Hair transplant is one of the latest services in the health care sector. However, this procedure has been used in the United States since the 1950s. It involves taking a narrow strip from the back of the head where there is hair and placing it where there is totally no hair or where the hair has thinned out. The reason why it’s a modern service is because of the advancements in technology, making the process of hair transplantation and the aftermath appear as naturally.
Target Market
In addition to this, there are those people that have the hereditary gene for baldness. They form a target market as well as those who are aging and losing their hair fast. Celebrities also form majority of the target market. They desire to have that young look even when they are advancing in age so that their career is not compromised much.
Importance of having a Target Market
The major reason here is to enable the company put focus on the wants and needs of a selected number of individuals. This is important because the company will be able to know what is to be accomplished in the coming days. A target market is vital, especially when coming up with a marketing plan. It is in the market plan that all the strategies and tactics are found which have to be followed so that the targeted sales and profits are met. For this to be done, the company needs to collect relevant information as regards its potential customers’ needs and wants. This thus calls for a market research whereby a company will easily determine who among the many can form a target market; the ones who will be able to buy their products and services, (Barringer & Ireland, 2010).
This enables us to derive the fact that a marketing plan that is effective puts into consideration the target market importance; there is no company that can survive without this. A company should therefore put focus on demographic factors that are related to the target market. For instance, age and gender, their income earnings, level of education, and family status; either married, retired, et al. another advantage of using these target markets is ensuring that more opportunities are easily identified and putting the products or services strategically. It will be easy for a company to come up with the right type of advertisement, select the right media to propagate it and one that is most effective, (Chavez, 2014).
Issues and Questions to be addressed when selecting and managing a Target Market
It is important for a company to understand its consumers. This will determine whether the business is bound to grow or stagnate. For a company to know whether it has a target market and how it is, it has to put into focus some questions. One of these is why does the consumer need to pay for the service or product that a company is selling? A company has to grasp the problem that the particular product or service can solve. In this case, hair transplant helps a person improve his or her image, thus boosting self-esteem and confidence. It also saves one from baldness.
Is the company going overboard? It is possible for a company to overestimate its reach and assume that lots of people will be in need of the product or service. Instead of the company going ahead to trust these insinuations, it should go ahead and be in touch with the potential consumers so that information close to reality is gotten. This gives the company a platform to work on so that they are able to narrow down their efforts of marketing, (Chavez, 2014).
How will a company sell its product or service? To determine the target market, the marketing strategy has to be followed. In this case, the hospital, clinic or private firm that offers hair transplant has to define how the consumers will know about it; is it through people making visits to the clinic, or is the information displayed online. Another important issue to consider is on getting the consumers. As a company is trying to sort out its target consumers, it has to put in mind also how it is going to market the services to them efficiently. This can be done through undertaking market researches as well as studying the patterns of purchase of the consumers, (Barringer & Ireland, 2010).
Branding
A brand is a design, a symbol or word that is unique and one that is used to come up with an image which gives a certain product or service a cutting edge and makes it different from the rest of its competitors. With time, this particular image is respected among consumers because it satisfies them. A brand enables a consumer know what she/he wants soon as she/he walks through the door of a shopping mall.
It is important to have a brand because it enables clear delivery of messages. Once the consumer sees it, he/she knows what it is about. It also gives motivation to the buyer. He/she knows that there is no lose to buying a certain product because it is authentic. Lastly, the loyalty of the consumer is cemented. The consumer will make the product a favorite and it would be hard for him/her to switch to another product.
Aquafresh is one of the brand names to which consumers can be loyal. It is one of the largest brands in the world. It deals with dental care products that range from toothbrushes, mouth wash to toothpastes, (Aquafresh, 2014). It is easy to relate to this brand because of the strips on the toothpaste that are red, white and blue in color. These colors are very distinct visually. This is a brand that appeals to its market because of the colors and the message they communicate. It shows the three advantages of using the brand; that is, having strong teeth, gums that are healthy, and breath that is fresh. The distinctiveness of the colors used in the brand appeal to the consumer and this makes it a successful brand; it is found in several countries for that matter. The fact that the company has ventured into various countries makes it a success and a pointing factor that it makes profits, statistically, the brand grew by 10% in 2008, (GlaxoSmithKline, 2010). If this were my product, I would consider rebranding the product and coming up with more target markets. There is stiff competition; especially from the Sensodyne Brand which may overtake its market reach. Rebranding will help people realize the ‘new brand’ that always was.
Conclusion
A target market is a vital element for any company that wants to climb up the ladder of success. Identification of a target market can be done through having experienced personnel who conduct market research. Hair transplant is one of the services provided by the health care sector. Its target audience is the urban class people who can afford the expensive procedure as well as the celebrities. Having such a target market enables a company know what to do to ensure quality service as well as identifying opportunities as they crop up. However, while coming up with this target market, there are other issues and questions to consider ensuring efficient delivery of services and products. In branding, products and services from a particular company may carve a name for themselves so that consumers can easily identify with the; for instance, Aquafresh, which is a brand name for a whole range of products ranging from toothpaste to toothbrushes as well as mouth wash.
Work Cited
Aquafresh, Aquafresh retrieved from https://www.aquafresh.co.uk/ on 28 January 2014.
Barringer, B, R. & Ireland, D. R. Entrepreneurship: Successfully Launching New Ventures. 2010
Chavez, M. Importance of Target Markets to a Marketing Plan retrieved from http://marketing-and-branding.knoji.com/importance-of-target-markets-to-a-marketing-plan/ on 28 January 2014.
GlaxoSmithKline. Annual report 2010. United Kingdom Prentice Hall. Pearson Education, Inc., 2010.
