IKEA: Target Market and Positioning StrategyWhen analyzing an organization's target market, the first step is to understand the company and what it hopes for achieve through its marketing strategies. Targeting and positioning strategies involve analyzing and identifying segments within a given product market, choosing the segment(s) to target, and developing and implementing a positioning strategy for each targeted segment (Cravens & Piercy, 2009). The company's target market determines the customer group(s) the company wishes to serve (Cravens & Piercy, 2009). IKEA's target market analysis allows the company to determine whether its marketing strategies have successfully targeted the intended customer group(s). Discussing the company's positioning strategy helps determine whether the strategy is effective or whether the company needs to make improvements to strengthen its positioning strategy. The company must determine if its targeting and positioning strategies may be lacking. If the company's targeting and positioning strategies are lacking, the company must determine what it needs to do to strengthen its targeting and positioning strategies. IKEA is more than a furniture store, it is a values-driven company (IKEA, 2014). The company seeks to make life easier for its consumers by providing them with modern, innovative and inexpensive products that they use to carry out their daily activities at home. The IKEA group has 298 stores in 26 different countries (IKEA, 2014). The company's vision is to “create a better everyday life for the many” (IKEA, 2014, paragraph 1). By using innovative techniques to create, produce and market their products, IKEA can provide consumers with sustainable products for the reason...... middle of paper ...... consumers recognize and share with their friends, thus providing IKEA with a free watchword. oral advertising. If IKEA implements the suggested recommendations, the company could improve its positioning strategy, thereby ensuring its leading position in the furniture market. Works cited Cravens, DW and Piercy, NF (2009). Strategic Marketing (9th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.IKEA. (2014). About the IKEA Group: Welcome to our company. Retrieved from http://www.ikea.com/ms/en_US/this-is-ikea/company-information/index.htmlIKEA. (2014). Marketing and communications: transmitting our messages to as many people as possible. Retrieved from http://www.ikea.com/ms/en_US/the_ikea_story/working_at_ikea/work_areas_marketing_communications.html Rosenbaum, E. (August 8, 2013). A new species? The elusive nature of the global middle class. Retrieved from http://www.cnbc.com/id/100949800