Q-1 Out of all given strategies for protecting market leadership adopted by CP, Which one

is the strongest? Give reasons why you think so.

Most of the strategies used by Colgate to protect the market share was quite effective and contributed
immensely to serve the purpose upto much extent. But since we have to choose one strongest strategy
out of all, in my opinion the strategy of Position defence was the strongest. Colgate was already a
market leader in the oral care segment in most of the emerging markets and had a significant lead in
developed markets as well. It used a number of initiatives to build superior brand power, making the
brand almost impregnable.
The company focused on defendable positions such as winning majority of dental deal endorsements
and concentrating on approaches such as education in emerging markets. Its substantial global reach
paired with the efforts and ensured its strong brand equity and made it extremely challenging for
competitors to gain market share. Further it also leveraged its brand equity by selling almost all of its
oral care products under the Colgate name which allowed it to quickly produce new products and scale
up in emerging markets.
Maximum dental endorsement and its claim Number 1 recommended by dentist increases brand
awareness , product reliability, trust and confidence in the consumer. Consumer was becoming more
concerned for his living and health awareness was increasing in the emerging market as well. So getting
associated with the large base of dental professionals was a crucial step for building brand equity and an
over edge for Colgate over competitor.
The position defence strategy was well used and successful for strongly and consistently placing the
brand image in the consumer mind. They continued innovating for strengthening its strategy:
They developed a training program to turn its sales force into Oral care consultants which
built strong relationships with dentists. In addition to this they also rolled out an Oral
Health advisor program which formed partnerships with dental hygienists offering them
education tools, presence at major dental conventions and an opportunity to consult on
major dental issues. When it came to
The Colgate marketing team also reached out to consumers on a more personal level by
studying their lives and habits. In particular their campaign to promote kids oral care
health in India paired with a scholarship program was particularly successful.
Colgate worked to build relationships with retailers through a joint business planning
initiative, where Colgate and its retail partners set objectives in shopper marketing,
customer service, and finance and aligned strategic priorities to give each the best chance
to attract consumers and grow product categories.

In order to strengthen their position, Colgate focused on Portfolio optimization and continued
innovation & speed to market. They were quick to identify segments where there was a gap in the
product range, launch a product and quickly scale up building on their brand equity.

Q-2 How do you rate the chances of success of a focused company like CP against diversified
conglomerates like HUL and P & G? Explain.
In the Oral Care Segment, Colgate is a well established player and has strong brand equity so the
chances of its success are very high. Colgate has a very small product portfolio as compared to HUL
and P&G but it follows Focused Portfolio optimization strategy which is one of the important factor
in its success. Colgate spent 10% of its revenue in marketing, which is at par with the industry but
significantly less in dollar terms vis--vis the other competitor like HUL and P&G. But its continuous
innovation and consumer reach has differentiated Colgate from others.

Colgates limited portfolio is also a added advantage because it can well focus on its product for this
they have created a separate innovation centre for its oral care in addition to to its R&D centre.
Colgate can spend more money and time per product as compared to HUL or P&G because they
both have a huge product portfolio and even if the total money spent on marketing is much higher
than Colgate, the huge product portfolio results in a lot less money spent per product. This gives
Colgate a clear advantage in terms of sheer marketing ability.

By use of its innovative ideas like educational programs and Dental professional involvement it
created additional demand and the resulting reference
Colgate has the ability to grow market share in emerging economy by using their strong brand
equity; Brand equity that was created by its presence in the market for a long time. This experience
also gives them an in depth understanding of Local preferences and taste. This deep understanding
also helps Colgate create a refined and extremely focused marketing strategy for each market. This
is also a key factor in the success of smaller focused companies such as Colgate. This focused
targeting also helps identify gaps in the market and allows the company to quickly introduce a
suitable product and scale up by leveraging its Brand equity. E.g. Colgate introduced Colgate Pro
Relief, a toothpaste for sensitive teeth by identifying the US$ 1 billion sensitive toothpaste market
and quickly adapting.
A smaller company such as CP can adapt to market changes quickly with its continuous innovation
as compared to much larger organizations. Strategic units within the company such as the
Innovation Centre of CP which focused heavily on marketing and getting Marketing Talent across
the world and a dedicated R&D, larger companies like HUL and P&G might not be able to give the
same kind of focus to Oral care as Colgate does due to their huge product range and lower
Marketing Expenditure per product.