They want low price. Service Is not Important to them. The difference between the new and old segmentation are that the new segmentation focus on the factors which affect the customers purchasing decisions. And it revealed a new market trend and new needs of the customer beyond the national needs of the products. 3. Given Examiner’s performance to date, and recent changes in the competitive scene, is the moment ripe to make changes in the business model? More specifically: a) Is a price seeker-focused “Dare to compare” value proposition still valid?
Or, should Examiner drop its low-price positioning and compete on other benefits including product quality, simplicity, reliability, etc.? Clatter positioned Itself as a web-based provider of quality products at market driven price and on time delivery without other tech service to those customers who seek for low price, purchase large annuities and require no services. Its products included 350 common silicon Currently, the competitors offer on-line services which include full range of products, on time delivery, without minimum purchasing quantity requirement and on line discussions with specialists to the customers.
The risks it will bring to Examiner are that 1) they offer more products choices to the customers; 2) no minimum purchasing quantity; 3) real time delivery. 4) More convenient when there’s a specialist to be on line. It may increase some costs though, however, as long as they can reach an economic scale and increase their supply Hahn efficiency, they can be a threat to both Examiner and DOD Corning brand. As Examiner was targeting on the segment who seek for low price, it will be risk for Examiner to change its value proposition at this moment to product quality, simplicity and reliability only.
In that way, Examiner will be hardly differentiate itself from the competitors and may cannibalize DOD Corning’s business. B) Should Examiner “let the customers decide” by expanding its limited range of products to include all other Down Corning silicone and, possibly, complementary non-silicone compounds from third parties? To provide more product choice is insistent with Examiner’s value proposition. However it has its own risk and benefit too.
DOD Corning group may need to do a customer’s segmentation one more time like 5 years before to define the new trend of customers’ needs on services and products and purchasing habits to decide whether the next move of Examiner and DOD Corning. If the web based purchase is the major trend, and are more profitable, Down Corning group may consider consolidating its all silicon business on Examiner’s on line platform and under DOD Corning’s brand and provide competitive services to compete with the other competitors.
