Case Analysis for the Black & Decker Corporation

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However, although the B&D’s product obtained a high quality which was conducted and proved through two different tests, the reputation and the excellent job on the Consumer’s segment left an unprofessional image among the tradesmen. Since these tradesmen often work by themselves, the recommendations and comments from their peers become an important resource for them to think about whether to take the product for the first time.

- Consumer Decision Process

- Problem Recognition: It is easy for the tradesmen to figure out what kind of product they need because they acquire professional knowledge about their work.

- Information Search: The Information Search stage for the tradesmen is limited because unlike the Consumer Segment, who could search information through media advertisement, the professional tradesmen would search information about the relative products based on their own personal experience and the comments as well as reflections from their peer workers.

- Alternative Evaluations: The tradesmen would decide the alternative options of products based on the market, where other brands except Makita could provide products on particular strength.

- Purchase Decision: Tradesmen would make purchase decision based on the above three stages.

- Post-purchase behavior: As long as the tradesman had tried the Black & Decker’s product, he or she would probably buy its product again because the quality of the B&D products were much higher than the others.

Evaluations of Three Options

Option 1: Although the Professional-Tradesmen was the smallest of the three segments of B&D and the company was performing quite well in the other two segments, it is still necessary for the company to challenge the competiors in the Professional-Tradesmen segment and develop sales because it was growing fastes at 9% compared with a 7% growth rate for Consumer and no growth for Professional-Industrial.

Option 2: I would recommend option two because this option would lower the risk of changing the brands’ name which would due to a loss of awareness in the Professional-Industrial Segment, but creating a new image among the tradesmen because it could differientiate from the products for the Consumer Segment. Also, the color of the products in this segment should be changed to a brighter one, and maybe yellow would be a good choice.

Option 3: The pro of this option is that the brand image in the Professional-Tradesmen would be refreshed and the awareness of the product could be hopefully doubled by doing so. However, the Con is that the internal of the company might not agree because they might loss awareness in the Professional-Industrial Segment, which had a number 1 branding.

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