Fall+2009+Section+09-PS+Week+2

=Class Discussion For Week 2=


 * Market Analysis and Segmentation**

__3 different Consumer Segmentation Views:__

1) Yankelovich and Meer
 * There are many types of people and many types of buying patterns. Market segmentation is becoming too narrow.
 * Traditional demographics are no longer as useful. The aggregation of a group i.e. 18-24 year old range does not mean this group of people are homogenized. In essence, it is imperative to understand the individual vs. viewing the group as a whole. Such a notion of aggregation should become obsolete, as knowing the individual preferences, values, and behaviors are of extreme importance.
 * values, traits, preferences are better marketing indicators.
 * Psychographics (VALS) proved to be effective at brand reinforcement as well as brand positioning.
 * Effective Segmentations
 * concentrate on needs, attitudes, and behavior which change quickly
 * personality traits generally endure through life and are considered not to be as effective
 * are constantly dynamic, being reshaped by market conditions (economics, niches, technology)

2) Best and HBS- Needs based segmentation
 * Features/performance
 * Price

Maybe it's just me but it seems that the main argument for clustering is flawed. Our readings describe how "traditional" clustering is flawed using age, sex, marital status demographics. Their solution, a different type of clustering. So the solution to clustering is clustering? I believe this is a logical fallacy.

3) Christenson How does BMW command more price when a Honda has similar vehicle specs? //Good afternoon////, mirror neuron//
 * "The Best ideas are always considered disruptive"--Make noise. Differentiate your business in manner that will gain attention. Give reasons why you are different than others.
 * Most businesses fail because they are too afraid to be different--YES! Break away from what is deemed to be the norm. Deviate from the "typical business model."
 * Concept of Differentiation and Positioning

1. Vertical - based on price 2. Horizontal - based on preference
 * Two types of product differentiation:**

//The example that was discussed about Honda and Toyota being on the horizontal axis and BMW on the vertical axis left me questioning the effectiveness of the horizontal and vertical differentiation graph. Can't everything be considered as on the horizontal axis? When a consumer decides they are better suited to a BMW, following the vertical axis, is that vertical axis not also accompanied with audi, lexus, acura etc...? Is there any true product that stands alone on a vertical axis? Or is the graph merely a continous horizontal/vertical axis that creates a square?// It would appear so. Not sure if the most elite product available would stand alone on the vertical axis...possible?
 * Customer Value Index - Create superior customer value while commanding a price premium.


 * Strategic Marketing vs Operational Marketing

- Product doesn't always do the job we think it is "supposed to" do (i.e. relieve boredom on a long drive). - Appeals on 3 levels: Functional, Emotional, and Social.
 * Milkshake Example:**

__Mirror Neuron__ It seems that the mirror neuron takes avantage of a lack of critical thinking. --(Maybe, but I think the Mirror Neuron refers to an action that is instinctive--maybe your brain uses the "mirror neuron" before you can actually think critically)
 * Neuron which fires both when an animal acts and when the animal observes the same action performed by another animal
 * Thus the neuron "mirrors" the behavior of another animal as though the observer were acting
 * Marketing uses this concept to make the consumer aspire to be the person who has/uses the product being advertised
 * Companies convince consumers that a product is for them by placing a person in their ads that resembles the customer or the customer //wishes// resembled them…put yourself in someone else's shoes.

__Ideal and Real Segmentation Data Mining Marketing Research through technology__ - SPSS Statistics, measure several components at once. Match the quantitative rational of the SPSS platform with the information gleaned from qualitative market research. The information obtained from SPSS must make sense.

__Purpose Brands -__ //I think I may have accidentally deleted this comment made previously by Jeff...oops, sorry!// One thought that I had during the course of the lecture is the concept of mass customization versus the marketing of brands as problem solvers or remedies for specific jobs. If you build a brand in the customers’ minds as the best solution to a specific problem, is the idea of customization consistent with the objective? In a sense, if you allow the customer to customize a product, are you diluting the “solution to a specific problem” objective? 

I think they are consistent with each other. By providing customization, you are offering the ultimate specific solution to a customers problem. It would seem that mass customization is the next step to remedies for specific jobs.

__The Fashion Channel Case Study__