multipure 2013 marketing plan
TRANSCRIPT
Political: Government’s 430 billion Yuan investment: 12th Five-Year Plan
According to the 12th Five-Year Plan1 for sewage treatment, China aims to improve its rate of treating wastewater to 85% in urban areas, 70% in county-level cities and counties, and 30% in towns by 2015.
Government intends to spend about 10% more on water conservation projects this year (RMB200b), to avert a worsening water crisis. It also hopes to double the current average annual investment in water conservation construction over the next 10 years.
Economic: China is undergoing unparalleled urbanization—the new middle class consumes more water than previous generations.
According to McKinsey2, by 2020, China’s private domestic consumption is expected to climb from 5th to 3rd globally.
Government intends to spend about 10% more on water.
Social: Many Chinese people are attracted to luxury goods. According to Forbes, the growing Chinese economy and urban expansion have produced
a class of wealthy consumers with great purchasing power and desire for consumption.
Technological: Bottled water declared not safe and not good for the environment
According to World Wide Fund for Nature3, 1.5 million tons of plastic are expended in the bottling of 89 billion liters of water each year.
1 Carey Wong, Water Sector: China Reveals More Conservative Methods
http://www.ocbcresearch.com/Article.aspx?type=strategy&id=20110408092818_12439 2 Global Insight August 2009, McKinsey Global Institute China Model
3 AllAboutWater.org, The Effects of Bottled Water: http://www.allaboutwater.org/environment.html
Strengths Weaknesses
Leading manufacturer of solid carbon block filters
Easy installation & maintenance Cost-effective (does not waste
water or electricity) Broad IP database .
Relatively unknown name in China and Asia Not the most aesthetically appealing of water
filters in the industry Chinese version of company website is still
under construction, improvement needed
Opportunities Threats
Water industry is still immature, highly fragmented market
Health is “in” now in China and Asia Environmental conservation is “in”
now in China and Asia Increase in consumer interest in
clean drinking water
Highly competitive business industry with small enterprises flooding in frequently
People tend to trust the “big names,” companies that are already well-established in China
o Examples: 3M, Canature (local Shanghainese brand), Pentair, Paragon, etc.
18 and Under Locals 5
19-35 Years Old Locals 20
36-55 Years Old Locals 15
56 and up Locals 20
18-36 Year Old Expats 15
TOTAL 75
6%
27%
20%
27%
20%
Survey Population
18 and Under Locals
19-35 Years Old Locals
36-55 Years Old Locals
56 and up Locals
18-36 Year Old Expats
1) Your Main Source of Drinking Water
18 and Under
19-35 yrs old
36-55 yrs old
56 and up
18-36 yr old Expats
Boiled Water 0 5 7 13 0
Bottled Water 5 7 4 2 5
Water Filter 0 5 3 2 8
Tap Water 0 0 1 3 0
RO Water 0 3 0 0 2
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14
18 and Under
19-35 yrs old
36-55 yrs old
56 and up
18-36 Expats
Main Source of Drinking Water by Age Group
RO Water
Tap Water
Water Filter
Bottled Water
Boiled Water
2) Your Idea of the Safest Drinking Water
18 and Under
19-35 yrs old
36-55 yrs old
56 and up
18-36 yr old Expats
Boiled Water 1 3 5 11 1
Bottled Water 3 3 5 2 2
Water Filter 1 6 3 4 10
Tap Water 0 0 0 2 0
RO Water 0 8 2 1 2
0 2 4 6 8 10 12
18 and Under
19-35 yrs old
36-55 yrs old
56 and up
18-36 Expats
Idea of Safest Drinking Water Source
RO Water
Tap Water
Water Filter
Bottled Water
Boiled Water
3) Your Attitude Towards Shanghai Water
18 and under
19-35 yrs old
36-55 yrs old
56 and up
18-36 yr old Expats
Very reassured (100% OK) 0 0 0 0 0
Reassured ( <75% OK) 3 9 8 15 1
Unassured ( <50% OK) 2 8 5 5 6
Very unassured ( <25% OK) 0 3 2 0 8
4 Circle of Blue, Toxic Water: http://www.circleofblue.org/waternews/2013/world/toxic-water-across-much-of-
china-huge-harvests-irrigated-with-industrial-and-agricultural-runoff/
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16
18 and under
19-35 yrs old
36-55 yrs old
56 and up
18-36 Expats
Attitude Towards Shanghai Water
Very unassured ( <25% OK)
Unassured ( <50% OK)
Reassured ( <75% OK)
Very reassured (100% OK)
4) Huang Pu Jiang Dead Pigs Incident Has an Effect on Your Drinking Water Habits…
18 and up
19-35 yrs old
36-55 yrs old
56 and up
18-36 yr old Expats
Yes 2 9 6 5 13
No 3 11 9 15 2
5 James Fallows, 2800 Dead Pigs in a Shanghai River: http://www.theatlantic.com/china/archive/2013/03/2-800-
dead-pigs-in-a-shanghai-river-how-did-this-happen/273892/
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16
18 and up
19-35 yrs old
36-55 yrs old
56 and up
18-36 Expats
Huang Pu Jiang Dead Pigs Incident Has An Effect
No
Yes
5) Your Primary Consideration When Choosing a Water Filter
18 and under
19-35 yrs old
36-55 yrs old
56 and up
18-36 yr old Expats
Brand 1 4 1 1 4
Function 4 13 12 16 8
Price 0 3 2 3 3
Size 0 0 0 0 0
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18
18 and under
19-35 yrs old
36-55 yrs old
56 and up
18-36 Expats
Primary Consideration for Water Filter
Size
Price
Function
Brand
6) You Are Likely To Purchase a Water Filter in…
18 and under
19-35 yrs old
36-55 yrs old
56 and up
18-36 yr old Expats
1 year (*=already have a filter) 0 8 (4*) 5 (3*) 3 (2*) 10 (5*)
2 years 0 4 1 2 4
3 years 0 2 2 5 0
More than 3 years (*=never) 5 6 3 10 (6*) 1
0 2 4 6 8 10 12
18 and under
19-35 yrs old
36-55 yrs old
56 and up
18-36 Expats
Likeliness to Purchase a Water Filter
More than 3 years
3 years
2 years
1 year
7) Knowledge of Brands
18 and under
19-35 yrs old
36-55 yr sold
56 and up
18-36 Expats
Multipure 0 5 1 2 2
Pentair 0 4 1 1 0
3M 3 11 9 6 13
Ecosystem 0 1 4 0 0
None of the above 2 4 2 14 2
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16
18 and under
19-35 yrs old
36-55 yr sold
56 and up
18-36 Expats
Knowledge of Brands
None of the above
Ecosystem
3M
Pentair
Multipure
8) Your Workplace Provides a Water Filter…
18 and under
19-35 yrs old
36-55 yrs old
56 and up
18-36 yr old Expats
Yes 2 12 6 6 12
No 3 8 9 14 3
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16
18 and under
19-35 yrs old
36-55 yrs old
56 and up
18-36 Expats
Presence of Water Filter at Work
No
Yes
9) A Water Filter in the Workplace Is…
18 and under
19-35 yrs old
36-55 yrs old
56 and up
18-36 yr old Expats
Very necessary 1 12 6 0 13
Necessary 4 8 5 7 2
Unnecessary 0 0 2 9 0
Very unnecessary 0 0 2 4 0
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14
18 and under
19-35 yrs old
36-55 yrs old
56 and up
18-36 Expats
Necessity for a Water Filter at Work
Very unnecessary
Unnecessary
Necessary
Very necessary
Short Answer Results (Consolidated):
1) On average how much water do you consume per week?
-Range: 5L-20L (most common: 10L)
-Seems like older people drink less water (>36 years old usually drank
under 10L)
2) What kind of water do you currently drink? How much do you
spend? a. Bottled water (31%)
-Cost range: 10-50 rmb/week
-Many people would consider cheaper, healthier alternative
b. Filtered water (30%)
-Cost range: 200-1500rmb
-Brands: 3M, Pentair, Meidi, Nongfushanquan
-Many are company-paid filters
c. Boiled water (24%)
-Cost range: 0 rmb
3) Why do you drink this kind of water?
a. Bottled water: Convenient, clean, safe, healthy
b. Filtered water: Same as above, plus keeps good minerals, also
tastes better
c. Boiled water: Know it’s safe because boiled water gets rid of
harmful bacteria and pollutants, also TRADITION for many people
(especially the elderly generation)
4) What do you know about China’s current water situation?
-Many people said that they know the water situation is poor; there is a
shortage of high quality water; tap water is dangerous and unhealthy;
serious pollution exists
-Some people knew that bottled water in China is unsafe
-Some people admitted that their knowledge of China’s water is limited
5) Which is healthier? RO water without any minerals or filtered
water with minerals?
-Almost everyone answered filtered water with minerals, which is
strange because on the multiple choice section, it was pretty divided
6) What kinds of factors do you consider when choosing a drinking
water source for your family?
-Almost everyone answered cleanliness, healthiness, safety
-Quite a few mentioned price and convenience
-A small number specified the need for healthy minerals in their water
7) Where do you see the future of drinking water? Getting better or
worse?
-Most people were optimistic and positive, believed the situation will get
better as the government tries to find more ways to provide healthy
water
-Some think it can’t get any worse
8) How can you play your part in environment conservation?
(purpose of this question is to gauge how much people know about
environmental issues, and how much they care)
-Many people were very general and vague: conserve water, protect
environment, save natural resources
-A few people specified that they could cut down on electricity, increase recycling, reduce usage of plastic bags, replace plastic with glass or other reusable materials, use biodegradable plates and cups to serve food, take public transportation/bike/walk
Based on the results of this section, it is clear that many people are misinformed about China’s current water situation. Almost 1/3 of the people I interviewed were under the impression that water bottles are safe. Also, those who preferred boiled water were usually >56 years old and not open to changing their water source. This kind of attitude among the elderly narrows the target market to an age range of 25-55 years old, people who are financially independent (of their parents) or ready to start/sustain a family.
6 Jeremy Webb, China’s Social Media
Equivalents: Infographic Mk4 http://www.asiadigitalmap.com/2012/10/china%E2%80%99s-social-media-infographic-mk-4/