SUMMER PROJECT REPORT

ON

A RESEARCH TO IDENTIFY THE MAJOR FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE THE SALES OF

HAIR COLOURS IN THE PROFESSIONAL SEGMENT

FOR

Under the guidance of

Mr. Kunal Koushik Mr. Raja Varatharaju

Category Manager Director, Strategy and Business Development

Schwarzkopf Professional, Chennai. Identiti Design Pvt. Ltd., Chennai

Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirement for the award of Degree of

Master of Business Administration

By

W. ANNE SHARON

Roll No.: 26065

BHARATHIDASAN INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT

(School of Excellence of Bharathidasan University)

TIRUCHIRAPALLI 620014

DECLARATION

I hereby declare that the project report titled “A research to identify the major factors that

influence the sales of hair colours in the professional segment” submitted in the partial fulfilment of the

requirement for the award of degree of MBA, is my original work.

This has not been submitted in part or full towards any other degree or diploma.

W. ANNE SHARON

ROLL. NO.: 26065

BHARATHIDASAN INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT

(SCHOOL OF EXCELLENCE OF BHARATHIDASAN UNIVERSITY)

TIRUCHIRAPPALLI

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I sincerely thank Mr. Raja Varatharaju, Director-Strategy and Business development, Identity Design Pvt Ltd., for his continuous guidance and moral support throughout the phase of my project.

My thanks to Mr. Murali Sundar, General Manager (India), Schwarzkopf Professional for his valuable inputs and feedback for the project.

I am very grateful to Mr. Kunal Koushik, Category Manager, Schwarzkopf Professional, for having guided me through every small step in my project. I thank him for having been very supportive of my work and also for providing valuable suggestions which helped to take my project to successful completion.

I also thank the respondents to the survey for having taken time out to help me with my work.

W.ANNE SHARON

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CONTENTS:

1. INTRODUCTION

1.1 SCHWARZKOPF – CURRENT MARKET SHARE AND ADVERTISING 8

2. INITIAL PILOT STUDY: RESULTS 9

3. RESEARCH OBJECTIVE 9

4. PROJECT SCOPE

4.1 TARGET GROUP 10

4.2 POPULATION SIZE 10

4.3 SAMPLE SIZE 10

5. SAMPLING TECHNIQUE:

5.1 SYSTEMATIC JUDMENTAL SAMPLING 11

6. TYPE OF RESEARCH:

6.1 EXPLORATORY / QUALITATIVE: 11

7. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY:

7.1. INTERVIEW THE TARGET GROUPS

7.1.1. HAIR DRESSERS 12

7.1.2. CONSUMERS 13

7.2. STUDY IN-SALON ADVERTISING 13

7.3. TRACK ADVERTISING 13

8. DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS:

8.1. HAIRDRESSERS 14

8.2. CUSTOMERS 20

8.3. IN-SALON ADVERTISING 23

9. MARKETING STRATEGY

4

10. QUESTIONNAIRE:

10.1. HAIR DRESSERS 27

10.2. CONSUMERS 29

11. LIST OF SALONS SURVEYED: 30

12. REFERENCES 32

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LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES:

TABLES

TABLE 1: INITIAL FINDINGS 9

TABLE 2: BRAND AVAILABILITY 15

TABLE 3: CUSTOMER PREFERENCE 16

TABLE 4: REASONS FOR HAIR COLORING 18

TABLE 5: PRICE 19

TABLE 6: HAIR DRESSERS’ INFLUENCE 19

TABLE 7: BRAND AWARENESS 20

TABLE 8: CONSUMER TOUCHPOINTS 21

TABLE 9: REASONS TO EXPERIMENT WITH NEW BRANDS 22

TABLE 10: MARKETING PLANS 25

FIGURES

FIGURE 1: BRAND POPULARITY 14

FIGURE 2: HAIR DRESSER TRAINING 15

FIGURE 3: CUSTOMER PREFERENCE 16

FIGURE 4: REASONS FOR HAIR COLOURING 17

FIGURE 5: REASONS TO EXPERIMENT WITH NEW BRANDS 21

FIGURE 6: HAIR DRESSERS’ INFLUENCE 22

FIGURE 7: SEGMENTATION BREAKDOWN: L’OREAL vs. SCHWARZKOPF 24

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1. INTRODUCTION – BACKGROUND:

The hair color market in the country is worth around 100 crores and is known to be rapidly growing at a rate

of 25% every year. Gone are the days when the predominant reason to color your hair was when it starts to

grey. With major advertising campaigns by leading fashion houses in the country and rising acceptance

among working professionals, hair color has now become a symbol of one’s personality. Several hair color

brands including Schwarzkopf, L’Oreal, Wella, Matrix etc. have cashed in on this trend.

Schwarzkopf is the cosmetics brand of multinational company, Henkel. The brand is 112 years old has many

innovations and almost 7600 patents to its credit. Schwarzkopf Professional is the in-salon hair care product

range and was launched in India in 2001. The business has four verticals namely:

1. Care

2. Form

3. Color

4. Finish

The professional hair colors under “Color” vertical come by the brand names “IGORA” (IGORA ROYAL,

IGORA VIBRANCE, IGORA ROYALE INTENSE, and IGORA ROYALE FASHION+).

Igora Royal is the largest selling hair color in the country for Schwarzkopf. It is a permanent hair color well

known among the customers for its vibrancy and long lasting nature. IGORA Royal represents a new, total

approach to colour products and services, designed from a colourist’s perspective to bring out quintessential

colour talent.

   

The range includes:

• IGORA Royal 12- Series

• IGORA Royal 10- Series

• IGORA Royal 9.5- Series

• IGORA Royal Extract E-00

• IGORA Royal Extract E-111

• IGORA Royal Concentrates

• IGORA Royal Colourist’s Colour & Care Developer

Base shades - 1-0, 2-0, 3-0, 4-0, 5-0, 5-00 etc.

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These base shades account for more than 50% of the market share for Schwarzkopf.

1.1 SCHWARZKOPF – CURRENT MARKET SHARE AND ADVERTISING

The market share of SKP currently stands at around 25 crores and growing. Schwarzkopf Professional,

being an in-salon brand, is not mass advertised. It caters to the niche market of permanent hair color users in

the higher end of the value chain. The product mainly drives its brand awareness through in-salon

advertising, offering world-class training to hair dressers through its professional institute ASK (Academy

Schwarzkopf) and signing up grade A+ salons across the country as exclusive Schwarzkopf franchisees.

Schwarzkopf has also had tie-ups with various salon ranges including Naturals and Lakme at different times

to promote their products and also to offer their expertise to other salons.

2. INITIAL PILOT STUDY: RESULTS

As the aim of project is to study the existing hair color market, a pilot study was conducted covering 20 A+

grade salons in Chennai, India. The leading hair dressers in each of these parlors were interviewed and their

views and perceptions were recorded.

It was seen that L’Oreal dominated the hair color market. Almost 70% of the hair color services done were

L’Oreal. The popular perceptions seemed to be so because of the ubiquitous presence of L’Oreal as this

brand has a large retailing service as well which covers a whole range of cosmetics and toiletries.

Thought L’Oreal does not advertise its in-salon “Professional” brand just like Schwarzkopf-Professional, the

former seems to have the advantage of popular public awareness, aided largely by its retailing products.

Schwarzkopf retains its brand image as an exclusive high-end fashion color and lately it seems to be

benefitting from increased customer awareness about hair colors in general. As more and more people visit

salons these days for hair color services, customer awareness about SKP is definitely increasing.

It was also seen that when it comes to choosing a hair color, customers primarily look for testimonials from

others users, usually their friends or they look for comments posted in on-line communities. L’Oreal, having

a huge customer base, seems to have an advantage in this area. Also, few people are die-hard fans of the

former and would not change to any other brand. But a sizeable chunk of those who walk into parlors do

seek the hair dressers advice and also might want to try new brands based on the hair dressers

recommendations.

All the hair dressers interviewed, do have a very good opinion of Schwarzkopf and said they would

definitely recommend it. if the customers asked for it. Hence customers seem to be prime factor to be

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influenced, in case of designing a marketing campaign. The following is a brief description of the

findings.

TABLE 1 : INITIAL FINDINGS:

FACTOR OBSERVATION

BRAND/S

PREDOMINANT L’OREAL

USAGE OF SKP LOW BUT INCREASING

PULL FACTOR CUSTOMER’S DEMAND / CUSTOMERS ARE MORE

AWARE OF COLORS / BRANDS.

HAIR DRESSERS (HD) LITTLE INFLUENCE

HD PREFERENCENONE / BUT THEY START WITH L’OREAL BECAUSE

PPL ARE AWARE OF IT

COLORS PREFERREDGROWING PREFERENCE FOR GRADE 4 AND ABOVE

(FASHION COLORS)

PRICE ALL BRANDS / SAME PRICE FOR COLORING

BRAND USAGE 1. L’OREAL 2. SKP 3. WELLA

3. RESEARCH OBJECTIVE:

The aim of this study is to understand the existing hair color market and what influences people to choose

between different brands of hair colors. Briefly, the following are the objectives of the study.

1. To study the hair color market in the city in terms of predominant brands, customer preference and the

dynamics of demand that influence the market share for each brand.

2. To identify the reasons for brand preference (SKP vs others) among consumers and design a pilot in-salon

marketing strategy to increase the sales of SKP.

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4. PROJECT SCOPE:

The project scope is as follows:

1. What influences decisions on hair coloring?

a. Reviews from friends / Hair dressers’ recommendation?

b. Magazines / Internet?

c. Repeat users / Brand loyalty?

A detailed questionnaire is prepared for this purpose which captures the key decision variables of customers

for decisions on hair color. The key influencing factors are also studied. Information regarding the frequency

of hair coloring, cost factors, quality of each hair color brand and the hair dressers recommendations are also

captured through the questionnaire.

2. Construct a customer decision tree to understand the key aspects that drive customers’ decision on the

choice of hair color brands.

A customer decision tree is a step-wise procedure taking into account the key influencing factors for a

decision by a customer and it helps to identify the key factors in this process which marketers can in turn

exploit for designing effective marketing campaigns.

3. Design a pilot in-salon marketing strategy to enhance sales of SKP.

4. Analyze / Evaluate results.

4.1 TARGET GROUP:

1. Hair stylists

2. Consumers

4.2 POPULATION SIZE: 350

4.3 SAMPLE SIZE : 51 Hair Stylists

25 Consumers

5. SAMPLING TECHNIQUE:

5.1 SYSTEMATIC JUDMENTAL SAMPLING:

Judgement sampling involves the choice of subjects who are most advantageously placed or in the best

position to provide the information required. Purposive sampling is used in cases where the specialty of an 10

authority can select a more representative sample that can bring more accurate results than by using other

probability sampling techniques. The process involves nothing but purposely handpicking individuals from

the population based on the authority’s or the researcher’s knowledge and judgment.

6. TYPE OF RESEARCH:

6.1 EXPLORATORY / QUALITATIVE:

This research focuses on gaining insights into consumer behavior and using it to design a marketing

campaign. Hence exploratory research was decided to be best suited for the purpose. Also, since it involves

studying perceptions and behavior patterns, it is a qualitative research.

Qualitative research is a method of inquiry appropriated in many different academic disciplines, traditionally

in the social sciences, but also recently in market research and further contexts. Qualitative research aims to

gather an in-depth understanding of human behaviour and the reasons that govern such behaviour. The

qualitative method investigates the why and how of decision making, not just what, where, when. Hence,

smaller but focused samples are more often needed, rather than large samples.

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7. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY:

7.1. INTERVIEW THE TARGET GROUPS (HAIR DRESSERS AND CONSUMERS)

QUESTIONNAIRE DESIGN:

Two sets of questionnaires were prepared, one for hairdressers and other for the consumers. Hairdressers

were met in person and the various research points (given below) were discussed with them. Among

consumers, frequent users of hair colours (both global colouring and streaking) were identified and the same

conversational style was adapted to gather data.

7.1.1. HAIR DRESSERS:

a) Background: Information about their years of experience, specialisation and training undergone at

various hair styling institutes sponsored by Schwarzkopf (ASK – Academy Schwarzkopf), L’Oreal, Matrix,

Wella and other private trainers.

b) Brand Preference: Their preference for brand/s, if any, and why.

c) Availability: Brands available across various A+ grade salons in the city.

d) Brand Perception: How do they rate the various brands in terms of quality (shine, conditioning, safety,

long lasting), trade discounts, customer demand, their skill in using each of them (as these are professional

in-salon brands, each has a certain methodology to be strictly followed for usage. This is very particular to

brands and if all the detailed steps are not meticulously followed, then it might not provide the best results as

promised by the company. The end result of hair colouring hence is heavily dependent on the expertise of

the hair stylist, though the product used is the best in the market. )

e) Customer Preference: Reasons for customers’ loyalty and preference for particular brands.

f) Product Usage: Dyeing / Fashion colouring.

g) Technical Details: Following protocols as indicated by the company.

h) Advertisements: Market reach each brand achieves in terms of advertisements and general consumer

awareness. Since it is an in-salon brand, there is no mass marketing done. The company executives visit

individual salons and promote the product.

i) Hair dressers’ influence: Influence of hair dressers in helping customers choose a hair colour brand.

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j)Cost : The cost for hair colouring for various brands and does this effect consumers’ decision.

7.1.2. CONSUMERS:

a) Background: Age, Gender, vocation, frequency of hair colouring.

b) Brand Loyalty: Do they prefer any particular brand? If yes, why?

c) Brand Awareness: Brands people are aware of, particularly Schwarzkopf.

d) Influence on decision making: Where and how is the purchase decision made? (Referrals through

friends, consulting hair dressers, reading blogs etc.)

e) Complaints: The general problems associated with hair colouring (e.g. hair fall, dryness etc.) and how do

the various brands address these.

f) Issues: Do they have any serious grievances against any brand?

g) Price: The importance of price in making a choice about a particular brand of hair colour.

h) Offers and discounts: The attractiveness of offers in enthusing consumers to prefer a particular brand.

7.2. STUDY IN-SALON ADVERTISING:

Field visits to salons were undertaken. During these visits, the placement of various advertisements was

observed. The advertisements were studied on the following parameters.

a. Placement

b. Numbers

c. Product display

d. Shade cards

The objective is to study the effect of in-salon advertising on brand decisions by consumers.

7.3. Track advertising by SKP-PROFESSIONAL / L’OREAL-PROFESSIONAL

The in-salon brands, namely Schwarzkopf-Professional and L’Oreal Professional are not advertised

but the other products by both these companies, namely shampoos, conditioners, moisturizers etc. are widely

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advertised and available for retail sale as well. These advertisements might have an impact on general brand

awareness and consequently, brand preference.

8.1. DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS:

Below is a detailed analysis of each of the parameters in the questionnaire.

8.1.1. Hairdressers:

1. Market Share:

L’Oreal has the highest brand awareness and consequently market share, amongst the hair colour brands.

But interestingly, the awareness of Schwarzkopf is steadily increasing. Professional hair colours like

L’Oreal Professional and Schwarzkopf Professional are not mass-advertised. They are promoted and sold

directly to the individual salons through company executives.

30%

50%

10%

10%

Brand Popularity

SchwarzkopfL'OrealMatrixWella

FIGURE 1: BRAND POPULARITY

It can be seen that L’Oreal together with its sister brand Matrix commands a large share (almost 60%) and

Schwarzkopf comes second.

2. Availability:

L’Oreal is the brand predominantly available in multi-brand salons both big and small. Multi-brand salons

also seem to start off by recommending L’Oreal (for the uninitiated customer) else they leave the choice to

the customers. Multi-brand salons generally had stocks to meet the demand for the various brands.

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Brands available in salons:

Schwarzkopf 70%

L'Oreal 81%

Matrix 36%

Wella 34%

TABLE 2 : BRAND AVAILABILITY

3. Hair Dresser Training:

An important step in professional hair colour use is hair dresser training. Each brand has its own colouring

protocols which must be strictly adhered to. Hair dressers should be adequately and frequently trained by

individual companies for their respective brands.

These colours, if not properly used, may lead to problems like early washout of the colour, less than

satisfactory shine and finish and ultimately falling popularity for the brand. The expertise that hair dressers

have with different brands also seems to have some influence on their recommendations to their customers.

30%

70%

Hair Dresser Training - Best Brand

SchwarzkopfL'Oreal

FIGURE 2 : HAIR DRESSER TRAINING

If a customer walks in and asks for Brand A and if the hair dresser is not very comfortable with the usage of

Brand A, it is likely that he/she will try to convince the customer to use Brand B which the hair dresser is an

expert at. Hair dressers generally do not wish to experiment on their customers as their salon’s popularity is 15

at stake, for having a “bad hair day”, literally, is an extremely depressing experience, especially for female

customers.

L’Oreal seems to be the brand of choice as far as training hair dressers is concerned. The owner of one salon

in Velachery, concurred that L’Oreal was very aggressive in extending their training facilities even smaller

salons. And as L’Oreal is very well known among customers as well, hair dressers find it easier to sell

L’Oreal to most first time users than Schwarzkopf, especially in multi-brand salons.

In terms of quality, all the hair dressers rated both the brands equally. (Some were of the opinion that

Matrix is too strong on the hair, but L’Oreal, Schwarzkopf and Wella were ranked at the same level)

3. Customer Preference.

Hair dressers opine that the trend towards deciding hair colours is changing. Customers these days are

increasing aware of the various brands in the market, and given sufficient encouragement, are eager to try

out new brands as well.

How do people make a choice about hair colours?

FIGURE 3: CUSTOMER PREFERENCE

Ask for particular hair colour brands 77%

Take hairdressers' advice to make a final decision 85%

TABLE 3: CUSTOMER PREFERENCE

The above showed that customers had an almost equal say in deciding on hair colour brand.

Hair dressers also say that almost 50% of their customers are die-hard fans of L’Oreal and they would not

shift brand for any reason under the sun. Also, on an average L’Oreal seems to make up to almost 6-7 of

every 10 hair colour tubes (including Matrix, 5-L’Oreal, 2-Matrix) used in the salons.

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Sales Data (For every 10 tubes of hair colour used)

L’Oreal : 6-7

Schwarzkopf : 2-3

But the remaining is a highly impressionable crowd and though they have an initial gravitation towards

L’Oreal, an increasing number among them are now seeking advice on other brands including Schwarzkopf.

4. Product Usage:

Traditionally, hair colouring was predominantly used for grey hair coverage. And users were generally in

the age group of 40 and above. But these days, hair colouring as a funky fashion add-on is fast catching up.

More and more people these days like to be seen with not only artistic hair dos but also with exquisitely

coloured hair. As a result, the so called fashion colours (non-black shades with grade 4 and above - The

shade card has colours ranging from 1 to 12 or 13 and darker shades have lower grades) are widely used

now.

FIGURE 4: REASONS FOR HAIR COLOURING

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Grey Coverage 67%

Fashion Colouring 92%

People with grey hair are increasingly opting

for fashion colouring than the dyeing black

19%

TABLE 4 : REASONS FOR HAIR COLORING

The popular grades these days seem to be 4, 5 and 6 (Shades of red and brown). These colours cost

approximately Rs.50/tube more than the normal black ones (approx. Rs.340/tube for fashion colours and

Rs.280/tube for black shades, for L’Oreal)

5. Technical details:

One important part of professional hair colour usage is strictly following the protocol, as mentioned

previously. The developers used for the colours should be of the same brand. Else the colour will not

produce the desired finish.

A few salons where there were customer complaints of early washout of colour said one of the reasons was

the wrong developer being used. This was due to unavailability of stock. It is not sure as of now as to in

how many salons this problem exists but it is definitely prevalent in a few. Hair dressers say that salons are

forced to do this due to lack of proper stock and is usually not done for any other purpose(like better deals,

extra free samples etc.) This problem needs a little more research before a conclusion can be reached.

6. Complaints and Issues:

Hair dressers do not seem to have any complaints or issues with any brand per se. They also say that they

generally do not get any monetary incentives from companies for using particular brands. (Except for a few

one-off events conducted where hair dressers were awarded based on the number of colour tubes used. Eg.

One at Naturals, Shanthi Colony, Annanagar)

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7. Price

Multi-brand salons price hair colouring services for all brands at the same rate. The price is usually between

Rs.950 and Rs.1250 (VLCC is the most expensive at Rs.1500) for every tube of colour used. Touch-ups

done a few months after the hair colouring are also charged at the same price. Hence price is not a factor for

the customer to decide on a brand of hair colour.

Brand Cost per colouring service

(using one tube)

Cost per touch-up service

Schwarzkopf Rs. 1000 – Rs.1200 Rs. 500 – Rs. 600

L’Oreal Rs. 950 – Rs. 1300 Rs. 450 – Rs. 600

Wella Rs. 950 – Rs. 1300 Rs. 450 – Rs. 600

Matrix Rs. 950 – Rs. 1100 Rs. 450 – Rs. 550

TABLE 5: PRICE

8. Hair dressers’ role in influencing customers.

For first time hair colour users, hair dressers are definitely very strong influencers for choosing a hair colour.

Also for people who use traditional substances like henna to colour their hair and those who have hair fall or

other scalp related problems also consult hair dressers for deciding on the brand of hair colour.

Brand [%] of hairdressers recommending the brand

Schwarzkopf 42%

L'Oreal 75%

Matrix 11%

Wella 14%

TABLE 6: HAIR DRESSERS’ INFLUENCE

19

Schwarz

kopf

L'Oreal

Matrix

Wella0%

40%

80%

Brand

Brand

Hair dressers opine there is no particular brand that would be especially suitable for these particular cases.

All brands seem to have identical advantages and disadvantages (like coloured hair, if not maintained

properly, turns rough and frizzy). In times like these, factors like hair dressers’ expertise with using

particular brands, availability and popular brand perception play a very important role in decision making.

8.1.2. Customers:

1. Brand Loyalty and Awareness:

Both the brands (L’Oreal and Schwarzkopf) have brand loyalists, though the numbers are in favour of the

former. Brand awareness about Schwarzkopf is increasing, as mentioned earlier. Given that almost 50% of

the salon customers for hair colour are an impressionable crowd who seek hair dressers’ advice, focussing

on improving brand awareness among the customers would be very helpful in brand building.

Brand Awareness:

Schwarzkopf 80%

L'Oreal 90%

Wella 50%

TABLE 7 : BRAND AWARENESS

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The consumers, once they find a particular brand exceptionally appealing, seem to become strong loyalists

for that brand, as is seen in the case of L’Oreal. Hence “brand churn” seems to be very less for hair

colours. Hence efforts to improve brand loyalty and awareness among the consumers would be a worthy

investment with long term gains.

2. How do consumers know about various hair color brands.

Visuals seem to be a very strong factor in building the appeal of hair colours. (As seen in the official

websites, the exquisite colour charts, in-salon advertisements and other ads in magazines).

People who seem to like the hair colours used by their friends / relatives are more likely to go for that same

brand than others who have not had such interactions. Hence word of mouth advertising seems very strong

here.

Ask Hair dressers' opinion 70%

Friends 70%

Read reviews online and in magazines 20%

TABLE 8 : CONSUMER TOUCHPOINTS

Mode of decision making Proportion of people

Demand for a particular hair colour

brand

18%

Ask for hair dressers’ opinion only 12%

Have a particular preference for a

brand and ask hair dressers’

opinion too

70%

3. Reasons to experiment with new brands.

A number of reasons would prompt customers to experiment with new brands. The following main reasons

were identified and studied.

1. Free samples

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2. In salon visuals

3. Hair stylists’ recommendation

4. Friends

5. Others (like reviews in media etc.)

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The following is the summary of the findings.

FIGURE 5: REASONS TO EXPERIMENT WITH NEW BRANDS

It is seen that the peer groups play a major role in spreading awareness regarding new trends and brands and

is one of the main reasons people experiment with brands. Free samples and hair stylists’ recommendations

come second in this order. (TABLE 9)

Free Samples 68%

In-salon visuals 8%

Hair stylists' recommendation 28%

Friends 60%

Others 8%

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Hair dressers’ influence as considered by customers when making a decision:

Scale : 1 - Least influence

5 - Most influence.

FIGURE 6: HAIR DRESSERS’ INFLUENCE

It is noted from the above histogram that hairdressers’ role in influencing people’s decisions is moderate. It

does not come out at the most important factor in decision making.

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4. Price

As mentioned earlier, in multi-brand salons, price does not seem to influence brand decisions.

4. Complaints / Issues.

None, as of now, that were brand specific. All were just the usual problems associated with hair colouring.

8.1.3. IN-SALON ADVERTISING:

In-salon advertising is the only direct advertising to the customers in case of hair salon brands. L’Oreal has

brand awareness otherwise as well because of the thrust provided by its exhaustive retail range of products

like cosmetics, shampoos, perfumes, conditioners etc. (but Schwarzkopf BonaCure Shampoos are ranked as

the BEST in the market by both hair dressers and consumers)

1. Placement

In multi-brand salons, all the brands have equal advertising space. There are usually large ads on the walls

for all brands, placed alternatively. People usually paid attention to these mostly when:

a. They were waiting for their turn for a service at the salon.

b. When they were at the billing counter.

c. When they had accompanied their friend/relatives and were waiting for them.

It must be noted that there is waiting time in the salons mostly during weekends only. In-salons

advertisements are a means of telling the customer the availability of a particular product or any new offers.

In this way, they are definitely a necessity but do not have much of an influential role unless backed by other

factors like usage in a peer group, a promotional activity, hair dressers’ recommendation etc. Also, couple

of salons had Schwarzkopf logo as part of their sign boards (Cuts and Curls, Kilpauk and Raj Grover,

Nungambakkam) but had almost no stock of SKP.

2. Numbers/Shade cards/ Display Shelves: No particular influence by these factors.

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FIGURE 7: SEGMENTATION BREAKDOWN: L’OREAL vs. SCHWARZKOPF

L’OREAL:

SCHWARZKOPF:

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Target MarketAwareTriedRejectorNot repeatedRepeatedNot TriedNegative OpinionNeutralFavourable OpinionUnaware

9. MARKETING STRATEGY:

From the findings above it can be noted that consumers are increasingly becoming the decision makers.

Hence a customer-centric initiative must be designed to boost sales.

Four strategies were designed and tested with the consumers.

Short term strategies

1. One free hair color service

2. Gift Coupons for other hair salon services like haircuts, etc.

Long term strategies:

1. A computerized system which takes in the customers’ profile photo and displays the various hair

colours on it. This will enable the customers to see and decide first hand on the choice of colour. The

colour palette will have exclusive Schwarzkopf colours only.

2. A one-year package with 2 colour services and 1 touchup service. The first two of these will have

a particular discount.

The following are the results:

One free hair colour service 72%A one-year package with 2 colour services and 1 touchup service. The first two of these will have a particular discount. 12%

Display systems which use your photo to show you in-system images of various hair colours so you can choose which one looks best on you, in real time. 10%

A colour service with a free fixed rate coupon to avail any other regular salon service of choice. 28%

TABLE 10: MARKETING PLANS

Consumers seem to prefer one short term initiative to try a different brand of hair colour. A activity can be

designed as follows.

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STRATEGY DESIGN:

Consumer data like phone number and email ID can be collected to track their satisfaction levels with the

product.

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A visual at the door of the salon announcing the new offer. This would help to get the consumer’s attention The hair dresser must ensure that a consumer who has come for a hair colour service is aware of the offer.Once the consumer decides to opt for it, he/she must be given a flyer/leaflet which details the offer available.

10. QUESTIONNAIRE:

10.1. HAIR DRESSERS:

PARLOR NAME: AREA: CATEGORY:

1. Why do people generally color their hair for? [Check Box]

a. Grey Coverage

b. Fashion coloring

c. People with grey hair are now increasingly opting for fashion colors.

2. Brands available in the salons.[Check Box]

a. Schwarzkopf

b. L’Oreal

c. Matrix

d. Wella

3. Based on training, how would you rate the various brands?

a. Schwarzkopf

b. L’Oreal

c. Matrix

d. Wella

4. How do people make a decision about hair colors? [Check Box]

a. Ask for the hairdressers’ opinion only

b. Ask for a particular hair color brand.

c. Both of the above.

5. Which brand would you recommend strongly to customers?

a. Schwarzkopf

b. L’Oreal

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c. Matrix

d. Wella

6. Are customers increasing aware of hair color brands and the technicalities of hair color these days?

a. Yes

b. No

7. How many hair color services does your salon do in a month?

a. 5-10 b. 10-15 c. 15 and above

8. What is the cost for each of the brands? How much does a touch-up service cost?

9. Is there any technical problem with any of the products? (e.g. Does not last long, shine not to the desirable

extent etc.)

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10.2. CONSUMERS

NAME: AGE: GENDER: VOCATION:

1. What brands in the in-salon professional hair color category are you aware of?

a. Schwarzkopf

b. L’Oreal

c. Matrix

d. Wella

2. How often do you color your hair?

a. Once a year

b. Twice a year

c. More than twice a year

3. Which brands have you used so far?

a. Schwarzkopf

b. L’Oreal

c. Matrix

d. Wella

4. How do you decide on a hair color brand?

a. Ask hair dressers’ opinion

b. Consult friends

c. Read reviews online and in magazines

d. In-salon visuals

5. What would prompt you to try new hair color brand?

a. Free samples

b. In-Salon visuals

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c. Hair stylists’ recommendations

d. Friends

e. Others

6. On a scale of 1-5, how much weightage would you give to hair dressers’ recommendation?

7. Is price a deciding factor for choosing a hair color?

a. Yes

b. No

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11. LIST OF SALONS SURVEYED:

1 Green Trends, Parrys 18 Glos 35 Naturals, AnnaNagar

2 Pearls, Santhome 19 Talwalkars 36 Lakme Adyar

3 Bounce CutitOut 20 Chillbreeze, Spencers 37 Josie

4 Naturals', Spencers Plaza 21 Cuts and Curls 38 Dollys Kilpauk

5 Bounce Style Lounge 22 GreenTrends, Kipauk 39 Sameena Kilpauk

6 LimeLite, Nungambakkam 23 HairCraft 40 Lakme nungambakkam

7 Naturals, Nungambakkam 24 Naturals, Kilpauk 41 Eve college road

8 RajGrover 25 Eve's , Nungambakkam 42 Eves Choolai

9 Studio Essentials, Nungambakkam

26 Chang's Kilpauk 43 Shanaz Purasaiwalkam

10 Femina and Groomz 27 Lakme, Kilpauk 44 Lakme Tambaram

11 VLCC 28 Vedha's, Kilpauk 45 Femina and groomz tambaram

12 Naturals, Adyar 29 Naturals 46 Green Trends Tambaram

13 Anushka 30 Mens Zone, Kodambakkam 47 Lakme Tnagar

14 ChillBreeze 31 Style Catchers, Kilpauk 48 Eve's Vepery

15 Femina and groomz, Ashok nagar

32 Naturals, velachery 49 Alima Mcity

16 Green Trends Adyar 33 Tribez 50 Klapp Beauty, Hyderabad

17 Eve's, Adyar 34 Studio Profile Adyar 51 Naturals, Chrompet

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REFERENCES

1. RESEARCH BRIEF PROVIDED BY SCHWARZKOPF

2. WEBSITES:

http://www.indiaretailing.com/

www. fashionindustrynetwork.com

www.schwarzkopf.com

www.schwarzkopf-professional.com

http://www.111.schwarzkopf.com/

http://en.ask-schwarzkopf.com/

http://www.schwarzkopfpalette.com/

http://www.henkel-india.com

http://www.henkel.com

www.thehindubusinessline.com

3. PHILIP KOTLER ET AL., “MARKETING MANAGEMENT”

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