Quad/Graphics is an commercial printing company, founded in 1971 by Harry Quadracci. During the firm's early days, its competitors generally offered a wide range of paper sizes for the convenience of its customers. Quad/Graphics on the other hand, started with a policy of very limited range of paper sizes for printing. If a customer wanted printing done on a different paper size, the firm would not fulfil the order, and rather let the customer go to a competitor. On the other hand though, the standardization of paper sizes meant that Quad/Graphics could offer a lower price point than competitors.
In time, customers realized they could adapt to the standard set of paper sizes offered by Quad/Graphics, and in return enjoy lower prices. In effect, Quad/Graphics "taught" their customers not to be "too fussy" about paper sizes, and generated a win-win.
1) [2 points] Does the above example fit within the Segmentation-Targeting-Positioning framework? Explain your reasoning.
2) [2 points] Write down how Quad Graphics management "positioned" their firm in the commercial printing market.
3) [2 points] What is one advantage and one disadvantage of psychographic segmentation.
Suppose a car maker is launching a new type of vehicle that it has not previously sold before. Psychographic segmentation reveals that fashion-conscious consumers would be a suitable target market. However, the dealers who sell the cars would rather use traditional demographics to target consumers.
4) [2 points] In the above case, what is the risk of letting dealers use demographics to target consumers?
5) [2 points] Discuss how the car maker could get better alignment from their distribution network (represented by dealers) on psychographic segmentation.
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