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Panola also builds differential advantages as having more ranges than its major competitor Noreen. It also builds their websites and Joined in the Backbone to know more about their customers for sake of building long term customer relationship. There are three recommendations to Panola target customers and positioning. First, Women aged 20-35 have active, busy and highly socialized lives, they don’t appreciate any pain get in their way. They prefer carrying pain killers in their bag. It is a great chance for Panola giving more insights into modern female’s life and produce stylish products get in touch with their modern lives.
Second, for women suffer from erred pain, a research criticizes Noreen period pain products are not specifically for relieving pain from period. It works in the same way as killing tension headache. Panola should seize the opportunity to investigate more effective period pain products to remain competitive advantages over Noreen. Third, as different people absorb products differently, majority of population prefers pain relief products work fast. Panola adds extra ingredients, Optimize, to allow the tablet start disintegrating in only 5 miss. Panola has a good start in this area; however there is more space for
Panola to speed up of their products getting dissolved in human bodies. About the marketing mix Panola has fully diversified product lines which cover more than six types of pain, five different age ranges, five medicine formats and five benefits. The pricing strategy of Panola products is pricing for competition and Pompano’s most products are all set at prices lower than those of competitors. The distribution channels are quite broad such as supermarkets, pharmacy, and convenience store and so on which are all indirect distribution channels.
This distribution strategy ensures a low cost distribution system and saves more resources for new product development. TV campaign and product diversification is the main way of promotion for Panola. Introduction Silhouetting (ASK) is a science-led multinational healthcare company, headquartered in London, I-J, dedicating to researching and developing a broad range of innovative medicines and brands (www. Ask. Com). Their geographical offices are located more than 115 countries with major research centers in I-J, USA, Spain, Belgium and China (www. Ski. Com). ASK have three basic areas of business in heuristically, vaccines and consumer healthcare (www. Ask. Com). Therefore, there are three categories of products: Pharmaceutical s: Focusing on research and development (R) on medicines for a variety of serious and chronic diseases; Vaccines: One of the largest vaccine business in the world; Produce pediatric and adult vaccines for various infectious diseases Customer Healthcare: Aim at consumer health products; Have leading positions in oral care, nutritional, total wellness and skin health (www. Ski. Com). Within these areas, a number of well known brands are rated including Sensory, Panola and Hornlike (www. Ask. Com). The purpose of this report is to analyze cask’s paramedical product – Panola in the pain relief industry in Australia. The report briefly discusses Panola and Non-prescription analgesic industry in Australia including market attractiveness, market ratings strategic objective and focus and competitors.
In detail, the following contents discuss the market customer behavior, market segmentation and its brand positioning in part two and the marketing mix evaluation of Panola including Product, Price, Place and Promotion in part three. The last part provides recommendations for improving the Panola marketing strategies. 1 Analysis of the company and industry 1. 1 The “Non-prescription analgesic” Industry in Australia The Non-prescription analgesic industry is a branch of pharmacy industry. The industry is producing drugs for easing the suffering of those living with pain (Harper, 2001).
Panola is the unquestionable industry leader for years. Differentiated from its competitors, Panola renewed their simple Panola tablets by integrating new optimize technology. The ‘New Panola Extra’ enables the tablet to be absorbed fast and to kill main faster (www. Panola. Com. AU). In addition, Panola sells at a lower price than what competitors’ offers. Besides, Panola has a good reputation in Australia. Panola Tablets, from Australia’s most trusted pain relieve brand, has been voted Product of the Year 2013 in the Health and Wellbeing Category (www. Anodal. Com. AU). Panola accounts for 42% of all over the counter analgesic sales in Australia (super brand website). The company’s strategic objective would be extending the market share of their pain relief product – Panola in the future, as they continuously invested 4 billion British mound in to their consumer products research and development within 2012 (www. Ask. Com). Meanwhile, ASK launched marketing strategy for Panola was to ensure that the customer is given Panola when he or she asks for it (super brand website).
In order to accomplish their strategic objective, Panola specified two customer groups within its original customers groups: Children and Female customers. On the Panola weapon, there are some advices for resolving female issues while their ‘Rapid Handicap is stylish and easy to carry designed for female customers to carry in handbag or sports bag (www. Panola. Com. U). For Children, Panola developed a series of ‘Children’s Panola’ including products of liquid and chewable tablet which targets for four children age ranges: Infants, children aged 1-5 years, 5-12 years and 12-17 years.
However, the original customer group which is all adults who need pain killing products is still the main focus of Panola (www. Panola. Com. AU). The two main competitors in Non-prescription analgesic industry are Recruit Benefices (ROB) and Johnson & Johnson Pacific O). For ROB, in order to acquire more market share, they are selling various pain relief products in different brand names such as Noreen, Strapless, Lemmas and Dispirit (wry. Rob. Com); the multiple pain- reliever brands make customers distraction.
While, ASK is concentrating on selling one pain relief product-Panola to ensure that the market share will not be distracted by other brands. For in Australia, their focus is not in Non-prescription analgesic industry; rather, they are targeting baby care, oral care, skin and hair care (whom. JNI. Com. AU). Therefore, their two pain-relievers, Stuffed pee and Costal relief, are not great threatens to Panola. Compared to them, Panola, as a single brand, may be less risk diversified for long run. If customers choose Noreen or Strapless, the ROB will always get profit.
However, Panola is the only pain relief brand in Australia for ASK to be profitable. In response to competitive threat, the primary recommendation we make for ASK is that it would be better to diversify their brands by creating new brands for each customer segments: Female customer and Children customers. 1. 2 SOOT analysts: The table below shows the results of a SOOT analysis on Pompano’s current position in the Non-prescription analgesic industry. 2 Creating customer value, market segmentation, targeting and positioning 2. 1 Creating customer value
Customer value is generally defined as the attributes of a product or service that generally encourage customers to choose on vendor over another. These may be product-related or service-related, tangible or intangible. Customer value is essential, because it drives the growth of the business. In order to deliver benefits that customers need and build their trust and loyalty, three steps need to be implemented. Understanding needs, building differential advantage and build long- term relationships with customers. 2. 1. 1 Understanding needs Company should try to understand consumer motivation to purchase Panola.
According to Mascots Hierarchy of needs, Panola, as a kind of medicine should be recognized in the second stage, the Safety. Safety and security needs include: personal security, financial security, health and well-being and safety net against accidents/illness and their adverse impacts. Panola has varying strengths, are available in adult and child forms, and may dissolve in different ways. The demands for kids and adults are different. The medicine should contain different percentage of Paramedical. Adults will have higher percentage of Paramedical in their prescribed tablets where as children get lower regenerates.
Meanwhile, Panola also offers different kinds of medicine for different types of pains. For example, the medicine for neck & back, for period pain or for headache & body ache. Therefore, people could choose different medicine in light of their different demands. 2. 1. 2 Building differential advantage Two similar pain relief medicines are now sold in the market, one is Panola and the other one is its biggest competitor Noreen. A perceived difference in value can lead target customers to prefer Pompano’s offer to those of others.
It is created by offering customers superior value. Compared to Noreen, Panola offers more performance and benefits to their customers. The product for kids is a good example. Children’s Panola remains the number 1 trusted children’s pain reliever among Australian mums. It provides child with fast, effective, temporary relief from pain and fever. It does not contain sugar, aspirin or ibuprofen. It is available in a variety of formulations that have been specially prepared for children of different ages from 1 month through to 12 years.
As Kids in different ages also need different percentages of Paramedical, It offers an extensive range of products for babies and children. The age’s segments for Panola are more in details, while for Noreen, it has only three ranges. What’s more, the Children’s Pompano’s range includes infant drops, elixirs, suspensions, suppositories, chewable tablets and soluble tablets. The ranges make parents choose more suitable targeted products. Customer satisfaction occurs when the company’s perceived performance matches the customer’s expected performance of the company.
The customer satisfaction will add value to the shareholders, therefore, companies are moving away from transactions and towards relationships with customers. Panola builds their besides with focuses on users friendly. On their websites, there is not only about their products, lots of information about how to keep healthy, how to avoid illness and how to relief pains are provided for customers. Therefore, the customers could get advices from the websites to live healthier. Meanwhile, Panola Joined in the Backbone and share stories, support, advice and inspiration on the Backbone.
They provide healthy recipe that people can make for the entire family, they share their new products information to customers in first time, and get feedback from customers to make adjustments about their products. By building the relationships with customers, the customers’ satisfaction increases and so does the value of shareholders. 2. 2 Market segmentation As company has recognized that, it cannot appeal to all customers in the same way because of their numerous and varied needs. The company has segmented its market to best serve different customers and to get the most profit.
After analyzing the variables that can be attributed to potential customers of the Panola pharmacy medicine based on existing packaging, messaging and products. The segmentations are listed below. 2. 3 Targeting market segments After breaking down the entire addressable market into each segment, there are some outstanding sectors which inherent Pompano’s sustainable competitive advantages in and in return generate the most benefits to the firm. Those segments are attractive to Pompanos. Below is the detailed analysis of each target segment.
Even though some characteristics like gender, age overlap between groups, they are distinct enough to warrant separate marketing efforts. Women aged 20-35 (Panola Rapid) The main targeting consumers profile are females aged 20-35, they currently using competitive product, Noreen. According to the market research done by Panola, it discovered these women were extremely busy and never took time out. From the research it also showed that having a busy schedule was a symbol of honor and while working is significant, but spending time on socializing was even more important.
When they kept themselves busy, they wouldn’t let anything block in the way, especially headache and period pain. Those female audiences perceived Panola as being a brand which was somewhere out of touch with the moored-day Australian even worldwide woman. As a result, they preferred to Noreen more then Panola, which worked more relevant to their life. The essence of Panola and a contemporary edge were added to new packaging of Panola to appeal to stylish, metro-based, female between ages 20-35.
The key insight to this new product is that, young women with socialized, productive and busy lives won’t allow any pain get in their way, most of them perceive pain killer as an insurance carrying within their handbags. From the recent research, it shows women are getting more and more chance to suffer from period pain. As in the modern society, women more get involved into the social networks and international business; women are easily eating depressed and stressed during period time. In this way, it increases the chances of period pain occurring.
What’s more, the modern way of entertainment such as drinking alcohol also impact on women’s health. Focusing on woman sector, including the woman aged 20-35 and over 35, those women are normally have a family and stable income. Meanwhile from the research, women at this ago have more chances to suffer period pain. Moreover, there is no other effective cure for period pain, when women suffer, they suffer. Panola as the only way could make women feel better. As the competitor Noreen, from the research, women take Noreen for period pain tablet, it wok’s in similar way and yield similar amount of pain relief for a tension headache.
It works less effective than Panola. Panola should focus on this section, as period pain could generate constant sales every month for the company. Women and men between 45 to 65. In Australia about 1 in 10 men and 2 in 10 women aged between 45 to 65 suffer from osteoarthritis, aging is the key risk factor not only for the osteoarthritis, but also for the back pain. The main symptom of osteoarthritis is Joint pain, this pain range from mild to severe, disabling pain. Apparently Joint pain and back pain get more and more severe along with growing age.
As a growing population globally suffering from the “age” pain, Panola need to focus more on this group of people. Panola need to research the population in the age range, there should be another type of common disease which Panola can make an advanced investigation and produce the relevant product for it. 2. 4 Positioning “Manage your pain. ” -Panola From the slogan, it reveals Panola working as a pain relieve agent to help you manage any pain. In order to discover current Panola positioning, we need to whose and establish points-of-parity and points-of-differences.
As to POD (points of differences), there are five aspects, which will be analyses as below: Relevance Customers are well acknowledged that Panola produces different types of pain killers for different symptoms; it increases the relevance of each product as it is attached to the different specific situation. Distinctiveness The new product which emphasizes on the fast speed of relieving people from pain is a distinctive feature of Panola products in customers’ view. Believability As Panola is a well-established and long history brand, customers tend to put more rust on Panola.
Communicability Not too much customers know they can communicate with Pompano’s staffs about the product design and more desirable characteristics. It is hard for the individual consumer to make an influence on Panola. Sustainability The most sustainable feature of Panola products is the effectiveness of pain relieving function. Pops: As to Pompano’s biggest competitor, Noreen with the slogan of “Targeted relief from pain”, Noreen more intends to achieve the sound result of relieving pain, instead of effectively manage a range of pain.
They both have a range of products for different anis, but the Panola launches the latest product which achieve another higher level of pain relieve products. And from the research it shows Noreen work less effective on period pain than Panola. The fast relief effects assist Panola more market shares, negate its competitor, Noreen. To sum up, to the modern busy, highly socialized women who don’t allow any pain get in their way and aging population, Panola provides a range of different products for different pains and working faster to relieve various pains and ensure ordinary life schedule. Evaluation of the marketing mix of Panola@ Marketing mix includes four aspects which are Product, Pricing, Place and Promotion. Through the most effective combination of the four elements within the marketing mix, more values can be delivered to customers and also more value will be created to the shareholders. In this section, each of the four aspects will be analyses and evaluated. Product Panola provides non-prescription analgesic product that beat other brands’ in both product length and depth. In reference to the product hierarchy, Pompano’s products are basic products which are to meet customers’ core needs.
As Panola only focus n non-prescription analgesic, so the breadth of the product mix is quite limit. But Panola has the longest and deepest product mix than any other competitors. On the product page of Pompano’s website, 30 products are divided into different product lines based on their differential functions and different customer groups. The following table shows the relevant information about the product mix of Panola (Panola, 2013). Type of Pain Age Range Headache & Botched Back, Shoulder or Neck Cold, Flu or Sinus Period Pain Joint Pain or Arthritis Children’s Ailments Infants 1-12 Months Children (1-5 years)
Children (5-12 years) Children (12-17 years) Adults Medicine Format Benefits Soluble or Sachet Children’s Liquid Children’s Chewable Tablet Suppository Everyday Pain Relief Faster Absorbed Pain Relief Stronger Pain Relief Long Lasting Pain Relief Easy to Swallow Since Panola introduced the tablet form pain relief product in 1956, innovation has never been stopped. In 1971, the round tablet in the cellophane pack became history in the growing of Panola. Following was the blister pack in 1992 and the caplet in the blister pack replaced the familiar round tablet in 1998 and the Panola Activist in 2004.
Till now Panola still focus on innovation. In order to deliver the products with highest quality to customers, most adult products are made in Dungaree, Ireland under stringent quality controls. Also Children’s products are manufactured in Sir Lankan since 2009 based on the No, No, No concept that stands for No alcohol, No sugar and No aspirin (Financial Times, 2009). Panting The pricing strategy of Panola products is pricing for competition. After a quick review of all the prices of Pompano’s products, the results show that the pricing is always the same or less than that of other competitors.
Only several premium rodents have higher prices, like Suppositories MGM 20, Child 5-12 Years Strawberry and Orange mall. The rest products are all set the prices lower than those of competitors. The cheapest product ‘Panola Tablet 20’ only cost $2. 99 when purchase at Chemist Warehouse. As mentioned in the Product sector, Pompano’s products are well developed in both length and depth which means its strategy is to maintain a high market share of the analgesics market. The pricing strategy is Just following its objective.
Lower price with high quality is the most effective way to enhance the market share and increase sales volumes and then profit. Place The distribution channel of Panola is indirect channels. As the products are non- prescription analgesic, the channels are quite broad which are supermarkets, pharmacy, and convenience store and so on. The products of Panola are meeting the basic need of customers for pain relief. There has been a great diversification of the products which don’t have to be related to customization.
The purchase behavior is simple and easy, so Panola choose the indirect distribution channels in order to save costs and get a great reach and flexibility. In this way, Panola increase the breadth of market coverage and generate incremental revenue. This indirect channel structure is well balanced for Panola, and the cost saved can be put into new product development in the future and also more innovation. Promotion The promotion strategy of Panola is defensive strategy. As being the leader in the market segment, Pompano’s focus is on innovation and the promotion to enhance its leader position.
As mentioned in the product section, Panola has full range diversified product lines which meet the needs for every type pain relief. This can increase the competitiveness and also provide a better and impressive brand image to the public. Also Panola has undertaken many campaigns to promote their product and brand. First of all in order to be easily recognized among the similar products, Panola believed the differential pack would be needed. As seen in the markets, all Panola products are with similar pack design. Additionally, there have been also many TV or public ads campaigns undertook by Panola.
For example, in 2010, Ogling & Matter Sydney has used imagery of a man in training to show the effectiveness of the Panola Extra in a TV (Lives, 2010). In this Product Analysis Project, a comprehensive analysis has been undertaken about Pompano’s products. Panola is the leader in non-prescription analgesic market in Australia. Two big competitors are ROB and Johnson & Johnson. Panola is building a long-term relationship with customers and differential advantage in order to create customer and shareholders’ value. Also Panola has a well balanced and structured marketing mix.
With the fully diversified product lines, Pompano’s low price products win at both length and depth. Effective distribution network and impressive promotions also contribute much more benefits to both customers and shareholders. While there are still some aspects that Panola needs to improve. As to the target customers, first, Women aged 20-35, are extremely busy at work and spending rest of time socializing, they don’t appreciate any pain get in their daily routine. They prefer carrying pain killers as insurance in their bag.
Panola launches the new Panola Rapid Handicap for on-the -go pain. It is a great chance for Panola giving more insights into modern female’s life and produce stylish products get in touch with their modern lives. Second, Women suffer from period pain, from research, it shows, Noreen period pain products are not specifically for relieving pain from period. It works in the same way as killing tension headache. Panola should seize the opportunity to investigate more effective period pain products to remain competitive advantages over Noreen.