The Beauty of Sorbet

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New York Institute of Technology, Manhattan *

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Marketing

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Feb 20, 2024

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The Beauty of Sorbet Case Study – Discussion Question SUMMARY: The case study presented discusses the growth of the beauty salon and nail bar brand Sorbet over a period of 6 years, from 2005 to 2011. The chief executive officer of Sorbet, Ian Fuhr, elucidates the company’s history and brand strategy. The topics of the case study encompass everything from the reasoning behind Fuhr’s decision to open Sorbet, the careful consideration that went into designing the brand logo, the difficulties faced initially, the continual development of human resources, the mantras that the brand revolves around, customer experiences, technological reinforcement of the business, altering the sales mix and income models.

Question 1: What is Sorbet’s brand positioning? Use the following terms in your response: a. Target market b. A competitive frame of reference c. Points of parity d. Points of difference ANSWER:1 Sorbet positions itself to be a wholly customer-centric and technician-centric company. The target market is females aged around 25 to 40. The target females are from wealthier bands of society, those who shop at more exclusive stores and drive more expensive cars. The competitive frame of reference is hospitality and salon services. The professionalism of the technicians, the bright atmosphere of the salon, relative pricing, and efficient loyalty rewards make Sorbet stand out from any other nail salon in South Africa. The aspects serve as points of difference . Sorbet’s take on the salon experience is a retail store with services included, in contrast to other salons which provided services and had retail as a secondary facet. The extensive brand marketing, technician training, customer-centricity, and keeping an open feedback line with customers serve as points of parity . Keywords: Target market, competitive frame of reference, Points of difference, Points of parity. Question 2: How would you describe the brand’s personality? Answer:2 The brand’s personality could be defined as idiosyncratic, meticulous, upskilled, and solicitous.  Idiosyncratic : The brand stands out from the rest by adopting a bright ambiance in contrast to most dingy, dull salons. It redefined the salon market by positioning itself as a retail space with services present in accompaniment.  Meticulous : All details about the customer’s experience are thoroughly vetted at several levels. Sorbet focuses on quality over quantity, as seen by the CEO’s refusal to expand into other countries, instead choosing to focus on improving its existing services in the South African market.  Upskilled : Human resources are greatly prioritized, with consistent training sessions for the staff throughout the year, technical as well as non-technical programs, mandatory three days of training per month, and feedback Thursdays twice a month.

 Solicitous : Sorbet extravagantly rewards customer loyalty. It seeks long-term relationships and is prepared to reimburse customers for even the slightest of hindrances. Customer feedback is genuinely appreciated and welcomed. Keywords : Idiosyncratic, Ambiance, Meticulous, Customer’s experience, Upskilled, Technical and Non-Technical, Solicitous, Rewards. Question 3: Write a positioning statement for Sorbet. Remember, your positioning statement should broadly take the form: For [insert Target Market], the [insert Brand] is the [insert Point of Differentiation] among all [insert Frame of Reference] because [insert Reason to Believe]. Answer 3: Sorbet’s positioning statement would ideally be, “For women, Sorbet is the most professional and ambient among all salons and nail bars because we believe that you deserve to be treated special” Keywords: Women, Professional, salon, and nail bars. Question 4: How does Sorbet communicate its positioning? Identify specific tactics for each element of the marketing and retailing mix (6 P’s) that help communicate the brand’s positioning. Answer 4: Sorbet’s positioning about each element of the marketing and retail mix is the product, price, place, people, and promotion.  Product: Sorbet provides exceptional salon services and has nail bars as well. It has a retail division consisting mainly of three products: Dermalogica, Environ, and Guinot (which was eventually replaced with " Sorbet" ).  Price: The price is half that of hotel spas, despite providing an even better experience. However, it is still a service targeting wealthier clients.  Place: There are 20 company-owned nail bars and salons and 17 franchised salons. They are mainly located in Pretoria, Cape Town, Johannesburg, and Durban areas. Currently, present only in South Africa,  People: There are almost 400 therapists and other staff who cater to clients in the salons. All staff is highly trained and professional. Staff undergoes induction programs, technical as well as non-technical training, and continual monthly training.

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 Promotion: It has a large presence, with branches in many shopping malls. There is the option of gift vouchers, which allow the recipient to choose from a large number of salon services at multiple locations. Its partnership with Clicks enables loyal customers to earn points on their Click card. Vouchers were distributed at workplaces.  Presentation: The salons were standardized to be bright and inviting. The logo was made in such a way that it was instantly recognizable, with a distinctive font and colorful bubbles. Keywords: Product, Salon services, Price, Better Experience, Place, Franchised Salon, Promotion, Large Presence, Presentation, Standardized. Question 5: What are some of the unique challenges involved in marketing a service, and how does Sorbet address these challenges? Answer 5: Some challenges addressed by Sorbet, • The main issue in marketing a product is that it is immaterial as compared to goods; therefore, it becomes difficult to differentiate it from suppliers. • The intangible nature of the service sometimes becomes an issue in marketing as it can be advertised only when in demand. • Similarly, Sorbet also faced difficulty in marketing. Firstly, wealthy clients were its main focus; therefore, it needed to constantly maintain a stream of wealthy customers. The corporate environment was targeted for this purpose. Sorbet predicted that women working in corporations would be wealthier and require more grooming to meet corporate presentation standards. To overcome these problems, • The firm offered many options in the workplace, such as wellness advice, in-house salons, gift cards, and wellness services. • An event management business named "Sorbet Events" was set up. It focused exclusively on women. Keywords: Immaterial, Intangible, Difficulty in marketing, Wellness advice. Question 6: Use the Product-Market Expansion Grid to identify and discuss opportunities for future growth of the brand into new product categories and new markets, including men. Answer 6:

The Product-Market Expansion Grid splits strategy into 4- based on market and product, and existing and new. CURRENT PRODUCTS - CURRENT MARKET Market penetration strategy NEW PRODUCTS - CURRENT MARKET Product development strategy CURRENT PRODUCTS - NEWMARKET Market development strategy NEW PRODUCTS - NEWMARKET Diversification strategy  Market penetration strategy : Currently, the salon services are exclusively for wealthier clientele. Perhaps a service targeting middle-class clients can be initiated.  Product development strategy: new retail products can be imported from overseas, which would offer more options to customers, potentially increasing sales.  Market development strategy: neighboring countries such as Namibia, Kenya, Mozambique, and Zimbabwe have already expressed interest in opening Sorbet franchises. This expansion could be undertaken.  Diversification strategy: in-house salon services can be started. With online ordering becoming more popular and people preferring to stay at home, bringing the salon to them might be the next step. A new line of jewelry or accessories could be started as an accompaniment to the existing beauty services. Salon services targeting men can be started. Keywords: Market Expansion, Wealthier clientele, new retail product, in-house salon services, Jewelry, Men market can be targeted. References  Kotler, P., & Armstrong, G. (2021). Principles of Marketing (18th ed.). Pearson Education Inc.  Case study itself

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