PRIMARY AND SECONDARY RESEARCH

as it started its journey with a capital of Rs. 30 lakhs, which was raised by its founders
themselves. boAt sells around 15,000 products daily and has a customer base of around 2
million people, who they were able to attract by developing a wide range of wireless
speakers, airdrops, headphones, and earphones. The one aspect that keeps boAt ahead of
its competition is that it provides high-quality products, at a relatively lower price, which
makes it more approachable to its target audience.

How did boAt start sailing?

boAt found an opportunity when apple users were suffering because their charging cables
were getting damaged without any probable cause. They started experimenting by
creating Apple charger cables with anti-destruction properties. So, this is how their
journey of solving the problems of the customers began.
This was just the beginning as boAt began to set sail and started creating headphones and
earphones, which were so reliable that it became the first choice of weightlifters and
athletes.
Target Audience
Ever since its inception, boAt always targeted the youth who were into fitness. All their
products were manufactured keeping their target audience in mind. The demand for these
indestructible audio products has always been on the rise. To capture the attention of its
target audience, it used various social media platforms for advertising its products.
Marketing and advertising
As mentioned above, boAt used various social media platforms for advertising its
products. As they always had a set target audience, they knew how to reach them, and
that is through advertisements on social media platforms, partnering with various famous
personalities
The brand offers a lot more than just functional benefits and this allows boAt to be viewed
as the first Indian lifestyle brand in the sound and audio space — the growing boAt
community is a testament to the same. Business model BoAt has an agile business model
with a steadfast focus on consumer needs, desires and behaviour patterns with a
competitive advantage in its ability to listen and adapt in real time to offer consumers
what they desire. Most importantly, the brand constantly innovates and expands its
portfolio to offer technology solutions that are aligned with the changing consumer
desires and consumption patterns. The first is to make the discerning consumer aware of a
better way of consuming sound to create the category of ‘hearables’ and second, to
continue to grow this category by converting the traditional user to a boAt way of life
purely on the strength of the product and the user experience. Social touch BoAt audio
accessories have started becoming lifestyle accessories and part of one’s fashion
statement.
https://democracynewslive.com/news-bullets/boat-lifestyle-addressing-the-issues-faced-
by-millennials-538236

boAt Marketing Strategies

The company knows just too well the likes and dislikes of their target audience and the
places they visit often- social media, Google, gym, etc. In a nutshell, boAt has targeted the
youth of the nation very well as can be seen from the below mentioned marketing
strategies:
1) Presenting itself as a lifestyle brand
boAt has never portrayed itself as a consumer electronics company. Rather, it has always
taken immense pride in presenting itself as a lifestyle accessories brand. Doing so creates
an image in the mind of the user that boAt products can be used at all places whether you
are sweating in the gym, or commuting in a bus.
This intent of the company was also visible at the Lakme Fashion Week (2009) in Mumbai,
where all the models sported only boAt products.
2) Digital Marketing
Over the years, the company has spent a lot of money on online marketing, as they have
targeted the youth. BoAt has mainly run its campaigns on Google and social networking
websites like Facebook and Instagram. Interestingly, all customers of boAt are referred to
as ‘boAtheads’. The company has also appointed youth icons such as Kiara Advani to win
the trust of the customers.
3) Expanding Range of Products
Some companies launch a product, gain success and then fizzle out as they fail to expand
their catalo. Expanding your product range over the years is a good marketing strategy in
itself and boAt has been exceptional at that. The company first made indestructible apple
charging cables and chargers. Tasting success, they did not stop at that introduced ear
phones, which was followed by wireless speakers and headphones. With this continuous,
well-thought expansion, they were able to capture a large share of the market, owing to
which its popularity grew by leaps and bounds.
4) The Perfect Targeting
boAt products offer affordability without cutting down on style. This was not a common
thing 7 or so years ago, when the market had either premium brands or cheap ones that
did not offer an X-factor. The blend of two was rare. BoAt addressed that gap with its
products that attracted the youth. The brand ambassadors were also carefully chosen
which had a great face value among the millennials, especially from industries such as
Bollywood and Sports (Cricket). In terms of quality of the ear wear, the products could be
worn without any fear of damaging them even while gymming or performing high-
intensity exercise in the outdoors.
Marketing Approach for Improving Performance: Boat Building Exercise

At EMBA PRO, we provide corporate level professional Marketing Mix and Marketing
Strategy solutions. Improving Performance: Boat Building Exercise case study is a Harvard
Business School (HBR) case study written by Steven C. Wheelwright, Kerry Herman. The
Improving Performance: Boat Building Exercise (referred as “Boat Attributed” from here
on) case study provides evaluation & decision scenario in field of Technology &
Operations. It also touches upon business topics such as - Marketing Mix, Product, Price,
Place, Promotion, 4P, Decision making, Leading teams, Manufacturing, Project
management.

Our immersive learning methodology from – case study discussions to simulations tools
help MBA and EMBA professionals to - gain new insight, deepen their knowledge of the
Technology & Operations field, Marketing Mix factors, Products related decisions, pricing
strategies and more.
Marketing Mix of Improving Performance: Boat Building Exercise – Definition &
Explanation

Neil Borden of Harvard Business School first used the term “Marketing Mix” to explain the
set of activities that a firm uses to execute its marketing strategies. According to Neil
Border, organizations blend the various elements of marketing mix into a marketing
strategy that helps the organization to compete and developed a differentiated positioning
in the market place.
The 12 core elements of Neil Borden Marketing Mix are -
1 - Servicing,
2 - Pricing,
3 - Marketing Research – Fact Finding and Analysis,
4 - Physical Handling - Logistics,
5 - Personal Selling,
6 - Advertising ,
7 - Branding,
8 - Packaging,
9 - Merchandising – Product Planning ,
10 - Display,
11 - Channels of Distribution,
12 - Promotions
Consolidation of 12 elements of Marketing Activities into 4Ps of Marketing Mix
Jerome McCarthy consolidated the 12 elements of marketing mix and other critical
component into a simplified framework – 4Ps of Marketing Mix.

What are the 4P’s of Marketing Mix

The 4Ps of Marketing Mix are -

1. Product – The products Boat Attributed is making or are in the pipeline to capture
potential markets.

2. Price – Pricing strategy that Boat Attributed is pursuing in various customer segments it
is operating in.

3. Place (Channels of Distribution ) – Distribution mix of Boat Attributed has taken a new
dimension with the emergence of Online Retailing & domination of players such as
Amazon.

4. Promotion (Communication Strategy of Boat Attributed) – The emergence of social

media and online advertising has changed the landscape of Boat Attributed
communication mix and communication strategy.

Products – 4Ps in Improving Performance: Boat Building Exercise Case

In marketing strategy, product is not viewed as a tangible product, but the source of value
to be delivered to the customers. Value to the customers of Boat Attributed can be
delivered in numerous ways such as – quality assuring brand name, installation and repair
services, physical product , financing plans to purchase the products, convenience of
availability , word of mouth references, point of sale equity, priming and pre purchase
education provided by sales staff etc.

These numerous ways to understand product concept provide marketing managers of Boat
Attributed an opportunity to differentiate its overall value proposition from that of the
competitors.
4 Stages of Product Management as part of Marketing Process
Identification of Opportunity – Market research and customer research is done to identify
the needs of the customers that Boat Attributed can cater to with its present and acquired
resources.
Design and Testing – Product is designed based on the value proposition that customers
are seeking and one that Boat Attributed can deliver. The key consideration regarding
product design and testing are – customer value proposition, regulatory requirements,
Boat Attributed skills and resources, opportunities for differentiated positioning, and
profitability.
Boat Attributed Product Launch – It includes decision regarding pricing, communication
strategy, distribution channel management, and building infrastructure to provide post
purchase services.
Product Life Cycle Management of Boat Attributed products – Once the product is
launched the company needs to manage the life cycle of the product through its various
stages such as – introduction, growth phase, cash cow stage, and finally decline stage.
Product Line Planning Decision
There are three major product line planning decisions that Boat Attributed can take –
Product Line Breadth decision, Product Line Length decision, and Product Line Depth
decisions. Some of the considerations that marketing managers at companyname need to
take while making product line decisions are –
1. Will the product will be viewed completely different from the existing products of the
firm and how much is the risk of cannibalization of the present brands by a new brand.
2. Does the product launch or product extension launch satisfy potential customer needs
and wants in a way that can deliver profits to the firm.
3. How the new product brand launch will impact the overall brand equity of the Boat
Attributed present brands and products. For example often launching a no frill product
may end up impacting the image of the company as an innovator in the field. This is one of
the reason why Apple stopped selling its plastic phones as it negatively impacted the
image of the company as a deliverer of superior hardware products.
Product Line Breadth Decision for Boat Attributed
As the position of Boat Attributed in its industry well established it can expand to the
adjacent segments where the customers are using complimentary products from other
brands to get the maximum value out of the products.
Product Line Length of Boat Attributed
The decision regarding product line has to be balanced between complexity of the present
products and service required, and available niche space available in the market place.
From my perspective at present Boat Attributed should stick with the present merchandise
mix rather than launching new products to expand the product line.
Product Line Depth of Boat Attributed
These are decisions regarding how many different Stock Keeping Units (SKU) of a given
product. For example Apple has its iPhone in various colors even though the hardware and
software is the same.
Product - Broad Recommendations
1. Boat Attributed can try to reposition the products from the existing brands within one
line.
2. Boat Attributed can introduce a new brand in the existing product line or it can strive to
establish a whole new product line.
3. Boat Attributed can think of ways - how features and value can be added to existing
brands that help them in consolidating and increasing their market position.
4. Boat Attributed can stop selling the products that are either not profitable or not
creating enough differentiation from the existing products.

Pricing – 4Ps of Marketing Improving Performance: Boat Building Exercise

Pricing is a highly complex activity and we will cover only a very limited aspect of what
goes into pricing decisions. To a large extend pricing depends upon the other 3Ps of
marketing – product, place and promotion. Conceptually perceived value is the maximum
price a customer is willing to pay for Boat Attributed product in the given competitive
context.
Cost Base Pricing
Under cost based pricing strategy – Boat Attributed can work out what it takes to produce
the product and put a markup based on profit it wants earn. In a highly competitive
strategy with dynamic pricing the strategy may not be feasible. For example Uber running
losses in billions can provide lower prices and sustain compare to individual taxi service
provider who is not backed by private equity and long term strategy.
Value Base Pricing
Value Base Pricing is a pricing strategy which is based on customer perception of value. It
inculcates put the number on both tangible and intangible benefits with a clear
understanding of elasticity of demand and competitive pressures.
Market Penetration Pricing
Boat Attributed can employ this pricing strategy where it launch a new product either at
loss or at very low margin to get a foothold in the segment.
Market Skimming Pricing
For certain well established brands, Boat Attributed can increase the prices as customers
can pay higher price.
Good Value Pricing
Offering right mix of product features, quality, and service combination at fair price. For
example offering a limited frill option - customers can have initial product experience at an
accessible price. GoPro use this strategy extensively.
Competition Based Pricing
The pricing strategy is based on the competition in the market. Under this strategy Boat
Attributed focus is to match the prices of the competitors and focus on reducing the cost
of operations to increase profitability.
Pricing Recommendation
Based on the evidences at hand – we can choose the following pricing strategy

High Brand Awareness – The brand of Boat Attributed is well respected in the market so it
can fetch a slight premium over the other competitive brands.

Innovative Product – With advanced features the product is perceived as innovative in the
current market context. A slight premium price will not only emphasize the features of the
products but also stops other players entering into the present segment. A high premium
price may attract new entrants and thus lower the profitability.

Place – Distribution Channels - 4Ps in Improving Performance: Boat Building Exercise Case
Place or Distribution Channel is a set of processes through which Boat Attributed delivers
its products to the customers. Distribution & Marketing channels fulfill various purposes
such as – providing customers information about the products , easy availability of the
products to end consumers , after sales services and installation services, logistics,
enabling product customization options at the point of sales, reducing purchase lot size
thus enabling opportunities for individual customers to buy products, providing product
quality assurance,and providing extensive product assortment using product line –
breadth, length, and depth.
Designing Channels of Distribution for Boat Attributed

There are two major Channel of Distribution related decision criteria –

1. Channel Design
Boat Attributed needs to choose whether it wants to implement a distribution system
which is – Direct, Indirect, or Both. The channel design decision involves - understanding
of customer value proposition, current customer convenience points, length breadth and
depth of Boat Attributed product line, and competitors’ distribution systems.
Direct Distribution System – Boat Attributed putting its own direct distribution channel
and reach directly to the customers. It can be through opening its own stores or just selling
all the products online.

Indirect Distribution System – Boat Attributed including channel partners such as

wholesalers, retailers, logistics companies, and distribution agents.

Hybrid Distribution System – Boat Attributed should implement a hybrid model where the
critical aspect of distribution system are managed by Boat Attributed, and secondary
functions such as logistics, warehousing, store management etc are delegated to various
channel partners.
2. Channel Management
Channel management is about managing various power centers within the delivery system
and managing them based on bargaining power of each player in the value chain. The
channel management from marketing perspective can be done considering three critical
aspects –
Market Development Requirement – One of the most prominent functions of channel is
market development. If Boat Attributed needs higher market development efforts then it
is sensible to include channel partners who have know how and skills to expand into new
markets.
Customer Willingness to Search & Travel to Purchase Good – If the customer willingness is
high then company has a strong brand awareness and brand loyalty. Boat Attributed can
design favorable channel policies vis a vis channel partners.
Per Unit Cost of Stocking – If the cost is high then Boat Attributed needs channel partners
which can pool in resources. Otherwise Boat Attributed can do the operations on its own.
Promotion - Marketing Communication
Promotion Mix or Integrated Marketing Communication strategy is a mix of various
promotion tools that are at disposal of Boat Attributed. They are – Advertising, Sales
Promotion, Personal Selling, Public Relations, and Direct Marketing.

Boat Attributed can use all these five communication tools to persuasively communicate
to customer – existence of the product, price of the product, differentiating features of the
product, places where people can buy the products, and finally how consumers can
effectively use the products or services.
6M Model of Marketing Communication Strategy for Casename
With the increase importance of online advertising and social media role in product
promotion, 6M Model of marketing communication has become a critical marketing tool
in hands of marketing manager and promotion strategist to measure marketing efforts
impact. The 6M of Marketing Communication Strategy Model are –

Market – The target segment – current or potential, at which the marketing

communication efforts are aimed at.

Mission – What are the goals and Key Performance Indicators of the marketing
communication strategy.

Message – What are the specific aspects – brand awareness, product features etc, that
Boat Attributed wants to communicate to its target customers.

Media – Which are the most effective media vehicle that Boat Attributed can use to
convey its message to its target market.

Money – Like all other organizations, Boat Attributed has limited marketing resources so it
has to figure out how it needs to spend to get the best outcome based on specified
objectives.
Boat execution Strategy
when Boat first came onto the scene in 2016. More than 200 earphone brands were
available at that time. Boat did not create a new product category or make any product
innovations. The Implementation Strategy used by Boat conceals the true secret of its
success. Therefore, Boat’s execution plan consists of Market Force 1 and Market Force 2.
These two together constitute consumers behavioral patterns. Market insights, consumer
habits, pricing, and marketing communication come after human behavior. The customer’s
purchase decision is the last step. launched a boat in 2016. Fortunately, something else
occurred at that time. Jio debuted the same year as well. These 2 events occurred
following the introduction of Jio: an increase in content consumption; People began
consuming more content after Jio arrived. Because consumers did not have as much access
to the Internet before Jio, they could not consume as much information. The demand for
mid-range smartphones also increased after Jio’s arrival. Because you obviously need a
phone to consume stuff.
Therefore, JIO and Smartphone Companies were the two main forces. such as OnePlus,
Vivo, Realme, and Oppo. Because of these two factors, people no longer look at their
phones five or six times every day. People now spend 40% of their time watching movies,
watching videos, listening to music, and playing video games. And as a result, market
insights were completely altered. More than 50% of individuals now consume audio
and video. Also, screen time increased by 70%. Many people desired to use cellphones and
high speed internet after seeing others using Jio. These spawned new consumer behaviors
on the market.
Now, content was frequently consumed by people. During the process of observing these
individuals, They saw that even those without cellphones or earbuds wanted to consume
content. These people wanted to participate in the Internet Revolution, but they had small
pockets. Earphone sales, a complementary good, increased as a result of the entry of
businesses like Jio and MI. People now only demanded earphones. People actually wanted
earphones, irrespective of the company or brand. Boat’s earbuds were introduced by
Aman Gupta after researching market dynamics.
Boat Pricing Strategy
Now that individuals have access to high-speed internet, adequate sound quality is
required in order to enjoy movies and videos. Earphones that cost less than 300 rupees at
the time had terrible audio quality. And high-quality earphones started at 999 rupees.
These were somewhat reduced in price by JBL to 799Rs. Still, more than half of the
population found this to be expensive. And Boat released its earphones deftly, pricing
them at 299 and 799 rupees. Earphone’s Intricate Differentiation drove Boat’s popularity.
Folks who don’t work in the video or audio industries. They find it challenging to
distinguish between earphones priced at 500 and 2000 rupees. Although slight, there are
differences. Therefore, the experience of using earphones, whether they cost 500 rupees
or 2000 rupees, is the same for us. People couldn’t tell the difference between the 1500–
2000 rupee earphones made by other firms and the 300–400 rupee headphones made by
Boat. And as a result, these individuals generally chose boats.
Why is boAt Successful?
Attaining success is not an overnight process. The constant dedication and perseverance
lead the path to be a triumph. boAt company has modified its approach since the
beginning and has till date kept on improvising. There are several factors that put boAt on
the road to success as mentioned below:
Consumer Satisfactions at its Best:
The company aims to satisfy the needs of users and developing products by closely
observing their requirements. The first-ever product of the company was an indestructible
Apple charging-cable and charger. After the founders sensed its urgency, the product was
developed. Over the past three years, people are increasingly looking for sports and fall-
proof headphones. Following the need, the boAt company launched fall-proof
headphones. Along with that, it also introduced interesting colors for its products.
Variations in the boAt Catalog:
The second product the founders brought was an audio range, which included earphones.
Since Indians love bass, the company named their first earphones as BassHeads. The
organized earphones market was growing at 20-30% annually. In 2018, boAt launched
speakers and, in 2019, soundbars and home-audio systems. The sales of soundbar were
expected to hit 200 million to 300 million in 2019.
A lifestyle brand:
The company believes that boAt is a lifestyle brand and not a consumer electronics brand.
This strategy was displayed at the Lakmé Fashion Week in Mumbai in the year 2019.
During the event, the models were wearing boAt products as the only accessories when
they walked down the ramp for one of the designers.
Marketing Strategies:
boAt company has stuck to online marketing instead of selling the products in retail stores.
It deliberately stayed away from the conventional media such as TV and print. The
founders cited the reason being millennials for selling the products online. The company
majorly run its campaigns on Facebook and various other social media. It also uses Celebs’
word-of-mouth as its marketing strategy.
Targeting the Accurate Audience:
The company is well-aware of its target audience. It presents stylish and affordable
products that attract the youth. Keeping that in mind, boAt company has appointed all the
young faces in the industry as its brand ambassadors. These ambassadors represent India’s
most-followed passions (and obsessions) – Bollywood and cricket. Thus, when the
celebrities and cricketers represent the brand, it creates plenty of buzzes. boAt company
has recently started developing products with the main target being the young people.
Sports Earphones and Bluetooth Speakers developed have caught the attention of the
fitness-focused millennials. Thus, the customers pick and choose accessories that fit in
their workouts, trails, hikes, basically their lifestyle.
What drives the future of boAt?
boAt considers the rising trend of audio sets bundled with smartphones could be its next
channel of growth. It has come to notice that almost all the major phone makers have
partnerships with audio companies. For instance, Apple has Beats, Samsung has Harman
and JBL, Huawei has Sennheiser, and much more. Thus, the company expects to pull in
more new customers with appealing bundled offers thereby sparing people from having to
invest in headphones or earphones separately.