CREATING A POSTMODERN INDIVIDUAL PRODUCT OFFER Case Study of Saab Automobile AB

Abstract

Today, there is a trend towards a customized product offer that provides customers with freedom to individualized products according to their personal preferences. It is a change from traditional mass marketing towards a new paradigm of individual marketing. The rise of this trend might be traced in the postmodernism. In general, postmodern consumers are described as people who escape the standard templates and thus are more willing to purchase products that fit best to their individuality.

This research shows that in order to pursue customization a company should address the following main questions: what type of customization to perform, what level of customization is appropriate to fulfill; and how the manufacturing of customized commodities should be organized. Contrary to many authors on the subject customized manufacturing is considered an approach that is suitable only for a particular products and a special segment of consumers in the market.

The process of customization has been investigated at Saab Automobile AB. Interviews with Saab dealers, managers at Saab Automobile AB and Saab designers have provided the empirical data necessary to analyze the possibilities for the case company to create a postmodern individual product offer for its target audience.