Thorr Motorcycles is a $5 billion company that manufactures 200,000 motorcycles a year. It also licenses T-shirts, shoes, leather goods, toys, and numerous other consumer items. The company also offers services which include: dealer training, dealer software packages, motorcycle rental, and rider training. The company has a high-brand image manufacturing high-end motorcycles and currently owns approximately forty percent of the market share.
Thorr Motorcycle's Situation
The challenge for Thorr is that the industry is growing annually, but sales of its high-end product are decreasing. The reason for this loss of market share is that the target customers of its high end product is growing older and no longer identify with the lifestyle Thorr's brand represents, and younger people do not identify with that brand image either. In addition, Thorr is a high priced product and younger people do not have the large disposable income necessary to support the brand. The simulation challenged you as the new Marketing Manager to ascertain CruiserThorr's position in the market and reverse the downward trend.
Product life cycle (3 charts)
Product life cycle (3 charts)
Image of the four major product life cycle stagesRecommended Solutions and Results
The first step in the simulation is to determine the positioning strategy of CruiserThorr using a perceptual map. There are four parameters that must be selected in the simulation. I chose lifestyle image, because the company's brand is its strongest asset and it is important that we continue to strengthen and realize the power of that attribute. Lifestyle image is what influences people to buy into the image rather than the functionality of the product. Next, I suggested product design and styling because it builds brand loyalty and provides satisfaction by tapping into the customers emotional needs. Next, I suggested service offerings because that is an easy to ensure customer loyalty while keeping dealers and distributors happy. Finally, I suggested price because price is what drives...