Marketing Assignment: Case Study Analysis Of Aqualisa Quartz

Question

Task: Read the case study of Aqualisa Quartz: Simply a Better Shower by Youngme Moon and prepare a marketing assignment answering the following questions:
1. What is the Quartz value proposition to plumbers? To customers?
2. Why is the Quartz shower not selling?
3. Aqualisaspent 3 years and euro 5.8 million developing the Quartz. Was the product worth the investment?
4. Aqualisa currently has three brands: Aqualisa, Gainborough and ShowerMax. What is the rationale behind this multiple brand strategy? Does it make sense?
5. What should Rawlinson do to generate sales momentum for the quartz product? Should he change his marketing strategy to target consumers directly, target the DIY market, or target developers? Should he lower the price of the Quartz? Or should he do something different altogether?

Answer

Answer1
As per the case analysed within this marketing assignment, the value proposition of Quartz to plumbers is about the installation process, which is less complicated and the plumbers can install more Quartz shower solutions in less time. The less complicated installation process allows the less experienced plumbers to do the work and the credibility of plumbers are also increased due to the installation of good product with fewer malfunctions. The value proposition of Aqualisa Quartz to the consumers is that it can solute one of the major concerns of consumers regarding the showerhead and that is water pressure(Aqualisa.co, 2021). The water pressure of Quartz is adjustable for different people as it is suitable for kids and elder people too as it has one-touch control that helps the consumers to know the right temperature of the water they need. The product is more based on do it yourself concept, which makes it easier to install and use and ensures the safety of plumbers and consumers.

Answer2
Even after the unique technology-based solution and unique design of Quartz, it had not reached the expected selling amount. One of the major reasons behind the slow sales growth of Quartz is the worry of plumbers due to new technology used in Quartz and based on previous control failures, they are afraid to install such products. The ease of installation reduces the labour fee the plumbers used to get in one installation as the installation of Quartz takes less time and plumbers used to install 40-50 showers in a year. The installation of unfamiliar products can lead to many performance problems and the existing brands in the market created expertise for the plumbers regarding the installation and failure problems. The resistance of plumbers to install a new product is contributing to fewer sales growth of Quartz. Quartz is a new product and it should be introduced to existing customers rather than introduced to new customers. The decision of the product manager is another reason behind the poor sales of Quartz.

Answer 3
After analyzingAqualisa’s massive investment in terms of developing Quartz it can be stated that the investment was worth it due to the significant market demands. Aqualisa observed that the traditional shower was unable to serve the needs of the people as they were plagued with problems. Thus, the development of Quartz enhanced the brand value of Aqualisa based on the innovation that the product brought to the UK market (Moon, 2006). In addition to that, Quartz also proved to be a major boost from the financial perspective of Aqualisa as well, so the €5.8 million investment is worth the value.

Quartz is a mainstream product due to the significant advantages that the product provides in terms of resolving shower issues in the household. In addition to that, the high customer value of Quartz has set the market trend for the future that makes it a trendsetter. Therefore, Quartz has generated mainstream attention based on its mainstream attraction.

Answer 4
The contemporary market base is divided into three segments Developer, the DIY market, and direct consumer. Thus, the rationale behind Aqualisa possessing three brands is based on the fact that all the three brands individually fall under one of the three segments. In addition to that, this strategy helps Aqualisa to penetrate the different markets based on their specialization. The three of Aqualisa targets a different section of customers, which has become crucial in the highly diverse market environment. It has been observed that the success of any business massively relies upon the strategy of targeting the relevant customer base but with the passage of time, it also becomes important to enhance the customer outreach (Li et al., 2020). Overall, the purpose behind Aqualisa creating different brands is based on meeting the needs of the customers, which has become diverse based on various factors. Therefore, Aqualisa has differentiated its products based on three different brands.

Answer5
The innovation and use of technology in Quartz are great and it can solve the showering problems of consumers and also provides ease of installation of the product. First of all the product should be marketed well to the target audience and through the marketing campaigns, the target audience needs to be communicated about the special features of the product, its functionality and its benefits. The company needs to undertake an aggressive marketing strategy to target the DIY markets and consumers. In the case of pricing strategy, value-based pricing is suitable for the product, in which the cost of a product is charged based on its value(Petrovska et al., 2017). In the case of Quartz, the value-based pricing needs to be used and the price should not be lowered as it is based on renovation and different advancements. The acceptance of plumbers is a major thing that will enhance brand recognition and acceptability and to achieve brand recognition, Aqualisa can conduct workshops for plumbers to make them aware of the product, its features and expected failure problems.

References
Aqualisa.co. (2021).Quartz Smart Shower Collection | Aqualisa. Www.aqualisa.co.uk. https://www.aqualisa.co.uk/quartz-collection Li, F., Larimo, J., &Leonidou, L. C. (2020). Social media marketing strategy: definition, conceptualization, taxonomy, validation, and future agenda. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 49(1), 51–70. Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11747-020-00733-3

Moon, Y. (2006).Aqualisa Quartz:: Simply a better shower.Marketing assignment Cdn.website-Editor.net. https://cdn.website-editor.net/25dd89c80efb48d88c2c233155dfc479/files/uploaded/Business%2520Case%2520Aqualisa.pdf

Petrovska, I., Šerovska, G., &Kovaevski, D. (2017). Value-Based Pricing Strategies in Retail: Effective or Not MednarodnoInovativnoPoslovanje = Journal of Innovative Business and Management, 9(2). https://journal.doba.si/OJS/index.php/jimb/article/view/48