Introduction
This paper looks at the Scooter Store’s voice-activated scooters and their marketing plan. This includes their segmentation criteria, which enables the company to effectively target the market with the highest probability to maximize profits. It also looks at the attributes of the voice-activated scooter, like the voice activation and the touch screen. Finally, it looks at a relevant advertising plan that will help the company to realize its goals.
Segmentation Criteria
There are four ways for the Scooter Store to key out the segmentation criteria which will affect their target market selection. To begin with, they should source data and useful information on their potential clients. For instance, if their outlets are based on the same geographic location, U.S. Census data might help them identify their potential customers by dividing the population based on age, family size, nationality, and income. Additionally, they can also conduct field research studies purposed at gathering information that will help them understand their consumers.
Second, they should break down the populace into separate market segments. It is by these segments that the market venture is divided into demographic factors like; age or income; lifestyle; neighborhood; or customer behaviors.
Third, they may evaluate the segments that they ought to target. The target segments ought to be large enough to warrant the company marketing to them, approachable through regular marketing channels, and unique enough from other segments to call for a separate market campaign. In addition to this, the Scooter Store must be able to point out the targeted needs of the segments.
Finally, the Scooter Store ought to rank their market segments in terms of their potential sales. The best criteria would be covering a large population to maximize the returns from their campaign. On the other hand, the population should be homogeneous enough such that they will not have to conduct several campaigns to reach out to the people.
In light of these points, it becomes easier to identify the voice-activated scooter’s target market: the temporally or permanently disabled like quadriplegics. This is the group that will respond the strongest to the company’s marketing campaigns.
The Attributes of the Voice-Activated Scooter
This voice-activated scooter has built-in speakers and a voice recognition machine that allows the owner to record his or her name into the system. Once the user has recorded his or her voice, the chair will obey the commands of the programmed voices. The scooter will recognize up to three separate voices. It will allow the programmed voices to command the scooter to move forward, backward, neutral, or any other command. The user may activate the wheelchair-using any language. The wheelchair even recognizes voice commands with speech delays, difficulties, or even pronouncing words. It adapts and recognizes distinct sounds. This will make it easy for the user to control and operate the wheelchair, as he or she only has to say which direction he or she wants to go. They will also not have to sound crystal-clear for the wheelchair to understand them.
The voice-activated scooter also has a touch screen monitor that will enable the user to push a command button, like to go right, left, forwards, or backward. This is helpful to the user if he or she is mute or tired of talking. The computerized touch screen and the voice-activated device have a built-in telephone at hand level on both sides of the wheelchair. The wheelchair will move just like the latest joystick wheelchairs. The voice-activated wheelchair will also allow the user to program telephone numbers in the touch screen pad. It will also follow a simple command, such as calling someone. This makes it convenient to the user, as they can make calls without having to use a phone.
Advertising Plan
The main advertising goal of the company is to achieve over 50 percent brand recognition with the target audience. They should be able to recognize the business logo, describe the voice-activated scooter, and associate quality products when someone asks them about the characteristics of the brand.
The budget is $300,000 in the first three months each. This will cater for an initial 1000 voice-activated scooters and advertising and promotion expenses. If customer demand is as we expect, production will increase by 10 percent every three months. If the customer demands exceed or are below our supply; however, we will increase production as per the level of demand.
Below is the plan for the three months after the launch of the voice-activated scooter.
January
- It will launch the voice-activated scooter in 10 urban markets to introduce the new product.
- It will send emails to the current customers with loyalty offers
- It will promote the product through newspapers, radio, direct mail, brochures, posters, specialty publications, digital video on the Web, and single sheet flyers.
February
- It will offer 20% discounts on wheelchairs.
- It will focus advertising on the Internet.
- It will launch raffles and giveaways in hospitals and community centers.
March
- It will give out free voice-activated scooters to random customers who have not yet purchased them.
The company will track sales by keeping a record of all voice-activated scooters that it sells over time. It will also set up a survey to ask business customers how they feel about the company, product, and maintenance service.