Birth Control Product Marketing Plan - Research Paper Example

? The Marketing Plan Executive summary Birth control is an issue that affects nearly all families in the country. In one way or another, mature and sexually active women are always looking for ways of controlling conception. This therefore opens the market for birth control mechanisms. Among the most common family control systems are the injection, the use of a coil, everyday pill and the male vasectomy. Most of these mechanisms apply to women since conception materializes right within them. Birth control, in as much as the government has currently tried to make it look as an issue affecting both parties in a relationship, still continues to impact greatly on women who coincidentally make the decisions on whether to conceive or not. The market is therefore stable and still promises to grow. Every product producer and service provider has a unique way of marketing. The uniqueness of the marketing structure therefore promises either a profitable venture or a loss-ridden one. Depo-Provera, medically known as depot medroxyprogesterone acetate (DMPA), is a hormone injection that alters the production of estrogen. It therefore prevents a woman from producing ova. The product has been in the market and continues to expand to newer ones across the world (Frey, 1956). Situational analysis The market for contraceptive products continues to grow if not stable. The married, for instance, have an obligation of regulating the number of children they have depending on their financial stability and social preferences. The married form the greatest market shareholders. Because of their obligations, they shop for the most appropriate contraceptive methods. Additionally, the market is also composed of any other mature sexually active person within the country. However, the product targets those who have sexual intercourse regularly and is therefore more advisable on the married or commercial sex workers. Currently, there are a number of products in the market that provide similar functions. The most common of these include Nuvaring, another is Intrauterine Device (IUD) while Ortho Evra (patch) together with birth Pills also form part of these. All these and many others have their strengths and weaknesses that make them hold the market shares they currently dominate. As the market continues to grow, Depo-Provera continues to expand its market share which is a clear show of effective marketing strategies by the marketers of the company. Depo-Provera has a number of strengths which it has used as its competitive advantages over the years. Unlike other contraceptives, Depo-Provera is not used daily. A single injection lasts a month. This is a relief to many women who use the daily injections or the daily pills which normally tend to have severe bodily reactions. The monthly menstrual flow is a bother to many women; the hormonal injection alters the body making a woman miss her periods for three consecutive months (Abrams & Eugene, 2003). Additionally, the use of the injection is proven to reduce the chances of a woman suffering from ovarian cancer. Some of the used contraceptives normally have side effects some of which are as acute as the contraction of ovarian cancer. The use of Depo-Provera minimizes this risk thereby providing its user with the peace of mind and longevity of use. However, the product, just as any other in the market, presents a number of side effects, which also sum up as its weaknesses. Being a hormone, the injection reduces the thickness of the uterine lining. This results in reduced rates of the monthly bleeding and after a prolonged use, some women experience no bleeding at all. Such occurrence may affect the mental stability of many women who consider it normal for a woman to experience the monthly period especially when not using a contraceptive. Women may also after stopping the use of this contraceptive experience an excessive bleeding. This is normally because of the hormonal imbalance which is rectified through medication. The expansion strategy of the product is governed by a series of marketing researches. It is only through research that a company determines the strengths and weaknesses of its product or services. The researches inform the company on the performance of their product and the possible changes that may boost sales (Richard, 2003). Every investor is influenced by the need top maximize the sales of its products thereby increasing profitability., every action of the company should be geared towards the realization of the same, these actions however, must be governed by effectively conducted researches just as is the case with Depo-Provera. Marketing strategy Depo-Provera will employ a number of unique marketing strategies. Advertising creates awareness of the product thereby increasing its visibility among the target market. The company therefore seeks to engage in comprehensive advertising with the aim of making the product as visible as possible. In doing this, the adverts will major on the strengths and advantages that the product has over its competitors. The success of an advert relies entirely on the timing, length, and coverage of the media used to advertise the product. Unfortunately, the better placed these factors are the more expensive the advert is. The product will therefore be advertized in both local and international media at prime time, which is the most appropriate for such products. The timing will prove costly but with adequate sells resulting from the extensive adverts, the company should recover the advertising costs (Thomas & Michael, 2001). In addition to the mainstream media: radio television and newspaper, the product will also be extensively advertised on the on line social networking sites. These sites offer an interpersonal relationship between the customers and their products. This type of advertising is cheaper an promises more efficacy. The combination of these two will therefore guarantee the success of the product. In this elaborate advertising plan, the company assumes that the other products will not also use similar timing and choice of media to run their parallel adverts. Should such a scenario materialize, the position of the product in the market definitely becomes jeopardized. Price is one of the major determiners of the reception of a product in a particular market. The product targets the married, most of who are financially independent. Addition to this the product has a longer life and fewer side effects as compared to other similar products. A single injection lasts a user three stress free months. The product will therefore use its quality as its main brand-positioning tool (Aaker & Aaker, 2010). This way it attract the market segment attracted to quality and not price, its price will therefore a little higher than most of similar products. In determine its price, the company will in addition to the production costs add the advertisements and promotional costs among other costs incurred in the sale of the product. Financial The product is new and targets a higher societal class, the costs of producing a batch of the products is approximately $ 250. The company has the capacity to produce one thousand batches per day. This projects the sales of an average nine hundred thousand batches per day. The initial sale should be lower averagely at five hundred thousand dollars a day. As the product continues to expand its market, the sales projection should target a million dollars on a daily basis. The production costs, marketing and other miscellaneous costs should account for nearly seventy five percent of the sales leaving the company with a profit of twenty five percent of the sales. Controls The implementation of the plan has a number of controls. The attainment of the twenty five percent of the total sales as a profit heavily relies on the reception of the product and the roll out plan of the marketing blue print. The product should be in the market in one month’s time after the inception of its advertisement. Should the initial sales be as projected in the marketing plan, the company should begin effective market research and extension plans in the next two months and ensure a steady rise of the market presence by an average of thirty percent. However, should the sales projections not materialize, the company should reduce the production rate by a half as it considers the implementation of other marketing mechanisms. Summary In brief, the market for the product is wide enough to sustain its financial projections. The quality of the product and the pricing policy is likely to attract positive reception in the market, which should coincidentally result in increased sales and expansion by the first month. The strategies employed by the product are realistic as they boarder on the product qualities and major much on the strengths and the advantages of the product. This makes the realization of the numerous projections a lot easier. References Aaker, D. A., & Aaker, D. A. (2010). Marketing research. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley. Abrams, R.& Eugene K. (2003). The Successful Business Plan: Secrets & Strategies. 4th ed. Palo Alto, Calif: The Planning shop. Frey, A. W. (1956). The Effective Marketing Mix; Programming For Optimum Results. Hanover, N.H.: Amos Tuck School of Business Administration. Richard, B. (2003). Vocational business training, developing and motivating peope,. New York: McGraw-Hill. Thomas, D. & Michael, C. (2001). Successful Management Projects. Oxford: OUP Publishers. Read More