Conducting A Customer Value Analysis
Customer Perceived value (CPV) is the difference between the prospective customer’s evaluation of all the benefits and all the costs of an offering and the perceived alternatives.
Formal groups having a direct influence on a person such as religious, professional, and trade union groups are Membership Group.
Brand Associations consist(s) of all brand-related thoughts, feelings, perceptions, images, experiences, beliefs, etc. that become linked to a brand “node.”
5.
Derived demand refers to the fact that the demand for business goods is ultimately derived from the demand for Consumer Goods.
6.
A niche is a more narrowly defined customer group seeking a distinctive mix of benefits.
Exercises:
1.
List the steps involved in conducting a customer value analysis.
The path to improved customer value starts with data. Customer value analysis develops a quantitative picture of the markets in which you compete. When we fill in CVI’s data templates with data gathered from market research and competitive intelligence, this picture can tell you:
What your customers want
Which suppliers are performing well or poorly against these wants
Whether or not you offer customers good value relative to your competitors
How much your products are really worth
What improvements to your product would be worth the most to customers
How to set prices to be competitive and to capture the full worth of your product
The role of marketing communications in shifting how customers view your brand
Surprisingly, we can address these questions with a relatively small amount of data. You are likely, in fact, have most of the data you need already in your files. And, even if you don’t, you can put together a best-guess estimate for the data based on your management team’s knowledge of the market. (In fact, when we are working with our clients, we recommend that they do build these “mental models” as a first step. We then work on assembling research-based data. This staging helps us identify areas where management misperceptions might be leading the business in the wrong direction.)
Customer Value, Inc. has developed a number of analysis tools that are used to help you assemble and understand your data and use it to guide your business strategy. CVI’s software, The Marketing War Room, streamlines the process of developing these analyses. We use this software in our action learning programs. We also lease the software to our clients to give them continuing access to the tools of customer value analysis.
2.
Name five ways companies can use their databases.
A DBMS is a set of software programs that controls the organization, storage, management, and retrieval of data in a database. DBMSs are categorized according to their data structures or types. The DBMS accepts requests for data from an application program and instructs the operating system to transfer the appropriate data. The queries and responses must be submitted and received according to a format that conforms to one or more applicable protocols. When a DBMS is used, information systems can be changed much more easily as the organization’s information requirements change. New categories of data can be added to the database without disruption to the existing system. Database servers are computers that hold the actual databases and run only the DBMS and related software. Database servers are usually multiprocessor computers, with generous memory and RAID disk arrays used for stable storage. Hardware database accelerators, connected to one or more servers via a high-speed channel, are also used in large volume transaction processing environments. DBMSs are found at the heart of most database applications. DBMSs may be built around a custom multitasking kernel with built-in networking support, but modern DBMSs typically rely on a standard operating system to provide these functions. A data modeling language to define the schema of each database hosted in the DBMS, according to the DBMS database model. The four most common types of models are the:
- hierarchical model,
- network model,
- relational model, and
- object model.
Inverted lists and other methods are also used. A given database management system may provide one or more of the four models. The optimal structure depends on the natural organization of the application’s data, and on the application’s requirements (which include transaction rate (speed), reliability, maintainability, scalability, and cost).
The dominant model in use today is the ad hoc one embedded in SQL, despite the objections of purists who believe this model is a corruption of the relational model, since it violates several of its fundamental principles for the sake of practicality and performance. Many DBMSs also support the Open Database Connectivity API that supports a standard way for programmers to access the DBMS.
Before the database management approach, organizations relied on file processing systems to organize, store, and process data files. End users became aggravated with file processing because data is stored in many different files and each organized in a different way. Each file was specialized to be used with a specific application. Needless to say, file processing was bulky, costly and nonflexible when it came to supplying needed data accurately and promptly. Data redundancy is an issue with the file processing system because the independent data files produce duplicate data so when updates were needed each separate file would need to be updated. Another issue is the lack of data integration.
3
What is the difference between biogenic needs and psychogenic needs?
Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is simply a ranked structure of behavioral stimuli that try to explain motivation. It is one of the Content Theories of motivation.
Maslow describes BIOGENIC and PSYCHOGENIC needs.
BIOGENIC needs – biological determinants of behavior.
PSYCHOGENIC needs – emotional or psychological determinants of behavior.
He described two “higher order needs.” These are:
– The need for freedom of inquiry and expression: for social conditions permitting free speech and encouraging justice, fairness and honesty.
– The need for knowledge and understanding: to gain and order knowledge of the environment, to explore, learn and experiment.
Maslow’s hierarchy is as follows:
Physiological needs – food, shelter.
Safety needs – security, order, predictability, freedom from threat.
Love/Social needs – for relationships, affection, belonging.
Esteem needs – for independence, affection, belonging.
Self Actualization – fulfillment of personal potential
Each level of need is dominant until satisfied. A need which has been satisfied no longer motivates a person. However, according to Maslow, the need for self-actualization can never be satisfied.
4.
Distinguish between “family of orientation” and “family of procreation.”
One of the primary functions of the family is to produce and reproduce persons, biologically and socially, Thus, one’s experience of one’s family shifts over time. From the perspective of children, the family is a family of orientation: the family serves to locate children socially and plays a major role in their enculturation and socialization, From the point of view of the parents, the family is a family of procreation, the goal of which is to produce and enculturation and socialize children However, producing children is not the only function of the family; in societies with a sexual division of labor, marriage, and the resulting relationship between two people, it is necessary for the formation of an economically productive household.
5.
The buying center consists of all members of the organization who play any of seven roles in the purchase decision process. Name and define each of these roles.
The buying center includes all members of the organization who play any of seven roles in the purchase decision process.
1. Initiators: Those who request that something be purchased.
2. Users: Those who will use the product/service
3. Influencers: People who influence the buying decision. Technical personnel are particularly important influencers.
4. Deciders: People who decide on product/service requirements–suppliers
5. Approvers: People who authorize the proposed actions of deciders or buyers
6. Buyers: People who have formal authority to select the suppliers and arrange terms.
7. Gatekeepers: People who have the power to prevent sellers or information from reaching members of the buying center.
Of all the seven roles played in the purchasing game, the gatekeeper is the most critical and many times, the most difficult with whom to deal. Examples of these types include PAs, receptionists, secretaries and phone operators.
Case Study:
Questions:
Why is the senior market becoming more attractive?
Seniors are typically considered born before 1946. And, combined with baby boomers, seniors are a more than two trillion dollar market, These days, every dollar counts. Whether you’re the manufacturer, the retailer or the consumer, everyone is looking to stretch their marketing budget and maximize ROI. All are trying to, Get the greatest possible return on the “spend.”, To generate high impact campaigns that deliver sustainable awareness and preference, To develop and nurture brand loyalty, To beat the competition and own the category. The role of marketing research has never been more important in reaching those objectives. Well-designed and executed research delivers a better understanding of baby boomer and senior customers, their environment and their relationship with the product. Through a careful blend of primary and secondary research, we help clients assess consumer needs, wants, trade-offs, concerns and constraints. Research can gauge the consumer perception of product and service value, quality, performance, pricing, packaging, distribution, media and promotional approach. Marketing managers deploy research to sustain and groom brand equity, finely calibrating the promotional mix and product portfolio toward optimal profitability. Consumer research specialty is the baby boomer and senior customer markets. We are a full-service research supplier that provides custom-designed ethnographic, qualitative and quantitative studies for a variety of clients and industries.
What generational group is powering the growth of seniors?
The growth in numbers of our older generation is one of the most significant shifts in society in recent years and these changing dynamics are altering the face of travel around the world. This new Third Age market segment, their opinions and huge spending power, can not be overlooked – they herald a golden opportunity for the travel industry, for agents, operators and facility providers alike.
The over 50s form an increasingly complex and diverse group with enormous influence and spending power. In the UK, approximately 42% of all adults are 50 plus, that is around 20 million people and the over 60s now account for 20% of the population. It is claimed that the over 50s (according to Older, Richer, Wiser Conference 2006) now control approximately 80% of the country’s personal wealth, and account for 40% of consumer spending. In the US this Third Age is set to exhibit the strongest growth of all demographic segments in the next five years, generating a group representing over one-quarter of the total population. As of Spring 2006, nearly 68 million people in the US were 55+ and various estimates show the 50+ crowd control over 70% of disposable income, and to wield $1.6 trillion in spending power. Recognizing this new market, the Swedish Exhibition Centre started a specialist senior exhibition two years ago, where travel is the biggest product sector at the fair. There is no doubt that people are living longer and enjoying a much more active, better quality of life – the swinging 60 year olds are the new 40s. These consumers are relatively rich in travel experience, blessed with free time and often savings, to spend on holidays and regular or extensive travel. In order to target the over 50s as a consumer group, travel companies need to gain a closer understanding of this age group, their lifestyles, their histories and interests and adapt marketing plans accordingly.