Fiber board coffins on the Swedish funeral market. Target Costing and Co-Creation

Seminar paper from the year 2016 in the subject Business economics - Marketing, Corporate Communication, CRM, Market Research, Social Media, grade: 1,7, Linnaeus University (Business and Economics), course: Innovation through Business, Engineering and Design, language: English, abstract: This report discusses the concept of fiber board coffins on the Swedish market from the perspective of target costing as well as co-creation. The main method used to derive the empirical findings was a focus group. This report is the third report in a series where the product of fiber board coffins was developed from initial design stage to engineering phase and finally this business report. Due to the shift from a company centric view to a customer centric view on the market place, companies need to adapt their strategies when launching a new product to make sure they offer an added value to the customer. Target costing considers the customer-centric view by setting a price first and then deriving the placement of costs. Distribution of costs is done by seeking the customer's opinion and asking for what is important to them in the product. The report describes how the target price was set and costs distributed to reach a satisfactory product for both the client and the company. Besides costs, consumer behavior and customer value influence how the product should be marketed. Two main areas influence the consumer when purchasing a product: macro, external, and micro, internal factors. It was found that the macro factors play an important role when setting boundaries to the product whereas the micro factors can be used to place the product and derive a unique selling proposition. The consulted focus group showed clear results. The three most important factors in the purchase of a coffin are price, color and sustainability. From all the insights mentioned above an advertisement of a catalogue was developed and the conclusion reflects the concept, how to market it, and what could be a motivation to purchase it.