Introduction
Cases of fatalities resulting from road accidents in the United States have been on the rise. Every day people are losing their lives due to reckless driving from drunk drivers. There have been incidences where people have been reported to drive after attending bashes and taking a lot of alcohol. This made them unable to control the vehicle eventually ending up causing accidents. As it has been difficult to control these cases through law enforcers, it calls for people to take responsibility. Alcohol consumption level over which one is discouraged from driving has been set. To facilitate in determining one’s level of alcohol consumption, there has been the invention of the phone breathalyzer. This gadget has been invented with the help of Kiboko Technology Inc. It is a new product in the market which is a small sensory chip inserted in phones and used to detect alcohol levels. Being a new product in the market, this paper aims at establishing the company’s marketing objectives and analysing its target market.
Marketing objectives
The main aim of the company is to increase its market share by ten percent. This will be achieved through the help of three objectives established by the management. These are:
- To enhance product awareness among the target market by twenty percent in six months. This will facilitate in increasing the sales volume hence helping the company realize its aim.
- Inform the target market about the quality and benefits of the product as well as its competitive advantage thus helping the company raise its sales volume by 15% in the next six months.
- Eliminate any cases of resistance that may arise from customers through product improvement. This will facilitate in raising the sales volume for the company by approximately 15%.
With the above objectives put in place, the management will be able to increase its market share (Baker 212). Enhancing product awareness in the market will help the company reach potential customers who may be willing to use the product but are not aware of how to use it. Informing the target market about the quality and benefits of the product will make them willing to purchase it. Some customers may be aware of the product but they fail to buy it as they do not know about its benefits. Informing them about the benefits of the gadget will make them purchase it hence helping the company increase its market share. Some customers may desist from buying the product due to different reasons. The company aims at analysing some of these reasons and improving its product. This will help it overcome cases of resistance from the market.
Target market
As every person is expected to take part in reducing cases of fatalities resulting from Drunk Driving, it has called for the need of every person to ascertain the level of his or her blood alcohol content before driving. This can only be achieved through availing detecting gadgets to the public. As the phone breathalyzer is portable it is convenient for use by different people visiting alcohol serving places. As a result, the product has a big range of potential users which include pub-goers and people participating in drinking games. With the company aiming to increase its market share, it aims at targeting the pub-goers who comprise the bigger percentage of alcohol users.
Environmental analysis of the target market
The number of pub-goers in the United States has significantly increased over the last decade. More people are getting into alcohol consumption. An increase in the number of entertainment venues serving alcohol has led to a number of alcohol users going up in the county. This is because most Americans wish to spend their free time in social places. Generally, the pub-goers in the country are high and medium-income earners. This means that they are in a position to own phones. The group has a desire to change with technology (Kotler & Gary pp. 56-69). This implies that introducing a phone breathalyser to this group will not be met with a lot of resistance. Through informing them about the benefits accrued from the product, the company will face limited resistance from consumers. Its convenience guarantees the pub-goers that they will always be with the garget as they never forget their phones when going to drink. The fact that the government is in support of any strategy aimed at reducing fatalities emanating from drunk drivers, means that the product is expected not to face entry barriers resulting from government regulations.
Analysis of the industry
As the number of those in need of phone breathalyser is high, more firms dealing with production and sales of the product are expected to emerge. Most of them will aim at satisfying pub-goers as they comprise the biggest market share in the country. To overcome competition, Kiboko Company benefits from economies of scale. As it is the first company to come up with the product, it is in a position of producing the breathalyser in large quantities at a cheaper price thus serving its market effectively. The capability of the company to reach all the potential consumers through its well-organized promotional and advertising strategies makes it hard for market entry by other companies wishing to sell the product (Marder 365). The fact that the target group comprises regular income earners and it is large, it becomes hard for the group to dictate the selling price of the product. The company is guaranteed that its prices will not vary in the market. The lack of other more superior’s substitute products in the market makes it hard for the target market to switch from using Kiboko’s product to other substitute products.
Competitive analysis of the target market
Currently, the company enjoys almost a monopoly in the production and sales of the gadget. There are few companies producing breathalysers. For those already in the market, their products are not superior compared to the ones manufactured by Kiboko. This gives the company an advantage of gaining a bigger market share from its target market (Mullins, Walker, Boyd & Larreche 319). The ability of Kiboko Company to produce its breathalysers in big quantity makes it overcome operations cost hence being able to offer them at a competitive price. This has discouraged many companies from venturing into this business. By the company fostering product awareness, it will not only increase its sales volume but will boost customer loyalty. This will be an advantage to its competitiveness.
Conclusion
As demand for breathalyzers in America increases, the number of companies manufacturing and selling the gadget is expected to increase. This will wage competition to those already manufacturing the product. The only way to avoid this is by increasing market share and enhancing product awareness by the target market. If Kiboko sticks to its objectives it will be able to increase its market share and overcome competition from current and upcoming companies.
Works Cited
Baker, Michael. The Strategic Marketing Plan Audit. London: Cambridge Strategy Publication, 2008. Print.
Kotler, Philip & Gary, Armstrong. Principles of Marketing. New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 2007. Print.
Marder, Eric. The Laws of Choice: Predicting Customer Behaviour. Los Angeles: Free Press, 1997. Print.
Mullins, John, Walker, Orville, Boyd, Harper & Larreche, Jean-claude. Marketing Management: A Strategic Decision-Making Approach. McGraw Hill: Irwin, 2004. Print.