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Marketing Mix (4Ps)

Product Strategy

Online Doctor deals with prescription and over the counter medication from renowned brands across the globe, the products are accompanied by a service and is at the introduction stage of the product life cycle. Allowing customers to interact with medical staff and doctors to interpret the prescription notes will go a long way in fitting the general X and Y market-a demographic that craves convenience.

What level of quality and consistency does the offering have?

Doctors that can see patients online and recommend simple drugs for simple ailments and follow up reminders to ensure clients follow the dosage present the quality of the services which guarantees consistency.

How many features does it have and can they be removed or added?

Online medical assessments

Repeat prescriptions

Free delivery

Fast selling brands

Medical devices

All these features of the business are essential and would not be removed, however, over time delivery will be expanded to cover more regions of the country and ultimately introduce services to external markets.

How well does your product or service deliver what the customer values? How can it improve?

Repeat precisions are excellent after service.

Online prescriptions by physicians if they deemed fit is also a service the consumers consider critical.

Improvement can come in the form of more diversification in medical and medical devices brands and more investment in expensive drugs.

What improvements would help your offering compete more effectively?

Low prices will go a long way in increasing competitive power.

The ability to deliver further than towns near the warehouses will mean venturing in areas the competition is yet to reach. Revenues from these areas will be useful in employing measures that suppress the competition.

Pricing Strategy

The medical products sold on Online Doctor are market standards that require low pricing sourcing to cover for the deficit created by free delivery. Exemplary customer service offsets any thought of expensive prices in the minds of consumers. Competitors are large established e-pharmacies with high prices because of the trust they have generated over the years and the effect of dealing with things branded premium.

How sensitive are your customers to changes in price?

Customers are in search of ways to fill their prescriptions without using the tedious way of seeing a doctor. And because they consist of a young general of white color workers there is not much strain about the price.

What revenue you need to break even and achieve profitability?

$175,000 is the amount required to breakeven.

What does the price say about your product in terms of value, quality, prestige, etc.?

The product definitely elicits the feeling of prestige and offers tremendous value in terms of location and quality. The medicine and materials are sourced for renowned with generic ones branded as such to ensure the client is aware of the decision they are making.

Place: Distribution Strategy

The products are distributed from two warehouses located in Chicago and Joliet. There are no intermediaries and the companies supply chain is made of the supplier, the company, and the consumer. There are no actual disconnects but having small retailers use our online platform to sell their products is an incredible opportunity that is yet to be utilized. The business looks to venture into bulk buying to sell to retailers at wholesale prices. These retailers can sell on the platform or their stores and also sell their products separate from those offered by Online Doctor on its e-pharmacy platform.

What are the best distribution channels and methods for you to use, and why?

The main distribution channel although indirect constitutes the manufacturer, online doctor, and customers because the e-pharmacy platform began as a retailer and wishes to maintain the status. Some products will be sold to retailers in wholesale to widen the company’s portfolio and inventory.

Will you have a retail outlet and if so, where will it be located?

There is no physical location for the retail outlet. As an e-pharmacy, the business is located online. However, there are two warehouses in Chicago and Joliet as well as offices and server centers where all operations will be carried out. Contact with the customer will happen through the internet.

In what geographic area(s) will your product/service be available?

The services will be available in Wisconsin, Kentucky, Michigan, Iowa, Indiana, Missouri, and Illinois. These are all states that border the state of Illinois where the warehouses are located. Plans are available to expand to other states with time.

Promotion: Integrated Marketing Communications Strategy

Approach

The global market for pharmacies have an annual customer base of 40 million with half that number looking for drugs online and the number is still growing and Online Doctor wishes to grow with them. The penetration strategy that includes selling at the cost price, which will be below the selling price of the competition, goes a long way in advertising the business. An initial opening ceremony will be the beginning of the marketing strategy where people will gather to celebrate the business’s inception. The business will rely more on video ads on social media and video platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube. The importance of this is that these sponsored ads are accompanied by a link to the platform where the consumer by one click immediately interacts with the platform. Word of mouth marketing will be enhanced by providing incentives for clients that will bring referrals. Direct marketing will be applied to medical conferences and seminars. Traditional marketing including newspapers, TV, and radio commercials will take a small portion of the marketing strategy but will not be ignored entirely. Flyers and brochures will be put in strategic places such as the shops of partnering retailers. The business will also be listed in the yellow pages since the platform has also gone digital.

Goal

The primary goal of Online Doctor’s marketing the customer base at an annual rate of 5% in the first year and 7.5% in the following years and to create a long-term professional relationship with its clientele. The idea is to get a client and retain them. The campaign will target younger people between the ages of 25 to 40 who are active on the internet and seek services that are convenient like purchases that are delivered to their doorstep. Ads in traditional platforms such as the TV, radio, and newspapers will target older people from the age of 55 who require certain drugs for comorbid diseases as well as medical devices.

Messages

Message: Having trouble handling your dosage, get the prescription and a manager.

Message pillar: Some people are heard saying they would rather get an injection that deals with swallowing pills regularly because they tend to forget.

Proof point: re-prescription is a simple reminder through message alerts.

Call to action: Buy drugs on a platform that reminds you when its time to use them.

Promotional Mix and IMC Tools

Digital Marketing

Advertisements on popular blogs and application developed for mobile phones

Sponsored ads to generate more views.

performance indicators

Revenue growth

Diversified income sources

Revenue concentration-ensuring revenue is not generated from one segment

Increased profitability over time

Budget

Item Purpose Cost

Digital campaign Increase the number of website clicks $10,000

Traditional advertisements Target the older segment $25,000

Print materials including t-shirts, flyers, brochures For direct marketing through conferences and seminars $14,000

Referrals Get people to suggest the business to others $17,525