Tapal's Analysis

Executive Summary

From the dimmest of history when around 2727 B.C. a few leaves of a wild shrub tea blew into the royal bowl of boiling water being sipped by the legendary Emperor Shah Nung, known as the Divine Husbander as well as a patron of arts. Tapal Tea here brought tea from the royal bowl to the common man's cups as the most sought after beverage the country over.

Under the management of the founder's son, Faizullah A. Tapal, the company continued to grow and innovate. Currently it is being managed by the founder's grandson, Aftab F.Tapal who has continued giving further strength to the foundations of quality laid by his family. After studying abroad, Aftab F.Tapal returned to introduce professional management and unique production ideas into the business. His progressive outlook resulted in the total automation of the tea plants in Karachi.

Their motto "never compromise on quality" remains the byword on the lips of all engaged in producing Tapal Tea that has resulted in customer's brand loyalty and their unflinching addiction. The testimony of their quality has made them the first tea company in Pakistan to earn the ISO-9001: 2000 Quality Certification, the symbol of supreme quality standards.

Pioneer of the Danedar category in Pakistan, Tapal's Danedar remains a firm favorite around the country with its grape-nutty appearance, rich golden color and a strong refreshing taste. In fact its popularity is such that several multinationals have launched their own versions, but Tapal remains the original and ultimate Danedar because of its unique color, aroma and taste. Color and a strong refreshing taste are its most significant attributes.

Tapal is proud to have been a part of Pakistan's history since its inception. As a company they have grown and flourished together with the great nation. Founded by Adam Ali Tapal, the company first started marketing a number of quality blends to tea shops around Karachi. The success of Tapal's teas soon broke all popularity records and sales grew by leaps and bounds. Under the leadership of Faizullah A.Tapal and currently Aftab F.Tapal with his team of professionals, this success has been consolidated and carried on. Today Tapal is the largest, 100% Pakistani owned Tea Company in the country. They are proud to be the innovators and producers of countless unique blends and creators of different tea categories in the country.

Tapal's brands include leaf blends such as Tapal Special, the highly popular Danedar and the recently launched Safari PF 1. In the Dust/Mixture category Tapal counts brands such as Tapal Chai Family Mixture, Mezban and Chenak whilst its refreshing green tea brand is called Jasmine.

THE SELLING PROCESS

Tapal tea is one of the leading brands of tea in Pakistan. The company like any other organization has to take into consideration the factors that may help them to sell their product to their respective target markets. Therefore, it indulges in the following preliminary steps of the selling process.

Prospecting: -

This is the first step of the selling process, which Tapal takes into consideration when dealing with its product market. The first aspect of this step is that of identifying the target market. Tapal analyzes its target segment, which largely comprises of households as well as offices. After identifying its market Tapal devises a strategy that would enable them to compete with its competitors and therefore lead to an increase in the market share. To generate sales lead is another facet of the prospecting process that Tapal takes into account i.e. it has to ensure that the identified target segment would actually be needing their product or not. The reason this aspect is necessary is that the more Tapal is aware of its customer's needs, the more easily they can locate them and help them fulfill those needs. Lastly, the qualifying aspect, in which Tapal ensures that the identified market actually needs their product and would readily buy their product when, introduced in the market.

Qualifying: -

After identifying the prospects, Tapal determines whether these prospects are valid or not. This basically involves the MAN approach, which is the abbreviation for money, authority and need. In Tapal's case, the money aspect may not play an important role, the reason being that it has major competitors like Brooke Bond and Lipton; therefore, it would not want to spoil its chances of losing its market share to these companies, by pricing their tea higher than their competitors.

The authority aspect regarding Tapal tea varies according to its target segments. The reason being that in this aspect the company would have to especially target those people of the target market who actually take the decision of purchasing the product. Therefore, in the case of the market of households Tapal focuses on the women of the households who actually take the decision of which brand of tea is to be used. Regarding the target of the offices, the authority is in the hands of the management of the company who may specify their preferred brand of tea.

Need is the last aspect of the approach, in which Tapal determines the need of its target market. Tapal ensures that by introducing its tea in the market, it would be able to satisfy the needs of its consumers. In this aspect, Tapal's marketing strategy should be taken into consideration, which basically emphasizes on the fact that in order to feel fresh and renewed energy it is essential to have Tapal tea. Therefore, when consumers in the target market would feel tired and drained out, in order to refresh themselves they would need a hot cup of Tapal tea.

Pre-Approach: -

Who is the customer, is the first question that Tapal asks themselves. This has already been answered by in the previous steps of the selling process. Determining the needs of the customers have also been discussed, but how to convince the customers that the tea produced by Tapal is the only tea that would satisfy the customer's needs. The job of the Tapal tea's salesperson is to ensure their customers that their tea is the only tea that is strong enough to help the person feel refreshed and renewed again.

Additional information may always prove to be essential for any organization to further understand their customers; therefore, Tapal too carries out surveys to further identify the needs of its customers.

UPGRADE

Tapal should develop a strategy for prospecting