after failed attempts to market the product in india and brazil using conventional marketing strategies, such as print media advertising and retail distribution, p&g has decided to change to an approach based on direct selling and relationship marketing. It tested this model in monterrey, mexico. A centerpiece of the strategy has been hiring a sales force of counselors. The counselors are young women. They must first promise to become regular tampon users.
most have never tried a tampon. p&g trains each woman and observes her early classes. after passing a written test, the women are equipped with anatomy charts, a blues foam model of a woman's reproductive system, and a box of samples. in navy pantsuits or a doctor's white coat embroidered with the tampax logo, the counselors are dispatched to speak in stores, schools, gyms, and anywhere women gather. the counselors talk to about 60 women a day, explaining how the product works with the aid of flip charts. about one third of those women end up buying a product.
the couselors also use these meetings as an opportunity to recruit young women to host gatherings, modeled on tupperware parties, in their homes. about 20 women typically attedn these "bonding sessions" where the counselor explains the product and how it is used, answers questions, and dispenses free samples. about 40 percent of women who attend these gatherings go on to host one.