Launching a New Product - Essay Example

Launching a new product 0 Background and problem Midomo Initiative is a non-profit organization that aims at providing clean water to developing countries. The organisation has commissioned Alex Monroe, an award winning jewellery designer to design the Midomo bracelet product that will be sold in the UK market. The Midomo Initiative mission statement is to ensure that citizens living in developing countries have access to clean water. The company is planning to launch Midomo bracelet which a unique product that will be used by the company is promoting the mission of the company and colleting donations for the provision of water. The company currently operates in Singapore, but it is planning to extend its operations in the UK. The UK offers a vital market for the company bracelet due to the high rate of economic growth and high consumer disposable incomes of the population. More than 40 million people in the UK would be willing to buy the product and contribute towards charitable work due to the caring attitudes of the population and feminine culture that is replicated in the bracelet design. The number of wealthy and aged individuals is more than 10 percent of the total UK population (Oxford Business Group 222). The macro-environment is favorable since UK economy is currently experiencing a recovery after the recent financial crisis. UK also enjoys stable political environment and is a member of the EU thus making it easier for the organisation to expand to neighboring European countries. The UK population is highly educated and most of the citizens have access to the internet in their homes. UK citizens have caring attitudes towards the environment and life thus it will be easy for the product to penetrate the market. The existing legal environment enables the citizens to contribute donations towards charitable organisations and adequate e-commerce laws have been enacted in order to facilitate online donations (Oxford Business Group 137). In addition, the level of technology is high thus the organisation can rely on the existing modern communication technologies and high internet penetration in order to reach the potential buyers in the remote villages and smaller towns (Oxford Business Group 189). SWOT Analysis Strengths Midomo bracelet enjoys several strengths that are essential in penetrating the targeted market and sustaining relationships with buyers. The product is made of high quality and wearable jewellery thus appealing to the purchasing behaviour of UK citizens. The product will enjoy high brand recognition and awareness in the market since it has been designed by an award winning designer who has a high reputation of quality and stylish designs. In addition, the bracelet is light in weight thus can be worn by the buyers when travelling thus spreading the word of the mouth on the existence of the charitable product in the market. Accordingly, the bracelet symbolizes abundance and water thus will resonate well with the attitudes of UK citizens towards combating environmental degradation. The product is also lowly priced compared to similar jewellery products in the market. Weaknesses Midomo bracelet suffers from several weaknesses since the designer has not offered a variety in terms of color or raw material. Not all potential buyers would be attracted towards silver products or products that depict a feminine style. Some of the potential donors may not be willing to wear the bracelet due to the stereotypes that associate certain health issues like stiff arms with wearing of bracelets around arms (Yeshin 316). Another challenge that will be involved include employment of additional staff to monitor the online transactions and answer to customer complaints (Yeshin 337). Opportunities There are numerous opportunities that Midomo Initiative can exploit in order to attain its mission and objectives in the UK market. The company should provide for a variety in terms of bracelet designs and color in order to appeal to the wider market in the UK. The organisation could also offer wrists in order to fully exploit the market since some individuals may not be comfortable wearing the neck bracelet. The organisation can use the 19th century seals as part of the components of the bracelets in order to symbolize the unique historical heritage and nature of the environment. The company may decide to add extra features to the product such an accompanying gift card that contain a thankful and inspirational message (Yeshin 316). Threats The Midomo Initiative suffers from numerous disadvantages since it is made from silver and not gold thus making it seam inferior to the high income potential buyers. There are other competitors offering similar products such pyrrha shops that offer bracelets that have similar symbolism. The Midomo bracelet faces high competition from other industry players who sell cheaper bracelets made from many different materials such as gold (Chew 220). 2.0Market Research There is a need to understand the consumer purchasing behavior in UK and the lifestyles. More than 30 percent of the UK citizens are in the middle-income bracket while more than 10 percent of the citizens are aged 50 years and above (Oxford Business Group 240). The UK citizens prefer buying high quality and stylish products that complies with their social status and income levels. The customers in UK would be willing to pay higher prices for high quality products and prefer buying at shopping malls and luxury stores in the prestigious shopping streets due to high social status and convenience (Oxford Business Group 278). The targeted consumers are able to maintain brand loyalty to high quality products and will appreciate the Midomo bracelet since it is made of high quality silver material (Chew 231). Since they will perceive the product as a charity too, this will make them certain about the products’ importance and reliability with the ideals of humankind and caring. Accordingly, most of the citizens in the country prefer watching news, reading newspapers and listening to the radio. Thus, it will be very easy to penetrate the market through advertising on the mass media. In addition, the education levels among the targeted customers are high and most of the citizens can shop for the product through the internet. So, it can be concluded that the market for the Midomo bracelet is favorable enough to sell the product and raise funds for the water cleaners to be provided to the underdeveloped countries. In the market research, a sample of 10,000 UK citizens was interviewed on whether they would be will to purchase the product. The sample is representative of the target population and simple statistical software was used in the data analysis. 75 percent of the responds asserted that they would be will to purchase the bracelet at the current price since the funds would go to a charitable organisation. In addition, almost 90 percent of the interviewee asserted that they would track their Midomo bracelet on the internet and make further donations. 80 percent preferred shopping in malls due to convenience while 60 percent of the respondents said that they had been involved in e-commerce I the past. Accordingly, about 60 percent of the respondents prefer watching news while 30 percent prefer reading magazines and daily newspapers as the source of information. The leading attributes that consumers look for before making a purchase were the quality, style, reputation of seller accordingly. 3.0 International marketing strategy Midomo Initiative has positioned itself as a non-governmental organisation that cares for life through offering clean water to developing nations. The company market positioning acts as an inspiration towards the conservation of the natural environment. The bracelet will be positioned as a gift to buyers who donate their funds towards saving humanity of the suffering human beings in developing countries. The bracelet is positioned as stylishly designed, feminine and playfulness product that symbolizes water thus creating feelings of care towards giving free clean water to suffering citizens of developing countries. The bracelet is a symbol of celebration of life since clean water is associated with life. The organisation will target several market segments in the UK. For instance, one of the major market segments will be the corporate sector since multinational organisations have enough resources to make a charitable donation as part of the corporate social responsibility. The second market segment is the aged citizens who have enough time and wealthy to contribute towards charity work. The wealthy individuals will include the retired sports personalities, media personalities, business executives and other professionals. The third market segment will comprise of the international donors who will have the opportunity to purchase the product through the website platform and enjoy free shipping. There are certain attributes of Midomo bracelet that will be offered in UK market such as the quality, style, and convenience of the bracelet (Pickton 123). Consumers in UK will be required to pay only 275 pounds to purchase the product. I addition, each bracelet has a unique serial number that will enable the customers to track their donations online. The product is only geared at promoting the activities of the organisation and strengthening relationships with existing donors thus enabling the sustainability of operations (Pickton 89). The organisation will employ several marketing executives who will be tasked with distributing the products in shopping malls, retail stores and airports in the UK. The sales force will be trained on the product attributes and how to easily market the product to the UK consumers. The organisation will rely on both direct and indirect distribution channels. For instance, the organisation will appoint agents who will be tasked with distributing the product in retail centers and partner with large shopping stores in order to stock the products. In addition, the customers can make online purchases at the comfort of their homes and enjoy free delivery (Yeshin 244). Mass media advertising and publicity are the preferred integrated marketing communication methods that will be used to inform and persuade the customers to buy the bracelet (Yeshin 309). Most of the UK citizens prefer watching television news and reading newspapers thus these two forms of mass media channels will be useful in advertising the bracelet. The company will also offer sales promotions in order to increase the volume of sales. The company will encourage customers to purchase different varieties of the bracelet and enjoy discounted prices (Pickton 56). Works cited: Chew, Celine. Strategic Positioning in Voluntary and Charitable Organizations. London: Routledge. 2009. Print. Oxford Business Group. The Report: United Kingdom 2012. Oxford: Oxford Press. Print. Pickton, David. Integrated Marketing Communications. New York: Prentice-Hall. 2005. Print. Yeshin, Tony. Integrated Marketing Communications. New York: Routledge. 2012. Print. Appendix one Survey questionnaire 1) How old are you? (tick one) ?19 – 25 years ? 26- 35 years ? 36- 50 years ?51- 59 years ?60 and above 2) What is your gender? (tick one) ? Female ? Male 3) Which is your favorite source of new information? (tick one) ? Television ? Newspapers ? The internet 4) Which is the highest level of education that you have attained? (Tick the most applicable) ? Grammar school ?High school/ Elementary education ?College ? Bachelors degree ? Masters degree ?Doctorate degree ? Professional course 5) Which one of the following best describes your employment status? (tick one) ? Not employed ?Casual or part-time employment ?Fulltime and permanent employment ?in private business ?Currently looking for a job 6) What is your annual gross wage/ salary in UK pounds (tick one). ?Less than 15,000 per annum ?15,000- 30,000 ?30,001 – 60,000 ?60,001 – 120,000 ?120,001- 240,000 ?240,001- 480, 000 ? 480,001and above 7) Which is the most preferred attribute that influences your decision to purchase a product? (tick one) ? Price ? Shape ? Quality ? Convenience of use ? Seller reputation ? Social status ? Fashion 8) Would you be willing to make a donation to a charitable organisation? (tick one) ? Yes ? No Read More