| To: | The Executive Committee |
| From: | |
| CC: | Implementation Team |
| Due Date: | |
| Re: | The Customer and the Product |
Out of all the ideas we reviewed, we chose the startup idea of Essential oils and diffusers to pursue.
- An Overview of Your Startup Idea
The essential oils and diffusers business plan focuses on women aged between 27 and 35 who work in healthcare facilities. The women in this health sector are prone to diverse health risk conditions due to their services to clients with diverse diseases. Some of the operations towards patients may overwhelm these women working in healthcare facilities with the job, thus developing signs of stress and depression while on duty. Additionally, the women may also be at risk of being infected by various transmissible diseases like acne, to risk their health and make them more stressed. Therefore, these women in this age group require a lasting solution to the stress of working in the healthcare industry to enhance their well-being. Essential oils and diffusers offer a solution for female healthcare workers aged between 27 and 35. The plan is to make a diffuser that the women can use to apply essential oils to relax and heal from other harmful health exposures, thus improving their working experience.
- Four Potential Customer Segments
The existing healthcare facilities have noticed the need for essential oils and diffusers among their staff. Therefore, the first potential customer segment to analyze is the customer need for this product within our target market. Since the primary target audience in the essential oils and diffuser market is for women between 27 and 35 working in healthcare systems, the analysis will explore the needs of these women who work in the healthcare systems. The essential oils and diffusers, also called aromatherapy, are considered a medical therapy for recovering some disorders such as anxiety, insomnia, respiratory diseases, and pain, thus heightening consumption of the product among the women working in those healthcare facilities (Gallaway and Diane 7). For instance, most women at Mount Sinai Hospital have reported that essential oils and diffuser relieves stress and anxiety and offer relaxation. Anxiety and stress may be prominent among women aged 27-35 years working in healthcare facilities in various parts of the United States because of being overwhelmed with pathetic situations that may arise at work or while handling different patients. Therefore, having a diffuser for applying essential oils would create a creative environment for these women from stress and anxiety by offering relaxation and elevating their moods (Maher 2). This aspect shows that women between 27 and 35 need essential oils, thus designing a diffuser that would apply to the essential women among this target group.
Additionally, women between 27 and 35 working in healthcare facilities may be at risk of contracting acne for acne is more common among people in this age group, and they attend to several clients in the workplace. The therapeutic-grade essential oils and diffusers are helpful for women having acne-related issues. Solving this issue may be helpful for these women, since they may be tempted to feel stressed if the condition occurs. Therefore, a significant need exists for these women in healthcare facilities to create a healthy environment to solve operative stress, offer relaxation and ensure the well-being of this potential age group (Halcon and Buckle 332). My new plan is to make a stress reduction machine like the capsule coffee machine. My customers will get six capsule flavors to find a more suitable one. The diffuser uses essential oils to solve stress issues among women in this target group.
The value of essential diffusers continues to advance, and most women apply because of the various related issues the product solves. Essential oils and diffusers apply in various situations, from healthcare facilities to spas, to treating various conditions. The product helps reduce or relieve pain, promotes a sense of relaxation, improves mood, and relieves depression, stress, and anxiety (Ehrlich 3). Examples of essential oils that relieve depression, stress, and anxiety include sandalwood, lemon, bergamot, orange, rose, and lavender. Most clinical studies report that professional midwives apply essential oils and diffusers to counter fear and anxiety among pregnant women, create in them a sense of well-being, and could require minimal pain drug medication during delivery. Female clinicians between 27 and 35 working in healthcare facilities can apply essential oils and diffusers to facilitate their professionalism among pregnant women and those in labor (Pearson et al. 4; Johnson et al. 165). Combining essential oils and a diffuser with massage can minimize colic symptoms among women in this age group working in the healthcare industries.
Essential oils have shown a significant medicinal or therapeutic value among women and other Millennials. For instance, essential oils and diffusers can be used in hospitals to reduce pre-procedural anxiety and blood pressure in women undergoing colonoscopy. An example of such essential oil is Neroli oil. Some essential oils and diffusers also have chemical compounds that possess antifungal and antibacterial properties, thus treating health conditions related to fungi and bacteria (Ehrlich 4). Other essential oils like peppermint can facilitate digestion, and citrus oil can improve the immune system. Other examples include clary sage, sage, aniseed, and fennel, which can be used for relieving menopause and premenstrual syndrome (PMS) symptoms (Mascherona 2253). However, no human research is available. Nevertheless, essential oils have a significant medicinal value for relieving several symptoms related to diverse health conditions, thus applying to our target audience, women in and around Mount Sinai, New York City.
Similarly, essential oils and diffusers have a psychological benefit to our target audience. Women in this target market are prone to depression, anxiety, and stress, all conditions resulting from the mind or affecting the brain. Therapy or medications combined with essential oils and diffusers for massage can help people with depression. The scents of these essential oils and diffusers are used for stimulating positive emotions in the part of the brain responsible for emotions and memories (Mascherona 2252). A product that can solve people’s psychological problems is essential in medication. Therefore, the women in this target region will benefit from a product that can cure their stress, anxiety, and depression resulting from brain disorders. An example of essential oil with psychological benefits is lavender. Scientists believe this essential oil stimulates brain cell activity in the amygdala as the operation of sedative medications. These women will only have to breathe in essential oils and diffuser molecules to stimulate parts of their brains, thus influencing their mental, emotional, and physical health. Therefore, our target audience will benefit significantly from the essential oils since they meet their needs and have suitable medicinal and psychological values.
- Your Beachhead Market and the End User Profile
Our beachhead market is a group of millennial women working in healthcare facilities, a significant category aged between 27 and 35 in the United States, as evident in the analysis of the potential customer segments. Women desire a brand of essential oils in diffusers offering ingredients sourced from in-store testing and synthetic toxins, avoiding harmful, natural, and authentic sources (Soto-Vasquez et al. 122). Women enjoy the aromatic ambiance and a calmer environment within the room or areas by applying different essential oils in a diffuser to achieve the purest air for practical health experiences. The monthly family income of the target audience ranges between $30,000 and $70,000. The women also live in environments that can be prone or lead to exposure to stress or pain, thus requiring the essential oils through the diffuser to make their health feel better (Han et al. 813). Pure nature solves all the issues, offering our beachhead market suitable health conditions.
According to the study, the famous state in the United States with the highest number of female millenniums utilizing essential oils and diffusers is Mount Sinai, New York City, which has a health facility applying aromatherapy. This facility represents a significant population of our target audience of female healthcare workers aged between 27 and 35. Monthly family incomes and spending are relatively higher in the state than in other states. The state will be our primary focus for establishing our business, with women living in the region as our brand’s primary target audience. The women also like exploring authentic environmental experiences that cause relaxation from pain and stress and gain more energy.
Other features of the end user profile include having the perception of care for the community and nature and being eco-friendly. Most customers are also liberals and can have higher stress levels because of work and family-related issues (Kiersz and Ward 3). The target audience also believes in self-clean systems within their environment as the essential oils and diffusers are made from natural, synthetic and non-toxic substances, offering the purest air by applying the brand to offer a more pleasant-smelling offering room with a calmer ambiance. The end users also want types of essential oils and diffusers that can smell to represent a part of the globe. An excellent and pleasant-smelling room will offer them a relaxing environment and enhance good health conditions for the female clinicians, thus subscribing to their favorite brands of essential oils and diffusers (Johnson et al. 165). Our brand of essential oils and diffusers will enhance the balance in their experience regarding a more pleasant environment, allowing them to obtain environmental aesthetics and bodily satisfaction.
- The Full Life Cycle Use Case
My customer knows she has a problem when she has tried finding and searching the best essential oils in the market, but she has ended up with little success (Kiran, 2019). The acquisition process of my customer is activated when she is motivated by a fellow nurse who has tried out our products and has seen the benefits (The Project Management Life Cycle, and Its 5 Phases, n.d.). our customers focus on the quality and the prices that we offer to them. They value how we handle their concerns and respond to their needs on time (What Is A Product Life Cycle? (Definition and Examples) – Neil Patel, n.d.). Through observing this information from our customers, we can easily develop the value propositions that will help drive essential oil production and marketing. Our customers search and find the solutions we offer when they are referred by their colleagues to our website. Once they access the website, they get to know what we provide and what we charge for each of the products (Dumée, 2021). The numerous web visits enable us to develop and build our marketing strategies and determine the costs that our customers experience when they want to acquire our services (Step 6: Full Life Cycle Use Case – Ppt Download, n.d.).
The female customers assess the value that we provide for our solutions. They then make their own comparisons in relation to other products. They deeply scrutinize every product presented as similar to ours. Eventually, they make their buying decision based on the outcomes of their analysis (Chapter 6. The Life Cycle of a Use Case | Tvolodi’s Blog, n.d.). After we get the data on how they analyzed and came up with their buying decision, we use such data to effectively create our minimum viable essential oil products, our value proposition, determine our competing status, develop our marketing strategies and estimate the expenses customer face during procurement our products (The Customer Decision Making Unit and Process – Leadership Institute For Entrepreneurs, n.d.). The female nurses purchase our essential oil products from outlet stores distributed in different cities across the USA. they usually pay via PayPal or with credit cards after their orders are confirmed and executed. This point is crucial since it helps us to develop our pricing outlines and determine the total costs that are incurred when an order is made (Farrar & Farrar, 2020).
We are always impressed by the positive reviews that are given by our customers. Such reviews increase how other potential clients get to know about our essential oils (Farrar & Farrar, 2020). For instance, the nurses from the Mayo Clinic have been our long-term customers. through their purchases, they refer our products to other nurses in the neighboring states of Indiana and Alabama. Such an initiative has increased the number of customers that visit our website just to try out the products.
V. The Decision-Making Unit (DMU)
This is a minor assembly of individuals that inspire a specific acquisition or choice method. It is listed bellow
- End-users
- Influencers
- Initiator
- Economic buyer
- Decision maker
- Gatekeeper
The purchase of our products is influenced by the female doctors and nurses who have initially used the oil products and have seen the benefits. Such individuals act as influencers that make the initiators and decision maker’s purchase. The beachhead is going to ask for advice from the decision maker (Full Life Cycle Use Case | John Breslin – YouTube, n.d.). This is the individual that finalizes choices to be completed. He is authorized to provide the ultimate choice.
Initiators become the champions of the DMU (Chapter 6. The Life Cycle of a Use Case | Tvolodi’s Blog, n.d.; Product Life Cycle Explained: Stage and Examples, n.d.). They need a solution to the problem and are basically driven to work in that way. They begin by pushing the other members of the DMU in finding an answer. The economic buyer is one that oversees finances and allows spending. He/she negotiates for the amount to be paid (Deep, 2022). Major and Minor Influencers poses Veto Power (Understanding the Project Lifecycle | Project Management Guide, n.d.) –they can halt the buying and they include regulatory councils that license the nurses and doctors or unions where the nurses and doctors have memberships
The influencers are consultants that affect the choices of the initiators. Studies have shown that in the purchase of essential oil products, female nurses and doctors always consult their spouses who make recommendations about purchasing (The Customer Lifecycle: Everything You Need to Know | Qualtrics, n.d.).
- The Product and its Human-Centered Design
| Customer ‘s need, want, psychology and value | How my product and service will meet the customer’s specific needs, wants, psychology and values? |
| Reduce stress | The scent molecules from the oil travel through the olfactory nerves and to the amygdala, the part of the brain involved with experiencing emotions |
| Different flavors of essential oils | Produce seasonal different flavors and offer customization |
| How to control the ratio between water and essential oil? | Our essential oils will keep in a small capsule with the best ratio |
| Customers may want to start their aromatherapy once they open their door | We will make an app in which customers can remote their diffuser at anytime and anyplace |
| Product Safety | Automatic turn-off |
| Noise | Ultra-quiet than the sound of breathing |
| Cleaning | Since we use capsule essential oils, there is no waste for both water and essential oils. The the machine will have a self-cleaning mode to keep odor free |
| Size | We provide several different types of design to satisfy size requirements based on different using environment |
| Placebo effect and skeptical | Free home try-on sample |
- Your Value Propositions Versions
To Millennium females, Pure of Nature is a brand of essential oils and diffusers that offers ingredients derived from true, natural sources, which avoid harmful, synthetic toxins, in-store testing, or free home try-on, various types of smell, by putting different essential oils into a diffuser to give the room a calmer, more pleasant-smelling ambiance because we deliver the purest air from the worldwide to give you a better health condition.
To millennial female doctors and nurses aged 27 to 35 years, Pure of Nature is a brand of pure organic essential oils that offers them the benefits they desire such as boosting their mood in the stressful working environment around the hospital, improving their working performance by increasing your attentiveness, improve your sleep and rest, reduce the job-related anxiety, relieve you from pain and headaches because our vision is to ensure that our products improve your working ability under the stressful hospital set-up.
To all the female doctors and female nurses aged 27 to 35 years, pure of nature is a brand of essential oils and diffusers that offers to release tension, reduce depression, balance the hormones in the body and restore energy to work in the hospital because we are saving you from stress, you are saving lives.
To female doctors and nurses aged 27 to 35 years, pure of nature is a brand of essential oils and diffusers that offer conversion of the raw materials to end products, maintaining the natural process with minimum chemical interference, providing chemical-free products that are cheap, effective and easy to use because we are not made from nature, we are nature.
Bibliography
- Ehrlich, S. D. Aromatherapy. Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. (2022), https://www.mountsinai.org/health-library/treatment/aromatherapy. Accessed 7 October 2022.
- Gallaway, Michon, and Diane Nutbrown. “Lavender Essential Oils as an Alternative Treatment for Anxiety as well as Its Effect on the Human Body.” 2021.
- Halcon, LINDA L., and J. Buckle. “Aromatherapy.” Complementary and alternative therapies in nursing. 7th edition. New York: Springer, 2014, pp. 323-44.
- Han, Xuesheng, et al. “Bergamot (Citrus bergamia) essential oil inhalation improves positive feelings in the waiting room of a mental health treatment center: A pilot study.” Phytotherapy Research, vol. 31, no. 5, 2017, pp. 812-816.
- Johnson, Jill R., et al. “The effectiveness of nurse-delivered aromatherapy in an acute care setting.” Complementary Therapies in Medicine, vol. 25, 2016, pp. 164-169.
- Kiersz, A. & Ward, M. The map shows how the US really has 11 separate ‘nations’ with entirely different cultures. Business Insider, 2020, https://www.businessinsider.com/the-11-nations-of-the-united-states-2015-7?amp. Accessed 7 October 2022.
- Maher, K. “How do I choose and use essential oils,” 2016, https://www.takingcharge.csh.umn.edu/how-do-i-choose-and-use-essential-oils. Accessed 7 October 2022.
- Mascherona, Ilenia, et al. “Essential oil therapy for the short-term treatment of behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia: a monocentric randomized pilot study.” Aging Clinical and Experimental Research, vol. 33, no. 8, 2021, pp. 2251-2259.
- Pearson, Amy, et al. “Perspectives on the use of aromatherapy from clinicians attending an integrative medicine continuing education event.” BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine, vol. 19, no. 1, 2019, pp. 1-7.
- Soto-Vásquez, Marilú Roxana, and Paúl Alan Arkin Alvarado-García. “Aromatherapy with two essential oils from Satureja genre and mindfulness meditation to reduce anxiety in humans.” Journal of Traditional and Complementary Medicine, vol. 7, no. 1, 2017, pp. 121-125.
- Ehrlich, S. D. Aromatherapy. Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. (2022), https://www.mountsinai.org/health-library/treatment/aromatherapy
- Gallaway, Michon, and Diane Nutbrown. “Lavender Essential Oils as an Alternative Treatment for Anxiety as well as Its Effect on the Human Body.” (2021).
- Han, Xuesheng, et al. “Bergamot (Citrus bergamia) essential oil inhalation improves positive feelings in the waiting room of a mental health treatment center: A pilot study.” Phytotherapy Research 31.5 (2017): 812-816.
- Kiersz, A. & Ward, M. The map shows how the US really has 11 separate ‘nations’ with entirely different cultures. Business Insider, 2020, https://www.businessinsider.com/the-11-nations-of-the-united-states-2015-7?amp
- Mascherona, Ilenia, et al. “Essential oil therapy for the short-term treatment of behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia: a monocentric randomized pilot study.” Aging clinical and experimental research 33.8 (2021): 2251-2259.
- Soto-Vásquez, Marilú Roxana, and Paúl Alan Arkin Alvarado-García. “Aromatherapy with two essential oils from Satureja genre and mindfulness meditation to reduce anxiety in humans.” Journal of traditional and complementary medicine 7.1 (2017): 121-125.
- Buonomo, Michele, and Erin Warshaw. “Contact Dermatitis to Essential Oils.” Current Dermatology Reports (2021): 1-25.
- Gallaway, Michon, and Diane Nutbrown. “Lavender Essential Oils as an Alternative Treatment for Anxiety as well as Its Effect on the Human Body.” (2021).
- Han, Xuesheng, et al. “Bergamot (Citrus bergamia) essential oil inhalation improves positive feelings in the waiting room of a mental health treatment center: A pilot study.” Phytotherapy Research 31.5 (2017): 812-816.
- Kiersz, A. & Ward, M. The map shows how the US really has 11 separate ‘nations’ with entirely different cultures. Business Insider, 2020, https://www.businessinsider.com/the-11-nations-of-the-united-states-2015-7?amp
- Soto-Vásquez, Marilú Roxana, and Paúl Alan Arkin Alvarado-García. “Aromatherapy with two essential oils from Satureja genre and mindfulness meditation to reduce anxiety in humans.” Journal of traditional and complementary medicine 7.1 (2017): 121-125.
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