cent or 22 million kilogram share of the total tea market annually up from 10 million kilogram in 1990. Tapal’s envious growth has come at the expense of its multinational competitors, Brooke Bond and Lipton brands, whose combined market share has shrunk from 60 million kg to 45 million kg during the same period Putting the per capita tea consumption in Pakistan at about one kilogram, approximately 140 million kg of tea is marketed annually in the country of which 110 m kg is met by the imports while the rest of the 30 million kg demand is fed by the smuggled counterpart.
Of the 110 million kg regular imports, 70 million kg is branded while the loose market makes up the rest of the 40 million kg. Tapal and its multinational rival Lever Brothers combinedly enjoy the biggest share of the branded market ??? 60 million kg leaving the remaining 10 million kg for a number of other smaller companies. User Tapal has always targeted families as its potential consumers. With the view that the younger generation will be Tapal’s future customers, Tapal is actively supporting the fast developing music industry in Pakistan. It has sponsored the leading singers in Pakistan and actively participates in music concerts.
Status Tapal has won the hearts of countless tea drinkers across the country as a result; it has a heavy user status. CULTURE: The brand needs to represent a certain culture therefore we know that TAPAL is PAKISTANI brand and it represents a Pakistani culture emphasizing on superior quality and sophistication. Personality The consumers of the Tapal tea exhibit strong personality traits. People want the image and excitement through the drinks that they feel are good for them therefore Lipton is presented as a brand that is bright, vital, sociable, contemporary and cosmopolitan.
TAPAL creates the personality for its brands by its RED background with the TAPAL Attributes ? Leaders in Innovation Always on the move, Tapal Tea is honored to have taken the lead in a number of areas in the tea industry. Tapal has been: The first to introduce soft packs in the country. The first tea company to introduce the metal-free tea bags. The first to develop an entirely new blend and categoryTapal Family Mixture (the mixture of leaf and dust). The first to invent the highly successful brand Danedar Leaf Blend. The first to market Kenya teas in Pakistan. The first tea company to be awarded the ISO 9001/2000 Quality Certification. Pioneers of Soft Packaging From the very beginning, Tapal realized the importance of importing innovative technologies such as the soft packing process. A fully automatic facility was established where soft packs were produced for the first time in Pakistan. At this facility tea is blended and packed in hygienic conditions, untouched by human hands whilst the soft packing technology keeps tea fresh and packaging costs economical. The success of these soft packs has been such that other tea companies have also followed Tapal’s lead and launched some of their brands in soft packaging. Strong Distribution Network Tapal has a distribution network spread across Pakistan, from Karachi to Khyber with over 400 distributors. Extensive training programs are provided for the devoted sales personnel. The popularity of its fine brands in unabated, making it the No 1 national tea company in Pakistan. ? A Commitment to Quality “Never compromise on quality” has been the motto at Tapal since the very beginning. This commitment to quality has resulted in a high level of customer satisfaction and unflinching brand loyalty.
In December 1997, Tapal Tea became the first Pakistani Tea Company to earn the ISO-9001 certification: a symbol fo the highest international quality standards. Again in December 2000, Tapal acquired the ISO9001: 2000 certification, making it one of the first few companies in the world to achieve this milestone. In addition to the standard requirements, the ISO9001: 2000 certification system includes requirements for environment improvement, concepts of TQM (continuous improvement) with major emphasis on consumer requirements and satisfaction. Extensive Research and Development Tea blending and tasting is both an art and a science and Tapal prides itself on having mastered both the aspects. Tapal has adroitly judged the olfactory senses and keenness of the taste buds of their patrons, resulting in the creation of various well-known brands. Aftab F. Tapal is a well-trained and highly experienced tea taster of the country and is recognized as a qualified tea specialist worldwide. Tapal’s tea managers have been trained at home and abroad in this very rigorous and specialized discipline, and have frequently traveled to leading tea-producing countries searching for better teas.
Tapal is a research-oriented company. It subscribes to and conducts various researches in the area of retail audits, consumer behavior, media planning and product development. This research is used for continuous improvement in product quality, brand positioning and communication according to the changing requirements of the consumers. Consistency and quality are the two keystones of Tapal’s production policy and the Quality Control Department at Tapal ensures that flavor and freshness is never compromised.
That’s why all the brands, whether Danedar, Tapal Special or Tapal Family Mixture, always taste exactly as expected: retaining aroma and freshness till the last sip. Values Tapal’s deep-rooted culture and core value differentiates it from its competitors. It is built on sound principles and practices, not dominated by a group of individuals. Its asset are its people, and the consistency of principle and policy give the direction. Tapal is also the 1st national tea company to export tea to the UAE, Canada and USA.
This is again a pioneering step towards increasing valueadded exports and is also a fast developing source of foreign exchange for the country. Benefits Technology is also harnessed at Tapal to benefit the consumer. It remains committed to providing the people of Pakistan with only the highest quality products and improving their lives in whatever little way possible. Attributes need to be translated into “functional” and “emotional” benefits. TAPAL converts its attributes into benefits by claiming that TAPAL makes you feel great, while revitalizing the mind and the body.
Therefore the attribute “danedar” is translated into the emotional Brand Equity After Tapal’s unique Family Mixture became Karachi’s largest selling brand, the company was encouraged to innovate further. As a result, in 1987, an entirely new category brand called Danedar was created and launched. Tapal Danedar became the country’s largest selling tea brand with a loyal following, which shows that Tapal has been successful in creating a strong Brand Equity amongst its consumers. Tapal’s experienced “high voltage” marketing team has contributed over the years to the phenomenal growth of the brands and the company.
In recent years, memorable advertising campaigns on the electronic and print media using TV and film celebrities, have made Tapal a household name. Tapal is considered to be among Pakistani women’s most preferred tea brand. The highly successful mix of great teas, modern marketing, proper distribution and promotional activities has resulted in overwhelmi ng growth for Tapal over the last 50 years. Suggested Upgrade for Branding Weak emotional attachment through attributes Tapal has translated its attributes into the emotional benefits in a nice way but its counterpart Lipton has been excellent in doing so.
Advertisements presented by Tapal to develop the brand haven’t been as good as Lipton’s. Presently Tapal has launched its new advertising campaign and has entered the market with its new packaging, with its new brand, this may help the company to get an edge over Lipton but at this stage it would be too early to draw a conclusion. However through the last report we found retailers saying that even after the changes there hasn? t been any significant increase in the sales of the commodity. Unidentified Users Tapal as a brand name caters to those who wish to portray class but in the market it? s different.
Tapal is providing tea coolers to the round the corner hotels which cater to the lower class. This action would lead to increase in short term revenues but in the long run it? s going to create critical problems for the brand. Rather than catering to round the corner hotels it should enter places where it would find upper and middle class people. Branded Market Share in Volume (Source: Tapal & UniLever) Total Branded Tea Consumption UniLever Tapal Tetley Others 75,000 Tons 38,250 Tons 27,750 Tons 2,250 Tons 6,750 Tons Tetley 3% Others 9% Unilever Tapal Tetley Others Tapal 37% Unilever 51% SERVICES GAPS 1.
Gap between consumer expectation Tapal’s management perception and Tapal? s management may not always correctly perceive what the customers want. “Never compromise on Quality” is the motto of Tapal, for Tapal high quality might be the beautiful golden color of the fresh tea, or the aroma of the tea but for consumer high quality is the taste of the tea. The strong taste of the tea is what the customers prefer. 2. Gap between Tapal’s management perception and service-quality specification Tapal? s management might correctly perceive that the customers want good and strong taste in a tea, but not set a perf ormance standard.
Tapal? s management might tell their research and development to improve the taste of the tea but they might have not set some specific standards in order to meet the required level of performance regarding the high quality taste. 3. Gap between service quality specification and service delivery The personnel might have be poorly trained or incapable of or unwilling to meet the standards set by the Tapal? s management, or they might have conflicting standards. Tapal? s management has set standards that the team should be able to provide the best taste and it should be able to come up with innovations faster.
The team might get confused as to serve which one first, that is either to maintain the high quality taste or keep coming up with innovati ons. 4. Gap between service delivery and external communication Statements made by Tapal? s representatives and ads affect consumer expectations. Tapal? s advertisements show perfect tea, having high quality taste, aroma and the perfect color. But in reality it does not provide its consumer with the high quality product as pictured in its promotions, therefore external communication such as the ads and sales promotion have distorted the customer? expectations. The customer does not get the same amount of sat isfaction as he/she expected before using the tea. CURRENT STATUS OF THE PRODUCT LINES: The structure of Product mix width and Product line Length of Unilevers is presented below: PRODUCT MIX WIDTH TAPAL DANEDAR TEA BAGS PRODUCT LINE LENGTH DANEDAR FAMILY MIXTURE TAPAL TEZDUM Mezban Premier Dust Chenak Dust TAPAL PRICING Since TAPAL has always emphasized on being an international product, of the highest quality, TAPAL is marketed as a “premium” or “top of the line” product. A premium of 2-5% is charged on every pack.
The closest competitor of TAPAL, is Tapal Danedar having a price of Rs. 52 for its 200 gms pack, whereas a 200 gms pack of TAPAL is priced at Rs. 60. Similarly, in all other sizes, TAPAL has maintained almost identical price premiums compared to Tapal. Hence it is clear that TAPAL follows the system of PRECEIVED VALUE PRICING as they deliver the value that they promise by their value proposition. They are available in the following sizes and prices: PRODUCT DANEDAR FAMILY MIXTURE DANNEDAR TEA BAGS TAPAL TAZEDUM SIZE 200 grams 200 grams 100 grams 400 PRICE (IN RS) 60 54 120 85
SUGGESTED UPGRADE FOR PRICING: TAPAL has quite high prices due to the perceived value pricing that it does therefore only the middle and upper class consumers are able to purchase it. Most of the population of Pakistan is in the rural areas. Even though Unilevers has launched other brands such as A1 and Kenya mixture under the name of Brooke Bond for these areas they should make TAPAL Rich Bru available to these areas as well so as to gain a large amount of the market share for their TAPAL category.
Having created a sense of value for the high-class customers people from the lower middle class being slightly nave riche wanting to follow the upper class would purchase Rich Bru as it will be near their income bracket. This way TAPAL as a name itself will not lose its image of a premium and high quality brand in the market and will be able to provide cheaper tea for rural areas as well. TAPAL has a price premium of 4-5%, which translates into not more than Rs. 8 per packet in absolute terms. One would say that the high pricing of TAPAL proves the amount of value the tea has in the eyes of the consumer that they are willing to pay extra e. . TAPAL 200 gms is of Rs. 60 whereas liptonl 200 gms is of Rs. 52 showing a difference of Rs. 8. They may be focusing on value pricing but here it seems unlikely to be used as stated before. Most of Pakistan is populated in the rural areas and there they believe that the more inexpensive it is the better it is for in NWFP and Balochistan, 90% of the population still prefer the unbranded form as it gives them the chance of seeing and smelling what they buy before paying for it. DISTRIBUTION OF TAPAL Distribution plays an integral role in any company whether it? s a FMCG or utility good.
The role of distribution in the marketing mix is to deliver a product to its target market or final consumer. Between the manufacturer and the final consumer stands a set of intermediaries performing a variety of functions. These intermediaries constitute a marketing channel also known as trade channel or distribution channel. The marketing channels are set of interdependent organizations involved in the process of making a product or service available for use or consumption. Marketing channels overcomes the time, place and possession gaps that separate goods and services from those who need or want them.
Tapal Danedar is known for its wide distribution network. The Tapal distribution channel is: Manufacturer Wholesal er Retail Consum er Tapal Danedar Wholesaler Retailer has a two-level channel that contains two intermediaries: Tapal tea cartons are sold to the wholesalers who then sell it to the retailers who further sell it to the final consumer. The important functions performed by Tapal intermediaries are information, promotion, negotiation relatively long-term ordering, financing, risk to that the taking, physical Tapal of has a possession, payment and title. Tapal? s channel decisions involve commitments channel firms. onventional marketing comprises producer, wholesalers, and retailers. Each is a separate business seeking to maximize its profits that results in a conflict among the channel members as no channel member has complete or substantial control over other members. SUGGESTED UPGRADE FOR THE DISTRIBUTION CHANNELS The challenge is not to eliminate conflict but to manage it better, Tapal needs to have a vertical marketing system (VMS) comprising of producer, wholesalers, and retailers acting as a unified system. In VMS one channel member, the channel captain, owns the others or franchises them or has so much power that they all cooperate.
The channel captain can be the producer, the wholesaler, or the retailer. VMS can eliminate the channel conflict that results when independent channel members through pursue size, their own objectives. power and They achieve of economies bargaining elimination duplicated services. There are three types of VMS: corporate, administered and contractual.. Corporate VMS combines successive stages of production and distribution under single ownership. If Tapal wants to have a high level of control over its channels than this method is best suitable. For example, Tapal can have its own retail outlets.
Administered VMS coordinates successive stages of production and distribution through the size and power of one of the members. Manufactures of a dominant brand are able to secure strong trade cooperation and support from resellers. For example Tapal can able to command high levels of cooperation from it resellers in connection with displays, shelf space, promotions and price policies. Tapal can also have a Contractual VMS consists of independent firms at different levels of production and distribution integrating their programs on a contractual basis to obtain more economies or sales impact than they could achieve alone.
Effective channel management calls for selecting intermediaries and training and motivating them. Channel arrangements may not be modified when marketing conditions change. The main goal of Tapal should be to build a long-term partnership that will be profitable for the channel members. Individual members must be periodically evaluated against pre-establ THE PROMOTIONAL MIX TAPAL tea brings people together, in times of joy and in times of pain. Our lives center around it, weather it is the evening tea enjoyed by family or spontaneous tea parties with friends.
For some, their day can not begin without a cup of tea, and for others nothing else completes it. ADVERTISING BY TAPAL TEA In an increasingly competitive marketplace, greater emphasis is being placed on brand image development as the basis for consumer discrimination. Advertising has a central role to play in developing brand image, whether at the corporate, retail or product level. It informs consumers of the functional capabilities of the brand while simultaneously imbuing the brand with symbolic values and meanings relevant to the consumer Najam, the guy who rushed his way to the top-most slots of the Paki music scene with “In Say Nain”.
He may have a rather unconventional approach to whatever that he does, but whatever he does leaves us captivated. He is no doubt a versatile singer and one of the best vocalists of Pakistan. He has one quality that he constantly improves himself that? s why his every new work seems better than previous. This time he has struck the music scene with the album ” Jaisay chaho Jiyo” and it has been produced by Shehzad Hassan of Vital Signs. After numerous hit songs like ???Pyar Karan Nu Dil Karada ? , ???Baliyae? , and ???Kajla? (and the list goes on) in the previous album, he is back again to give his listeners a treat.
The album is a combination of light music but some funky and techno tunes are also there. Jaisay chaho jiyo is the album? s title track you can also watch video of this song these days on satellite channel. Tthis song is also an ad jinglre for tapal tea Television advertising is used as it’s a most effective medium and hence, this acts as an inducement to consumers to purchase the product Sometimes there are TV advertisements designed for different regions of Pakistan to achieve different advertising objectives in those geographic areas. OUTDOOR ADVERTISING:
This form of advertising is used to increase out of home visibility in shops and in the streets. The various activities under the umbrella of outdoor advertising are: Billboards Pole signs Spectaculars PRINT: Ten percent of the promotion budget is spent on print media, which includes both newspapers and magazines e. g Jang ,Dawn, The News,She,Akhbar e jehan etc. TAPAL TEA SALES PROMOTION A definition of sales promotion becomes more difficult as the industry expands. At its most precise, it is any scheme designed to sell more product. In the broadest sense, it is everything in the marketing mix.
Examples of tapal tea sales promotion include: To familiarize consumers with the new blend of Tapal, a certain budget is allocated for the sales promotion of tapal. Examples of tapal tea sales promotion are: Coupons Discounts and allowances Contests Point of purchase Rebate marketing Gifts and incentives Free travel such as free flights. Sales promotions can be directed at either to the customer ,sales staff, channel members CONSUMER SALES PROMOTION TECHNIQUES IN TAPAL: Price deal: A temporary reduction in the price Cents-off deal: Offers a brand at a lower price.
Price reduction may be a percentage marked on the package. Price-pack deal: The packaging offers a consumer a certain percentage more of the product for the same price (for example , 25 percent extra). Coupons: coupons have become a standard mechanism for sales promotions. On-shelf couponing: Coupons are present at the shelf where the product is available. Checkout dispensers: On checkout the customer is given a coupon based on products purchased. TRADE SALES PROMOTION TECHNIQUES IN TAPAL: Trade allowances: short term incentive offered to induce a retailer to stock up on a product.
Trade contest: A contest to reward retailers that sell the most product. Point-of-purchase displays: Extra sales tools given to retailers to boost sales. Training programs: dealer employees are trained in selling the product. PERSONAL SELLING IN TAPAL Personal selling is one of the oldest forms of promotion. It involves the use of a sales force to support a push strategy (encouraging intermediaries to buy the product) or a pull strategy (where the role of the sales force may be limited to supporting retailers and providing after-sales service).
Personal selling is oral communication with potential buyers of a product with the intention of making a sale. The personal selling may focus initially on developing a relationship with the potential buyer, but will always ultimately end with an attempt to “close the sale” The main disadvantage of personal selling is the cost of employing a sales force. Sales people are expensive. In addition to the basic pay package, a business needs to provide incentives to achieve sales (typically this is based on commission and/or bonus arrangements) and the equipment to make sales calls (car, travel and subsistence costs, mobile phone etc).
In addition, a sales person can only call on one customer at a time. This is not a cost-effective way of reaching a large audience. Thus Tapal donot involve much in personal selling. DIRECT MARKETING: Tapal can have its company’s website for complaints and suggestions. By this method the gap between the Tapal management and consumer expectation can br reduced. Ways of operating in direct marketing can be direct mail,online marketing, email marketing PUBLICITY BY TAPAL TEA Health benefits of tea Nothing flavors a botanical tea better than real tea.
And in lieu of the recently publicized health benefits of tea, more herbal-tea product lines are likely to include some real tea now. Tea polyphenols, like polyphenols from other sources, can be detected in blood, urine and feces. Most of their health benefits are attributed to their ability to scavenge free radicals or to act as chemo-preventatives by binding to carcinogens or oxidative enzymes. The publicity surrounding the health benefits of tea is a key