Perpetual Maps

Perceptual Maps in Marketing

This paper will summarize the major phases in the marketing strategy simulation for this week’s assignment. The relationship between differentiation and positioning of products or services as well as the expectation of the product repositioning in the simulation compared to the actual results and the effects of the product life cycle will also be covered within this paper.

Situation

The situation in our assignment this week is that Thorr Motorcycles, Inc., who manufactures a range of motorcycles, has come to the conclusion that the CruiserThorr sales are decreasing even though the motorcycle industry continues to rise. The reasoning behind the decrease in sales is thought to be that the current target customer base that ranges in age from 35-50 years old are rising in age and are no longer interested in the clout that owning a CruiserThorr brings. Another reason behind the decrease in sales is thought to be that the younger generation ranging in age from 21-35 years old prefer low-cost motorcycles, do not have extra money lying around to spend on motorcycles and no not relate to the CruiserThorr Lifestyle Image. The trend needs to be reversed with a new marketing plan that will be done through a perceptual map (UOPX, 2011).

Recommended Solutions and Results

The perceptual map that became of my recommended parameters included lifestyle image, quality engineering, service offerings and price. These four parameters that I recommended were the optimal parameters within the simulation. Lifestyle Image is one of the most important roles in the motorcycle industry because it brings a clout or a standard along with it. Customers buy the object on the influence it brings rather than what attributes it carries with it. Quality Engineering covers the design, the engine capacity, and the uniqueness of the product. According to the simulation, “a motorcycle cannot maintain a high image without this attribute” (UOPX, 2011). Price is a...