If asked what you know about Maytag's marketing program, the first thing to come to mind would probably be its "lonely repairman" ad campaigns. For 35 years, those ads have helped position Maytag as a reliable brand for major appliances. Gordon Jump, an actor who really was a former Maytag repairman, played the lonely repairman role in ads for 14 years. In 2004, another veteran character actor, Hardy Rawls, took on that job. Although Maytag's basic positioning has been consistent over many years, marketing managers at Maytag are constantly developing new marketing strategies. So let's take a closer look at what they did in one innovative strategy-planning process that resulted in profitable growth for S.W.O.T. analysis showed that Maytag's advantages included a strong dealer network, the technical skills to develop the product, and the financial resources to do it. Major threats were mainly related to competitors' effort and consumers' prior attitudes about front-loading machines. Addressing those threats would take informing and real persuading (Perreault, page 82). Market segmentation helped to narrow down to a target market. Various segments could be identified. For example, there was a homogeneous business market. It consisted of owners of coin-operated laundries who were mainly interested in operating costs and attracting customers. Consumer segments were more varied. Relevant needs focused on cleaning, removing stains, caring for fabrics, and saving water or energy. Some people just wanted less hassle on wash days and a care-free washer. Maytag decided not to target just the segment that conserved energy; that was not a qualifying dimension. Instead they combined several segments into a larger target market. The main qualifying dimension was the ability to pay for a dependable washer that provided superior cleaning. Determing dimensions were interests in saving time, hassle, and expense while getting better results. The design of the washing machine evolved from target consumers' needs, so it is different from most washers. The
