Perceptual Mapping: Thorr Motorcycles

Essay by SsurrealLA+, April 2008

download word file, 7 pages 3.7

Thorr Motorcycles, Inc. is a $5 billion dollar company that manufacturers motorcycles and sells clothing, motorcycle shoes, small leather goods, toys, and numerous other consumer items. The company is viewed as having a high brand image. In the Thorr Motorcycle simulation, there were three major phases. The first is to use an optimal perceptual map to identify Thorr Motorcycles parameters. The second was to decide whether to reposition Thorr Motorcycles current marketed cruiser or launch a new motorcycle based on a SWOTT analysis. The third was to develop a new perceptual parameter based on the results of sales and customer surveys. All three phases can correspond to the business cycle, respectively, intro, growth, and the maturity phase. The simulated situations will be provided as well as recommended solutions and the results of the recommendations. The relationship between differentiation and positioning of products and services will further be discussed following the impact of the product life cycle impact on marketing.

The simulation provided the market manager with suggestions from a CEO, chief engineer and vice president of Thorr Motorcycles. The company was faced with a problem; competitors were taking away Thorr Motorcycles market share. Their current product on the market is the Cruiser Thorr which has a price tag of $25,800. The product is not selling well primarily because their target market (age 35-50) is growing older and they no longer find the motorcycle to fit their lifestyle. Younger customers (age 21-35) prefer low-cost motorcycles and don't identify with the lifestyle image. The goal of Thorr Motorcycles is to reclaim their dominant position in the market by continuing to focus on their high image; this is because the CEO believes customers are willing to pay high prices for quality motorcycles.

Marketing goes beyond simply selling and advertising as research is required...