Guided the strong personal ethics and drive live meaningful life
Tom's of Maine
What support services do buyers want from Tom’s of Maime, Inc. . s
are the lifeblood of any organization. Thus keeping them satisfied is
thebasic rule for success of business. What makes them satisfied or what
support services they are looking for from a company, and how they are
responded will be dealt with in this study. The subject of research is
Tom’s of Maine, Inc.
Company Profile
Tom’s of Maine, Inc. is a leading manufacturer of natural toothpaste and
health products. It was established in 1970. It got its brand name from
the name of the owner, Tom & Kate Chapell and the place where they
reside. Tom has a deep concern for environment, community, and the
protection of the well-being of its employees. Tom’s distribution
strategy is selling its products thru health food stores and mass market
outlets. Company’s products include toothpastes, mouthwash, deodorant,
dental floss, shampoo, soap, shaving cream, and a line of herbal health
aids and extracts. (Reference for Business). From a humble beginning of
borrowed capital of $5,000, company has grown to be a top notched
company earning millions of dollars annually. In 2006, the 84%
controlling stake of the company was sold to Colgate-Palmolive on
conditions that it will retain the culture of Tom’s Brand. Purpose of
the sale is to concentrate in the manufacture of a new business from
bees.
What support services do customers of Tom’s look for?
In a general scope, customers look for support services ranging from
correct use of product and making the product cost effective.
Specifically, based on research and literatures reviewed, people want
products that do well for themselves and products that do not harm the
planet (Dougherty and Murthy 2009). Same authors said people need
information; Buyers are interested on contents and labeling; Buyers are
interested on quality of the product rather than speed of delivery and
want loyalty programs. Interestingly, these results of survey could be
related to what support services buyers from Toms, Inc want. In
particular, buyers of Toms, Inc products want:
safe and effective products. For instance, people were alarmed on the
product safety scandal of Tom’s toothpaste disclosed by Guciardi, 2011,
in a post in the Natural Health Society. Subsequent comments from users
of this product proved loyalty to the brand, did not believe the
allegations, and even researched to find out the truth.
Buyers of Tom’s Inc. want the company to be responsive to health care
and improvement of environment. They want to know how Tom’s Inc takes
care of environment.
Discarding wastes is a growing problem in any community. To help in
environment protection, company launched Tom’s of Maine Recycle Program
wherein empty plastic bottles of shampoo of any brand, and other plastic
products including broken toys are collected for recycling. These are
tuned into picnic tables and benches for parks. Company promoted dental
care in children thru educational books and donated cash and tubes of
toothpastes to dental health programs.
Buyers of Tom’s Inc. wants to know how it distribute its wealth, and how
they promote the well-being of its employees.
The successful operations of the company brought wealth to the owners.
Tom, the owner, guided by the strong personal ethics and a drive to live
meaningful life, brought a new byproduct mission of “to tithe 5% of the
company’s profit and donate it to environment, arts, and human need
causes.”(Ref. For business). This soon was raised to 10%. For its
employees, Tom gave retirement savings and profit-sharing programs,
childcare benefits, and parental leave, and even free fruit to eat on
the job. Factory workers rotated stations every hour to avoid fatigue
and boredom, and all were encouraged to perform volunteer work in the
Kennebunk community on company time.
Buyer wants to know how responsive Tom’s is on answering complaints of
customers.
This mission was put to test when company received buyers’ complaints on
its reformulated deodorant product. The product which was less effective
was recalled costing the company a loss of $375,000. The old formula was
restored, and buyers who had written complaint were given replacements
and coupons for money back on their next purchase.
The moves and decisions of Toms, Inc. express business culture of the
company upholding customer-oriented approach of marketing that is one
way of business sustainability.
Dougherty and Murthy 2009) What Service Customers Really Want. Harvard
Business Review. Retrieved from
https://hbr.org/2009/09/what-service-customers-really-want
Guciardi, A. 2011. Not so Natural.: The Truth Behind Tom’s of Maine
Products. Natural Society. Retrieved from
http://naturalsociety.com/the-natural-truth-behind-toms-of-maine-products/
Reference for Business. Toms of Maine, Inc. – Company Profile,
Information, Business Description, History, Background Information on
Toms of Maine, Inc.
Retrieved from
http://www.referenceforbusiness.com/history2/93/Tom-s-of-Maine-Inc.html#ixzz3Y6bLJtGd