Page 40 - DMGT408DMGT203_Marketing Management

Unit 2: Understanding the Marketplace and Consumers

Customer Motivation Notes
1. What benefit offered by the product/service do customers value most?

2. What are the customer’s actual buying objectives, i.e., what needs do they want to satisfy?
3. What are the customer’s motivational priorities?
4. What changes are taking place in the customer’s taste and preferences? Why?
Customer motivation analysis starts with the task of identifying motivations for a given segment
and then to determine the relative importance of the motivations. Ultimately we have to identify
the motivations that will play a role in defining the strategy of the business.

Price Sensitivity of Customers

There is a well-defined breakdown between those customers who are first concerned about
price and others who are willing to pay extra for higher quality, better features and superior
performance.

Example: Automobiles span the spectrum from Maruti to Mercedes. Airline service is
partitioned into first class, business class and economy class. In each case, the segment dictates
the strategy.
Unmet Needs

An unmet need is a customer need that is not being met by the existing product offering. Unmet
needs are strategically important because they represent opportunities for firms to increase
their market share, break into a market, or create new markets.

Sometimes customers may not be aware of their unmet needs because they are so accustomed to
the implicit limitation of the existing equipment. Unmet needs that are not obvious may be
more difficult to identify, but they can also represent a greater opportunity for an aggressive
business because there will be little pressure on the established firms to be responsive. The key
is to stretch the technology or apply new technologies in order to expose unmet needs.

Example: Palm-top computers, blood-less operation, and commercial space travel are
some of the examples of once unmet needs that have been met.

Task Interview some consumers or business people and identify two products
or companies who are committed to maintaining environment.

2.2.3 Competitor Analysis

“Nothing focuses the mind better than the constant sight of a competitor who wants to wipe you
off that map” said Wayne Calloway, former CEO of Pepsi Co.
“Who really are our competitors?”

Is a tour operator is competing with a male outfit supplier? Is a business school competing with
an insurance company? May be, the answer is yes, if we consider all of them to be fighting for a
share of the consumer’s purse.

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