A brief note on the company and the product being offered
Discuss About The Provided Based Marketing Strategy Observed.
The marketing mix strategy of a company plays a great role in determining the company`s success and establishing dominance in the market. If the organization has an effective marketing mix strategy in place then it will be able to ensure that it is successful in all its activities and it is easily able to gain a competitive edge. The chosen company for the given assignment is Mercedes Benz and the chosen product is the car Mercedes Benz itself (Martinsuo, 2013). The report will be highlighting the marketing mix of the company along with recommendations based on the future strategies which can improve the operations of the company in the long run and be able to compete in the competitive automobile industry (Rothaermel, 2015).
The company, Mercedes Benz is a global automobile company which is working under the company Daimler AG. The brand is popularly known for its luxury vehicles, coaches and Lorries. The headquarters of the company is in Baden-Württemberg. The company is regarded as the first gasoline powered automobile company and runs under the slogan -“the best or nothing”.
The marketing mix of Mercedes is one of the greatest marketing mix tools in the given industry and to reflect the different outcomes of the brand decision being taken for the organizations welfare activities (Mercedes-Benz., 2018). The brand name has been built adequately with hard work and an effective strategy.
The company is the global leader industry of the luxury car market and needs to follow the tools suggested to ensure success.
The marketing mix can be defined as a simple concept whereby the company in concern is required to place the right product at the right time in front of the right target market. Although the company thinks that it is extremely easy to form the marketing mix and decide what needs to be delivered to the different customers at the right time and at the right opportunity, the marketing mix is not that simple (Armstrong et al., 2015). While formation or implementation of the marketing mix, it becomes extremely important for a given enterprise to decide upon a correct marketing mic function to ensure success.
The business plan aspects need to be well versed so that the company is easily able to understand the different requirements and resources which the company has access to and based on that it needs to form a suitable marketing mix which would go a long way in deciding where the enterprise will be successful in the future or not.
Marketing Mix
The Marketing mix concept was created back in 1960 by Jerome McCarthy.
The first component in a Marketing Mix is the Product. A product can be essentially described as an item which is used to satisfy the needs of a given consumer group. The product design is based on the requirements of the target market. The product may be tangible or intangible in nature in the form of goods or services.
It is extremely important for a marketer to ensure that he has the right kind of product which will assist the company in creating the right kind of demand in the market. Furthermore, it will also assist the company in gaining large amount of revenue and to ensure that it is undertaking an extensive research program to work well.
There are various questions which an indivual is required to answer in order to ensure that he is successfully able to cater to the needs of the given market. The questions which need to be answered are based on several concepts like how will the consumer make use of it, what will be the name of the product, what colors and sizes will be provided, how will the client make use of it, will it be having a catchy name, how will the product look like and other related questions. It will also discuss the essential features of the product (Lasserre, 2017).
The product is the car Mercedes Benz and it is one of the most popular cars present in the automobile industry. The car has always been associated with the luxury cars for its spectacular range. The Mercedes Benz is not the company but has a parent company called Daimler AG.
The company offers various products like luxury truck, coaches, buses and cars. The company started production of the luxury cars back in 1901 and since then it has innovated the design various times to ensure successful place in the market. The strongest product as mentioned is the Mercedes Benz cars and offers various models like the S-Class, E-Class, C-Class and the ML-Class. Other models include GL-Class, CLS-Class and SLK-Class.
The next essential element of the marketing mix is the price of the product (Wheelen et al. 2017). The price of the product can be described as the amount which a customer is willing to pay for a given product. Price essentially forms one of the most important components of the marketing mix (Ho, 2014). The price also tends to form an essential component of a marketing plan and helps in the determination of the firm`s profit and survival strategy. The price of the organization needs to be adjusted accordingly and the correct balance is required to be maintained. If there exists a scenario where the price of the product is not formed right, then it may lead to decrease in the demand of the product especially from the consumer perspective as they may perceive the product as being overpriced or underpriced.
Product
This is one of the toughest areas of a marketing mix and if the marketing mix of a company is not correct then the company might fail. There are various pricing strategies which are available and can be used by the company in order to understand whether the firm will be successful in the long run or not (Hill, Jones & Schilling, 2014). When the firm is setting the pricing strategy it needs to look after various components like the strategies which are essentially available. These pricing strategies are as follows:
- Market penetration pricing
- Market skimming pricing
- Neutral pricing
When considering the pricing strategy it is important that a firm looks after the given components like the cost of the product, the perceived value of the product, competitor pricing and other related strategies.
The company follows a strategy of premium pricing and competitive pricing strategy. This is because the firm offers goods which are luxurious in nature and customers are willing to pay a high amount for such goods as well. The company deals in a niche market whereby it is more concerned with value than the price (Barney, 2014). The average product is priced around 120000$. The company follows a strategy of premium pricing and competitive pricing strategy. This is because the firm offers goods which are luxurious in nature and customers are willing to pay a high amount for such goods as well (Stead & Stead, 2013). The company deals in a niche market whereby it is more concerned with value than the price. The average product is priced around 120000$.
The next important aspect of the marketing mix is the distribution or the placement. The product which the company aims to sell needs to be positioned and distributed fairly in a market in a manner that it reaches the different potential customers (Ginter, Duncan & Swayne, 2018). The distribution component of the marketing strategy can be done well if the target market is understood well then it may lead to efficient positioning and distribution channel establishment. There are various strategies of the given domain which comprise of selective distribution, exclusive distribution, intensive distribution and franchising.
The company has introduced various safety and technological innovations over the past few years and distributes its products through own stores and other stores as well. The network of dealers is quite strong.
The promotion aspect of the marketing mix comprises of the different techniques which the company makes use of in order to reach out to the different customers in the given market. The various components of the promotion are as follows:
- Sales Promotion
- Advertising (Bettis et al., 2014).
- Sales organization and the Public relations
Price
Advertisement is usually done using paid media and for purposes like television, radio, commercials and social media (Peng & Nunes, 2017). On the other hand public relations covers various techniques like press releases, sponsorship deals, conferences and events.
There are various aspects that an indivual needs to consider when promoting a product in a given market. The timings, marketing messages, promotional strategy and other related aspects need to be considered effectively to analyze the promotional strategy.
The company focuses it practice of putting the tagline that the company offers luxurious and safe products to the customers (Gronroos, 2016). The company wants to change the attitude of the people and focus on fun, energetic and people who like quality and premium. The marketing strategy of Benz involves inviting and including the younger segment and offers lower prices in order to see to it that the products become more affordable for the customers. It engages in online advertising, print media, television marketing, social media and other warranties to attract the target market.
The people component of the marketing strategy looks after the people who are involved in the procedure of marketing from the side of the company (Slack, 2015). The employees of the company play a key role in determining the success of the marketing activities because they are the ones who form the marketing mix of the firm and decide upon the different components (Baker & Saren, 2016). If the employees are not trained enough and encouraged to perform well, then they may not be able to achieve success in the given domain.
The employees also contribute towards contribution of honest feedback from the side of the products being offered by the company (Eden & Ackermann, 2013). There are around 300000 employees working in the organization worldwide and each of them are contributing towards successful completion of organizational goals.
The different systems and the processes of a given firm might have an impact upon the execution of the service of the given organization (Gupta, 2013). The company should ensure that it has a well-tailored process in place which will contribute to minimization of costs.
The process may comprise of anything related to the pay system distribution system or other such procedures. The procedures contribute successful operations in order to ensure that the company is able to save maximum costs and ensure that it is successful in the market.
The company makes use of a sustainable process to add value to the products. This helps it to gain competitive advantage and contribute effectively towards the business and society at large.
Place
This is particularly related to the service industries and there must exist physical evidence of the service which is being provided by the given industry or a company. It helps in understanding the presence and establishment (Goetsch & Davis, 2014). The given component helps the company in making a place for itself in the minds of the consumers. For instance when a company thinks about shoes, they generally think about Nike and Adidas. In the same manner when a person thinks about cars they should think Mercedes Benz.
The company is required to manipulate the consumer perception and assist in making them think about the given company.
The car and the different stores around the globe serve as the physical evidence of the given brand. As stated earlier, the company has more than 5000 owned stores around the glove with various retailers selling the products.
This is a relatively new dimension which is added in the given mix and helps in analyzing the different partners of a business enterprise. These partners may be the collaborators who may come into the business in the form of suppliers and distributors. The company partners with various suppliers and the automobile retailers around the globe to ensure successful participation and success in the business domain (Trainor et al., 2014). The partners help in successful business establishment.
Conclusion
Therefore fro, the given analysis it can be stated that the company has evolved with the times. It has tried to take up the different modern technologies and innovational aspects that have come in their way and tried to embrace them (Morschett, Schramm-Klein & Zentes, 2015). Through this the company has been successful in ensuring that it is able to successfully compete with the different members of the similar industry. Mercedes Benz has made a good use of its marketing strategy and established its position in the consumer market. The given section will be discussing certain recommendations based on the organizational activities and marketing mix in order to decide what steps it can take in future.
After analyzing the different marketing strategies and the marketing mix of the company and the various marketing strategies being adopted by the organization, the given recommendations have been provided for the organization, Mercedes Benz:
- Increased Brand Value
The company Mercedes Benz with respect to the luxury car segment tends to ensure that it is engaging in activities which contribute towards increasing the brand value of the product. This means that the company should engage to make offerings and products which tend to increase the brand value of the company (Foxall, 2014). The value system in a luxury product offerings goes to a great extent in changing the customer perception with respect to a particular product or offering being made to the given consumer market. The pricing does not matter in these consumer offerings being made but the additional value does. Hence, during sales the company should ensure that it adds this brand value by offering services like after sales warranty, free accessories and others.
- Current Traditions and marketing technique
Promotion
The company engages extensively in social media marketing which helps the company to gain access to the target market. Social media is the current trend and this is being well embraced by the company (Hollensen, 2015). The company also makes use of various public relations technique in order to keep the image of the product alive. The company can embrace the new virtual relations technique in order to ensure that the company is being able to reach the new modern trend which is prevalent in the given dimension. Engaging in this contributes towards ensuring that the company will be able to compete with the marketing activities of its competitors
- Incorporation of new technological for safety and sustainability.
Although the company Mercedes Benz engages in the usage of different technologies in order ensure that the products which are being produced in the given market are good in quality and make use of sustainable technologies, however it needs to increase its usage of the modern and ecofriendly technology which ensures that the company will be able to become successful in achieve protecting the environment and ensure that it holds a good place in the eyes of the different customers and the government as well (Gronroos, 2016). If the company is able to do so, it will be able to sustainable advantage in the long run.
- Competitive analysis
The company is operating in the automobile industry which is one of the most competitive industries around the globe. Hence, the company is suggested to make use of various strategic management tools and analytical approaches in order to ensure that it is being able to analyze the current situation in the market. This is because, the competitor may be applying certain strategies which may not be suitable for the business and may pose as a threat (Sheth & Sisodia, 2015). Therefore, in this scenario, the company needs to ensure that it is observing their store management as well as marketing activities along with mix, so that it is able to prepare well for the situation.
- Market research
The company needs to invest in a good marketing research department in order to see to it that the company is able to find the new ways of coming up with the product ideas which may capture a new target market for the organization. Market research is an expensive activity but a very important one. The firm needs to see to it that this department is responsible for the innovation of new products and services which may assist the firm in maintaining its competitive edge and ensuring long term success.
- Customize the vehicles
The company needs to customize the vehicles which had been offering in order to ensure that it is able to mix with the taste of the different countries in a set defined manner, the firm needs to see to it that it is making the cars as per the local needs and atmosphere (Keller & Kotler, 2016). Very often certain countries are not suitable enough for the designs being offered by the company and thus for this reason, it is necessary that the given organization engages in designing of cars as per the given requirement.
- New product
The company currently caters to the need of the consumer segments which are not that well off. This is because, although the brand is a luxury brand and aims to cater to the needs of the luxury market only, the firm can then start investing and look out for opportunities in the lower end of the market as well. This can be stated as the diversification strategy of the company and can go a long way in deciding whether the firm will be able to increase its market share or not.
- CSR Activities
It is the duty of every organization to engage in activities which are beneficial for the long term good of the organization (Khodakarami & Chan, 2014). The Corporate social responsibilities can be describes as activities which are undertaken by the organization in order to ensure that it is successful in its domain and is able to serve the needs of the society. Mercedes Benz needs to ensure that it has several CSR activities and gives back to the society in a considerable manner.
References
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