Introduction
Ireland supports an open and transparent business climate which could be attributed to the country’s wide, bipartisan political support for policies which encourage business growth. The necessary government officials are easily accessible and general economic policies are encouraging. Moreover, the country has an open economy that welcomes and relies heavily on international trade. This means introduction of products and services into this market is easy and regular marketing and distribution practices are used. E-commerce has been well received by both the government and business fraternity. Irish buyers welcome high quality products and services and are very loyal when they are satisfied (Lambkin and Meenaghan 2004). A market is a group of people or organizations that may be interested in buying a company’s products but must have a need and are seeking a solution, are eligible to buy, have financial capacity to make a purchase and the authority to decide to buy. The company must also be able to provide the solutions the customers are seeking and orient its marketing strategy to the service of these potential customers (Rogan 2003).
Jedward International Inc. manufactures and distributes natural oils that are of high quality and innovative. The introduction of Jedward hair gel into the Irish market as a test market is expected to be received well due to the reputation it has for high quality and creatively designed and manufactured natural oil products. The product is a hair gel designed to make the user feel good or cool which fits certain markets perfectly.
Market segmentation
Market segmentation will help Jedward international in identifying groups in the market with more specific needs and learn specific information about them so as to focus marketing strategies into these segments. This is done through the following; identifying segmentation variable such as demographic information, location and financial information. In this aspect the company identifies teenagers of between 17 and 21 years mainly college and high school students in urban areas and with limited financial capability since they depend on allowance and part time jobs so as to maximize on the sales and therefore the issue of cost is important. This group also appeals also because they have reached a stage where they are able to make their own decisions on what to use, where to buy and how to buy. Further, they have reached the age where they can be able to make their own money through part time jobs. Second, the company can go ahead and identify the options this group uses to satisfy their needs, the situations in the environment that might affect how this group buys and conditions locally that might affect their decisions to buy. The third stage will require Jedward International to hire the services of a consultant who carries market research and is very familiar with the Irish market. These include information such as the benefits potential customers want from a hair gel, purchase conditions such as the time of the day, month or year characteristic of individual purchasers, attitudes and lifestyle. Jedward International has the capacity and time to be able to identify the primary segment that it should focus on in the test program and future targets (Rogan 2003).
Marketing strategy
In marketing hair gel to this segment of the market, Jedward international could use customized or micro-marketing strategy where an individualized marketing program specifically for teenagers is used. This strategy should allow the teenagers to interact with the company and make suggestions on what they feel and what they would like it to be. This will require Jedward to seek a lot of technical capacity to reach individual customers and the channels of distribution that will encourage interaction. The internet is one way of carrying out and promoting micro –marketing and the company should be able to plan for this. This is also made imperative by the fat that teenagers in Ireland and indeed most of the world use the internet and information technology a lot (Jobber and Fahy 2006).
Retail and consumer pricing
There are several factors a company considers in determining retail and consumer prices. These are costs, consumer demand, competition, company goals and social responsibility. Since pricing decisions are short term, and the company has long term goals of staying in the Irish market the price of the hair gel will be below the target rate since it wants to gain and retain a market share. The company will use the cost plus pricing strategy which is widely used in Ireland. This is the actual cost of operating the business and variable cost of producing goods and a profit margin over these two costs. This will make consumer and retail pricing decisions much easier which is essential at this stage. Mark ups can also be varied on the product as the situation warrants. The main disadvantage with this is that it does not put into consideration the market demand. It creates a situation where the each makes a profit but on overall this does not operate on the budgeted operation level. These are issues that are going to be learnt and addressed in the test market (Jobber 2001).
Distribution channels
Distribution of Jedwan hair gel could be done through several channels which ensure that the product is easily accessible to the target market. The main distribution channel can be retail outlets such as hypermarkets, supermarkets, specialized hypermarkets and departmental stores since the target market have a preference for these stores. This is also appropriate for the product since Jedwan marketers can use these avenues to interact with the market in order to hear suggestions and comments, answer the customers’ queries and identify future target market. Another channel is e-commerce where orders are placed online and questions about the product answered, if developed well this channel can also be used to collect essential information about the market. The placed orders can then be delivered through the postal services which is very well developed and used in Ireland. This is becoming a popular channel not only in Ireland but also worldwide. Jedwan can also elect to use wholesalers will offer other services besides delivering products to the retailer such as advertising and sales promotion (Lambkin and Meenaghan 2004).
Conclusion
The Ireland market is transparent and receives well new products in the market as long as they are quality. Jedwan hair gel targets the market segment of 17-21 years old in urban areas of Ireland. This group has limited financial capability but has freedom to make their own purchase decisions and the product has the added advantage of a good image which will make it popular with this group. Micro market or customized marketing strategy will be adopted to allow the marketers to interact with the marketers and also wide use of the internet in Ireland makes it the best to use. Costs plus strategy will be used in retail and consumer pricing which is widely used in Ireland and will make pricing decisions easier at the test stage. The company will also adopt several distribution channels which are retail, wholesale and e-commerce.
References
Jobber, D, 2001. Principles and practice of marketing, Mc-Graw-Hill Education, New York.
Jobber, D and Fahy, J, 2006, Foundations of marketing, Mc-Graw-Hill Education. New York.
Lambkin, M and Meenaghan, T, 2004, Perspectives on marketing management in Ireland, Betaprint ltd.
Rogan, D, 2003, Marketing: An introduction (3rd Ed), Gill and Macmillan publishers Ireland.