Thorr Motorcycles Inc. Perceptual maps marketing simulation - Essay Example

The using perceptual maps marketing simulation was a great experienced for me. The simulation taught me the importance of product differentiation and positioning. The company showcased in the simulation was called Thorr Motorcycles Inc.The company is dedicated to manufacturing motorcycles. The company holds a market share of 40% in an oligopoly marketplace. Perceptual maps are used in the simulation to develop a positioning strategy. A perceptual map is the visual representation of the customer’s perception of a brand.

In the simulation I served the role of marketing manager. In the first round of the simulation I had to choose four marketing parameters to develop the positioning strategy. The first parameter I choose is price. Customers in all industries always pay close attention to the price of the product or service. The second parameter chosen was lifestyle image. A lot of customers in the motorcycle industry purchase motorcycles because of the image it represents. The third parameter I choose was service offering.

A survey showed that customers perceive the service of Thorr Motorcycles to be poor. The final parameter I choose was quality engineering. Along with price quality is a very important attribute that all customers evaluate when making a purchase. The four parameters I choose were the optimal solution for the company. The second round of the simulation involved making some strategic decisions. I had to create a marketing plan that will reposition the CruiserThorr or launch a new motorcycle. The marketing budget for the plan was $13 million.

One of the tools that were provided in the simulation in order to help me make a decision was a SWOT analysis. The four elements of a SWOT analysis are strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. One of the threats discussed in the SWOT is that fact that rising unemployment will decrease the expenditure in lifestyle products. The company’s competitors have low-cost motorcycles that are all geared to attract the younger customers. The CruiserThorr has penetrated the market well, but the product has reached the maturity stage of its product lifecycle.

I decided against repositioning the CruiserThorr. My solution was introducing the RRoth model. The second step of round two was deciding the marketing mix of the company among the following four variables: price, place, services, and promotion. The marketing mix of a product can be used to implement a differentiation strategy. The price I chose was in the $13,000 to $15,000 range. At that price range the company will achieve maximum customer reach. The places I choose to sell the RRoth were distributors, dealers, and the internet.

Young customers in the United States are using the internet more everyday to make purchases. In 2010 e-commerce sales in the US reached $153 billion. The services I decided to offer were training to dealers, customization options, and financial services. The promotion alternatives I decided to implement were sponsor events such as Daytona, offer insurance and protection plans, hire celebrities for endorsement, and publicize through Hollywood films. The total costs of my marketing plan were $12,385,000.

I achieved savings for the company of $615,000. In the third round of the simulation I had to create and rate the perceptual maps of both motorcycle products. The four attributes of the perceptual map of the CruiserThorr were lifestyle image, price, service offering, and quality engineering. My ratings on a scale of 1 to 10 for lifestyle image, price, service offering, and quality engineering were 10,7,6,9 respectively. The four variables I choose for the perceptual map of the RRoth were price, cool, service offerings and lifestyle image.

The rating for price, cool service offering, and lifestyle image were 10,9,8,8. The simulation indicated that I should have added the parameter of quality engineering in the RRoth. A differentiation strategy is used to create a unique product that that has different attributes than the competition. A positioning strategy is different