Executive Summary
Background Information
Verified Purchase is an application that allows users to confirm the authenticity of endorsements by social media influencers. The key benefits of the app are that it allows users to access comprehensive information about a product, including customer reviews and whether it has been tested or certified by government authorities. Additionally, the primary target audience for the supplement is Australian consumers aged 18 to 35 who frequently use digital technologies and reside in urban or suburban areas. Moreover, the launch of Verified Purchase is necessary to close the market gaps, providing future users with an app that saves them time and money.
Recommendations
- An application for checking the recommendations of influencers’ goods and services;
- Valuable offers for the audience, ranging from saving their time, a user-friendly app design, and constant updates.
- The price of the app is based on the costs of hiring people, buying hardware, maintaining the app, commission from sales platforms, and the time and effort involved.
- Two subscription plans costing $8 and $15;
- Advertising will be carried out through email campaigns and focused social media promotions.
- Verified Purchase will be sold through the App Store and Google Play Store platforms.
Next Steps
To launch the app on the market, we need help in verifying the industry’s needs. This will provide further evidence that Verified Purchase will fill an existing gap, and the team will make a profit. Additionally, two marketing channels are required: social media targeting to reach the desired consumer category, and email marketing. As a result, advertising will help to quickly popularize the app and cover the costs of its launch and development.
Introduction
It is essential to emphasize that the introduction of the Verified Purchase application requires improvement of the product concept, price, and placement of the product. The characteristics of Verified Purchase and the rationale for introducing this product to the market, as well as filling the gap, are provided. Furthermore, the offer’s core values are outlined across core, actual, and augmented levels.
The pricing policy is substantiated, and the components that influenced its formation are indicated. Moreover, the application’s primary marketing channels and sales outlets are explained. Therefore, the report provides an overview of the product concept, pricing policy, advertising strategy, and sales channels for Verified Purchase.
Product
Introduction to Product Concept
Social media users frequently encounter advertisements for specific products or services. Meanwhile, they are promoted by influencers who highlight the main advantages but fail to mention the potential disadvantages of the products or services. Accordingly, consumers need reliable and verified information about the desired product from real users. For this purpose, they are offered the Verified Purchase mobile application, which aims to provide accurate information and truthful reviews about goods or services.
Description of the Product Concept
The concept of the Verified Purchase mobile application is to provide users with relevant information about the products they are interested in. Functionally, the application can be used by scanning a product’s barcode or entering its name into the search field. Customers can then view information about the product, including consumer reviews and details on whether the product has been tested or approved in accordance with Australian law (Martínez-López et al., 2020). Additionally, the app is readily available on the App Store and Google Play Store, making it accessible to a broad audience.
Critical View
Verified Purchase was created to fill a market gap and meet consumer demand. Moreover, the ‘consumer pain point’ is constantly growing as bloggers and celebrities continue to provide product recommendations to their followers. Although the launch date of the supplement has not yet been set, this may negatively affect its popularity (Weismueller et al., 2020). This is because similar apps may be the first to enter the market and occupy a free niche.
Improvement of the Product and Description
The application can be developed to increase its potential audience. Currently, it is planned that Australian consumers will use the mobile platform, but the potential audience could be expanded to include New Zealanders. This will enable it to rapidly increase its popularity not only within the country but also abroad, thereby positively impacting its popularity in other countries in the future (Harris et al., 2021). It is essential to launch the app’s advertising and specify ‘convenience and shopping’ in the description. This will help potential users immediately understand the app’s advantages and locate it quickly in the App Store and Google Play categories.
Summary
Thus, Verified Purchase is an app available on the App Store and Google Play, allowing users to view authentic product reviews. Moreover, it provides an opportunity to check whether a product has been tested or approved. Therefore, the application is essential in today’s world, where influencers constantly provide product recommendations, but it is impossible to verify their accuracy. Additionally, expanding the audience and accurately describing the product can increase its popularity among local audiences and users from other countries.
Additional Product Information
Introduction
To launch an app idea, companies typically require additional funding and support from investors. To encourage them, it is necessary to provide basic information about the three product levels. This will enable them to assess the success of the app’s market entry and its attractiveness to future customers. Additionally, each level increases the value of the product, which is a compelling argument for third parties to participate in the project and support it at all stages.
Core Level
The core value of Verified Purchase is to provide users of the application with accurate and primary information about reviews, product checks, and approvals. This is essential to ensure that potential consumers do not waste money or time buying or ordering goods and services that do not meet the stated specifications (Bleier, Harmeling, and Palmatier, 2019). As a result, at the core, the Verified Purchase application offers people the opportunity to save time and money.
Actual Level
At the same time, the Verified Purchase app offers future users a quick and easy search not only by product name but also by barcode. This allows finding the right product among many similar ones in a short period of time. Moreover, the app’s convenient, simple functionality and design allow the audience to evaluate product legal approval information and to review user reviews or recommendations separately (Pride & Ferrell, 2019). Accordingly, people can quickly access the information they need without taking many extra steps.
Augmented Level
Additionally, once consumers start using the mobile app, they will receive regular updates. This will help maintain the application’s basic functions and introduce changes and modifications in line with consumer needs (Kahn, 2018). Thus, the Verified Purchase after-sales service is a necessary element to maintain the relevance of the application’s services, compete in the market, and retain regular users.
Summary
Hence, the core, actual, and augmented levels are the stages that explain the product’s core values to users. Accordingly, Verified Purchase across all three levels offers valuable benefits for future audiences, ranging from saving time and money to a user-friendly application design and regular updates. This means that future users will be able to continue using the app even as other apps are released, because Verified Purchase will maintain and improve its value proposition.
Prise and Placement
Introduction
It is essential to define the pricing policy and its components before launching the product. Moreover, the design of the marketing channel is crucial to the successful launch of Verified Purchase, enabling it to effectively communicate the app’s benefits to potential users and inform them about retailers where they can purchase it. Thus, these components will help to form a holistic product offer for future customers.
Monetary and Non-Monetary Expenses
To develop and launch Verified Purchase, high financial and non-financial costs are incurred. The primary monetary costs include hiring a team to develop the application and expenses for data collection, design, and interface development. Additionally, it is essential to test and maintain the application, which entails incurring financial expenses.
Moreover, cash expenses also include the purchase of software and payment of fees to the Apple App Store and Google Play Store for distributing the product. A significant portion of the expenses includes marketing and advertising, such as employee salaries, product promotion costs, and advertising. The main non-monetary expense is the time and effort of the development team.
Price Policy
The Verified Purchase option will have two choices, depending on the subscription plan. The first plan will enable users to view genuine product reviews and ratings. In addition to viewing reviews and ratings, the second plan also includes access to information about the approval or endorsement of goods by government agencies (Nagle & Muller, 2018).
When creating a pricing policy, it is necessary to estimate all monetary and non-monetary costs, including those for future program development (Abidin et al., 2021). Thus, given the project’s development costs, the price for the first option is $8, and the second is $15. It is also worth noting that reducing non-monetary costs is impossible, as developing a high-quality application requires considerable time, effort, and project management skills.
Marketing Channel Design and Retailers
For maximum efficiency, the omnichannel principle will be applied. This will enable the simultaneous use of multiple marketing channels, thereby broadening reach among target audiences (Sng, Au, and Pang, 2019). This means that social media advertising should be implemented, as the targeting option can be used, and users will primarily see ads for the app among digitally savvy people aged 18 to 35 who live in urban or suburban areas. Email marketing will also be utilized, as it facilitates direct communication between potential customers and the application team (Gjorgievska, 2022). The application will be available for purchase on the Apple App Store and Google Play Store.
Summary
Therefore, the price for Verified Purchase will be determined based on the primary financial and non-financial costs associated with developing an app. These include hiring employees, purchasing software, paying for platform use to sell apps, and spending the team’s time and effort. Accordingly, there will be two subscription fees for the app: $8 and $15. The application itself can be purchased in the Apple App Store and Google Play Store. Additionally, email campaigns and targeted social media advertising will be utilized to promote Verified Purchase.
Critical Reflection
The project allowed me to prepare for building my own career. This is because I now possess sufficient knowledge of the fundamental principles of marketing and their practical applications in the business world. Moreover, I can select the most suitable marketing channels for a specific product and target audience to ensure successful promotion. I learned how to identify problems in the industry and, based on those, create a product that would satisfy consumers. This project has enhanced my general knowledge of marketing and target audiences, which will enable me to build my career successfully in the future.
Conclusion
Thus, Verified Purchase is an application designed to verify user reviews and comments about products and services and to provide information about their approval by government agencies. Accordingly, it will enable future users to review products advertised by influencers for a small fee and make informed purchase decisions based on genuine data. The app’s price is based on the subscription plan, with options of $8 and $15 per month. It is available on the App Store for Apple devices and the Google Play Store for Android devices. Moreover, social media and email campaigns will help to popularize the product among potential customers.
List of References
Abidin, C. et al. (2021) ‘Influencers and COVID-19: reviewing key issues in press coverage across Australia, China, Japan, and South Korea‘, Media International Australia, 178(1), pp. 114-135.
Bleier, A., Harmeling, C. M. and Palmatier, R. W. (2019) ‘Creating effective online customer experiences,’ Journal of Marketing, 83(2), pp. 98-119.
Gjorgievska., L. (2022) Australian advertising industry statistics: 2023 facts from under.
Harris, F. et al. (2021). Modern construction management. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons.
Kahn, K. B. (2018) Understanding innovation. Business Horizons, 61(3), pp. 453-460.
Martínez-López, F.J. et al. (2020) ‘Behind influencer marketing: key marketing decisions and their effects on followers’ responses‘, Journal of Marketing Management, 36(7-8), pp. 579-607.
Nagle, T. T. and Muller, G. (2018) The strategy and tactics of pricing. Milton Park: Routledge.
Pride, W. M. and Ferrell, O. C. (2019) Marketing. Boston: Cengage Learning.
Sng, K., Au, T.Y. and Pang, A. (2019) ‘Social media influencers as a crisis risk in strategic communication: impact of indiscretions on professional endorsements’, International Journal of Strategic Communication, 13(4), pp. 301-320.
Weismueller, J. et al. (2020) ‘Influencer endorsements: how advertising disclosure and source credibility affect consumer purchase intention on social media’, Australasian Marketing Journal, 28(4), pp. 160-170.