Using Perceptual Maps in Marketing

Using Perceptual Maps in Marketing

Kenisha Stewart

MKT 421

March 3, 2014

Steve Grothe

Using Perceptual Maps in Marketing

As a marketing manager for Cruiser Thor, a company who sells high end motorcycles, I was asked to help find a way to improve structure and satisfy the needs of the target market. The organization’s current product line, which has been quite successful, has been falling off lately and they are trying to decide on a new direction to take to help increase their market share. The organization must work to differentiate themselves from other similar organizations as well. Key attributes that can make the company stand out are the product uniqueness, safety, quality engineering and price. The solution, recommended solutions and the results will be analyzed from the attributes that are picked.

CruiserThorr has an image in this particular market that is high and it currently makes more 200,000 luxury motorcycles per year. The company makes up 40% of the market share of motorcycles that are in the same class. CruiserThorr has concerns over the decrease of sales for the motorcycles. The target market has shifted to a younger group of customers and these customers are looking for bikes that are cheaper and that suit their lifestyle. To deal with the situation, myself and the marketing team has developed a perceptual map to clearly determine the target market’s wants and needs and how the company can improve to start increasing in sales.

My recommended solutions for this situation would be first to work towards the product uniqueness. With a product that stands out and is different from all of the other motorcycles, this can increase sales and it can also interest the target market. CruiserThorr needs an image that separates them from their competitors and the best way to do that would be to change the overall design of the motorcycle.

The design should have features that are current, modern and also useful for the target customers. To see...