GROUP ASSIGNMENT MAEKETING MANAGEMENT EVOE SPRING SPA
GROUP: 10 Names
Roll No
PoojanBhat
PGP-14-038
Gayatri Nanda
PGP-14-018
SarthakRai
PGP-14-060
AkshayDeshmukh
PGP-14-005
Toshali Gupta
PGP-14-075
Rohit Sharma
PGP-14-051
Current Situation in the Indian Wellness Market and Evoe’s Approach
Current situation: Hectic lifestyle particularly in cities have led to stress related issues and people are becoming increasingly conscious towards self-care to ensure a healthy, active and extended life. These factors have led to growing business opportunities in the Spa industry. Men are also showing greater interest towards health and wellness at the same time the number of working women is also increasing at a rapid pace. Growing disposable income has led to increase in spending for indulgence and also enhancing the quality of life. With evolving consumer lifestyle, people now are willing to experiment with new brands. Most of the customers are price conscious and only a few are willing to pay the premium. Spas are mostly set up in Malls or high-end public places as people are inclined to convenience owing to time constraints. Brand is highly significant for such treatments. Many people are not comfortable with cross gender massages due to cultural sensitivities and still a negative connotation is attached to massage and beauty parlours. The spa industry in India at present stands at INR 4-5 billion and the whole wellness product market has seen a growth of 20% over previous year. The market is highly competitive in terms of large no. of differentiated offerings. From the positioning map, it can be interpreted that the competition in affordable beauty and premium wellness is highly concentrated. Hence new players in the industry are turning to smaller, upcoming cities and the need of the hour is to position the product wisely and to project it properly so that they remain active in the minds of the consumer.
Evoe's Approach: a. To emphasize on affordable services to encourage the not frequent or first time visitors to regular visitors. b. Project as a wellness clinic rather than a beauty or massage parlour as it might not be comfortable for many. c. Increasing market for it needs to be tapped- increasing stress levels, less time for oneself, more need for fitness, increasing disposable i ncome to spend on wellness
Concepts and Variables for consumer segmentation The team created a positioning map using data collected from the focus group discussions (FGD), primary and secondary research. The 2 concepts used for positioning where: -
Affordability – This variable is used to measure the willingness as well as the capacity of an individual to spend money on spa. Approach to wellness – This variable was derived from the illness-wellness continuum approach - from individuals who look at health solutions as a reaction to sickness, to the moderate wellness inclined and finally to the ones who approach wellness in a proactive manner. The role of health and wellness determines the consumption of the services.
The variation of consumer behaviour was attributed to the following: -
Individual’s level of subjection to the concepts of health and wellness Individual’s adoption of those concepts in terms of money willing to be spent Age group – young verses old
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Pace of life – Urban verses upcoming cities and small towns Differences in lifestyle
We can conclude that the variables used for consumer segmentations are:
Income – The income bracket that an individual (existing or potential consumer) falls into. It is very important to know the affordability level of a person. The best parameter to gauge this is through the person’s income. The money earned by an individual will determine how much and whether at all he or she wants to spend on wellness. Income is a metric variable. Age – Age is another variable which highly influences a person’s willingness to adopt different wellness practices. Young people tend to be more open to new concepts and also to spend on new products as compared to the older generation. Age is a metric variable Type of city/Geographical Location – Level of urbanization plays an important role in the awareness level and the willingness and acceptance towards spa services. Urban cities have higher acceptance towards spa services compared to upcoming cities. Type of city is a category variable. Time – The time required to be spend on spa services (time to travel + time taken to conduct the services) plays an important role in consumer decision making process. In today’s fast pace life people want the best possible services in the shortest time frame. Hence the location of the spa also is one of the deciding factors for some consumers. Time is a metric variable Profession – The type of occupation that a person belongs to. This is a category variable. Frequency of visit – The number of times an individual from the various segments visits a spa in a year. It is a metric variable.
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Finally it is the amalgamation of all the above variables that drives the different consumer categories and segmentations. EVOE’s Target Audience
Now that we have identified the variables driving the segmentation, we need to identify our primary target audience to whom our services will be directed and will end up “feeling good” about their life. Evoe’s target audience comprises of the following: -
Potential consumers from both the urban and upcoming cities in low and medium income brackets for whom affordability is the main concern. Urban consumers aged 25 years and older who are brand conscious and also have special preferences for natural/organic wellness solutions Urban Customers who constantly want new kinds of services in the shortest amount of time owing to the paucity of time on an everyday basis Regular spa users as well as first time users whose knowledge and understanding of the benefits of spa treatments is increasing swiftly with time.
There is a huge untapped segment in the low and medium income brackets that are very stringent in their lifestyle and are averse to adopting new methods of well being because affordability of such services has a bearing on their minds. These customers are not really moved by the idea of pampering and self-indulgence but at the same time react swiftly to ailments and wellness concerns. Owing to the high costs of such services in most setups right now, they are forced to rationalize their preferences of not going for regular wellbeing practices. There is a huge possibility of educating these potential consumers by projecting the benefits of holistic wellness at an affordable price.
There are several shifts in the perception of wellbeing practices amongst the youth and urban consumers and these are being seen positively at an increasing rate. They also have certain preference for a good brand offering natural/organic based solutions and their willingness to pay is ever increasing due to rising incomes. Therefore, there is a huge potential to build a brand image by offering exclusive products and services at an affordable rate. Urban consumers are more open to spa services and do not carry any pre-conceived notions about the spas. The pace of life in urban areas is very high because of which they need services in a very short time. There is a chance of acquiring these customers by offering innovative services which offer similar advantages as regular services, but in shorter durations. Hence, the target audience for the Evoe Spring Spa is a huge chunk of potential first time users(Snails) whose primary concern is general wellbeing as well as the brand conscious consumers (Racers) who will increasingly drift towards Evoe as it builds on its base. In the long run, both the Racers and Sprinters can become consumers of Evoe Spring Spa.
Positioning Concept and Implementation Plan Based on the market segments that Evoe would like to target, the positioning that it must adopt is the “Affordable Health” concept out of the three proposed concepts. Based on the positioning map of the consumer perception map of brands, there’s a huge unexplored and uncluttered region which falls under the high affordability-high wellness category. The Affordable health concept can be applied to position the brand and its services in this region to cater to the Snails segment primarily in the short run. This is to convert a few of the less informed, non-consumers into first time users with the incentive of low prices. At the same time, it makes sense to have majority of the products and services to be organic/natural so as to attract the Racers segment. With the brand image improving gradually in the Snails segment, the large customer base and word of mouth can possibly attract more customers from the Racers segment. Hence, the company can aim to implement this plan based on the following suggestions: -
Project the brand to offer high quality innovative services at affordable prices. Actively try to educate the potential consumers about the benefits of holistic wellness and also break the stigma associated with using spas amongst both men and women. Come up with innovative offerings which can be provided in short durations, set up the spa in strategic locations in urban cities, like big corporate buildings and centers, malls. Collaborate with companies to introduce these solutions to their employees in order to increase their awareness of the new offeri ngs. Provide counsellor-on-call type of services to cater to the Snails segment to help them in general stress management through home grown techniques. The whole chain of spa’s throughout India should be differentiated by providing a vacation like natural experience in artificial surroundings. In the long run, rope in a celebrity who is popular amongst the masses to promote the benefits of holistic wellness through spas as well as the perks of employing natural/organic methods to achieve the same.
