Marketing strategies: the lethal weapons for differentiation.

We have seen before that the fragrance market is a competitive one! Indeed, figures are impressing: more than 1300 new fragrance are launched every year.

Facing this reality, brands must find commercial strategies in order to differentiate themselves. If the trade marketing and the distribution channels are critical strategic points. Including the consumer behaviour in its strategy is a key factor in order to target a specific segment make the difference within this segment.

Understand the consumer behaviour

As the market is incredibly competitive, each fragrance must target its communication, according to the consumer desires, way of buying, values and the image that they would want to reflect. Fragrance manufacturer must play on two main boards in order to be attractive and differentiate themselves on the market.

The olfactory marketing : The fragrance become an expression of ourselves and its « performance » seem to be less important !

Brands play on the emotion of the consumer; he will buy the perfume without even smelling it! Each point of the brand communication must be deeply study. Indeed, if the customers identify the « pressure » and the association that brands try to push, he will reject the project. Worst, his association will be wrong and he will dislike the fragrance smell !

So, brands play on the projection of buying a fragrance which is associated to an advertisement campaign or even a brand image reflecting the values and the « want to be » of the consumers.

« I could not afford to buy a Dior suit but a Dior fragrance would be a good compromise »

Most of the fragrance manufacturers use this strategy because :

-                        -    Smell is a very subjective fact : people cannot remember or picture a smell. This is a neuropsychological fact ! They MUST associate the smell to an image in order to remember it. Playing on the customers emotions, brands make them associate the smell with a precise image, according to the segment they have targeted

-         -  Seduction, luxury, erotism and social valorisation are preexisting psychological motivation for everyone. Brands make people do links between the fragrance and those motivation.

« Hugo Boss Bottle night is your perfect partner of seduction »

The positioning strategy: who has the best offer? Who can justify its price?

This strategy is set up for a minority of people who do not make associations between their fragrance and the image of it that brands want them to have. The smell and the price become the most important criteria. They are also very sensitive to the effort that the manufacturer put in order to provide innovative product. This could be for the flavour or way of producing its juice but also for the innovation brought to the bottle. Discounts and boxes with additional products - such as after shaves, soaps...- are also criterias in their decision. 

Fishbein and Ajzen have studied this segment and say that unconsciously, people gives a « global grade » to the products, according to its most important criteria. This is a rational way of choosing and the most they find advantages, the most the grade will be high.

This segment of consumer is also targeted by luxury brands. In their grade, consumers could take into account the craftsmanship of the fragrance manufacturer, its investment and the effort that he pushed to have you as a customers. Moreover, if they feel that they made a « good deal » when they bought the fragrance, they become very loyal consumers.

  

Article posted by Neal