MGT 509 – Prof. Cummings
Week 2 Discussion I – Segment Analysis Section
January 15, 2014 – Matthew N. Bifulco
I.
i.
Steps needed to create a specific strategic group map:
Formulate and review industry definition.
Given:
The Beer Industry is comprised of for-profit companies that brew
beer anywhere in the world for sale in the United States. Nonalcoholic beers are not part of the industry. Brewers of
specialty beers, such as cherry beer, although very small in
volume, are part of this industry.
ii.
Make a list of all major competitors of your company and a
representative sample of other companies in other parts of the
industry.
Information ranking beer companies by sales is very hard to come
by without extensive research. A ranking by size of the top 50
American Breweries was obtained at The Brewers Association:
http://www.brewersassociation.org/pages/media/pressreleases/show?title=brewers-association-releases-top-50breweries-in-2011. This information was supplemented by
addition of two foreign manufactures of beers sold in the US:
Cerveceria Modela (Corona), and Heineken USA (Heineken).
Relative sales volume and market share was estimated. Company
attributes were also established by estimation.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Company
Anheuser-Busch
Miller-Coors
D. G. Yuengling and Son
Cerveceria Modela
Heineken USA
Boston Beer Co.
North American Breweries
Sierra Nevada Brewing Company
New Belgium Brewing Co.
The Gambrinus Company
11 Deschutes Brewery
12 Matt Brewing Company
Relationship
Other
Other
Other
Other
Other
Other
Other
Other
Other
Major
Competitor
Major
Competitor
My Company
iii. Determine and list several (six to ten) possible dimensions of
the map.
Possible
Dimensions
1 Geographical
region
Strategical
Relevance
Regional offerings
may compete
directly with
Specific Measure
North, South, East
and West
1
Possible
Dimensions
2 Target customer
3 Product quality
4 Marketing
environment
5 Distribution
channels
6 Unit cost
7 Range of
offerings
8 Name recognition
iv.
Strategical
Relevance
national brands and
geographical
neighbors, but not
with other regional
brands
Strategic thrusts
could target a
specific customer
profile
Premium brands
appeal to different
markets
A strategic plan
could include
specific marketing
initiatives
A strategic
initiative could
hinge on developing
distribution
channels
A strategic plan
could involve
location or
relocation of
productive assets,
or capital
acquisitions
The plan could
involve broadening
the scope of
product offerings
This measure could
relate to plans to
challenge market
leadership, or
capture share from
a well-known
competitor
Specific Measure
Education level
Value, Choice,
Premium,
Superpremium
Marketing cost
level – Low,
Moderate and HIgh
Channel cost level
– Low, medium, high
High, Medium or
Low, as relates to
some measure of
production
Number of offerings
Percent of name
recognition in a
survey
Select two dimensions from the list, to show the industry and
highlight your strategy.
Possible
Dimensions
1 Geographical
region
Strategical
Relevance
Regional offerings
may compete
directly with
national brands and
geographical
neighbors, but not
with other regional
brands
Specific Measure
North, South, East
and West
2
2 Target customer
v.
Strategic thrusts
could target a
specific customer
profile
Education level
Develop specific measures for each dimension.
See tables above.
Post
Graduate
Plot each direct rival and your company as separate circles
positioned on the map according to the strategic dimensions and
measures. Then plot the representative companies in other parts
of the industry.
5
4
3
Secondary
College
10
2
2
11
6
12
1
Primary
vi.
8
9
West
Midwest
South
7
Northeast
Strategic Clusters Legend
WESTERN REGIONAL BEERS
NORTHEASTERN REGIONAL BEERS
SOPHISTICATE BEERS
3
NATIONAL BEERS
vii. Circles should be proportional in size to business revenue.

viii. Identify and label strategic clusters (segments).

ix.
Identify the area on the map where your company should focus
(execute five-year strategy).
Matt Brewing Company should broaden its appeal on the West Coast
through a strategy of appealing to people with a higher level of
education, therefore challenging The Gambrinus Company and
Deschutes Brewery. A danger of moving in this direction is
losing its customer base of lesser educated beer drinkers.
Alternatively, they could seek to expand geographically and
challenge Anheuser-Busch in appealing to low-education
customers. This also has hazards, as AB is a much bigger and
better financed rival.
4