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Running head: PRODUCT MARKETING PLAN 1
PRODUCT MARKETING PLAN 5
Product marketing plan
Introduction
Uniqueness is one aspect that products need to command to capture a competitive edge within their market segment. Whirlpool is a company that has always strived to produce products that stand out, with unique and ground-breaking functionalities that revolutionize technology and innovation. Currently, the company plan to launch the solar electric bicycle, which they hope to project into the market. Below is a marketing plan that looks to endear this innovation into the market, hoping to topple the competition that exists in the context of green energy innovations. It describes the product characteristics, enumerating the product appearance, feature, quality, and the services that the product stands to offer. Further, it identifies a product market and justifies a segmentation strategy that could work for the product in question. Finally, it compares the approach that the company adopts against those of the competition within the market.
The product is a typical bicycle, however, which comes with a few adjustments as to the source of propulsion. Over and above the pedaling system, it has an auxiliary source of power, being small solar panels that store the energy in batteries within the body of the bicycles. The quality that the company offers is the highest, with the frame coming in pure fiber. The bikes are distinct in the sense that they give the users alternative sources of energy, albeit with zero emissions (Venter et al., 2017). Finally, the bikes are best for exercising over long distances, although their solar-powered capabilities allow them to suffice for recreational purposes.
The key feature of this product is the solar-powered propulsion system that works alongside the pedals. In the industry, there are no such products, which makes the innovation a unique one in its own right. The product offers the benefit of alternative propulsion, which assists in making the riding experience easier and more attainable, even for the members of the society who would otherwise find difficulty in riding bicycles. The solar power ensures that although there is the generation of energy, the bike does not produce emissions that are harmful to the environment.
The target market for the product is diverse, considering the full range of its applicability. However, the company sought to correctly respond to the needs of the older generation as well as the disabled, who do not have sufficient energy to pedal the conventional bicycles. The recreational aspect further opens up the market to include the youthful users who would consider it a fashion statement (Hatheway et al., 2017). Financially, it targets the market that straddles the middle class and high-income earners, as the product does not necessarily pass for a necessity. In the VALS2 scale, the product targets experiencers who have a steady income at their disposal and are willing to indulge as well as express themselves.
The most viable segmentation strategy in the instance of this product is the demographic segmentation. This type of market segmentation appreciates the market in the form of its various divisions, being age, gender, family size, income, education level, and occupation. It is relevant in this instance since the product is not meant to be universal and thus seeks to exploit the income, age, and ability segments of the market. As mentioned above, the target market remains the middle to high-income earners, the older members of society, individuals with a disability as well as the younger people who would like to apply the product for its fanciness.
Unlike the company's competition, this product has a peculiar target market and applies a unique market segmentation strategy. For example, the product encompasses the target market that the conventional bicycle targets, which makes it a competition for the other market players. However, over and above that, it also exclusively targets the disabled population as well as the aged population. Its market segmentation strategy is even broader than that of its contemporaries, only differing in the sense that it even specifically ventures into market segments that the conventional bicycles do not reach.
References
Hatheway, F., Kwan, A., & Zheng, H. (2017). An empirical analysis of market segmentation on US equity markets. Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, 52(6), 2399-2427.
Venter, P., Wright, A., & Dibb, S. (2015). Performing market segmentation: a performative perspective. Journal of Marketing Management, 31(1-2), 62-83.