Similasan Corporation
Market Research and E-Commerce Strategy Development
Challenge
One the best-known brands in its category, Similasan AG has been offering homeopathic products for more than 30 years. Similasan hired SageRiver Consulting to conduct market and consumer research and present strategic recommendations for expanding e-commerce sales.
Project
Although Similasan has grown rapidly through its traditional retail channels, it has had limited success online. Large online retailers, such as Amazon, prioritize products at a $10 price point or above to defray warehousing and shipping costs. Many of Similasan’s best-selling products are well below that price, making it difficult to drive sales through top product listing placements.
SageRiver’s founder, Susan Heinzeroth, led a team of MBA students from CU Denver’s Business School in identifying solutions to e-commerce challenges. The students were all enrolled in the Strategy Lab course, which Susan developed to provide advanced business students with hands-on consulting experience.
In collaboration with Similasan executives, SageRiver:
- Conducted focus groups, surveys, person-on-the-street video shoots and key informant and subject-matter expert interviews
- Completed a consumer profile analysis to better understand consumer behaviors and preferences
- Reviewed case studies to identify proven and emerging e-commerce strategies
- Completed a competitor analysis and general market research to identify online retail trends
- Identified online influencers and other potential partnerships for future e-commerce strategy development
- Evaluated Similasan’s website for ease of navigation and consumer use
Results
Similasan’s online sales have more than tripled since it began implementing SageRiver’s recommendations. One of the key research findings was that consumers generally discover new products at brick-and-mortar stores and then shop online to replenish their supplies. Given that insight, Similasan adopted SageRiver’s recommendation to sell twin packs of products consumers already know, which allowed the company to sell at a price point that was viable for both the consumer and online retailer. In addition, Similasan has revamped its website to promote online purchasing.
Similasan now views e-commerce as complementary to its traditional retail sales business. Through its online sales, Similasan can offer greater convenience to loyal consumers and distribute niche products to smaller target markets that brick-and-mortar retailers cannot afford to serve.
To learn more about SageRiver’s strategy work with Similasan Corp., click here.
Story Categories: Marketing Strategy and Strategic Planning. Story Tags: Blue Ocean Strategy, Environmental Scan, Go-to-Market Planning, Market Research, Marketing Communications, Marketing Planning, Marketing Strategy, Research, Strategic Planning, and Strategy Development.
- Conducted focus groups, surveys, person-on-the-street video shoots and key informant and subject-matter expert interviews
- Completed a consumer profile analysis to better understand consumer behaviors and preferences
- Reviewed case studies to identify proven and emerging e-commerce strategies
- Completed a competitor analysis and general market research to identify online retail trends
- Identified online influencers and other potential partnerships for future e-commerce strategy development
- Evaluated Similasan’s website for ease of navigation and consumer use
