Summary: Using Perceptual Maps In Marketing Simulation

Using Perceptual Maps in Marketing Simulation Summary
Inge Webster
January 18, 2014

Using Perceptual Maps in Marketing Simulation Thorr Motorcycles is a manufacturer of different range of motorcycles, which carries a wide variety of products such as shoes and toys. The image portrayed from the company provides its customers the freedom, masculinity, and mobility of all its products. Thorr Motorcycles is a company that offers a variety of services with dealer training, dealer software, the rental of bikes, and also provides training for individuals that would like to learn how to ride. This organization believes highly of their brand and takes full advantage of the market in which they target for the sale
of their products.
The Situation The situation is the number of particular motorcycle decreasing, the older customers that are targeted and basically losing interest in riding. The younger individuals that the company are targeting really cannot afford the higher priced motorcycles. While coming together to determine how the marketing strategy will push forward, offers changes the position within the company’s rather than bringing out a new model. Perceptual maps are used to compare attributes of products and services with the competitors to mark their position in the market and this is what Thorr motorcycles will use to find the attributes needed to reach customers again.
Recommended Solutions To position a strategy, steps must be taken to choose the proper fundamental parameters. First, lifestyle image is recommended. Lifestyle image plays an important role because it brings out the motorcycle’s uniqueness, capacity, design, and style. This attribute will capture customer’s attention toward the image. The second recommendation is quality engineering. Quality engineering is what covers every aspect of the motorcycles; for example, their design, style, engine capacity, uniqueness, and the quality of the manufacturing process. Quality is important to bring out the motorcycle’s high image. The third recommendation is price. Price is one of the major factors customers take into consideration when making a purchase decision. High price usually will mean a high image. If the price is low, the motorcycles can be perceived as having a low image. The fourth recommendation is service. Services must be offered to keep customers loyal and pleasing the dealers and distributors. The position for the CruiserThorr in the market is what affects the sales. The final recommendation is to reposition the CruiserThorr as opposed to launching a new motorcycle, RRoth.
Results
To reposition the CruiserThorr several strategies must take place.
The recommended strategies are to provide financing options and increase services. This resulted in a good move because it will attract new customers and satisfy what the current customers were already demanding. Financing also impacts the price parameter in a positive way when targeting the younger customers. The price was recommended to stay the same. This was also a good move because decreasing the price could also decrease the motorcycle’s high image. The marketing place should be with dealers, distributors, and internet web sites. The Internet was a good result because of the wide reach. As for promotions the recommendations are to provide giveaway merchandise, publicize through Hollywood films, and offer free test rides. Promoting through Hollywood films was a good result because they have films based on science fiction and technology; these factors can attract those audiences. Services offered should be training to dealers, club memberships, and financial services. Another good move was to offer training to dealer. Training dealers would be helpful because they interact directly with customers, and they can better sell the
motorcycles. When applying perceptions, the following were chosen: lifestyle image was a nine, price was a seven, quality engineering was a nine, and a service offering was a seven. Lifestyle image was already high and the company did a good job of improving sales; therefore keeping the image high and the value was appropriate. Quality engineering was high; therefore an eight would have been appropriate because this is what indicates what customers consider. Price would have been more appropriate at a four or five because it has already been high and perceived as a negative factor. Service was valued appropriately because more services were offered including the training for dealers and the financial services. Customization would also have been a good recommendation.
Summary
Differentiation refers to the marketing mix and performance a company strives for to value a product (Perreault, Cannon, & McCarthy, 2009). Companies seek to make the best products with the best quality to make them stand out from the competition. Positioning refers to the perception of a product or service already existing and comparing to the competition (Perreault, Cannon, & McCarthy, 2009). The relationship between differentiation and positioning is companies must differentiate their products and services from the competition and also maintain a secure position in the market keeping in mind what the customer needs are. Both differentiation and positioning relate to the distinct features products and services have to offer. With different and positioned products and services, companies will be at the top of the customer’s choice. The repositioning of the motorcycles in the simulation was what was expected because it was able to increase sales. Even though the motorcycles did not have to go through any adjustments to change their appearance, the services offered were what attracted the customers. When financial services were offered, the young target customers were able to afford financing making them capable of purchasing the motorcycle they wanted. The proper strategies helped the motorcycle be repositioned and avoided new costs of introducing a totally new designed motorcycle. The product life cycle refers to the stages a new product or service goes through from the beginning to the end.
The four stages of the product life style are market introduction, market growth, market maturity, and sales decline (Perreault, Cannon, & McCarthy, 2009). The effect the product life cycle had on the CruiserThorr was that the CruiserThorr was in the sales decline stage. The sales had declined because the young target customers could not afford to purchase high priced motorcycles and the older target customers were losing interest in riding motorcycles. Thorr Motorcycles designed and introduced a new motorcycle, the RRoth, in hopes to target a new age group of customers. After the new marketing plan was implemented and put in effect, it was determined that the best strategy was to reposition the CruiserThorr.
Conclusion
Customer expectations had an impact with the help of the perceptual map. The parameters determined exactly what the customer’s needs were and what they were expecting from Thorr Motorcycles. The elements of high image, quality engineering, service, and price developed by the perceptual map customer perceptions were restored and so were the high
sales.

References Perreault, W. D., Cannon, J. P., & McCarthy, E. J., Jr. (2009). Basic marketing: A marketing strategy planning approach (17th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw Hill. Perreault, W.D., & McCarthy, E.J. (2004). Basic Marketing. McGraw-Hill Companies University of Phoenix. (2006). General Marketing. Retrieved from: University of Phoenix Resource Simulation MKT421 https://mycampus.phoenix.edu/secure/resource/vendors/tata/UBAMsims/general_marketing/general