Part One:
When coming up with a marketing strategy, it is essential for firms to utilize a thought process called segmentation, (Lynn, M., 2011). Segmentation transpires when the prospective firm or business divides up the various sectors of their market and decides how they are going to reach their target consumer to produce more sales, (Lynn, M., 2011). Segmentation ties into target marketing and also wish marketing, which occurs when the firm selects their target market of consumers they can realistically target and then their wish market relating to the markets they desire to penetrate, (Lynn, M., 2011). At this point, the firm decides whether these markets are homogenous or heterogeneous in order to formulate a strategy to reach these markets based on their similarities and overall differences, (Lynn, M., 2011). Given External Life’s wide array of potential markets, the company is going to have to take a unique approach when considering what their target market exactly is.
External Life is unique in that it has several target markets. One target market is the local schools and universities that could potentially use their counseling services as both a forum for student counseling and also a place for the Psychology majors to research regarding their upcoming degree of study. Another target market for External Life is going to be the professionals in the Psychology field that need to research individual client cases that they need more information about. Furthermore, another viable target market for External Life is going to be those individuals who would like to seek out independent psychological counseling in the privacy of their homes. The culmination of these respective niches are what comprise the target markets of External Life. Relating to prospective Wish Markets, there are several more components of the market relating to the educational sector to explore including the possibility of each individual academic institution building their own database that allows students to obtain private counseling, for example.
Part Two:
In considering the prospective markets for External Life, it is best to identify the primary market as the educational sector. The reason for this is that the educational sector has a plethora of opportunities to offer External Life because the strategy can lead to more fiscal opportunities down the road. For example, by starting External Life as a private access forum for each Psychology department at the individual university, External Life can grow from a research forum for students to a portal for university-wide counseling. Given the plethora of funding that universities have access to, this is a natural primary target market for External Life to Pursue.
Regarding a possible secondary market, External Life needs to target the end user who does not want to go to a therapist for counseling. This will be a larger market potential than that of a therapist who needs to research additional medical information related to individual patient cases. The end user who wants marriage counseling, counseling related to substance abuse or counseling pertaining to an existing mental disorder is an ideal target to grow External Life’s business. This sector of the potential market can make External Life a subscription based service or a package per block of counseling sessions that would appeal to this consumer who wants absolutely confidentiality and does not feel comfortable meeting with a therapist in person. Furthermore, this sector of External Life can also serve as an educational tool and forum to this target market because it can allow the end user to learn more about their disorder or upcoming divorce counseling.
In sum, the primary and secondary markets for External Life are a sensational choice for External Life to pursue because they will spread out the reach of their business into many different prospective consumers ranging from the academic to the personal counseling sector, which will be quite lucrative for External Life in the long term.
References
Lynn, M. (2011). Segmenting and Targeting Your Market Strategies and Limitations. Cornell University. Retrieved from: http://scholarship.sha.cornell.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1238&context=articles
