Silicon Rings Differentiation

Republic of Congo

Colton Harris
Beau Bennett
Joshua Hall
Bruno Giusti
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

PROBLEM 3

MARKETING ENVIRONMENT 3
Political Environment 3
Economic Environment 4
Competitive Environment 4
Technological Environment 4
Social and Cultural Environment 4

COMPETITION 5
Positioning 5
Differentiation 5
COMPANY 5
Strengths 6
Opportunities 6
Weakness 6
Threats 6

CUSTOMER 7
Segmentation 7
Targeting 7
Persona: Deo 7
Persona: Yengo 7
Persona: Darly 7

MARKETING MIX 8
Product 8
Price 8
Promotion 8
Place 8

Financials (USD) 9

Plan to Scale 10

End Game 10
PROBLEM
The Republic of the Congo’s economy is heavily dependant on physical labor in
industries such as agriculture, handmade goods, and petroleum. We have witnessed first
hand the need for a safer alternative to metal rings. The industries that we have
mentioned require working with heavy machinery where metal rings are a serious safety
hazard. Metal rings can be smashed by the machinery and stay smashed on a person's
finger. This will cause additional harm to an already bad situation. If metal rings get
caught by moving parts, metal rings have the potential to tear the finger off of a hand or
the skin off of a finger.
Every culture has a unique way of expressing their love and commitment to their
partners. While it may be difficult for couples to afford the high cost it requires to get
married, commitment to each other can still be shown. Silicon rings are a cost effective
way for these couples to express their devotion to one another. Due to the fact that the
Dowry’s, the cost associated with getting the marriage civilly recognized, groom’s are
often looking for ways to cut costs pertaining to the wedding ceremony.
Fashion manifests itself in many different way throughout different regions of the
world. This is no different for the Republic of Congo. Rings play a critical role in an
individual’s expression of fashion, married or not. Traditionally, cobalt rings have been
worn as fashion statements but can be costly, requiring that the consumer purchase only
one in their lifetime.
Silicone rings provide a safe alternative for skilled workers to wear on the job due
to their malleability and their ability to tear without causing damage to the finger.
Silicone is easily washed with soap and water and can transition easily between different
environments from work, to home, to social events. For couples, silicone rings no longer
require months of savings to purchase. At $4/ring, silicone is an affordable alternative
to the traditional cobalt ring and allows for ownership of several different colors and
styles to accent fashion trends

MARKETING ENVIRONMENT

Political Environment
It was not many years ago that Congo was a communist country. Everything was
regulated by the government. The citizens were not allowed to create their own
businesses. While the government is still corrupt, the contact we have in Congo, his
brother works for the government and helps us expedite processes and adds a layer of
protection for the business.

Economic Environment
Republic of Congo ranks 176 out of 180 in
the most poverty countries in the world. The
economy is built on the fundamentals of exporting
oil but the public debt is increasingly very high.
Having a back seat government deprives the
Congolese people of economic freedom.

Competitive Environment
Currently silicon rings are not available in Congo. They do have normal gold and
silver rings that they purchase for weddings, fashion, etc. But having something that is
cheap, convenient, and still fashionable is something they are missing.

Technological Environment
The technology advances in Republic of Congo are 10 years behind that of the
United States. They have just barely been introduced into solar panel and renewable
energy. The only technology available to them is cell phones. Which they have the old
flip phones that the United States had 5-10 years ago. Electricity is not reliable and is
the down fall to many small businesses. With a sporadic power grid, it is not sustainable
for using computers, Ipads, fridges, lights or AC units. If a business needs power they
normally us a gas generator as a backup system. But that only allows for a loud and
polluting experience for the customers.

Social and Cultural Environment

Getting married in Congo is quite tricky. Couples will attempt to get married, but
the parents of the bride have a dowry that the man needs to pay before they are officially
married in her parents eyes. This can range from $1,000 USD to $2,000. While that
may not seem like a lot, when you are only earning on average $2 to $3 a day it takes
some time to accrue. But to show their affection and loyalty, they purchase rings that are
around $30 USD. They are gold, silver, etc.
COMPETITION

Positioning
We want to position ourselves that we are the best quality for a comfortable and
stylish ring. We are swimming in blue waters right now and we want to make sure we
are always providing the best quality we can to these customers. We plan to have the
customer view us as the only option for a wedding ring for their significant other.

Differentiation
By providing the silicon
rings, we not only are a safer
option for the hard working
demographics that we have in
Congo, but we also are
considerably cheaper for this
option. They are more
comfortable to wear and easier
to take on and off in the humid
heat.

COMPANY
Strengths Weakness
● Price ● Distance
● Novelty ● Language barrier
● Fashion ● Only social platforms (Whatsapp &
● Safety Facebook)
● For a cause project
● No electrical issues.

Opportunities Threats
● 4.45+ million potential customers ● Low GDP per capita
● New market ● Low discretionary income
● Concentration of population ● Easily duplicated
● #1 cobalt ring material in
neighboring country.
 Taking Silicone Rings to the Republic of the Congo has its pros and cons. We
analyzed this with a SWOT diagram:

Strengths
● Price - Being a great alternative for expensive weddings, Silicone rings will reach
lots of people who are looking for a ring to show engagement to another person.
● Novelty - This kind of ring is a new product in that market.
● Fashion - Silicone rings is being around the US and Europe
● Safety - This product brings more safety for the workers that work in mining,
forestry, fishing etc.

Opportunities
● The audience we will target is the 1.83 millions potential customers that range
from 15 to 50 years old, male and female, that are looking for a engagement ring
or a ring for fashion wise.
● Congo is a new market for the product, so we can benefit from that.
● The population is so concentrated in a few regions, which make the cost of
advertising cheaper and the word of mouth faster.

Weakness
● Distance - To manage a business is never easy, and when it comes to manage a far
away business becomes even more complicated. We have a few local connections
that will make easier the management.
● Low reach on social media - Congo still has a poor internet coverage, so it makes
the advertisement more costly and time-consuming.
● Language barrier - The spoken language in Congo is French.

Threats
● Low GDP per capita - Congo has a GDP per capita of $800 a year, so silicone
rings are not for everybody.
● Easily doubled - The silicone rings do not require a lot to be replicable, so soon
enough lots of competitors will be around.
CUSTOMER

Segmentation
Males, ages 15-50, who work in the trade industries of agriculture, forestry,
mining, and fishing; all of which are the largest industries in the Democratic Republic of
the Congo. These men work on average 10-12 hours a day and pass through street
markets on their way home looking for food and other essentials.

● Means End Chain for determining total market potential

● Total Population of Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo: 1.8 million
● 50.02% Male 49.98% Female in 2019
● 37% of females are married or living with a partner by age 19
● 20% repurchase in the first year

Targeting
Marriage in the Republic of the Congo requires a dowry in exchange for a
woman’s hand in marriage. These dowry’s are often significant, even doubling an
average years wages from the part of the male. The demanding nature of these dowry’s
have forced couples to find other, more cost effective, means of publicly showing their
commitment to each other. Silicone rings offer a cheap method of demonstrating a
commonwealth relationship.

● Persona: Deo
● Taxi driver
● 20 years old
● Been living with his girlfriend for 3 years and unable to afford her
parent’s dowry
● Persona: Yengo
● Works in the petroleum industry as a well digger, and operates
heavy machinery
● Is engaged, to be married in the next 3 months
● Cannot afford both the dowry and the ring for his wedding
● Metal rings pose a safety hazard at work
● Persona: Darly
● Works in the agriculture industry as a harvester
 ● 18 years old
● Single
● Looking to purchase a ring to accentuate his apparel but it must be
wearable at both work and socially and be safe.

MARKETING MIX

Product
The product that we will be selling is silicon rings. We will be selling this product
in the Congo. This is a new market for silicon rings and they are something that locals
will love. Silicon rings can be used for traditional wedding/engagement purposes or as a
fashion accessory.

Price
We will be using a price skimming strategy in the Congo. This is a new market
with little competition. The price we will be selling our silicon rings at is approximately
$8 USD ($4,000XFA). Currently, we can purchase the rings for $0.34 a piece plus
shipping costs to the Congo. Selling them for $8 gives a great profit margin. As we start
to sell more, we can get into economies of scale. We will then be able to reduce the cost
per unit and increase our profit margin.

Promotion
Many locals in the Congo interact will Facebook and Whatsapp on a regular basis.
Because of this, we will post discounts and other promotions on Facebook and
Whatsapp. We are also going to put advertisements on taxis. We will pay taxi owners
$500 XFA to put our advertisements on their cars.

Place
There are a few main locations where we want our products to be placed.
Souvenir shops, drug stores, and outdoor markets are important areas our silicon rings
will be in. These locations will ensure the best chance at success and profitability.
Because of the lack of technology, internet, and logistics infrastructure, brick and mortar
locations are still thriving in this region. Our silicon rings will compliment the products
that surround it in these venues. To keep our customers informed on the location we sell
our products, we will post our locations on Facebook.
Financials (USD)
These are the financials for selling the Silicon Rings in Republic of Congo. The
shipping cost and the price per unit are estimates and will change based on the amount
of units that are purchased and the manufacturer we go through to purchase.

As you can see, by selling 4 units per day at $8.00 USD they would make $9.20
per day. That is 4 times what the average person makes in a day. If they decide to lower
the price to $4.00 USD then they will get $4.40 for making that one sale. That is still
double what the normal person makes in a day.

Plan to Scale
We plan to have other entrepreneurs sell this product in the marketplace. We will
first establish an effective practice to standardize selling, ensuring that each seller
understands the price points and price skimming. By offering this product in gift stores
and local markets we will increase awareness of this product. We will spread this
opportunity to sell silicone rings through a successful entrepreneurship school called
Entraide. Entraide has trained over 250 entrepreneurs in Brazzaville.

End Game
In Utah, there is a local company located in Lehi called Enso Rings. They were on
Shark Tank a few years ago. While on that show, they partnered with a Robert Herjavec
for $500,000 for 20% of the company. This would be a great asset to Enso Rings as it
would take this exploding business throughout the world. Not only would this help out
the Congolese, but it would help support Enso Rings. Enso Rings has made 3.8 million
in sales. The life cycle for silicon rings is such a quick turnover. Bringing silicon rings
world-wide would be able to lengthen that process. This process then could be
duplicated from market to market.