New Product Marketing Plan Essay

In the continuation of the product marketing plan for Tress Express, the completion of the market segmentation will allow for further development of the necessary elements to introduce the product line into today’s market. As such, the detailing of the business’ target market profile key buying behaviors and organizational target markets will shed light on the potential customers and the methods behind their reasoning for seeking out such products. Along with the management of the Product Life Cycle (PLC), as well as the product mix and positioning statement for Tress Express, this second part of the product marketing plan will expand upon elements of marketing. Target Market Profiles Millions of people worldwide are affected by hair loss or thinning. According to Statisticbrian.com (2014), approximately 56 million men and women experience hair loss. Estimates indicate that by the age of 60, 65% of men and 80% of women will experience noticeable hair loss or thinning. Statistics indicate that as men and women age, the likelihood of hair loss increases. For those not affected by thinning or loss will usually experience graying hair over time. Tress Express Products line of emergency cosmetic hair care solutions targets aging adults affected by hair thinning, loss, and graying. Tress Express Products customers are concerned with health, energy, and wellness. They look for quick fixes that provide instant improvement. They are open to new products that save them time, make life easier, and are cost effective. Tress Express Products customers are motivated by their current life stage rather than their age. Service and low-price items are valued by them. They are less sensitive to prestige. If they feel they are purchasing a superior product at a good value they are less price conscious. Product Life Cycle Four stages exist in the product life cycle: introduction, growth, mature, and declining stage (What is Your Product Life Cycle, 2014). Each of the stages consists of action the businesses take to introduce, manufactures, and market the product to consumers. The first stages starts with product development into the consumer market. During the introduction stage, the business launches the product into the market while providing special consideration to pricing, market segmentation, branding, and promotional requirements (What is Your Product Life Cycle, 2014). Growth follows introduction as the second stage to product life cycle. During the growth stage, the company attempts to increase market share by expanding the target audience, increase product awareness, and enter additional markets (What is Your Product Life Cycle, 2014). The third stage consists of maturity. Rick Suttle characterizes maturity as the saturated stage in the product life cycle process. During the maturity stage, the competition for market share becomes fierce. Businesses adopt alternative business strategies such as lowering product prices, adding additional products into the market, or add new features into the existing product (Suttle, 2014). The decline stage completes the product life cycle process. During the decline stage, the product becomes obsolete and irrelevant. The company can either add new features to the product to entice customer to return or discontinue production. The demand for hair loss treatment products has increased over the years. The increasing demand presents an opportunity for a company to introduce a new product into the market. However, introducing a new product into the market presents various challenges for a business especially if the industry has a leading product provider such as Rogaine. The company needs to plan and monitor the life cycle process to ensure product longevity. Following the four stages of product life cycle with special consideration to product, place, price, and promotion provides a guide to ensure a position and sufficient share in the market. Introducing a hair loss product into the market serves a vital role to the company’s success. The plan requires aggressive medical research, testing, and promotion to ensure product meets consumer expectations. The company needs to focus on product differentiation to distinguish the product from its competitors. Furthermore, the company needs to conduct price comparison with leading  competitors to establish the selling price. The price needs to accommodate the targeted consumer in the introduction phase. Furthermore, the promotion of the product requires an aggressive approach by incorporating multi-media means such as social networking, media advertising, and printing. Growing market shares extends the life of the product. The product life cycle characterized growth as the expansion of the product. The company can accomplish growth by either extending product awareness through additional promotional objectives or expanding product qualities. However, the company needs to examine before undertaking endeavors intended to increase growth. The endeavors may increase the cost of the product that will translate to price increase that will have a negative effect to revenues. During the maturity stage the market becomes saturated with other competitors. If the market demands remained constant and suppliers increases, the demand for company’s hair loss product may decrease. During this stage, the company needs to undertake drastic changes in order to prevent decline. The company needs to reinvest on research and development to introduce new products or increase product differentiation. Furthermore, the company needs to increase its consumer reach or lower the price without compromising the quality of the product to gain market advantage over its competitors. The decline stage ends the product life cycle process. During the decline stage, the company re-invents its product to gain any possible momentum. A study of the market also serves vital to determine if the market remain profitable. The company can end its product manufacturing during the decline stage and sells remaining products in preparation for the end. Product Offering Tress Express Products offers low cost emergency cosmetic hair care solutions. Tress Express currently offers three products to combat gray hair. The Gray Blaster Pen, a gray cover up applicator pen, Gray Away Hair Spray conceals thin spots, and Hairline Concealer kit fills in the hairline with the use of makeup brushes and a palette of hair concealer powders. Tress Express is introducing a new hair dye product called Gray Away Henna Dye. Gray Away Henna Dye is an all-natural hair dye that bonds with your hair and specialty herbs condition the hair and scalp. This product will be available in six hair colors. The hair colors will be black, light brown,  red, auburn, blonde, and dark brown. Developing a natural hair dye product, will appeal to the eco-friendly consumers. The branding will be consistent with the current products developed by Tress Express Product to include logo and company tag line. The Gray Away Henna Dye will be packaged in a box featuring the hair color contained within the box. The box will also emphasize the â€Å"All-Natural† tagging. This product is along the lines of competitive or substitute henna dyes on the market, but Tress Express’s henna dye is safe to mix with other colors and nourishes as it colors. No warranties or guarantees will be offered. This product will provide another low cost option to our emergency cosmetic hair care solutions. Positioning Statement and Justification Thinning and balding hair is a natural occurrence that affects both men and women of all ages. Tress Express caters to everyone who faces hair loss challenges. Tress Express is the first choice for emergency hair solutions. Tress Express is positioned as the premier hair emergency solution that provides quick and easy hair balding products that are cost effective. Tress Express hair care products provide the simplest and most cost effective solutions for thinning hair. Tress Express was created to assist both men and women with achieving their best look. With Tress Express anyone can eliminate embarrassment in an instant. Tress Express will help to create a polished impeccable image for all of its customers. With Tress Express in seconds your appearance will make a lasting impression. Tress Express prides itself on restoring a youthful look and boosting confidence through concealing problem spots for both men and women. Our products can help anyone achieve the appearance of full natural looking hair. References Statisticbrian.com 2014. Hair Loss Statistics. Retrieved from http://www.statisticbrain.com/hair- loss-statistics/ Suttle, R. 2014. Four Stages of a Product Life Cycle. Retrieved on November 2, 2014 from: http://www.ehow.com/info_8123597_four-stages-product-life-cycle.html What is Your Product Life Cycle. 2014. Retrieved on November 2, 2014 from: http://www.more-for-small-business.com/product-life-cycle.html