Brand Segmentation and Positioning - Espresso Coffee Machines

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BRAND SEGMENTATION AND POSITIONING

Espresso Coffee Machines

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

This report was commissioned to examine how customers make purchase decisions for espresso coffee machines, the factors affecting consumer behaviour, and to identify where the leading brands sit in the opinions of a small sample of the population.

The research draws attention to the fact that at the end of financial year 2007 the Australian market for espresso machines totalled almost 87 million dollars, representing an increase of 17% on the previous year. The top five brands competing in this booming industry are DeLonghi, Jura, Krups, Saeco and Sunbeam.

Further investigations revealed that people made decisions on which brand of machine to buy based on personal information cues, where price was not often the motivator for qualified buyers to purchase. Most of the consumers interviewed and surveyed, identified underpinning brand awareness and perceived product knowledge of the espresso machines. They were observed to be motivated to buy, and willing to seek out quality, value and service from either previous experience or the perception of what a “good” cup of coffee meant to them. There were eight features established to be of importance to the customer when assessing an espresso coffee machine. From these eight characteristics there were three key buying criteria highlighted to satisfy the buyer’s needs and wants:

• Coffee temperature

• Coffee taste

• Milk frothing quality

The report evaluated that these three considerations were part of the consumer buying process, and concluded that the customer’s own expectation, prior experience and brand perception were the driving factors in defining value for money and ultimately the decision process rather than price. It is these economic, passive, cognitive and emotional assumptions that drive consumer decision making and satisfying future consumer demand would be best achieved through targeting specific market segments over mass marketing aimed at targeting every potential consumer.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Executive Summary …………..……………………………………………… 2

Introduction...…………………………………………………………………. 4

Consumer Decision Making Process ……………………………………...... 5

• Observations ………………………………………………………. 6

• Key Decision Criteria …………………………………………….. 6

Strategic Market Positioning ……………….……………………………….. 7

• Perceptual Maps...…….………….………………………………… 7

Conclusions ………….…………………….………………………………….. 11

• Key Findings ……………………………………………………..... 11

• Recommendations. ………………………………………………… 12

References……………………………………………………………………..14

Appendix……………………………………………………………………….14

INTRODUCTION

This report presents the findings of the eight week