Everyday consumers seem to be on the lookout for new products that will significantly improve their current lifestyle by giving them more free time and value for each penny spent. The high cost of living has subjected many families to engage in more income generating activities to meet various responsibilities and live a healthy and satisfying life. This continues to deny them time to do things such as laundry, and they have to be smart all the time. Quality home appliances have proven to be a great deal toward the realization of these dreams. Achieving a dynamic and impeccable product such as shoe washing machine require proper product documentation process.
SWASH Shoe Wash Machine Product Documentation Process
This product will undergo five product development stages. These include concept, synthesizing the idea, product design, testing and finally launching. In the first step, the concept, product need is identified through observation of existing product gaps in the market. Ideating follows to virtually picture the product in the market. It is at this step that various specifications are outlined to provide a rare quality in the market or improve on other existing. The next step involves designing of the product, converting the ideas to a real commodity. Upon completion, the SWASH shoe cleaner is subjected to various tests such as quality test, environmental friendly test, safety tests among other new product checklists before releasing to the market. Successful testing paves the way for the final launching of the product which signalizes commencement of active sale process.
CONCEPT
IDEALATING
Market Analysis
Home appliances manufacturers such as LG, Bosch, Samsung, and GE among other companies continue to improve on the current washing machine. However, the improvement is only to enhance and achieve a better cloth washing experience with little or no emphasis on shoe washer. Consumers who have only a little time to spend at home and want to wash their shoes have been forced to use cloth washing machine for their shoes. Many have been disappointed because of traces of stains on their shoes caused by poor rinsing system. Most of the available washing machines do no use enough water for rinsing with others having very low spins between the rinses.
Also, households have had their shoes damaged thus compromising their expected product life. Additionally, families have been subjected to use more effort to cleaning their shoes due to lack of the right machine. They continue to clean their shoes with a lot of stress because of the unreliability of the available machines that demand close monitoring to ensure the shoes are not ruined.
Market Trend
The current home appliance market is full of continuous improvement. Products have reduced life due to the rapid change in consumer taste and preferences. Manufacturers are them forced to improve on their existing products through rebranding as well as introducing a new product altogether.
Target Market Analysis (Demographic Profile and Psychographic Profile)
Demographic Profile
The target market comprises of females aged 35-55 who are married and have children. These ladies are experiencing more pressure of balancing their work life and that of the family. They do need reliable home appliances that will guarantee maximum satisfaction and will ensure they perform household chores within a short time to allow them to focus on other pressing matters related to work and also having great family time. This group of ladies also have sophisticated jobs with a six-digit monthly remuneration which enable them to afford anything their heart so desires in the commodity market.
Psychographic Profile
These women enjoy the consumption of quality products regardless of the price. They are after value for every goods or service they purchase. Most of the time, they are engaged in consultation and group meetings over their businesses and jobs. They use available free time on the internet, socializing and checking for new products that may interest them. Furthermore, they are more concerned about their looks and always love stepping out elegantly dressed from shoe to head.
Marketing Mix Strategy
Product/ Brand Analysis
Whirlpool is a global brand in the home appliance marketing niche. The company is known for its sophisticated designs that offer consumers true value for their money. Last year, the company made over $21 billion sales of its SWASH™ washing machine known for its ten minutes cloth care system and reliability. Swash Shoe washing machine is expected to ride on the established brand that will facilitate quick sale because Whirlpool is present in over 170 countries. Lillie, Rangaswa, and Bruyn (2013) suggests that a company that has an established brand should profit from that brand in the subsequent release of new products line. They further argue that consumers will remember the company for what it offered last and if the previously offered product exceeded their expectation, new products from the company will always triumph in such markets
Brand Positioning
Availability of similar products in the market makes it compulsory for a company that focuses on retaining their clients to position their product and let the public associate them with that brand attribute. Whirlpool is known for manufacturing quality and reliable home appliances and offering the products at a relatively low price. The new product should be positioned in such a way that the reliability aspect of the product dominates other specification and cost. This is because most of the current washers available are not reliable, some end up destroying the shoes while others suffer from mechanical breakdown while in action. Walters (2015) argue that the modern consumers are more interested in durable and sophisticated products. They need products that will offer some uniqueness and at the same time save them the numerous maintenance cost they might have experienced with competitors brands.
Product Uniqueness
Dawson (2003) argues that product differentiation is not only a company marketing strategy or initiative but it also a company ethical responsibility to make it easy for consumers to identify their products using distinct features not present in the competitors offering. SWASH™ shoe washer will be easily identified by its touch screen feature which allows users to input various commands and make selections. Also, its large shoe holding compartment that can thoroughly wash six pairs of shoes in a single session and also accommodate different shoe materials up to five which include leather, suede, fabric, plastics, and sneakers.
Pricing Strategy
The company intends to use three different pricing strategies to capture various markets as well as different consumer groups. It will use discriminatory pricing in it different 170 markets. This will be a penetration strategy to allow as many consumers afford the product. Next, premium pricing will dominate most of its market due to a high-income level of the company’s target group. Lillien et al. (2013) argue that many consumers associate high prices with value/quality hence will stop at nothing to get that community. Lastly, the company will employ cost-based pricing also to realize a reasonable profit margin.
Promotional Mix
Whirlpool intends to use high-end and fast selling stores such as Best Buy, Brookstone, and Nordstrom. Besides the use of reputable stores, the company intends to give free samples of the shoe washer to fashion bloggers, famous actresses as well as models to give the product a celebrity identity that is likely to favorite it among other competitors substitute available in the market. It will also invest in social media marketing to ride on the already established platform with millions of users.
Integrating Marketing Communication
Operating in a market with two generations require a perfect blend of traditional and modern communication techniques to deliver the message (Ang, 2014) consistently and more efficiently across all the channels. The company intends to implement and integrated marketing communication system (IMCS) to harmonize its promotional messages and track potential clients’ feedback.
Distribution Strategy
Whirlpool will capitalize on its presence in more than 170 countries to aid in the distribution of the shoe washer. It will use existing company designated stores and approved distributor partner businesses to reach as many clients as possible. The company also projects opening more stores in new markets.
References
Ang, L. (2013). Integrated Marketing Communications: A focus on new technologies and advanced theories. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Dawson, M. (2003). The consumer trap: Big business marketing in American life. Urbana: University of Illinois Press.
Lilien, G. L., Rangaswamy, A., & Bruyn, A. D. (2013). Principles of marketing engineering. State College, PA: DecisionPro.
Walters, D. (2015). Behavioral marketing: Delivering personalized experiences at scale. New york: Wiley & Sons.
