Segmentation variables will mainly focus on different characteristics of target customers. A multi-variable segmentation strategy will be used to market the product to different customer segments. The criteria to be used for the segmenting strategy will focus on how different aspects of the marketing mix can be achieved from heterogeneous customer segments that have different expectations and interests.
Demographic and lifestyles segmentation will be used by the firm to come up with an effective marketing strategy for the product. Since the product targets students and other general customer groups outside the university, demographic segmentation will be used to segment the market using income, occupation, age and gender as the main criteria.
Additionally, lifestyle segmentation will allow the firm to focus on consumers’ interests and other activities they engage in to determine how they influence their consumption patterns and purchasing decisions.
Differentiated target marketing strategies will be used to sell the product to targeted consumers. More importantly, the firm will focus on specific product attributes during the development phase to understand how they affect customers’ perceptions and attitudes. This strategy will be closely linked to the pricing strategy where the general market price will be 100 dollars while for university students the price will be about 60 dollars.
Since, the product will be sold mainly in Sydney, Nova Scotia; it needs to appeal to local conditions to ensure more customers appreciate its ability to serve their needs. Ease of use, high quality design, colour and other features of the product will be used to differentiate it in the market.
The product will be closely aligned with psychological factors to make it more appealing to customers. As a result, it offers unique value to customers which they cannot obtain from existing substitutes. It will be designed to appeal to young customers that are bold and willing to try out new concepts that change their lives. These consumers will be made aware of the convenience the product offers.
Other benefits of the product focus on its new technology which offers value that cannot be obtained from its substitutes currently being sold in the market. The positioning statement will be: ‘A revolutionary charger that caters to the needs and lifestyles of young mobile users offering an exclusive service.’ The overall positioning strategy will make customers feel they are paying a premium price for a valuable product because of its superior qualities.
Developing and Managing Products and Services
The product can be classified as a consumer product that serves special needs. Its unique selling proposition in the market is the convenience it offers because it uses new technology to convert sound into electric power. It also serves as an additional battery to smartphones and allows users to perform a variety functions on their mobile devices while on the move.
The product’s aesthetics appeal to people from different demographic backgrounds because it is sold in a wide array of colours such as blue, lilac, green, maroon and black. Additionally, its innovative qualities will make the product stand out in the market because it caters to diverse usage patterns. Therefore, the product allows customers to be in touch with other people at all times even when they move to areas without adequate electricity supply.
The product will be known as the ‘Refine Charger’; a name that communicates its original qualities accurately. This brand name was chosen because it speaks about innovative technologies that are used to develop the product to enhance its reputation in the industry. More importantly, this brand name has focused on gaining instant attention from customers to make them understand the high value they are likely to obtain by using it.
The firm will use biodegradable packaging materials for the product as part of its corporate responsibility to reduce environmental degradation. The package will contain instructions to make customers aware on how to use the product properly for them to get the value it offers.
This will help the firm to elicit positive perceptions about the product in the market. At different points of sale, consumer support staff will demonstrate to customers how the product is used and the benefits it brings to them.
New Product Development
The product idea originated from both internal and external sources, after a careful analysis of market needs and opportunities was conducted. Team members brainstormed and generated ideas about how the product was going to be developed to make it suitable for different usage patterns in the market. The product development process was taken through several stages as outlined below:
Idea Generation: Different business proposals by all team members were discussed and afterwards, constructive assessments were used to determine the viability of each individual proposal.
Idea Screening: All members were involved in vetting the ideas that had been discussed earlier to find out how they were going to be converted to long term product concepts that respond to dynamic market trends.
Concept Development and Testing: All members took time to understand the legal environment in which the concept is to be implemented. They also looked at challenges, risks and opportunities which the product was likely to experience in the industry.
The Marketing Strategy: This focuses on the competitive threat posed by existing products and other barriers a new product is likely to face in the industry. In addition, the marketing strategy will influence the pricing model used to market the product in the market.
Product Development: Information gathered from the market research will be used in research and development to find out additional features that need to be added to the product to make it more appropriate for the market.
Test Marketing: A small sample of potential customers drawn from the main target segments will be requested to use the firm’s prototypes for a specific period of time to measure the product’s performance.
Commercialization: The launch of the product will be done after a careful analysis of its viability has been done. Issues that relate to advertising, promotion and distribution formats to be used will also be catered for.
Product and Service Decisions
Product quality will be determined through internal and external checks to establish its suitability. The firm will be making constant improvements on product design and packaging to ensure it satisfies consumers’ expectations. Internal and external inspectors will also conduct constant checks to assess whether different operational systems conform to standards set by government agencies.
Brand Strategy and Management
The product will be known as ‘Refine Charger’ because of its innate qualities that make it stand out in the industry. This name is appropriate for the product because it communicates various aspects of brand value to customers in different market segments where the product is sold.
More importantly, the product name offers a unique value proposition to customers making them aware about the firm’s willingness to build a mutually beneficial relationship with them in the long run.
The logo of the brand will consist of a strong, blue coloured R symbol which will be used as part of the overall positioning strategy by the firm. The tagline will be used to elicit positive perceptions from customers towards the product. It will be: ‘embrace new possibilities.’ Likewise, the slogan chosen for the product will be instantaneous and direct. It will be; ‘exposing you to a new world’.
Pricing
Pricing Considerations
Internal factors such as costs incurred in the development of the product, marketing goals, innovative technologies used and its attributes will be used to estimate the value of the product in the market. These qualities will determine the pricing strategy the firm chooses for the product. Other considerations such as the distribution channels to be used to sell the product in the market will also influence pricing strategies.
External factors such as existing demand, power of substitutes, competition and the value of product technologies used will guide the firm’s pricing strategy for the new product. The firm will assess the market share it seeks to gain within a specific period of time by analysing behavioural as well as situational factors that influence consumers ‘ purchasing habits and choices.
The external legislative environment will also influence the firm’s pricing considerations because issues such as licensing, taxation and other regulations have a direct impact on the firm’s operations in the industry.
Price adjustment strategies will include
Discount and Allowance Pricing: The firm will reward customers and distributors who show interest in the product soon after its inception to encourage them to be more loyal. This strategy will be used to lock in customers from specific consumer segments it seeks to attract.
Segmented pricing: The price charged on university students will be different from the price charged on the product in the outside market. This is because test marketing results have shown there are different levels of demand for the product in the two markets. Therefore, within the university, the firm will be able to sell larger volumes of the product while in the outside market it will take time before high sales figures are attained.
Psychological pricing: The firm will use a pricing strategy that appeals to consumers ‘expenditure patterns, lifestyles and social conditions. Therefore, this will enable the firm to improve general perceptions about the product before consumers purchase it.
Promotional pricing: this pricing strategy will be adopted by the firm to stimulate consumers’ interest towards the product to encourage them to purchase them. The firm will rely on positive relationships it has with its distributors and retailers to engage more effectively with different consumers in the market.
Retailing and Wholesaling
The firm will develop partnerships with major retail stores to sell its products directly to customers in respective target markets. This approach will allow the firm to use its own sales staff who will interact directly with customers to make them aware about the product’s quality, features and other additional benefits.
Furthermore, other additional services that improve the manner in which customers use the product will be included in the retail strategy. This approach will allow sales staff to demonstrate technical functions of the product to consumers and how they enhance its quality. As a result, the firm will be in a position to combine both sales and customer service functions in one location.
This will enable sales employees to understand effective methods they can use to satisfy the needs and expectations of customers. The firm will also liaise with other online ecommerce websites to market its products outside the Nova Scotia region.
However, this is part of the mid-term expansion plan that will only be initiated if the firm attains its profit targets. As part of the future plan, the firm intends to offer consumers more convenience and value for money whenever they purchase its products.
The wholesaling strategy will allow the firm to come up with innovative ways of increasing its market share. The firm will encourage its distributors to partner with shops that deal in electrical and technological appliances in different parts of Nova Scotia by offering them different incentives.
Consequently, the firm will be able to establish new relationships with ambitious entrepreneurs who are willing to make sacrifices to ensure the product performs positively in the market. As a result, this will be one of the steps used to help the product to penetrate the market easily to increase its visibility in different market segments. This will boost the firm’s earnings in the long run.
In a nutshell, retail and wholesale strategies implemented by the firm will help to increase its brand value in the industry.
Advertising and Public Relations
The objective of the advertising strategy chosen by the firm will be to increase the product’s visibility in the industry. Therefore, the firm will use various commercials and adverts to appeal to consumers’ psyche by making them aware about various benefits they are going to get after using the product. In effect, catchy adverts will enable the firm to create a positive impression to different consumers in the industry to make them have positive attitudes. This will ensure different consumer segments understand unique qualities of the product in a simple manner.
The product’s advertising strategy, message and execution focuses mostly on remarkable results users of the product experience. Since TV serves as the main advertising medium, the message features catchy tunes in an environment where people are using their phones to perform different activities.
The advert features bright light displays which project a message of boldness, excitement and adventure. Therefore, it encourages users to have a more positive outlook because the product opens their mind to make them aware about new opportunities they have not yet exploited.
The television commercial will be done in two minutes. It will feature about five participants, who will communicate to different audiences about original qualities of the product. The message will use simple and descriptive language to encourage customers to change their inner thoughts and perceptions regarding the product.
As a result, this approach will help to strengthen the value of the brand in the market to help it compete effectively against other substitutes sold by the firm’s competitors. Therefore, the message will encourage customers to memorise important concepts that are related to the product and how they conform to their lifestyles and expectations.
Public relations will play a major role in shaping people’s attitudes and perceptions regarding the product. The firm will use PR strategies to engage with its publics to constantly make them aware about what it is doing and what it has set out to achieve in the long term. Therefore, this will stimulate interest from different people to find out more about the firm and the product it offers.
In addition, a comprehensive public relations strategy will allow the firm to plan different communication functions that are suitable for its activities in the industry. This will ensure that the firm alerts consumers and other stakeholders about different events it undertakes and how they help it achieve all goals outlined in its mission.
Personal Selling and Sales Promotion
Personal selling will help the firm to understand different purchasing habits customers have to ensure the firm understands how to engage different target markets more effectively. In the long run, the firm will be in a position to adjust its sales and marketing approaches to ensure that the product being marketed conforms to people’s expectations and lifestyle choices.
More importantly, the mobile charger needs to have unique qualities that allow it to satisfy target consumers choices and lifestyles. Personal selling will allow the firm to anticipate the needs and expectations of customers more effectively because its employees will be able to monitor different issues affecting them.
Therefore, the firm will also understand how to come up with an effective customer relations strategy that addresses all areas of its operations more effectively, to give it the competitive edge it desires in the industry.
Sales promotion will allow the firm to come up with more effective selling methods by offering them different types of incentives. This approach will allow the firm to use trade shows to sell its products by offering discounts and other rewards to a select group of customers with the objective of making them more loyal in the future.
This strategy will also allow the firm to motivate its own sales staff to encourage them to improve their performance through commissions and other rewards.
All these benefits will help the firm to increase its standing in the industry because it will be in a position to streamline its internal processes to attain good results in the long run. Sales promotion will be conducted in retail outlets, on streets and other public places where many people congregate. Sales staff will carry out demonstrations that show how the product is used to make more customers understand how it serves their needs.
Both sales promotion and personal selling strategies will be used by the firm to strengthen its performance in the industry. More importantly, the firm will be able to interact freely with customers from different segments to understand how it can serve their needs better. This will help the firm to publicise different qualities that are related to its products more effectively in the market.
Direct and Online Marketing
Direct marketing will be used to engage consumers through different communication channels to encourage them to purchase the firm’s products. It will allow the firm to compile a database of potential consumers’ names, addresses and their lifestyles.
The firm will use catchy phrases to sustain the customers’ interests to encourage them to have more favourable attitudes towards the products. In effect, the firm will be in a position to understand what customers need and their expectations to ensure it sells them products that are high quality to satisfy their needs in the long run.
Telemarketing will be the most used form of direct marketing used by the firm to improve the perceptions of all customers towards its products. Sales staff will also call customers on their fixed telephone lines to engage with them on the product’s features and its long term benefits.
In addition, modern telemarketing procedures consisting of multi-media messaging services (MMS) will be used to encourage consumers to have favourable attitudes toward its products. A picture of the charger outlining its features will be sent to a select number of consumers with information that details where it is sold in the market.
The firm’s website will serve as its main online selling portal where customers will be offered a chance to use their credit cards to purchase the product. This will be integrated with the firm’s Twitter and Facebook accounts to ensure all customer queries are responded to promptly.
The website will serve as a central ecommerce portal and will integrate payment and delivery services for consumers within Nova Scotia who are interested in purchasing the product.
Social networks will be used to monitor consumer feedback regarding the product and will allow the firm to chat with customers online to find out various issues they may be facing. Since there will be no intermediaries, the firm will be in a position to improve the nature of its services to ensure it strengthens its brand in the market in the long run.