2.2 Buying Criteria by Segment

Buyers in each segment place a different emphasis upon the four buying criteria. For example, some customers are more interested in price, while others are more interested in positioning.

Positioning and price criteria change every year. Age and MTBF criteria always remain the same.

Buying Criteria for the previous year are reported in the Capstone Courier’s Segment Analysis pages. As you take over the company to make decisions for Round 1, your reports reflect customer expectations as of December 31, Round 0 (yesterday). The Industry Conditions Report displays the Round 0 buying criteria for each market segment. Here are two example segments.

Example 1 customers seek proven products at a modest price.

• Age, 2 years– importance: 47%
• Price, $20.00-$30.00– importance: 23%
• Ideal Position, size 16.0/performance 4.0– importance: 21%
• MTBF, 14,000-19,000– importance: 9%

Example 2 customers seek cutting-edge technology in size/performance and new designs.

• Ideal Position, size 11.1/performance 8.9– importance: 43%
• Age, 0 years– importance: 29%
• MTBF, 20,000-25,000– importance: 19%
• Price, $30.00-$40.00– importance: 9%