OXO: Satisfaction Guranteed Essay

OXO’s most profitable customers are those with dexterity problems like arthritis such as the wife its founder, Sam Farber, had when coming up with the idea of starting OXO. Now OXO designs products that are usable by as many people as possible. This means that men and women, young and old, left and right handed, and those with special needs can utilize their products (OXO, 1990). â€Å"Through market segmentation, companies divide large, heterogeneous markets into smaller segments that can be reached more efficiently and effectively with products and services that match their unique needs (Kotler & Armstrong, 2014).† Psychographic segmentation is primarily used by OXO in efforts to target a multitude of consumer’s with different lifestyles. Each OXO product â€Å"was developed based on the concept of Universal Design (also known as Inclusive Design), a philosophy of making products that are usable by as many people as possible (OXO, 1990).† Many of the com petitions kitchen gadgets from the research attempt to conform to the needs of consumers such as OXO has done. There are few that have reached the standard for universal ease of use. The value proposition that is extended to OXO’s clients is a satisfaction guarantee which is clearly stated on its website. â€Å"We guarantee everything we make! If for any reason you are not satisfied with an OXO product, return it for replacement or refund (OXO, 1990).† OXO’s satisfaction guarantee is similar to that of some of it’s competitors but not all. Companies such as CUTCO and CHEFS share the 100% satisfaction guarantee value proposition. In order for OXO to develop their product line to stand out from competitors â€Å"Smart Design’s first assignment was to come up with tools that were comfortable in the hand, dishwasher safe, high quality, good looking and  affordable.† OXO’s â€Å"designers divided tool types by wrist and hand motions: twist/turn (used to scoop, stir and peel), push/pull (graters and knives) and squeeze (scissors, garlic press and can openers).† 3 Levels of Product Core customer Value: What is the customer really buying? OXO’s customers are purchasing â€Å"wonderfully comfort–able tools that are easy to use (Corporate Design Foundation).† Actual product: brand name, quality level, packaging, design, features OXO’s hand tools are sold under the name Good Grips, chosen because â€Å"it communicates the major advantage of the line quickly,† explains Farber. OXO’s goal is to provide â€Å"budget–conscious consumers with tools that adhered to OXO’s principles of universal design, focusing on user comfort.† OXO makes grave attempts to use less plastic in packaging (Corporate Design Foundation). Augmented product: delivery and credit, product support, warranty, after-sale  OXO provides product support via email, phone, fax, and mail. The company’s satisfaction guarantee is a warranty within itself. Customers can return products for a replacement or a full refund. After researching OXO’s products it became very apparent that the company follows an intensive distribution strategy. Their products are found in many different shopping outlets such as JC Penny, Bed Bath and Beyond, Kohl’s, Amazon.com, and Sur La Table just to name a few. This type of distribution is very convenient for the company if they’re aim is to provide comfortable gadgets for all to use. Distributing to these types of stores appears to target all lifestyle groups. The pricing of OXO’s Good Grip products seem very reasonable in nature from the product prices I have seen recently. I’ve even purchased a few of the gadgets myself because the pricing and handiness. In comparison to like items, OXO adopted the correct pricing scheme and has made itself a viable competitor in the home goods market. OXO is doing what any other reasonable and profitable company is doing by advertising on social media sites. There is vast community of social media  users that can be pose as potential customers of OXO. Facebook and Twitter are the two most reputable social media sites and they OXO utilizes both to broaden its customer base. Facebook alone has: Over 1.15 billion users, one million webpages can be accessed with the â€Å"Login with Facebook† feature 23% of Facebook users login at least 5 times daily  47% of Americans say Facebook is the top influencer of their buying decisions On average, Americans spend %16 of each online hour on Facebook. 70% of marketers acquire new customers through Facebook. And Twitter: Now has over 550 million registered users and 215 million monthly active users Between 2012 and 2014, Twitter achieved a growth rate of 44% 34% of marketers use Twitter for lead generation (Romeri, 2014).† The vast amount of internet users speaks for itself. OXO is conducting business via internet and attracting a multitude of clients through social media and word of mouth. OXO has raised the bar for the kitchen gadget market with its Good Grips product line and its guarantee of satisfaction. They’ve even taken it a step further to cut advertising costs by advertising through social media sites and even creating a blog site in order to listen and respond to consumer thoughts and concerns on their products. References Corporate Design Foundation. (n.d.). Getting a Grip on Kitchen Tools. Retrieved from Corporate Design Foundation: http://www.cdf.org/issue_journal/getting_a_grip_on_kitchen_tools.html Kotler, P., & Armstrong, G. (2014). Principles of Marketing. Upper Saddle, New Jersey: Pearson Education, Inc. OXO. (n.d.). Blogger Outreach. Retrieved from OXO: http://www.oxo.com/bloggeroutreach/ OXO. (1990). Our Roots. Retrieved from OXO: http://www.oxo.com/OurRoots.aspx OXO. (1990). Satisfaction Guarantee. Retrieved from OXO: http://www.oxo.com/Satisfaction.aspx Romeri, M. J. (2014, February 18). New Social Media Statistics You Need to Know. Retrieved from Social Media Today: