Introduction
Marketing is the process by which entrepreneurs can attract customers’ attention towards purchasing a company’s products. It involves all the activities undertaken by an entrepreneur to ensure that the firm’s products are easily accessible in the market. One of the core objectives of marketing is to increase a firm’s customer base. To attain this, several issues are considered. Some of these relate to packaging, selling, pricing, public relations, and distribution of a product.
Johnson and Johnson is a private limited company that has been in operation within the United States health care industry for several years. The firm deals with a wide range of health care and pharmaceutical products. These products are marketed to both industrial and individual customers. The firm’s products are consumed by various groups of customers. An example of a product category that the firm deals with includes skincare products.
In to realize an effective marketing process, the firm differentiates its products according to the diverse requirements of customers. The firm markets its skincare products based on gender and age. For the company to attract a wide range of customers, it must concentrate on the best marketing technique which will appeal to a lot of customers. To attain this, the firm’s management team has incorporated the concept of product innovation. As a result, the firm has been able to develop and introduce Deep Hydrating Lotion to the market (Johnson & Johnson, 2010, para.1).
This essay entails a comprehensive analysis of the various elements related to the target market and branding concerning Deep Hydrating Lotion.
Target market
A target market is a subset of the entire market with similar characteristics. It forms a segment of the entire market where all the marketing efforts are directed. Upon establishing a target market, the seller can formulate effective marketing strategies to attain a large customer base.
In marketing Deep Hydrating Lotion, Johnson and Johnson Company has identified women as its core target market. This arises from the realization of the fact that ladies are the major consumer of the beauty products such as lotions. This formed the basis upon which the firm’s management team decided to target women as its key target market.
Why is target market selection an important exercise?
One of the benefits of a target market is marketers can identify the requirements of their customers and produce the products based on their specifications. Johnson and Johnson conduct consumer market research to identify the specifications of the target market for their product. Through market research, the firm has been able to develop Deep Hydrating Lotion to be consumed by women.
Another importance is that marketers can save time and money. This is because they market to individuals who consume their products and avoid those who do not. The firm markets the Deep Hydrating Lotion to ladies because they are the largest consumers of skin health care products. Marketing the product to males would be a wastage of time since it does not conform to their specifications. Also, the money spent on marketing is reduced because only a selected market group is targeted.
According to Ferreira (2009, p.12), target marketing enables the entrepreneur to plan and organize the activities to be considered in the marketing process. As a result, there is a standard procedure which the company will follow to reach prospective customers. In summation, target marketing has proved to be an efficient method through which the entrepreneur can be able to reach a potential customer.
The factors in selecting and managing the target segment
According to Ferreira (2009, p.12), several elements have to be put into consideration when choosing the target market. Some of these elements are analyzed below.
Size of the market segment
The entrepreneur should develop an understanding of the background information regarding the expected number of potential customers from the target market. A market with a high number of potential customers is considered to be a viable market. This arises from the fact that the market has the potential to grow. The probability of the target market growth in the future is evaluated to determine the degree of any future growth. Ladies are the prime consumers of the Deep Hydrating Lotion. By targeting these customers, Johnson and Johnson management team evaluated the size of the market through market research. Findings of the market research indicated that the population of ladies is more compared to their male counterparts. As a result, the firm’s management team decided to target this as its potential market.
Type of customers present in the market
The customers in a given target market should be loyal to the firm’s product. This is evidenced by the development of repeat purchase behavior. Loyal customers result in an increment in the firm’s customer base. About consumption of health care products, ladies have proved to be more consistent leading to the creation of customer loyalty. By marketing Deep Hydrating Lotion to ladies, Johnson and Johnson will be able to develop survive in the long term.
Matching of the business and the target market
This body lotion is commonly consumed by ladies. The firm has shown its commitment to matching the qualities of the product to the target market. Therefore, a business should be capable of producing those commodities which are attractive to the consumers. This implies that the seller needs to have prior information of what the customers require and then focus on satisfying those needs.
Branding
Branding has been defined as a method of dealing with completion in the market by differentiating the products and/ or services of a company from those of other companies (Lake, 2010, para.1-6). This is done through the creation of brands where the seller manipulates the minds of the customers to believe that he/she poses the solution to their problems. The firm has different brands one of them being the Deep Hydrating Lotion.
Brand
A brand could be a symbol, term, name, or sign that when used helps to differentiate the product or service of one seller from those of competitors. A good brand achieves the following objectives;
- Delivers the message- the Deep Hydrating Lotion by itself attracts the people’s attention by relaying a message of tender skin.
- Confirms the credibility-the lotion has received credits from the many customers using it.
- Solidifies consumer loyalty-users have continued using the lotion thereby showing the user’s loyalty towards the firm.
- Connects the target market prospects emotionally-the consumers view this lotion with a perspective that it is the final solution to the skin problem.
- Motivate the buyer-the lotion has proved to be effective and thus more customers are encouraged to buy the product.
The importance of branding
According to Fuchs (2010, para. 1-6), branding is very crucial in the marketing process. Some of the benefits of branding are discussed as follows.
Effective branding can influence one to make a decision either to buy or not buy the product. In addition, a strong brand can dictate how the price will be set and also it dictates the number of items to be sold. Branding helps a seller to prevent the customers from the competitors. If a strong brand exists, the seller can protect his customer base from the customers away from competitor’s reach.
A strong brand creates trust in the company. Buyers view the company as offering genuine products as compared to those of the competitors. Branding will help in making purchasing decisions. Customers are made to believe that the product will satisfy their needs even before they practically apply or use the brand. A strong brand gives a company credits concerning the genuineness of the products the company offers to customers. Good brands will always attract more customers even to other existing brands of the company. A strong brand results in the development of strong customer loyalty. This arises from the fact that the customers will ever stick to the business with the perception that, the company is offering the best in the industry.
Branding helps to create value for a business. If a business has strong brands, customers will attach a high value to the company. In conclusion, strong branding builds a strong foundation for the company.
Deep Hydrated Lotion has been confirmed as an effective brand that is used for skincare purposes by women. Once the product is mentioned, an image of tender and smooth skin strikes. The brand is used for making skin tender and soft and therefore thoughts of a baby-like skin start to be generated in the mind.
The brand “Deep Hydrated Lotion” appeals to the market because when a customer hears of a baby-like skin, she imagines how she will look after using the product, and therefore she decides to buy the brand to give it a trial. Many of the customers have been introduced to the brand via the images and names of the brand.
The brand has proved to be successful in that it has remained in the market for a long time. Also, the customer base using the product is growing significantly. Customers are starting to consider purchasing the product to experience the effect as demonstrated by the brand name.
The profitability of the product has been gauged to be high. This is because the company has continued to incorporate the brand among its range of products for years. If the product is not profitable, the company would have dropped it from the range of its products. Deep Hydrated Lotion has been uniquely manufactured in a way that appeals to a lot of customers. But, the company should have produced this product in different forms. That is in liquid, vapor, or in solid form to cater to a more wide range of customers.
Conclusion
Marketing is one of the factors that keep a business in its operation despite the intensity of competition. Therefore, an entrepreneur should capitalize on the best marketing techniques to attain a sufficient customer base. In addition, establishing a target market has also been viewed as very vital. This is because businesses narrow down to the prospective customers during marketing. To conclude, companies should first evaluate what brand to market to anticipate potential customer reactions.
Reference List
Ferreira, K. (2009). Importance of target marketing for financial freedom. Web.
Fuchs, C. (2010). The importance of branding-can it really make a difference?. Web.
Johnson & Johnson. (2010).How can Johnson’s nurture you? U.S: Johnson & Johnson Consumer Products Inc. Web.
Lake, L. (2010). What is branding and how important it is to your marketing strategy?. New York: The New York Times Company. Web.