Perceptual mapping is a graphics technique used by marketers that attempts to visually display the p

The political arena has a huge influence upon the regulation of businesses, and the spending power of consumers and other businesses. You must consider issues such as: How stable is the political environment? Will government policy influence laws that regulate or tax your business? What is the government's position on marketing ethics? What is the government's policy on the economy? Does the government have a view on culture and religion? Is the government involved in trading agreements such as EU, NAFTA, ASEAN, or others?
Marketers need to consider the state of a trading economy in the short and long-terms. This is especially true when planning for international marketing. You need to look at: Interest rates. The level of inflation Employment level per capita. Long-term prospects for the economy Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita, and so on.
The social and cultural influences on business vary from country to country. It is very important that such factors are considered. Factors include: What is the dominant religion? What are attitudes to foreign products and services? Does language impact upon the diffusion of products onto markets? How much time do consumers have for leisure? What are the roles of men and women within society? How long are the population living? Are the older generations wealthy? Do the population have a strong/weak opinion on green issues?
Technology is vital for competitive advantage, and is a major driver of globalization. Consider the following points: Does technology allow for products and services to be made more cheaply and to a better standard of quality? Do the technologies offer consumers and businesses more innovative products and services such as Internet banking, new generation mobile telephones, etc? How is distribution changed by new technologies e.g. books via the Internet, flight tickets, auctions, etc? Does technology offer companies a new way to communicate with consumers e.g. banners, Customer Relationship Management (CRM), etc? 2. SWOT analysis best time to travel australia From this site. In SWOT, strengths and weaknesses are internal best time to travel australia factors. A strength could be: Your specialist marketing expertise. A new, innovative product or service. Location of your business. Quality processes best time to travel australia and procedures. Any other aspect of your business that adds value to your product or service. best time to travel australia A weakness could be: Lack of marketing best time to travel australia expertise. Undifferentiated products or services (i.e. in relation best time to travel australia to your competitors). Location of your business. Poor quality goods or services. Damaged reputation. In SWOT, opportunities and threads are external factors. An opportunity could be: A developing market such as the Internet. Mergers, joint ventures or strategic alliances. Moving into new market segments that offer improved profits. A new international market. A market vacated by an ineffective competitor. A threat could be: A new competitor in your home market. Price wars with competitors. A competitor has a new, innovative product or service. Competitors have superior access to channels of distribution. Taxation is introduced on your product or service.
A word of caution, SWOT analysis can be very subjective. Do not rely on SWOT too much. Two people rarely come-up with the same final version of SWOT. TOWS analysis is extremely similar. It simply looks at the negative factors first in order to turn them into positive factors. So use SWOT as guide and not a prescription.
Simple rules for successful SWOT analysis. Be realistic about the strengths and weaknesses of your organization when conducting SWOT analysis. SWOT analysis should distinguish between where your organization best time to travel australia is today, best time to travel australia and where it could be in the future. SWOT should always be specific. Avoid grey areas. Always best time to travel australia apply SWOT in relation to your competition i.e. better than or worse than your competition. Keep your SWOT short and simple. Avoid complexity and over analysis SWOT is subjective.
Once key issues have been identified with your SWOT analysis, they feed into marketing objectives. SWOT can be used in conjunction with other tools for audit and analysis, such as PEST analysis and Porter's Five-Forces analysis best time to travel australia . So SWOT is a very popular tool with marketing students because it is quick and easy to learn. During the SWOT exercise, list factors best time to travel australia in the relevant boxes. It's that simple. Below are some FREE examples of SWOT analysis - click to go straight to them
Some of the problems that you may encounter with SWOT are as a result of one of its key benefits i.e. its flexibility. Since SWOT analysis can be used in a variety of scenarios, it has to be flexible. However this can lead to a number of anomalies. Problems with basic SWOT analysis can be addressed using a more critical POWER SWOT .
Example 1 - Wal-Mart SWOT Analysis. Strengths - Wal-Mart is a powerful retail brand. It has a reputation for value for money, convenience and a wide range of products all in one store.Weaknesses - Wal-Mart is the World's largest grocery retailer and control of its empire, despite its IT advantages, best time to travel australia could leave it weak in some areas due to the huge span of control.Opportunities - To take over, merge with, or form strategic alliances with other global retailers, focusing on specific markets such as Europe or the Greater China Region. best time to travel australia Threats - Being number one means that you are the target of competition, locally and globally.
Example 2 - Starbucks SWOT Analysis. Strengths - Starbucks Corporation is a very profitable organisation, earning in excess of $600 million in 2004.Weaknesses - Starbucks has a reputation for new product development and creativity. Opportunities - New products and services that can be retailed in their cafes, such as Fair Trade products. Threats - Starbucks are exposed to rises in the cost of coffee and dairy products.
Example 3 - Nike SWOT Analysis. Strengths - Nike is a very competitive organisation. Phil Knight (Founder and CEO) is often quoted best time to travel australia as saying that 'Business is war without bullets.'Weaknesses - The organisation does have a diversified range of sports products. Opportunities - Product development offers Nike many opportunities. Threats - Nike is exposed to the international nature of trade. 3. Competitive analysis best time to travel australia - Perceptual mapping From this site. Marketing should include competitor analysis. Who are your competitors? What customer needs and preferences are you competing to meet? What are the similarities and differences between their products/services and yours? best time to travel australia What are the strengths and weaknesses of each of their products and services? How do their prices compare to yours? How are they doing overall? How do you plan to compete? Offer better quality best time to travel australia services? Lower prices? More support? Easier access to services? How are you uniquely suited to compete with them? From the book 'Design mamagement': best time to travel australia Using matrices is a valuable way of fleshing out potential opportunities in the market because they provide a way to represent the relationships between an organisation's proposed product or service, the competing products or services, and any 'gaps' in the market. In this form of analysis, products and services are plotted on a 'positioning map' which allows them to be compared and contrasted relative to each other. The position on the map forms the criteria for differentiating an organisation's proposed business offer from the competition, best time to travel australia and identifies the growth best time to travel australia potential in launching a new product or service in an area not currently provided for.
Perceptual mapping is a graphics technique used by marketers that attempts to visually display the perceptions of customers or potential customers. Typically the position of a product , product line , brand , or company is displayed relative to their competition.
Perceptual maps can have any number of dimensions but the most common is two dimensions. Any more is a challenge to draw and confusing to interpret. The first perceptual best time to travel australia map below shows consumer perceptions of various automobiles on the two dimensions of sportiness/conservative and classy/affordable. This sample of consumers felt Porsche was the sportiest and classiest of the cars in the study (top right corner). They felt Plymouth was most practical and conservative best time to travel australia (bottom left corner). Perceptual Map of Competing Products
Cars that are positioned close to each other are seen as similar on the relevant dimensions by the consumer. For example consumers see Buick, Chrysler, and Oldsmobile as similar. They are close competitors and form a competitive grouping. A company considering the introduction of a new model will look for an area on the map free from competitors. best time to travel australia Some perceptual best time to travel australia maps use different size circles to indicate the sales volume or market share of the various best time to travel australia competing products.
Displaying consumers perceptions of related products is only half the story. Many perceptual maps also display consumers ideal points. best time to travel australia These points reflect ideal combinations of the two dimensions as seen by a consumer. The next diagram shows a study of consumers ideal points in the alcohol/spirits product space. Each dot represents one respondent's ideal combination of the two dimensions. Areas where there is a cluster of ideal points (such as A) indicates a market segment best time to travel australia . Areas without ideal points are sometimes referred to as demand voids. Perceptual Map of Ideal Points and Clusters
A company considering introducing a new product best time to travel australia will look for areas with a high density of ideal points. They will also look for areas without competitive best time to travel australia rivals. This is best done by placing both the ideal points and the competing products on the same map.
Some maps plot ideal vectors instead of ideal points. The map below, displays various aspirin products as seen on the dimensions best time to travel australia of effectiveness and gentleness. It also shows two ideal vectors. The slope of the ideal vector indicates the preferred ratio of the two dimensions by those consumers within that segment. This study indicates there is one segment that is more concerned with effectiveness than har