The Sunshine Stove case

Problems
Altur-nate Innovation Company is dealing with three significant issues regarding its marketing
plan for the launch of its new product in Nepal. The management team is not entirely
comfortable with the decisions they have made. The product's price seems high, and the
financing method could be a constraint in the target market. Also, the promotion strategy is still
unclear. Moreover, some team members raised concerns about positioning the product.
Causes
It would take a typical customer, more than three entire months' pay to gather $80, the price of
the stove. With a 20% interest loan financing their purchase, Nepalese customers could find it
expensive to pay $0.68 per week for three years, for a customer who earns 1$ a day or $5 a
week. The high illiteracy rate makes the promotion particularly challenging. Less than half the
adult can read, eighty-nine percent with no electricity nor internet. Also, downplaying the
importance of the brand name could lead to difficulties in describing the unique competitive
difference with the competition.
Recommendations
Nepal is undoubtedly a perfect market for the product itself as it offers several benefits that the
company should emphasize as part of its quest for product adoption, as improved quality
compared to what already exists in the market and delivering what it promises.
Altur-nate must define a fair price that corresponds to the customers' purchasing power and
can also assure a sustainable production and distribution of the product. An effective tactic to
achieve that with the determined price or a little higher could be a negotiation of a five years
loan. The objective is to skim profits, setting an initial relatively high price, but reasonable,
leaving room for potential promotional discounts to make the product available in the market.
Concurrently the company should consider a charity organization to raise donations that could
help assist the disadvantaged families.
Identifying the places and distribution channels through which the stove will be made available
is critical. Knowing where the target market shops and where they buy their fuel, kerosene
lamps, cooking pots, or the furnace they are currently using is the key. This path would avoid
setting up an entirely new network.
Finally, Altur-nate should hire and train a few local educated people to convey its message
appropriately in the entire community. The use of AM/FM radio, widespread in rural areas,
posters, and demonstrations can be a useful promotional tool as well as vehicle stickers
attached to cars and buses. A compelling brand name and logo should help to consistently
deliver on the unique value proposition each time the brand interacts with the customer. I
would recommend the choice of a brand name that gets the stove fixed in people's minds. It is
always better to avoid any ambiguity that could be used by the competition to discredit the
company or the product. Solar panels producers could draw attention to false attributes that do
not define the product (Sunshine) and remind the community that the product still has enough
capacity for biomass pollution.