Viagra Growth Strategy essay
Today, Viagra is still extremely popular although the product was introduced in the late 1990s. At the same time, the development of the marketing strategy of the further development of the product needs consistent modifications to use the full potential of Viagra and to revive the customer attention to the new product. In this respect, it is possible to suggest changing the product and its adaptation to needs of a new customer group’s needs, to the needs of women. The development of Viagra adapted for women allows the product to enter the new segment of the market and revive the marketing progress of the product. At the same time, the product may be sold in the same market, as the manufacturer of Viagra, Pfizer, has a well-developed network and sells the product internationally. Therefore, the new product may be available online and the company does not need to develop the new marketing network and distribution channels. In fact, Viagra for women has a considerable potential in terms of the marketing development to the extent that the new product may enhance the lifecycle of Viagra as the renowned brand and the manufacturer of the product can reap considerable profits from the introduction of the new product.
First of all, it is important to dwell upon the essence of the new product. To understand the essence of Viagra for women, it is important to briefly mention that Viagra was originally developed for men to treat the erectile dysfunction. The product has proved to be highly efficient and sales of Viagra skyrocketed shortly after its introduction in the market. The popularity of Viagra was the result of the high efficiency of the medicament and, more important, it was the only medicament that provided patients with oral treatment of the erectile dysfunction. As a result, consumers were highly satisfied, while Viagra still remains popular but the growth of sale rates of the new product has slowed down consistently since the first introduction of the product in the market.
In such a situation, the company naturally considers options for the optimization of the sale rates and their acceleration. However, the mere promotion of the product is not enough because the product lifecycle has reached its maximum at the moment. Therefore, the new product has to be introduced on the ground of Viagra. In this respect, it is possible to suggest the introduction of Viagra for women, which is based on the same product offered to men but adapted to women specifically.
The introduction of the new product is justified by the demand existing in the market and the potential of Viagra for women and its impact on women’s health. In this regard, it is important to place emphasis on the fact that the current demand on the new product is high. One of the studies show that it is estimated that up to 40% of women suffer from problems with their sexual performance (Health Viagra for Women, 2). Therefore, the new product is likely to have a large customer group consisting of women, who have problems with their sexual performance.
At this point, it is worth mentioning the fact that some researchers show that Viagra-maker Pfizer, showed that 72 percent of women taking Viagra reported improvement, compared to 27 percent of those taking the placebo (Parker-Pope, 4). In such a way, the study reveals the positive effect of the new product on women’s sexual health and performance. Therefore, the introduction of the new product on the ground of the conventional Viagra can be quite successful, especially if the new product will have as good performance as conventional Viagra.
The placement of the new product should match the placement of conventional Viagra. At this point, it is worth mentioning the fact that today Viagra is distributed internationally. In fact, Viagra is available in different countries of the world and the further market expansion is unnecessary because key target markets are already acquainted with conventional Viagra. Therefore, the new Viagra for women should be placed in the same markets because women suffer from problems with their sexual performance in different countries. In fact, there are no physical boundaries to this problem. Similarly to the erectile dysfunction in men, women have problems with their sexual performance too and the demand on the new product will be high in all countries and markets, where the product is introduced. Therefore, the company should invest in the development of the new product and save costs on market expansion because the company can use existing distribution channels. In such a way, the new product will not have any problems with the placement.
As for the price of the new product, the company may set the higher price compared to conventional Viagra for men, when the product is just introduced. However, the company should decrease the price steadily to make it equal to the price of conventional Viagra for men. Basically, Viagra for men and Viagra for women should have the same price but the company should take into consideration costs of production and the actual demand in the market (Ulrich & Lake, 75. As Viagra for women is supposed to be developed on the ground of Viagra for men, the costs of production of both products will be similar. As for the demand, it may vary consistently. For instance, the demand on Viagra for women may be lower than the demand on Viagra for men. As the demand is lower, the company should raise the price of Viagra for women to maintain the high profitability of the product. This is why the higher price is suggested, when the product is introduced.
The promotion of Viagra for women should involve different media. Primarily, the company manufacturing Viagra for women should focus on specialized media which focus on women’s health. For instance, the company can use specialized print media, television, websites, and other media. In addition, the company should use the full potential of internet. For instance, customers should be able to obtain detailed information on the product from the official website of the product. In addition, online advertising can be used effectively to promote Viagra for women.
The marketing mix and positioning will change substantially under the impact of the change in the target customer group, the difference in demand in the market and other factors. In fact, Viagra for women will not be a brand new product. Instead, this product will be the modification of conventional Viagra (Pfeffer, 104). However, the new product will focus on the new customer group, females with problems in their sexual performance. Therefore, the lifecycle of Viagra for women will be closely intertwined with the lifecycle of Viagra for men.
At the same time, the new product will start the new lifecycle which will be marked by the new growth till the product lifecycle reaches its highest point and the steady decline will begin. The stage of development of the new product will be shortened as new Viagra will be created on the ground of the new one, such as Viagra for women. However, Viagra for women will accelerate the development of Viagra as medicament available not only for men but also for women (Pilkington, 34). In such a way, the new product will expand the target customer group of Viagra substantially. The new product will be positioned as destined specifically for women and the marketing mix should be also adapted to the target customer group and needs of target customers.
Thus, taking into account all above mentioned, it is important to place emphasis on the fact that the introduction of the new product will be grounded on the existing product, Viagra. The new product, Viagra for women, is destined specifically for females, who have problems with their sexual performance. The marketing mix of the new product is different compared to conventional Viagra, although the new product will use the same distribution channel. In fact, the new product has a considerable potential because of the potentially high demand in the market. At the same time, Viagra for women can prolong substantially the lifecycle of Viagra and accelerate its development due to the consistent extension of the target customer group of the product.
