Which Stage to Target?

While the need stage is important for new-concept products, there may be a number of categories where most consumers may be in the purchase stage. For example, in the category of soaps (in most markets in the country), consumers are in the purchase stage and they may not get too involved with the information search or the evaluation stage given the nature of this low-involvement category. They may attempt a variant or a new brand which they may have become aware of either through TV or POP material at the point of sale. An existing brand could probably bring in a variant (possibly Hindustan Lever brought in Lifebuoy Active at a competitive price to ensure loyalists of Lifebuoy do not pick up a competitive brand during the purchase cycle) or re-launch the brand (Margo) to ensure most consumers stay with the brand. Hamam’s herbal variant in soaps and Colgate’s herbal variant in toothpastes are examples of retaining consumers at the purchase stage with the equity and loyalty of the brand.