Perceptual Maps in Marketing

A marketing plan can be viewed as a roadmap in which an organization navigates through a sequence of steps in order to promote a service, goods, or program (Thomas, 2015) (May, Apr 12, 2012). Therefore, in order to initiate the occurrence of any marketing activity, it is vital to have a marketing plan to follow in the event to create awareness, attract customers, and to gain business (Thomas, 2015). In having a marketing plan, the organization must delineate their marketing initiative through a sequence of designated steps by strategically organizing, marketing activities while defining who will be their targeted potential customers (Buttell, Jan/Feb 2009). In meeting the strategic objectives of a marketing plan, it should

In positioning, the marketing department forms an image for the product based on its intended audience. This is formed through the use of promotion, price, place and product. The more penetrating a positioning strategy, typically the more effective the marketing strategy is for a company. A good positioning strategy uplifts the marketing efforts and helps a buyer move from knowledge of a product or service to its purchase. MIFCO has made the availability of products all around Maldives.

As a marketing manager for Cruiser Thorr who sells high end motorcycles. This organization is growing at a rapid pace. Indeed there is more structure needed to the marketing piece to sustain a successful business. Being that the industry of motorcycles is increasing annually. This organization must also work to satisfy the needs of their target customers. The organization must also work to differentiate themselves from other similar organizations as well. Key components in my opinion are the product uniqueness, safety, quality

The motorcycle industry is growing annually and sales on CruiseThorr at Thorr Motorcycles are decreasing. This is largely due to its target customers, 35 to 50 yrs old, growing older and no longer being interested in the lifestyle that CruiserThorr symbolizes. Other factors include younger customers, in the age group of 21 to 35 yrs old, preferring low-cost motorcycles as they do not have large disposable incomes. Younger customers do not identify with CruiserThorr's lifestyle image and competitors are eating into CruiserThorr's market share. In order to reduce this trend, the following marketing

The challenge for Thorr is that the industry is growing, but sales of its high-end product are decreasing. The reason for this loss of market share is that the target customers of its high end product is growing older, and younger people do not identify with the brand image of Thorr. In addition, Thorr is a high product and younger people do not have the large disposable income necessary to support the brand.

Lastly, they need to evaluate the process to make sure the strategy is successful. With the strategic plan in place, marketers can then focus on creating a marketing plan. The marketing plan should consist of an Executive Summary, Situation Analysis, SWOT for each product line, Marketing Goals and Objectives, marketing Strategy, Marketing Implementation and Evaluation and Control. There are many parallels in how the strategic plan and the marketing plan are

Customization options were chosen because this would add to the cool and youthful image of the RRoth. Financial services were chosen because the younger consumers indicated an interest in financing options. Choosing to launch a new motorcycle turned out to be a good decision. The marketing mix options chosen were the most optimal for the formulation of a differentiation strategy.

Marketing and Sales represents Ducati’s most significant growth opportunities because their brand management strategy advances the Ducati name into the consciousness of their markets. In addition to motorcycles, Ducati extends the brand by selling accessories and apparel. For sure, Ducati owners will buy these products but perhaps more importantly, the aspirational aspect of the brand drives people to buy Ducati-branded items even if they don’t own the bike. This behavior is seen with the Harley-Davidson brand: many people wear H-D clothing and

A better quality engine, more finance programs and favorable service options are all on the list of what means more to the potential consumers. Once the organization can include customers’ needs into the market plan, the next step would be to maximize any and all promotion opportunities that can be found. How will this new motorcycle be different from the products in the same industry and how should the company position it?

With the introduction to new technology in the automotive industry, consumers are struggling to maintain and repair their own vehicles. They are relying on professionals in order to complete even minor repairs on their vehicles which forces them to find businesses which not only provides the needed parts but also assist with instruction on how to replace it. The demand for automobile parts is driven by the age and mileage of vehicles in use and generally increases when fewer new cars are sold and older cares are kept on the road, causing the profitability of individuals companies such as AutoZone to depend on inventory management and marketing (Tippie, 2015). For AutoZone, they were able to expand their brand very quickly with a robust financial performance over the years but with competition like The Pep Boys, O’Reilly Automotive and Advance Auto Parts, Inc. they must continue to analyze their strengths against the market in order to stay

Positioning, to marketers, means they drive their “better” product to a particular audience. This strategy is important to marketers because, they use this technique to increase their sales by convincing their audience that their product is better than the competing brand. A product I buy that is “positioned” to me is The North Face backpack. As a student, North Face are popular around campus. When someone sees a North Face backpack, they assume you might have a little money. The backpack has many compartments and zippers. Inside the larger pocket, there is two padded slots, one for a laptop and the other for a smaller tablet or ipad. The back of the backpack is padded as well for comfortability. Depending on the style, there are two bottle

The promotional strategies that I chose included sponsoring events such as Daytona, offer free test rides, hire celebrity’s for endorsements, and publicize through Hollywood films. Sponsoring events would show a dedication by the company to support related sports that consumers can relate to. Celebrity endorsements offer the company a graphic image by having a relatable name fastened to the product. Offering free test rides provides a connection between the consumer and the product. It bonds the two together and allows the consumer to “feel the thunder”. The places that the business will market the Cruiser Thorr are on Manufacturer's Web Site via the Internet and various sellers. The World Wide Web will allow for a better chance for the product to be noticed on a broader level versus only having showroom viewings. Service promotions that will be added to the advertising chart are customization alternatives and financial services. Adhering to a financial plan with a limit of $13,000, the options that I chose kept the expenditures to $12,612. The final simulation included interpreting the market research findings. This would allow me to plot Cruiser Thorr's brand attributes on a perceptual map. I gave Lifestyle Image a rating of ten because it is what the customers appreciate most about the product. I gave Quality Engineering an eight because a large majority of the surveyed consumers indicated that Cruiser Thorr's engine build was stronger than the

At the end of the thought of course is always the most important aspect. Cost and price. The price is affected by many, many things. Among these things is engineering, construction, materials, labor, transport of the bike itself. The whole purpose for this bike 's creation is ot make money. To make money you must have a clear marketing plan. Due to this obvious fact we have restructured Cruiser Thorr and decided to not create a new bike. It is imperative to keep the Cruiser Thorr in production if Thorr is going to keep making motorcycles. It is the bike that has built their empire. It would be as if Levi 's stopped selling 501 Jeans. We instead create a financing option that gives the consumers with less money an opportunity to own a Cruiser Thorr. With increased service options will be able to make rational sense of the high price that we will be able to keep at the same price. For advertising it would probably be a good idea to put some endorsements in race tracks, hook up with a popular drink brand like MONSTER and maybe make a “Monster Bike” that can ride around. We can also take a page out of the GM book and put our bikes into movies and on television for product placement.

So, the main issue of this case study is to know why Harley-Davidson has chosen different strategies according to markets, understand the idea of the brand stretching strategy of Harley-Davidson, and also to give some recommendations and ideas for the marketing strategy of Harley-Davidson.

Perceptual mapping is a graphical technique that helps marketers to get a visual display regarding perception of customers or potential customers. The position of a product or brand is displayed comparative to their competition. Perceptual maps are often used to help the organization to classify a positioning strategy.