Product Line Positioning Assignment

CLIENT:
A leading global producer of diesel engines for on-highway truck, off-road equipment and industrial applications.

PROBLEM:
Our client's share of the North American truck engine market had increased progressively and significantly over several years. Market share penetration, however, had started to plateau as competitive suppliers introduced new products and/or improved existing engines. Internally available information on both our client's customers and those of competitors was outdated and questionable. A benchmark was required. The benchmark had to reflect operator perceptions of our client, his product and services, the competition and, most importantly, provide a reference point against which to measure shifts and changes in customer perceptions.

ASSIGNMENT:
As an initial step, MacKay & Company staff conducted a series of individual fleet interviews and focus groups with owners of both our client's engines and those produced by competitors. These sessions generated a series of perceptions and criteria which engine owners deemed as important in their selection of an engine supplier and its distribution system. These key criteria were then integrated into a survey of more than three thousand engine owners with more than 250,000 diesel trucks in operation. A parallel survey of truck dealers was also conducted, probing the perceptions held by those dealers of both our client's distributors and those of its primary competitors.

RESULT:
Truck owner input revealed that competitive products were perceived to be superior to our client's products on several key factors important in the engine purchase decision. Our client's engines, however, were equal or superior to competition on most of these factors. Additionally, truck dealer interviews pointed out several relationship problems between these dealers and our client's distributors. Advertising and marketing program emphasis was shifted to focus on issues important to engine buyers, differentiating more effectively between competitive products. Concurrently, a series of programs focused specifically on truck dealers was launched to improve distributor/dealer relationships and programs.