Customer Persona for Filshie Clip System

Executive Summary This is a report providing detailed description of Filshie Clip System’s customer persona based on the selected target market. The creation of this persona was based on a comprehensive analysis of the target market and a brief background of the company. The discussion demonstrates how professional women who are of childbearing age are the ideal target market for this stylish and effective method of contraception. We have established that customers in the target market are differentiated based on demographic factors, personal histories and expectations.

These women are interested in a reversible contraception method that is safe and effective since it enables them to make decisions on getting pregnant when they want. Finally, justified recommendations with respect to the marketing mix have provided.  Introduction Femcare is a group of companies owned by Utah Medical Products Inc. in the United States. This company has perfected Filshie Clip, a female surgical contraception that is regarded more effective birth control method than any other existing product in the market (Antoun, Smith, Gupta & Clark, 2017).

Currently, the company is the leading manufacturer and distributor of the Fishie Clip System. Women of birth-giving age are the target market for the Filshie Clip System since it is surgical contraceptive device that is used to tie their fallopian tubes. However, an understanding of the target market persona and the marketing mix is critical toward enhancing the ability of the firm to reach the target market and obtain overall profitability.

In this report, we will describe customer persona in detail and provide marketing mix recommendations with respect to the identified target market. Background Femcare is best known for manufacturing and distributing Filshie Clip System, which is a female surgical contraception device that has been found to be a more effective birth control method than any other. The company distributes and sells Filshie Clips in different markets in Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States. In addition, the company uses specialty distributors to sell this product in other countries.

Filshie Clip System was launched in 1982 and has developed to become safe birth control method since it outperforms existing alternative methods of surgical contraception. The firm has focused primarily on improving the health and wellbeing of women and their babies. In essence, Femcare focuses on female healthcare through which it has maintained a competitive strategy over its rivals in the market.

Beerthuizen (2010) states that Femcare’s competitive advantage is attributable to its production and distribution of Filshie Clip System, a superior surgical contraceptive device.  In addition to producing a superior contraceptive product, the company’s profitability is also dependent on ability to reach the target market effectively. Using demographic segmentation, the company’s target market is women of birth-giving age. Women of birth-giving age are suitable target market for the company since they would want to use a contraceptive that does not requiring remembering to take pills.

Women of birth-giving age use contraceptives as part of family planning, which makes them the ideal target market in comparison to older women who are already mothers. Therefore, women of birth-giving age have unique needs and wants that make them the suitable target market for this product. The firm should target women of birth-giving age in developed countries since they are empowered to choose careers over raising a family.

In essence, professional women who fear they could get pregnant and have money to spend on effective birth-control methods are likely to benefit from using Filshie Clip System. Target Market Persona Griffin et al. (2015) states that personas in product design has obtained considerable attention from scholars and innovative businesses over the past decade. Scholars and innovative companies focus on personas in order to ensure that product manufacturing and distribution efforts enhance focus on the ideal user.

In this regard, product designers use customer persona to explore and develop solutions that meet their needs and demands. Therefore, customer personas provide a means through which product designers relate to and empathize with users. Schafer & Klammer (2016) highlight the significance of developing customer personas by showing how companies like Facebook, Twitter and Google benefit from it. As service-oriented businesses, the three companies develop online customer communities through which they understand the needs and demands of their specific target market or customers.

Through these online communities, Facebook, Twitter and Google obtain information on value-in-use. The information is then utilized to shape their value creation processes and enhance service delivery, which in turn generates significant competitive advantage over rivals. Duran (2018) opines that developing buyer or customer personas is the most important step in accurate marketing. Customer persona is linked to accurate marketing because it shapes target advertisements to the specific behaviors, needs and concerns of buyers. Failure to create customer personas results in wastage of marketing efforts and resources.

The creation of customer persona requires identifying who the customers are, their needs and demands, and how they can interact with the business across the board (St Louis, 2017). Customer personas influence product design plans, help to develop relationships between the business and its customers, and helps to incorporate everyone in the business process.  The company will benefit from describing customer persona with respect to the selected target market in order to enhance its competitive advantage.

This implies that the company should capitalize on its production of a superior contraceptive method to enhance distribution of the product to individuals in the target market. Customer persona will be useful for the company’s distribution of Filshie Clips in the target market with regards to communicating with other business functions like marketing, management, and sales (Griffin et al., 2015). Through customer persona, the company will communicate to individuals in the target benefit on the benefits of using Filshie Clip System.

As previously indicated, the company’s target market is women of birth-giving age who are empowered to choose careers over raising a family. These women are looking for effective birth-control methods as they fear being pregnant. With respect to the manufacturing and distribution of Filshie Clip System, the firm’s customer persona will be based on three major components i.e. demographics, personal histories, and expectations. Demographic factors include age, income, family size, marital status, ethnicity, and education level.

Personal histories include family life background as well as needs and interests. On the other hand, expectations refers to how their needs interact with the company and how they change over time. Three women within the selected target market were interviewed in order to create a suitable customer persona for the company. These three women were interviewed on the three components i.e. demographic, personal histories and expectations as shown in the Appendices.

Insights obtained from the interviews shaped understanding of the needs, demands and behaviors of individuals in the target market. Eunice is a 35-year-old professional woman working as a business manager in a technology firm in Utah. She is married to John and has two children aged 11 and 9 years respectively. Her husband works as a finance officer in a logistics company, which is a high-paying job. Eunice has a hectic life as she juggles between home and work responsibilities.

While they have a great home, she struggles to achieve balance between work and home. Her desire is to enhance her education by pursuing a Master’s degree in a business-related field. However, she fears that another pregnancy could complicate her life and make it difficult to realize her dreams. Even though she fears becoming pregnant, Eunice is skeptical about using contraceptives and does not know whether a safe and effective birth-control method exists.

Jane is an African-American 40-year-old stay at home mum with three young children aged 5, 7 and 9 years. She has a hectic and challenging home life that is complicated by numerous responsibilities of taking care of children. While Jane’s husband is employed, they face relentless financial pressures since they rely on one salary. Jane has a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Education, but stopped working in order to take care of her children. She currently uses contraceptives to avoid becoming pregnant again.

Together with her husband, Jane has decided not to have another child for now though she is still sexually active. She considers the use of contraceptives as a suitable birth-control method. Jane possesses a great deal of knowledge regarding the different contraceptives available in the market. However, she is yet to identify an effective and stylish contraceptive method. Jackline is a 25-year-old woman who graduated from campus recently and is working as an intern in a finance company. She is unmarried and currently focused on developing her career.

Jackline believes that pursuing her academic and career development goals is critical at this young age before she gets married in the future. She is open to the idea of using a reversible contraceptive device that grants her the option of getting pregnant when she wants. Given her focus on pursuing academic and professional goals, Jackline has very little knowledge or information on existing contraceptive methods in the market.  Demographic Aspects The three interviews provide significant insights on customer persona for Filshie Clip System manufactured by the company.

With regards to demographic factors, one of the critical aspects of individuals in the target market is women aged between 25-45 years. The firm should focus on distributing Filshie Clips to professional/career women aged between 25-45 years. Johnson, Pion & Jennings (2013) states that heterosexual women aged between 25-44 years with no known infertility are more likely to use contraceptives for birth control. Women in this age bracket are generally aware of the wide range of contraceptive methods available in the market.

However, these women frequent change contraception methods for various reasons such as concerns regarding side effects and changes in life circumstances. Despite possessing knowledge regarding the available contraceptive methods in the market, these women tend to use contraceptive pills and condoms more often. Secondly, these women are educated and working as shown in the interview data. Their awareness of the existing contraceptive methods in the market is influenced by their educational level, which in turn shapes their attitudes toward it.

Based on a report by the University of Missouri-Columbia (2014), educated women have positive attitudes toward contraception methods and their usage in comparison to uneducated ones. It is estimated that approximately 50% of unintended and unplanned pregnancies in the United States are linked to lower rates of education or lower educational levels (University of Missouri-Columbia, 2014).

Education enhances understanding of the available contraception methods and results in informed decision-making among these women.  The third demographic aspect of women in the target market is economic status, which influences ability to spend money on contraception methods. As shown in the interviews, these women have a relatively high socio-economic status since they have well-paying jobs. In this regard, these women are not only educated and work, but have money they can spend on contraceptives.

Economic achievement or socio-economic status has been found to influence women’s attitudes and usage of contraception methods (University of Missouri-Columbia, 2014). In this case, women with lower rates of economic achievement or socio-economic status are increasingly susceptible to unintended and unplanned pregnancies. Finally, marital status and family size influences women’s decisions on the use of contraception methods. The company should target professional women with children and those without children. These women would prefer using reversible contraception methods that allow them to get pregnant when they want.

They use contraception methods as a tool to prevent unintended and unplanned pregnancies that could interfere with their current career pursuits and goals. The company should market Filshie Clip System to professional unmarried and married women. These women’s choices on the use of contraception is regardless of their marital status, but geared toward preventing unintended and unplanned pregnancies. Regardless of their marital status, these women want contraception methods that still allows them to make decisions on getting pregnant when they want.

Personal Histories The company should target women of birth-giving age who are interested in using contraception methods that compromise their ability to get pregnant when they want. Professional women want to balance their personal lives and work lives as they maintain the liberty to choose when to become pregnant and raise a family.

Therefore, these women need a reversible contraception method that is safe, effective and stylish because they are currently focusing on other things, especially their careers.  In addition to a reversible contraception method, these women are looking for a contraception with minimal side effects. Their preference for a contraception with reduced side effects is influenced by their own past experiences or the experiences of others. Johnson, Pion & Jennings (2013) suggests that women aged 25-44 years change contraception frequently because of various reasons, especially concerns regarding side effects.

While they are open to the idea of contraception, they fear their side effects. This implies a contraception method with little to no side effects is preferred by these women. Expectations Professional women want a safe, stylish and effective contraception method for their birth control measures. As shown in the interviews, their decisions on what contraception to use is shaped by the safety, effectiveness and elegance of the method.

These women spend most of their time at work or on other things, which implies they want to maintain a sense of style and elegance in professional settings. They expect contraceptive producers and marketers to incorporate their preference for elegance and style in their product development measures. These expectations provide the premise for their choice of contraception and interactions with contraception manufacturers.  Marketing Mix Recommendations Following the creation of customer persona, the firm’s marketing of Filshie Clip System requires the use of appropriate strategic plans and tactics.

The company should develop and utilize a marketing plan that helps to reach the target market in an effective manner with respect to customer persona. Marketing plans influence a company’s interactions with its customers through shaping tactics adopted to communicate with them. According to Magrath (1986), marketing plans are always developed around the conventional four Ps i.e. Product, Place, Price and Promotion. However, when the business is marketing a service, three more Ps i.e.

Personnel, Physical facilities, and Process management are incorporated in the marketing plan.  As previously indicated, the target market for Filshie Clip System is professional married and unmarried women who are looking for a birth control method that is effective and stylish. The strategic marketing decision for the company is to enhance its customer base among the target market in order to enhance overall profitability and success while maintaining competitive advantage over competitors.

This implies that marketing mix tactics should focus on enhancing the company’s interaction with these professional women. Through the improved interactions, the company understands the needs, demands and behaviors of its customers. The information is in turn utilized to improve product design/development as well as marketing strategies. With respect to the customer persona, the company can enhance profitability in the market through a series of recommendations relating to the marketing mix.

First, the design of Filshie Clip tubal litigation method for birth control should be stylish and elegant. The company should ensure the product is designed in a manner that reflects the target market’s need for a stylish, elegant and effective birth-control method. This contraception device, which is placed on the fallopian tubes to tie them and prevent sperms from reaching the eggs, should be stylish and contemporary in comparison to conventional birth-control methods. As part of ensuring Filshie Clips remain stylish, the company should utilize elegant packaging techniques.

Product design and development should be constantly improved depending on changes in customer preferences, needs and demands. Constant improvements to the product enhances quality and effectiveness through meeting customers’ needs and demands.  Secondly, the company should utilize a premium pricing strategy for Filshie Clips because of their uniqueness, safety, and effectiveness. De Toni (2017) states that price policy definition is an important marketing decision that directly affects market competitiveness and organizational profitability.

Premium pricing strategy is employed when customers perceive better value of a product than that offered by competitors. Filshie Clip has proven safe and effective unlike any other alternative method of contraception. Therefore, the use of a premium pricing strategy would.