“You don't see the real side of the tigers in the PPT and Excel files, you gotta go to the jungle to see how a tiger walks.”
The customer company
Our customer, the company menzerna polishing compounds GmbH & Co. KG is a specialist and technology leader in the manufacture of polishing agents. Since 1888, it has been developing and producing premium-quality polishing agents for industry and trade. The product portfolio ranges from pastes and emulsions to car and boat polishes. Menzerna thus has the right solution for every surface and application. In addition to its product business, Menzerna offers comprehensive technical services to optimize polishing processes for industrial users.
Menzerna's main objectives for India
Menzerna particularly wished
- the Strengthening its corporate presence in the Indian market
- with a special focus on products for the Automotive industry and associated with this
- the analysis of possible Sales structures and -channels.
- Furthermore, the company required an analysis of current Trends and the actual Demand for a realistic assessment of the market potential,
- the qualitative and quantitative assessment of its competitor and
- an assessment of the Market relations of competitors to their distributors.
Market research trip as the key to success
To pursue this strategy, Jan Geiss, Managing Director at Menzerna, took the opportunity to start a Market exploration trip with us. Such a journey not only offers the opportunity to identify your own market potential, but direct information from customers, distributors, and dealers allows you to identify customer needs and develop appropriate growth strategies.
Above all, it offers the opportunity to expand the network directly on site [See also our Blog article on market research trips]. Prejudices are revised, and one's own image of India is adapted to reality.
Preparatory measures for the market research trip
We have been successfully conducting market research trips in India for years. Therefore, we know that such trips are only worthwhile if they are individually tailored to the respective customer and not "off the shelf." To optimally fulfill Menzerna's desired objectives, we at WB have taken the following measures:
- Implementation of a specified Market analysis: Filter industry trends, especially in the automotive sector, identify challenges for Menzerna and identify growth options for its private label
- Stakeholder Engagement: Obtain feedback from distributors and provide analysis of specific sales requirements
- Stakeholder mapping: Identification of the key players in the Indian market:
- Distributors
- Manufacturer of car polishes
- Importers
- car dealer
- Authorized and independent body and paint shops
- Car detailers and
- local retailers
Preparation of the market research trip
Our Stakeholder Research & Outreach The initial process involved identifying companies in specific target regions that were potentially interesting for Menzerna. After analyzing the relevant stakeholders, the six cities originally targeted as locations were Delhi NCR, Bangalore, and Mumbai. In total, we identified and reviewed over 400 potentially interesting companies for our client and then arranged personal on-site meetings with approximately 30 companies from various categories. For Mr. Geiß, this amounted to an average of 4-6 informative meetings per day.
Lessons learned
The market research trip to India revealed a surprisingly high level of openness and willingness to cooperate among local stakeholders, far exceeding original expectations. Particularly impressive was the realization that the Indian automotive market cannot be understood as a monolithic market, but rather consists of a multitude of different consumer profiles. This heterogeneity opens up diverse market opportunities for Menzerna.
While it used to be said that "Indians are good at buying cars, but they aren't yet particularly good at maintaining them," this Indian habit is currently changing – with the rise of social media, a younger demographic, and their shifting attitude toward cars as a status symbol. As a result, demand for care products will naturally increase.
Another particularly unexpected discovery was the previously largely untapped market potential in the motorcycle care products segment. Given the world's largest motorcycle market and growing sales in the premium segment, this area could represent a previously underestimated growth driver for our customer.
Follow-up workshop
Naturally, as is customary in our collaboration with our clients, we followed up on the insights gained from the market research trip in a joint workshop, collected information, and re-evaluated it (if necessary). The further roadmap for India has now been mapped out with Menzerna, the upcoming tasks have been assigned, and the timeline has been planned.
We would like to thank Mr. Geiß from Menzerna very much for his openness and the time we spent together in India and look forward to further productive cooperation.
Would you also like to explore your market opportunities in India? Learn more about our market exploration trips and feel free to contact us without obligation. We look forward to hearing from you.
