Benefit Segmentation in the Oral

Benefit Segmentation in the Oral Care Market

For each version of each brand that you had selected, make a list of the benefits that the product delivers. Compare the two lists and rank, as you see it, the benefits in your list from most important to least important. Now, select the brand and version that most closely matches your rankings and explain your choice. If you are not presently using the product you chose would you replace the toothpaste you are using now with this product? Why or why not?

Crest has a very wide product strategy, and the five products included in this brand analysis include Crest 3D White Vivid Toothpaste, Crest Sensitivity Clinical Sensitivity Relief Extra Whitening Toothpaste, Crest 3D White Arctic Fresh Rinse, Crest Hello Kitty Toothpaste and Crest Complete Multi-Benefit Whitening + Scope -- Citrus. These five products form the basis of the brand analysis for Crest. Historically benefits-based positioning of dental care products has navigated between the pragmatic aspects of tooth care and the aesthetic consideration of appearance (Miskell, 2004). Crest, by relying on a very broad product line, has been able to accomplish this. The five benefits segmentation criterion that Crest is using include the following:

1. Using Crest products include the following brighter, healthier teeth.

2. Lessening the chore of dental hygiene with potent toothpaste and mouthwashes

3. Active preventative maintenance that is enjoyable

4. Lifecycle-based support for children's hygiene

5. Making caring for teeth a fun and enjoyable experience.

Colgate has an equally broad base of brands and products, with comparable benefit-based segmentation. Where Crest is more orientated towards the consumer's lifecycle as it relates to toothpaste, Colgate concentrates on high performance, sophisticated products that deliver exceptional results and experiences at the same time. While Crest is more focused on taste, Colgate looks at performance first and uniqueness through highly differentiated benefits-based segmentation. The five Colgate products included in this analysis include Colgate Total Advanced, Colgate Optic White, Colgate Sensitive Pro-Relief, Colgate Max Fresh and Colgate Total Gum Defense. One of the foundational elements of successful needs and benefits segmentation is evaluating and making assumptions about performance-based attributes relative to aesthetically-oriented ones (Greenberg, McDonald, 1989). The five benefits segmentation criterion that Colgate is using include the following:

1. High performance, rapid whitening toothpastes that bring quick results to teeth and gums.

2. Technologically-advanced toothpastes that deliver great taste and consistently high levels of results

3. Creatively engineering toothpastes that deliver decay prevention and fresh breath.

4. Specialty toothpastes created for customers with sensitive teeth, gums or other medical conditions, with customer experience being the most critical

5. Lifecycle approach similar to Crest yet focused on the consumer's purchasing lifecycle

Based on this analysis, my top five criterion are as follows:

1. High performance toothpaste capable of delivering preventative protection and has a fresh taste

2. High performance cavity prevention

3. Making dialing brushing less of a chore and more fun and enjoyable

4. Available in a wide variety of flavors

5. High performance, rapid whitening toothpastes that bring quick results to teeth and gums.

Based on these criterion, I have become a loyal Crest Complete Multi-Benefit Whitening + Scope -- Citrus. This toothpaste fits my profile of benefits precisely and has led to my becoming brand-loyal to this specific product based on the benefits it delivers.

2. Select another oral care (e.g., toothbrush) product where there are at least two major brands and each one is offering multiple versions of the same product. Repeat the analysis you performed in question 1 for the two brands.

Both Crest and Colgate also offer toothbrushes, so for purposes of consistency, these brands are used for this analysis. Crest's toothbrush product line is significantly smaller and more limited that those from Colgate. The key benefits of the Crest toothbrushes include the following: