Introduction
Positioning refers to the process of deciding in advance where an organization is going to direct its product to an extent that it shall gain fully from the same. Positioning is critical for an organization and the location that the company takes for the same is what shall be used to determine the effectiveness of the corporate marketing and the derivable benefits that are meant to be achieved from the surge in sales. The best positioning is effective if it is for an individual product as the right consumer are realized in time and the products taken to their convenience to attract their attention and this shall instead give rise to the company sales. The positioning strategy that is adopted by the corporation depends on the relative effectiveness that it shall be having to the Adults as a whole and this shall be dependant on the effectiveness that shall come from the same. (Harré and Van Langenhove, 1992). The marketing director at the corporation has had the chance to present his view concerning the kind of style the corporation should adopt to ensure it does deliver its products to the right consumer and this is also in line with the need to be realistic when packaging a product and in times of choosing the most potential market to take the result of the production process. The marketing manager who is Richard strong did propose that the product line be divided into two: one to be an inclusion of the page maker, the persuasion and the other products that are supposed to be targeted to the business markets and the second subdivision should be the Aldus professional series which are meant to be comprising the page maker professional version, the company freehand, the Aldus snapshots and the other additional products that are supposed to be sold to the current creative graphics market of professionals. Despite the proposal, the marketing manager has gone the extra mile to show that this will enable them to make clarified strategies for the two markets, and this I likely bring in more sales. For the adoption of these proposals, the Aldus Corporation needs to get in place a positioning strategy that shall be able to lead to the referred aims and the very best one is the analysis of the competitor positioning. The organization should be able to say whether they want to develop a me-too strategy and get their product adjacent to their competitors and leave the rest to the consumer who shall be having the chance of doing a direct comparison of the product before buying or whether the organization wishes to get their products positioned far from the likely competition. To be able to get a superior benefit, the Aldus Corporation should be able to get it right when it comes to the marketing mix strategy adoption and this is meant to give the company the absolute initial advantage of having to make considerable sales before the competitors are aware of the product development the company has had to adopt. (Harré and Van Langenhove,1992). Aldus is likely to do better if it adopts a strategy that is going to position its products far from the competitors and near the convenience of the targeted market. The right way to develop the products and take them to the most promising market is what the Adults corporation should take to be able to do well in the current positioning that they are about to adopt for their products. Aldus management team should allocate the most sufficient resources that are going to enable them to get it right without the probability of missing a thing in the overall process of product development and positioning.
The consumer and the organizational markets
The consumer and the organizational market are different from many perspectives and due to this, it cannot be simple when it comes to making the sales that are considered to be substantial without getting to the root of the main preferences that are existing in the sector. The consumer and organizational markets differ first by the drive that is as a result of the kind of brand that is being traded. To a very greater extent the organizational markets are driven by the price ranges than they are influenced by the brand and the consumer markets are to a greater extent influenced by the brands that are inexistence than the prices of the products. (Harré and Van Langenhove,1992).Secondly, the demand that exists in the organizational market is more referred to as being volatile than it is in the consumer markets. More so the consumer and organizational markets are different in that they are existing variations in the way decision are arrived at, the possibility of having some of the experienced purchasers in existence, the duration that is needed to ensure that a decision to buy is made as well as the many differences in the magnitude of the purchases and the total figure of the buyers and the type of the promotion efforts that are on-demand to enable the organization to get to the customer. Other differences include that in the consumer market, each of the customers that are available stand an equal value and they are contributing to a small percentage of the revenues realized while in the organizational market there is a small count but of big customers who are large revenue contributors. On top of that in the consumer markets, the sales are devolved to the remote end and the producer does not meet the consumer, on the other hand, sales are done by the manufacture in the organizational market and he has the possibility of knowing the customer. Thirdly, the products are similar in the consumer market with a low service delivery while the organizational market has products customized to meet the need of the customer with highly valued service, in the consumer market, the purchase is meant for home usage while the organizational purchase is meant for the other people usages. The person making the purchase is the possible user in the consumer market and in the organization market the person making the perches is just an integrator and the user is somewhere down the supply channel. Purchase is restricted to professionalism with tendering and negotiation in the organizational market while this is basic in the other market and does not need to be negotiated. Lastly, the transaction that is made in the consumer market is one with no differences in the financial services while in the organizational market it is of strategic intentions with the potential of having a strategic value and the image is better for an organizational market because it adds value to its customers.
The differences between the consumer and the organizational market are related to the positioning of the product because one cannot take a consumer good to a vicinity that is related more to the organizational market than it is to the consumer market. The sameness of the products in the consumer market enables the producer to have the same make of the goods and deliver them without much ado and they would be able to be gotten by the targeted person with convenience because they are available wherever. When the customized products are produced for the organizational market specific to them they are not going to be delivered to another destination other than the one they were meant for. This makes it easy for the organization to position its products just at the place of interested parties. The presence of the opportunity to make tenders and negotiations for an organizational market is also related to the positioning of the product. Goods would be better if they remain in the warehouses and after the agreement is reached they can be transported to their destinations rather than taking them to the destination and then returning them after failed sales.
Market segmentation criteria
The market segmentation does follow some predetermined procedures that enable it to be affected and well formulated. (Harré and Van Langenhove, 1992). The criterion in most cases does involve the step-to-step analysis of the possibilities and then subdividing the market into their most productive classes. The criteria for market segmentation are the factors that one has to bear in mind when evaluating certain potential groups to realize whether it’s productive to refer to the group as a varied segment or not. The factors that are considered include the:
- Homogeneity. The people in a segment needs to be similar in their characteristics and they should not be depicted some slight differences as this should be a variable for their segment disqualification.
- Heterogeneity. The kind of people in various segments should be different to a very large extent and they should not be related in one way or another.
- Substantial. This is a factor that says that the total number of people in the segment should be large enough to constitute a worthwhile segment.
- Competition. This is in line with the fact that the firm should target the market whereby it can compete effectively.
- Resources. This refers to the fact that the segment chosen should be able to be satisfied through the existing company resources.
- Profits. The realizable benefits should be large enough to maintain after the development of related software, (Moghaddam, 2003).
Market characteristics
The market characteristics for the Aldus Corporation include the situation of the current market. To be able to get their products to the areas that are far from their competitor, the company needs first to know who they are and the likeliness of them being pleased by the differentiation strategy that is being adopted by the company for the sake of of of creating efficiency to the customers. More so the company needs to realize the projected growth rate of the market that they are working on and a setting ways to enhance the product differentiation and targeting which are meant o complement the positioning of the same. The third characteristic that Aldus need to be aware of for it to pull through the adoption of the proposed strategy is the level of competition that they are facing now and in the future. They should come up with a system that shall be able to outdo the effects of the competitors or at least mitigate them. Technological requirements, capital, and entry barriers also need to be assessed to give the picture of the likeliness to pull through the whole thing.
Aldus professional series
Aldus corporation has the aim of having to get in place the mechanism that shall enable them to get into the demand of the Aldus Executive series as well as the Aldus professional series. The Aldus Executive Series is a product of its kind that is being tailored to meet the requirements of the business market in general. It is a composition of the page maker, persuasion ad the addition of new products that are meant to minimize the bottlenecks that are faced by the businesses as they work towards growth. The Aldus professional series is a package that is supposed to entail the page maker in a professional format, the freehand and the snapshot plus other new introductions to enhance the working of the targeted professional creative graphics market. Both segmentations should be able to absorb the products and derive the benefits they shall be seeking in them rather than be tainted by a larger degree of cognitive dissonance.
Product stages
The product lifecycle refers to the duration that a product goes through from the early stages of production to the market introduction and the time that it takes to be familiarized with people and the level where it causes dissatisfaction then at last the death of the product stage. (Moghaddam,2003).
These stages are as follows:
- Market introductory stage. This is a level that is associated with high costs, the slow start of the sales volume, lack of competition, and if it’s there it’s little, the creation of the product demand, prompting the customers to make a trial of the product and the most effective trait is that it does not make any revenue.
- Growth stage. This is the second stage of the process and it does have a reduction in the number of costs associated due to the economies of scale, a significant increase in the number of sales, a rise in the profitability of the product, public familiarization also goes far plus the increase in competition which leads to the decreases in prices.
- Mature stage. This is a stage that is most productive to the product development as the costs that are linked would be lowered due to an increase in the volumes of production as well as the experience curve effects. More so this is the stage where the sales volume is at maximum with market saturation, an increase in the competitors coming into the market, the prices at this angle tend to go down due to the market proliferation of the competing goods. To raise the market share or at least still hold on them, the differentiation of the product is done and at the end of it all, the industrial profits recede.
- Saturation and decline stage. This is the final stage where the costs become counter optimal. There is a decline in the sales volume if not having them gaining stability, the prices and the profitability diminishes and the production of the same becomes a loss or a minimized profitable entity.
The professional version of the page maker is in the nature stage which is influenced by the fact that it is a diversified product from the earlier one. At the maturity stage, there’s room for product differentiation as well as the diversification of the features which is done for the sake of ensuring the growth of the market share and its maintenance. This is what makes the professional version lay in this category.
The marketing mix that best suits the professional page maker comprise of the:
- Product: The relevant modifications are hereby made to the output plus the additional features are incorporated to ensure the product is differentiated from the probable competing ones that may be threatening its sustainability.
- Price: This refers to the process of cutting down the prices regarding the existing competition while being cautious enough to avoid price wars.
- Distribution: There is a need to have new avenues and incentives for the resellers to avoid the loss of the product shelf space.
- Promotion: This emphasizes differentiation as well as loyalty product building.
The perceived value
Perceived value refers to the opinion from the customer concerning a particular product value to him or her. The perceived value may have or may not have the relationship that may be derived from the market price and it’s solely dependant on the product’s capability to create satisfaction of the personal need and chuck. (Moghaddam, 2003).
The perceived value does influence the marketing strategy that a particular organization shall be adopting in the effort to get its product selling. The strategy should ensure that the end perceived value is realizable for there to be the realization of the benefits being sought.
Conclusion
The problems that Aldus is likely to encounter include the challenges of having to get an attraction of the capital base, the need of tailoring products to meet the prior customer’s acquisitions, determination of the right business model, and the inability to have a scale of the business
References
Moghaddam, F. (2003). The Self and Others: Positioning Individuals and Groups in Personal, Political, and Cultural Contexts. Westport: Praeger.
Harré, R. and Van Langenhove, L. (1992). ‘Varieties of Positioning.’ Journal for the Theory of Social | Behavior, 20, 393-407.