MARKET RESEARCH AND SEGMENTATION (SLP)

Shaneya Acker

Dr. Eric Oestmann

MHM 525

Trident University International

March 17, 2019

Segmentation, targeting, positioning, and analysis

Market analysis

The industry of offering long term care for the aged is a growing industry in the Richmond area. According to the statistics of Richmond County, close to 22% of the dwellers of the county is between 22years and 45 years, 4% are between 45 and 55 years and close to 13% are over 65 years of age. With the above statistics, it is safe to assume that those who are 65 years and above are the current target clients for long term care services and facilities and those who are between 45years and 55 years will be the target clients in the next ten years. It is in the best interest of the organization that we not only come up with a marketing strategy that targets the current target clients but also targets the future target clients.

An analysis of the target market place reveals that half of the population is of African American descent and that only 40% are white Americans. The nature of the organization is likely to attract white Americans over African Americans and this is because of the family values differences. The best case scenario for the organization would be to attract as many people from all the races living in the Richmond area however that is not going to be the case unless specific measures are taken up.

The organization can frame the services they offer the aged of the African American descent with the intention of attracting them. For example, the organization can offer to have dance incorporated in their facilities and this is because of the love African American regardless of age have for music. Not only will the strategy attract more customers from the African American decent but it will also put the organization ahead of its competition.

Unlike other areas, Richmond County has a huge population of African Americans and as mentioned in the above paragraph African Americans rarely consider having their elderly in long term care services. The other areas in the US have lesser numbers of African Americans and for that reason are likely to have more elders in long term care facilities. Local organizations in the Richmond area that offer long term care services have a small pool of clients as compared to other parts of the country and it is for that reason that the marketing strategies for the Richmond area are more advanced compared to the marketing strategies of other places.

Environmental analysis

The Richmond area for a long time was known as one of the most dangerous parts of the US and this was because of the high rates of poverty which contributed significantly to high rates of criminal activity. With high crime rates, the county has a poor economy compared to other counties and it is for that reason that the area receives reduced consumer activity for all sectors including the hospitality and health sector.

Political/legal

At the moment, the policies in place do not really advocate or push for the operations of the organization. The elderly and veterans are covered well by the medical policies in place; healthcare for the elderly is an entitlement that is protected by the law. With policies that cover the elderly, few people want or are willing to incur extra costs to take care of the elderly and this by itself reduces the potential customers that the organization can attract to their facility. It is for the above reason that the organization should market itself more using the selling point that they take away the extra burden of caring for the aged.

Social/cultural

Bearing in mind that the target population for the organization is majorly African Americans, It would be best for the organization to carry our marketing strategies that target on the close-knit culture of African Americans (Ernst & Dolnicar, 2018). The organization can have a selling proposal that states that the organization offers long term care services that can be equated to homely care. Such a mantra would appeal more to the African American population. Using such a mantra will also help retain the white American target population as well since everybody loves homely care services.

Consumer analysis

The immediate target population for the organization is the elderly who are 55 years and above while the secondary target population is for the people who are between the ages of 45 and 55 years. The primary target population requires personalized care because of their frail age. They also need to have all possible chores that one can think of, performed for them. In order to meet the needs of the target population better than any organization that offers the same services that we offer, the organization will use two strategies. The first strategy will involve having facilities and equipment that offer advanced recreational services to the target population (Schlegelmilch, 2016). The second strategy will involve having facilities and equipment that make it possible to deal with chronic diseases as well as diseases and conditions that come with age.

The first strategy will come in handy in pinning down the competition because most long term care facilities around the area and all over America do not offer recreational facilities to the age. They instead offer the basics which include; having green lawns which they can walk and exercise, offer good food and good shelter. By our organization offering recreational facilities and activities such as board games, saunas, and Jacuzzis the organization will offer services that appeal to the elderly as well as to their sponsors. The second strategy will offer advanced medical services that are not offered by most long term care facilities but are really needed by the target population.

The biggest beneficiary of the organization is the elderly as they get access to full-time care. The secondary beneficiaries of the organizations are the sponsors or the children of the elderly as they get to free themselves the burden of taking care of the elderly. The market segmentation that will benefit the most from the services offered by the organization is the demographic segmentation (Cross, Belich & Rudelius, 2015).

References

Cross, J. C., Belich, T. J., & Rudelius, W. (2015). How marketing managers use market segmentation: An exploratory study. In Proceedings of the 1990 Academy of Marketing Science (AMS) Annual Conference (pp. 531-536). Springer, Cham.

Ernst, D., & Dolnicar, S. (2018). How to avoid random market segmentation solutions. Journal of Travel Research, 57(1), 69-82.

Schlegelmilch, B. B. (2016). Segmenting Targeting and Positioning in Global Markets. In Global Marketing Strategy(pp. 63-82). Springer, Cham.