A target market is the ideal market to whom the product or service is aimed. The product or service in intended to fit a need by the target market. The target market of home health agencies for people dealing with Alzheimer’s and dementia are those people who suffer from either of these or a high risk of either of these and are no longer, or will be no longer, able to care for themselves and live independently. Such services provide valuable assistance for those who are losing their independence and memory. Selecting a target market is imperative to the success of a company (Barringer & Ireland, 2006). A company needs to know exactly what they are offering, to whom they are offering it, and who would make the perfect customer. By knowing who your target market is, you can cultivate a plan around how you will market your service or product to them (Clancy & Roberts, n.d.).
Before you select and manage a target market you must know who would benefit the most from the product or service and how you will reach them. You need to know how strong your competition is and what you have to offer that they do not. This ties directly into your company brand. You need to know what problem you are solving for the customer and how well you are solving it. You also need to know why your customers should pick your product/service over others. Selecting and managing a target market requires that you sacrifice some demographics for others. This sacrifice brings with it profit, if done correctly, because you can focus your efforts on a demographic for which your product/service is better suited.
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A brand is an identifying mark or a new product or service associated with a particular company. It is a way to assign a particular image or name with a particular product or service. For many companies, their brand is a term, design, name, or feature which distinguishes them from their competition (Moorthi, 2004). Branding is important because it defines the entire experience your custom has. Your brand really emphasizes the manner in which your customer perceives your company. A brand will promote recognition for your company, set you apart from your main competition, tell customers about your company, and help generate referrals (Barringer & Ireland, 2006).
The brand for home health agencies for people dealing with Alzheimer’s brings with it an image of a nurse taking regular blood pressure and otherwise assisting an elderly person. Many home health agencies utilize images of a helpful female or male nurse, in scrubs, with standard nurse tools around them. The individual often has a helpful smile on their face and is shown lending a hand with some health-related activity.
This branding does appeal to the market and influence customers by showing someone who seems kind to those who are in need of a kind individual to help them or their loved ones. People who need to find home health agencies are making a difficult personal choice and their decision to use a particular company will in large part be based on an emotional connection felt to the company and their employees. These services are successful such that in 2013, 15.5 million caregivers provided 17.7 billion hours of care (Latest Facts & Figures Report, n.d). Their profitability continues so long as their services are required. As of now, there are over 5 million Americans who live with Alzheimer’s (Latest Facts & Figures Report, n.d.). This allows the company to maintain a bottom line with little need to alter business practice aside from basic developments in healthcare tools or medications.
If this were my service I would likely associate the brand name with not just the ability to aid those who are suffering, but with financial security. Today, many people are finding that home health care services are out of range of their budget, so marketing the ability to provide at-home services for less would be ideal for those on a tight budget.
- Barringer, B., & Ireland, R. (2006).Entrepreneurship: Successfully launching new ventures. Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Pearson Prentice Hall.
- Clancy, K., & Roberts, M. (n.d.). Toward an Optimal Market Target: A Strategy for Market Segmentation. Journal of Product & Brand Management, 5-14.
- Latest Facts & Figures Report | Alzheimer’s Association. (n.d.). Retrieved February 23, 2015, from http://www.alz.org/
- Moorthi, Y. (2004). Branding Principles–Application to Business-to-Business Branding. Journal of Business-to-Business Marketing, 79-102.
