Aqualisa Quartz: Simply a Better Show Harry Rawlinson, Managing Director for Aqualisa, understands the company is vunerable for several reasons. One, other companies were catching up to Aqualisa in product quality.
Second, Rawlinson believes that the market is beginning to perceive Aqualisa’s products as over priced. Also, Aqualisa’s service is stilled perceived as great, but actual service had slipped over the past years. Finally, about 10% of Aqualisa showers still “ went wrong,” a percent that hasn’t changed in many years. As a result, Rawlinson hired a Research and Development Team in order to create new innovations for Aqualisa, which, if successful, would steer Aqualisa back in the right direction.
After many brainstorming sessions and market research, Aqualisa created The Quartz. The Quartz is a breakthrough in technology with many benefits: installment period is only a half a day, provides efficient and reliable water pressure and temperature was available with one touch of a button, and there is no bulky box that is a inconvenience for most people. During field trails, consumers loved the new shower, and Aqualisa thinks it is ready to put it on the market. However, Aqualisa’s sales representatives did not sell as many as they thought they would, and Rawlinson is starting to wonder if this new shower is not the breakthrough that Aqualisa needs. The company’s channel partners have bought thousands of these new showers, but they have only sold 81 (p.
). Aqualisa needs to sell 100 to 200 showers a day for this product to break through. Part of the problem is that plumbers do not want to install something that they are not sure will not break or mess up, and electronic showers are known to break easily. How can Aqualisa generate sale momentum with this new shower? I think the best solution to this problem is to target a specific group in the market. Which market best fits the advantages of The Quartz? The advantages of The Quartz are easy installment, water pressure, temperature control, and convenience with the remote control technology.
Therefore, I think Aqualisa should target the do-it-yourself market. I believe the design of this new shower can eliminate the plumbers and developers. Rawlinson admits, “ The Quartz is so easy to install, you or I could even do it. If this is true, customers could install the shower themselves and not spend the extra money on a plumber and the extra cost he or she may add to the installment. This also eliminates the problem of plumbers not willing to take a chance on installing a shower they are not familiar with. On the other hand, Aqualisa does not want The Quartz to be associated with a discount channel, because this may make the new product lose value in the eyes of the consumers who want a premium product.
However, The Quartz is such a superior product; I believe that Aqualisa will still be able to charge a premium price for The Quartz at these channels. To implement this solution, Aqualisa must get The Quartz in the do-it-yourselves stores. The company could create partnerships or contracts with stores like Home Depot, Lowe’s, and B&Q (U. K. store).
Aqualisa can help keep The Quartz a premium product by keeping it out of low-cost focus distributors such as Wal-Mart. Once Aqualisa creates partnerships with other distributors, the partners can help push the product into the market and avoid the need for expensive advertising. Since the company would be focusing on the do-it-yourselves stores, it would be a good idea to include detailed instructions in the package of The Quartz to help the consumers install the product. Also, Aqualisa could create a hotline phone number so consumers could call for help if they have any customers.
This idea will help consumers satisfied with customer service.
