Filshie Clip Marketing: Customer Persona and Mix Strategy

Executive Summary

This report provides a detailed description of the 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 of childbearing age are the ideal target market for this stylish and effective method of contraception. 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 about becoming pregnant on their own terms. Finally, justified recommendations with respect to the marketing mix are provided.

Introduction and Company Background

Femcare is a group of companies owned by Utah Medical Products Inc. in the United States. This company has perfected the Filshie Clip, a female surgical contraceptive that is regarded as a more effective birth-control method than any other existing product on the market (Antoun, Smith, Gupta & Clark, 2017). Currently, the company is the leading manufacturer and distributor of the Filshie Clip System. Women of childbearing age are the target market for the Filshie Clip System, as it is a surgical contraceptive device used to occlude the fallopian tubes. An understanding of the target market persona and the marketing mix is critical to enhancing the firm's ability to reach that target market and achieve overall profitability. This report describes the customer persona in detail and provides marketing mix recommendations with respect to the identified target market.

Femcare is best known for manufacturing and distributing the Filshie Clip System, a female surgical contraceptive device that has been found to be more effective than any other birth-control method. The company distributes and sells Filshie Clips in Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States, and uses specialty distributors to sell the product in other countries. The Filshie Clip System was launched in 1982 and has developed into a safe birth-control method that outperforms existing alternative methods of surgical contraception. The firm has focused primarily on improving the health and wellbeing of women and their babies, maintaining a competitive strategy over rivals through its emphasis on female healthcare. Beerthuizen (2010) states that Femcare's competitive advantage is attributable to its production and distribution of the Filshie Clip System — a superior surgical contraceptive device.

In addition to producing a superior contraceptive product, the company's profitability depends on its ability to reach the target market effectively. Using demographic segmentation, the company's target market is women of childbearing age. These women are a suitable target market because they want a contraceptive that does not require remembering to take a daily pill. Women of childbearing age use contraceptives as part of family planning, making them the ideal target market compared to older women who are already past their reproductive years. The firm should target women of childbearing age in developed countries, where they are increasingly empowered to choose careers over immediate family formation. Professional women who wish to avoid unintended pregnancy and have the financial means to spend on effective birth-control methods are likely to benefit most from the Filshie Clip System.

Target Market Persona

Griffin et al. (2015) state that personas in product design have received considerable attention from scholars and innovative businesses over the past decade. Companies focus on personas to ensure that product manufacturing and distribution efforts remain centered on the ideal user. Product designers use customer personas to explore and develop solutions that meet user needs and demands, providing a means through which designers can relate to and empathize with users. Schafer and Klammer (2016) highlight the significance of developing customer personas by showing how companies such as Facebook, Twitter, and Google benefit from the practice. As service-oriented businesses, these companies develop online customer communities through which they understand the needs and demands of their specific target markets. Through these communities, they obtain information on value-in-use, which is then utilized to shape their value-creation processes and enhance service delivery — generating significant competitive advantage over rivals.

Duran (2018) argues that developing buyer or customer personas is the most important step in accurate marketing. Customer personas are linked to accurate marketing because they shape targeted advertisements to the specific behaviors, needs, and concerns of buyers. Failure to create customer personas results in wasted marketing efforts and resources. The creation of a customer persona requires identifying who the customers are, what their needs and demands are, and how they interact with the business (St. Louis, 2017). Customer personas influence product design plans, help develop relationships between the business and its customers, and help ensure that everyone across the business process is aligned.

The company will benefit from describing its customer persona with respect to the selected target market in order to enhance its competitive advantage. This means the company should capitalize on its production of a superior contraceptive method to improve distribution to individuals in the target market. Customer persona will be useful for communicating with other business functions such as marketing, management, and sales (Griffin et al., 2015). Through the customer persona, the company will effectively communicate to target market members the benefits of using the Filshie Clip System.

As previously indicated, the company's target market is women of childbearing age who are empowered to choose careers over immediate family formation — women who are looking for effective birth-control methods because they fear unintended pregnancy. With respect to the manufacturing and distribution of the Filshie Clip System, the customer persona is built around three major components: demographics, personal histories, and expectations. Demographic factors include age, income, family size, marital status, ethnicity, and education level. Personal histories encompass family life background as well as individual needs and interests. Expectations refer to how customer needs interact with the company's offerings and how those needs change over time.

Three women within the selected target market were interviewed to create a suitable customer persona for the company. These women were interviewed across all three components — 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 at a technology firm. She is married and has two children aged 11 and 9 years. Her husband works as a finance officer in a logistics company. Eunice has a hectic life as she juggles home and work responsibilities. While she has a comfortable home life, she struggles to achieve balance between work and family. Her aspiration 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 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 mother with three young children aged 5, 7, and 9 years. Her home life is demanding and complicated by numerous childcare responsibilities. While Jane's husband is employed, the family faces relentless financial pressures from relying on a single income. Jane holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Education but stopped working to care for 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 remains sexually active. She considers contraceptives a suitable birth-control method and possesses considerable knowledge of the different options available on the market. However, she has yet to identify a contraceptive method that is both effective and stylish.

Jackline is a 25-year-old woman who recently graduated from university and is working as an intern at a finance company. She is unmarried and currently focused on developing her career. Jackline believes that pursuing academic and professional goals is critical at her age, prior to marriage in the future. She is open to using a reversible contraceptive device that grants her the option of becoming pregnant when she chooses. Given her focus on career and academic development, Jackline has very limited knowledge of the contraceptive methods currently available on the market.

Demographic Aspects

The three interviews provide significant insights into the customer persona for the Filshie Clip System. With regard to demographic factors, one critical characteristic of individuals in the target market is that they are women aged between 25 and 45 years. The firm should focus on distributing Filshie Clips to professional and career-oriented women in this age bracket. Johnson, Pion, and Jennings (2013) state that heterosexual women aged between 25 and 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 on the market. However, these women frequently change contraception methods for various reasons, particularly concerns about side effects and changes in life circumstances. Despite their awareness of available options, they tend to rely most often on contraceptive pills and condoms.

Secondly, the women in the target market are educated and employed, as shown in the interview data. Their awareness of existing contraceptive methods is influenced by their educational level, which in turn shapes their attitudes toward contraception. Research indicates that educated women have more positive attitudes toward contraceptive methods and their use compared to less-educated women. It is estimated that approximately 50% of unintended pregnancies in the United States are linked to lower levels of education. Education enhances understanding of available contraception methods and promotes informed decision-making among these women.

The third demographic aspect is socioeconomic status, which influences the ability to spend money on contraception. As shown in the interviews, the women in the target market have a relatively high socioeconomic status and well-paying jobs. They are not only educated and employed, but also have disposable income they can direct toward contraceptive products. Socioeconomic status has been found to influence women's attitudes toward and usage of contraception methods; women with lower socioeconomic status are increasingly susceptible to unintended and unplanned pregnancies.

Finally, marital status and family size influence women's decisions regarding contraception. The company should target professional women both with and without children, as both groups would prefer using reversible contraception methods that allow them to become pregnant when they choose. These women use contraception as a tool to prevent unintended pregnancies that could interfere with their current career pursuits and goals. Regardless of marital status, they want contraception methods that preserve their ability to make independent decisions about family formation.

Conclusion

Utah Medical Products has obtained competitive advantage through manufacturing and distributing the Filshie Clip System following the acquisition of Femcare. Since the product is favored among industry professionals, it has played a critical role in enhancing the firm's profitability. The target market for this product is professional women who are looking for stylish and effective birth-control methods. The company can capitalize on the superiority of the product to enhance profitability by reaching individual members of the target market more effectively. This requires the creation of a customer persona to improve understanding of the behaviors, needs, and demands of customers. The customer persona for this target market incorporates several factors — demographic characteristics, personal histories, and expectations. Insights from the customer persona should be utilized to shape marketing tactics across all elements of the 7P marketing mix.

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