Positioning, Repositioning, Reverse Positioning Strategies Case Study

Mahindra & Mahindra's Xylo: The MPVs Product Positioning Strategies

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Abstract:
The case study presents the significance of product positioning in marketing management and the positioning strategies of Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) in Utility Vehicle (UV) segment. It also debates the dynamics of Mahindra Xylo’s positioning strategies – a newly launched Multi-Purpose Vehicle (MPV) in the segment – in the current marketing environment.

Positioning, a term coined by John Trout in 1969, emerged as a marketing tool for staying unique and competitive in the highly cluttered ‘me-too’ markets of the present marketing environments. Since inception, the core goal of M&M had always been providing a market space to its business activities in the UV segment, which included its Pickups and trucks. M&M reached a landmark success in automobile history, when its Scorpio created sensation in domestic and foreign auto markets. Despite the success of Scorpio, M&M’s quest for innovation and efforts to fend off competition in UV segment drove the company to search for further spaces in its product portfolio and compete effectively with major players like Toyota Innova in the segment. The case study helps in understanding the need for adjustments in product positioning and orchestration of M&M’s product portfolio without creating an ambiguous marketing environment.

Pedagogical Objectives:

• To analyse the dynamics of product positioning strategies in marketing management
• To analyse the role of segmenting and targeting during product positioning
• To analyse the need of product repositioning during the life cycle of a product
• To understand the positioning strategies of M&M and the impact of Xylo’s launch on existing products.

Keywords : Product Positioning, Segmentation, Targeting, Product Life Cycle, Product Line Extension, Product Line Depth, Product Line Breadth, Mahindra & Mahindra, Xylo, Multi Purpose Vehicle, Multi Utility Vehicle, Sport Utility Vehicle, SUV, Scorpio, Bolero, M&M Automobile History

Contents:

• M&M Automotives: An Overview
• M&M's Product Positioning: Xylo's Dilemma