Client Need

 

A popular women’s cosmetic product, with increased sales in many North and South American, and European countries, started to experience decreased sales and increased complaints for a certain product in the Japanese market. The client needed further research to determine the cause of consumer dissatisfaction.

 

 

CMI Action

 

The CMI team researched the product market and consumer base and conducted interviews of select groups of women consumers to identify that the problem was due to misinterpretation in product directions when translated from English to Japanese. Product use measurements were different in the two distinct cultures, which negatively impacted product performance. CMI team members were able to accurately identify the cause of poor product performance and provide culturally relevant suggestions to correct the issue.

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Results

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The client was able to incorporate the culturally sensitive and innovative solution provided by CMI to update the product label, accommodating each culture-specific unit of measurement. Customer satisfaction increased and product performance issues in the specific area  decreased significantly.  Those issues that did arise  could be mitigated through product education.

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