Opportunity Analysis, Market Segmentation free essay sample

The paint industry in the United States is what’s considered a â€Å"maturing industry† that’s divided into three segments: architectural coatings, original equipment manufacturing (OEM) coatings and special purpose coatings. Throughout the later portion of the 1980’s to the early 90’s strict regulations fell into place that would affect industrial paint users directly due to the enormous quantity of solvents released during the surface covering process. As a result manufactures began demanding paint that not only performed well but had a low amount of solvent exposure.The Jones-Blair Company (JBC) is a manufacturer of high quality paint in Dallas- Fort Worth area providing services to the 50 counties surrounding it. In this paper I will analyze and state the marketing situation and key issues in the Jones Blair case. Out of the three segments in the paint industry the Jones-Blair Company focuses mainly on architectural coatings and occasionally on OEM coating fields. We will write a custom essay sample on Opportunity Analysis, Market Segmentation or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Architectural paint in the Jones-Blair service region was estimated at a dollar volume of 80 million dollars in 1995 with the professionals market accounting for 22 percent and the do-it-yourself market accounting for 78 percent in sales.At one point the Jones-Blair region accounted for just about 60 percent of the market. In the mature market Jones-Blair competes in sales have steadily increased at the rate of inflation, which is a good however the problem is maintaining their growth and keeping the profit margins on the rise. To do so, upper level management cultivated a marketing strategy that will not only increase sales but maintain the profit margin as well.Paint selling companies like Sherwin-Williams, Benjamin Moore, Glidden, Sears, and Wal-Mart has caused the paint market to be more competitive. Merchandisers of the masses have control of at least 50 percent of the do-it-yourselfer paint market in the Dallas Fort-Worth metropolitan area. The market that Jones Blair is posit ioned in can be placed in the following two segments such as the non-Dallas Fort Worth (rural) segment and the Dallas/Fort Worth (urban) segment including the sub-segments of professional and household/do-it-yourself. The Jones Blair sales amount was evenly distributed in both the non-Dallas Fort Worth accounts as well as the Dallas/Fort Worth accounts. Jones Blair is very strong in the professional market. The markets and or segment (s) that should be pursued by Jones Blair are the non-DFW Household, urban professional, non-DFW professional, and Urban Households. The non-Dallas Fort Worth household segment has a high potential for growth because less value is placed on price, which makes the company consumer relationship a top priority.In the urban professional segment price is not a factor but having high quality paint is simply because professional painters require in order to make a good impression on their clients. The non-Dallas Fort Worth professional segment is already dominant in the JBC region. As for the urban household sub- segment price is a very real issue making it particularly difficult for producers while on the other hand which creates a competitive advantage. In order to reach their sought segments they would either have to increase the resources used for advertising, hire additional representative(s), cut prices significantly, or just do nothing and let the chips fall where they may (because of their already outstanding sales). Household represent 78 percent of overall sales so by gearing more of the advertisements toward them sales may increase even more because research proves that advertising affects the purchasing pattern (good or bad). On the other hand hiring additional representatives could produce a substantial amount of sales if he or she were dispensed to the appropriate territory.Another method would be to cut prices by 20 percent but in many cases lowering prices on products that have already established themselves in the high quality high price ranks would make people question the quality from then on and keep them from raising the prices anymore. Jones Blair is at the high-end of the paint trade market that caters mainly to do-it-yourselfers in need of good service by providing them with step-by-step information on how to apply the paint and how to prepare the surface.They also furnish professional painters in need of high quality paints that require one coat (only), is also washable and that have a long surface life. Furthermore, they have a painting accessories line that is growing and in demand among do-it-yourself clients. JBC is a great company to supply all of your painting needs, because they produce household, professional and industrial paints. They have made their mark on the American paint market.