In any month, a product’s demand is driven by its monthly customer survey score. Assuming it does not run out of inventory, a product with a higher score will outsell a product with a lower score.

Customer survey scores are calculated 12 times a year. The December customer survey scores are reported in the Capstone Courier’s Segment Analysis pages.

A customer survey score reflects how well a product meets its segment’s buying criteria. Company promotion, sales and accounts receivable policies also affect the survey score.

Scores are calculated once each month because a product’s age and positioning change a little each month. If during the year a product is revised by Research and Development, the product’s age, positioning and MTBF characteristics can change quite a bit. As a result, it is possible for a product with a very good December customer survey score to have had a much poorer score – and therefore poorer sales – in the months prior to an R&D revision.

Prices, set by Marketing at the beginning of the year, will not change during the year.