Thorr Motorcycles Inc. Perceptual maps marketing simulation Essay

Thorr Motorcycles Inc. Perceptual maps marketing simulation - Essay ExampleThe use perceptual maps marketing simulation was a great experienced for me. The simulation taught me the importance of product differentiation and aligning. The company showcased in the simulation was called Thorr Motorcycles Inc.The company is dedicated to manufacturing motorbikes. The company holds a market parcel out of 40% in an oligopoly marketplace. Perceptual maps are used in the simulation to develop a positioning strategy. A perceptual map is the visual example of the customers perception of a brand. In the simulation I served the role of marketing manager. In the first round of the simulation I had to pack four marketing disputations to develop the positioning strategy. The first parameter I choose is set. Customers in all industries always pay close attention to the charge of the product or service. The assist parameter chosen was lifestyle image. A lot of customers in the motorcycle indu stry 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 engineer. 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 conclusions. I had to create a marketing plan that will reposition the CruiserThorr or unveiling 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 outlay in lifestyle products. The companys competitors stand 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 date 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 future(a) 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 optio ns, 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 cost 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 th e RRoth. A differentiation strategy is used to create a unique product that that has different attributes than the competition. A positioning strategy is different