Consumer research: what comes after the number four?

Tags: Gilette, Razors, Marketing, Retail

In 2003, the famously funny columnist Dave Barry penned a column in reaction to Shick's introduction of its Quattro razor, which concluded with the following two paragraphs:

Gillette's arch-rival, Schick (maker of the Xtreme 3 shaving system) has announced that it's coming out with a new razor that has -- prepare to be floored by innovativeness -- four blades. Yes! It will be called the ''Quattro,'' which is Italian for ``more expensive.''

Of course it will not end there. I bet an urgent memo has already gone out in Gillette's marketing department. ''Hold some focus groups immediately!'' it says. ``Find out what number comes after four!''

Well, you'll be glad to know that after two years and millions of dollars spent on market research, focus groups, and intense R&D, P&G/Gillette has an answer. The answer is a five-blade razor to be introduced next year. Yikes. And marketers wonder why business executives sometimes accuse them of being overpaid.

There is a serious marketing issue here, though. Will consumers really perceive five as being better than three or four? Yes, five blades provides differentiation, but is that the most important differentiation to the buyer? I'm sure Gillette has done their homework on this and have concluded that the anwer is yes. But if I were Shick, I'd be seriously considering the tyranny of too much, and explore another dimension of differentiation in razors. After all, there is no real data that says that more blades are better for shaving. Perhaps it is time for Shick to see if Apple's Jonathan Ive or design firm Frog Design could design a razor where less is more. It has got to be better than designing a six blade razor in response.