M |
ore than half of French people go to bed without brushing their teeth! That is a disgusting reality but it sounds good to toothpaste manufacturers, as it represents for them huge opportunities to increase sales and profit.
It is essential for a company to reach its customers via different means, and be more attractive than competition especially in the very competitive toothpaste market. Hence, how can companies reach their final customers and make them buy their products among large competition? How do customers experience their brands? What perception do they have of their brands?
Touch points are opportunities for companies to enter in contact with customers, and they can mould people’s perception of the brand.
In average, people spend 3 seconds to purchase a toothpaste in a supermarket. This reality puts the emphasis on the importance of the packaging and the display, but also on the necessity to convince people before the purchase – when they are at home by commercials, by exhibitions and dentists advices.
Thus, the most relevant touch points for the toothpaste market are dentists/chemists advices, testimonials from friends or family, exhibitions, educationnal programs and incentive actions, commercials, packaging and price.
Let’s go deeper by giving examples!
Ads often show scientific experiments to explain how can their toothpaste prevent you from having sensitive gums and cavities and give you fresh breath. They also use people giving their testimonial about the brand.
For the whitener toothpaste product segment, brands play on seduction. A white smile is beautiful and attractive. Colgate is going even further creating Colagte Max White for young trendy grils segment. Their positioning: white smile is the best accessory you can "wear".
Here is a good example of what we’ve said above: you can see the actress Emily Procter from CSI Miami. She is from a scientific police unity in the series and explains in the ad why colgate Max fresh gives you fresh and cool breath. The ad uses similar scopes and frameworks to the series.
Colgate – your best accessory is your smile
Companies also use tools such as educational programs, incentive actions or exhibitions to show the importance to have a good oral hygiene.
> Signal does national educational programs with its two heroes Pablo and Olivier - a father and his child - who show that brushing teeth can be a moment of complicity instead of a conflict.
> Colgate has done an exhibition in Paris called “The future for your teeth” - with free oral screenings & 200 000 samples handed-out.
> Colgate has done an exhibition in Paris called “The future for your teeth” - with free oral screenings & 200 000 samples handed-out.
> Aquafresh did a little test on teeth in hyper/supermarkets in 2008.
Packaging is also important as it is the first thing people see when they grab the product. As companies only have 3 seconds to convince, an attractive packaging can make people buy their brand and increase sales.
As we have seen, all opportunities to enter in contact with customers are important and will condition their perception of a brand. It is essential for a brand to manage well its touch points to reach its customer and make profit.
As we have seen, all opportunities to enter in contact with customers are important and will condition their perception of a brand. It is essential for a brand to manage well its touch points to reach its customer and make profit.
See you later
And do not forget to brush your teeth!
