Thorr Motorcycles is a motorcycle manufacturing company located in South Dakota. This five billion a year company turns out over 200,000 units per year (APA Reference). The market which Thorr competes is dominated by a small number of sellers or an oligopoly (Wikipedia, 2006). With such a small number of competitors, Thorr's marketing department will need to know their customers. One tool of evaluation is perceptual maps in marketing. This paper will review a recent situation at Thorr Motorcycles, which was recorded in a simulation.
The marketing department will need to need to choose four fundamental parameters that are relevant to the industry. The department reviewed lifestyle changes, product design and styling, cool, product uniqueness, service offerings, price, engine capacity, safety and quality engineering. The department chose lifestyle image, quality engineering, product design and styling and product uniqueness. Lifestyle was chosen to support the image Thorr is already associated with.
Swot analysis
Swot analysis image
English: A schematic illustrating the evolving rel...The Thorr name is one of high quality, upper class motorcycle. Quality engineering was chosen to support the lifestyle image. With a motorcycle which is of high quality, this will allow Thorr to ask a higher price and have the customer purchase. Product design styling and uniqueness were chosen to support the brand. With a style that the customer would want and uniqueness would build brand loyalty.
The marketing department discovered the choices made were not optimal. The optimal choices were lifestyle image, price, service offerings, and quality engineering. The reason these are the optimal choices are price drives purchasing decisions and a high price is directly proportional to a high image. Services are simple but time-tested ways of ensuring customer loyalty and keeping dealers and distributors happy. Quality engineering covers almost every aspect of a product. With high quality the company can maintain a high image. Lifestyle image plays...