Organisations, who currently deal with sexual health issues amongst young people do not generally have a high level of marketing communications expertise; therefore, the government wishes to develop an IMCP to effectively communicate to the target market more successfully than has been the case previously.
2 CURRENT SITUATION OVERVIEW.
To determine in which direction the communication plan should proceed, requires a full understanding of the current situation and all those factors, which can impact upon such a plan (Fill, 1995:63). This consists of a marketing audit to understand the environment in which we are operating and a review of the market position of services currently available in Derbyshire. This information can then be used to develop an appropriate marketing mix to provide a service that can meet customer needs better than they are being met at present.
2.1 The Marketing Audit.
Most text books suggest that the application of a SWOT analysis is the most simple and clear method to evaluate and understand the environment in which one is operating by identifying an organisation’s internal Strengths and Weaknesses, as they relate to external Opportunities and Threats (Jobber, 2001: 42). Once a SWOT analysis has been completed, thought can be given to how to turn weaknesses into strengths and threats into opportunities, helping us to reach our desired position in the market. To help us to provide a true SWOT analysis, we felt it necessary to summarise the services currently provided in Derbyshire, the details of which are outlined in Table 2.1 below:
Table 2.1: Summary of Sexual Health Services currently available in Derbyshire.
Our SWOT analysis, shown in figure 2.1 below, was developed using a combination of our internal resources and information, the information provided table 2.1, and other external influences such as political, economical, social and technological influences.
2.2 Market Positioning.
We have summarised this market information, using two perceptual maps to identify the position of each service within its market. Perception mapping is a tool, which provides an explanation of how products and services are perceived in the minds of the target market (Smith, 1995: 36). We have used four key phrases, with which to map the services against, that research shows are of critical importance to our market: to be Approachable, to provide practical solutions, to be Accessible and Informative. In figures 2.2 & 2.3 below, we can clearly see an area of the market, on both models, which is currently not being targeted successfully. This is where we wish to position our service.
Figure 2.2: Perceptual map of current services, provision of solutions against approachability
Figure 2.2: Perceptual map of current services, provision of solutions against approachability
- The Marketing Mix.
Once an understanding of how we need to position our service has been gained, we can develop a marketing mix to achieve this. To develop a marketing mix it is essential to consider the original marketing mix elements; product, place, promotion and price. While we do not want to enter the debate as whether or not it is the best way to define the marketing mix, what is important for a marketing communications plan is that promotional activities are recognised as a fundamental part of marketing (Pickton & Broderick, 2001: 4). When marketing a service, it is normally deemed necessary to utilise the extended marketing mix, thus including people, processes and physical evidence because this allows a more thorough analysis of the marketing ingredients necessary for successful service marketing (Jobber, 2001: 700).
PRODUCT:
We aim to provide an approachable, one-stop service, with a distinctive clear brand name, which encourages young people aged 12 to 18 to seek counselling, advice and practical information, in an environment in which they feel comfortable. We will also provide practical, medical solutions and treatment of sexual health problems including pregnancy and STI’s.
PRICE:
Because of the nature of the service we are offering, a pricing policy is not particularly relevant to our scenario, as we are a non-profit organisation, funded by the government thus all the services and products we provide to our market will be free. However, because we are on a limited budget, it is essential that we allocate funds as efficiently and effectively as possible. Details of fund allocation can be found in section 6 of this report.
PLACE:
Our service will be distributed through various existing locations in Derbyshire, whose current services we will endeavour to improve through increased financial funding and our Integrated Marketing Communications Plan. We will use Derbyshire schools as a regular distribution channel, as well as providing an interactive website and telephone advice line to ensure all young people in the Derbyshire area can access our service through whichever channel they chose.
PROMOTION:
As we have already discussed, promotion is most important aspect of marketing, from a communications perspective. It our objective to build a strong brand name and reputation in short space of time using various communications tools, such as local radio advertising, a direct mail campaign and promotion in Derbyshire schools. In-depth details of this element can be found in sections 4, 5 and 6 of this report.
PEOPLE:
The resource of appropriately qualified people, both personally and professionally is essential to the success of our service. We will need to ensure medical professionals are available to prescribe and administer treatments and professionally trained, friendly, approachable employees are there to offer professional advice and information. We also have substantial voluntary resources that are experienced in offering a sympathetic, friendly counselling service to young people who need someone to talk to. We must also strive to improve the business and marketing skills and awareness of our human resources, to ensure the service is run as effectively and efficiently as possible.
PROCESSES:
Again, this element is heavily related by the knowledge of employees and the systems we implement. NHS services are reputed for poor utilisation of information systems, thus we must endeavour to ensure both technical and manual systems and processes work as efficiently and effectively as possible to provide a rapid service at minimal cost.
PHYSICAL EVIDENCE:
Medical establishments are also reputed as appearing clinical and formal; in contrast, most voluntary organisations are often shabby and drab, mainly due to the lack of financial resource they have access to. To become approachable, we must ensure that our establishments are clean and tidy, whilst also remaining as informal as possible to help our customers feel more welcome and comfortable.
