Value Drugs has set as it’s marketing objective to capture 5% of the local market for both cough syrup and stomach-relief medication within it’s first year of operation and 1% of the national market for each of these two products by it’s fifth year of operation.

This objective will be pursued through an aggressive strategy of advertising and promotion aimed specifically at end-users (i.e. consumers) and purchasing agents of chain discount stores, with a secondary target of purchasing agents for local and regional supermarkets and drug stores. Value Drugs will also employ a direct sales strategy, through it’s manufacturers’ representatives, to target distributors.

The products will be marketed as low cost alternatives to expensive off-the-shelf pharmaceuticals sold by the big three multinational pharmaceutical companies.   Since many of the potential end-users and retailers being targeted are already familiar with these products, Value Drugs will emphasize the unique selling features of it’s products (for more information on this key point, please refer to section “unique selling advantage”).  

It  plans to use heavy advertising, promotion, and direct sales efforts to communicate a specific message about it’s products to retailers -- that the products will appeal to consumers more readily than products perceived as generic.   a secondary marketing strategy, Value Drugs will emphasize the fact that their products will be delivered more quickly and more reliably than those of major corporations.

Finally, they plan to use it’s growing customer base in the first two years to slowly expand it’s market concentration into other regions of the country.  As the company grows and the marketing budget increases, it will increasingly capitalize on it’s brand recognition within it’s region.  It  plans to decrease it’s advertising slightly within that region in order to increase marketing and promotions activities in other regions.