Case Study:
Many types of construction equipment are necessary for modern construction techniques. The most versatile and most often purchased of these is the loader backhoe. How do engineers identify design advancements for the backhoe to keep the product line fresh and responsive to market needs? How do they make sure the design advancements are appropriate for the varied needs of a global marketplace? And how does marketing research pave the way for success in global construction equipment markets? Corporate mergers, acquisitions, and joint ventures have brought Case together with other famous names in construction and agricultural equipment: New Holland, Kobelco, Hitachi, and Fiat—each brand a market success on its own. Recently these successful brands were given a new corporate identity in the form of CNH Global, which sells equipment in nearly every country in the world. A frequent result of corporate mergers and acquisitions is that the newly merged corporation has multiple products competing in the same market. CNH Global is no exception. In particular, CNH Global has three strong brands competing in the global loader backhoe market. As CNH Global plans for the future, the three loader backhoes will be differentiated in ways that create unique benefi ts for the customers of each brand while preserving the historic strengths of each brand. Engineering and marketing want advanced models of each brand to generate market share growth. To design the next series of loader backhoe models, engineers were facing several key questions:
• How do loader backhoe operators view the various brands?
• What are the performance differences of each brand—whether grounded in real engineering design or perceived performance?
• What changes should be made in designing models for each of the CNH Global brands of loader backhoes to both bypass competition and differentiate the CNH brands?
• For answers to these questions, the global engineering team turned to marketing research.
Q1. In addition to satisfaction-itemized rating scales, what other scales could have been used in the CNH marketing research?
Q2. Do you think that the decision to use an asymmetrical satisfaction scale was the right choice? Why or why not?
Q3. This study was conducted in many countries. Can scales be interpreted in the same manner around the world? For example, is a 2.1 the same in China as it is in Costa Rica?
Q4. Should purchase intent have been part of this questionnaire? Why or why not?
Your answer must be typed, double-spaced, Times New Roman font (size 12), one-inch margins on all sides, APA format and also include references.