Toyota Motors Overview
You will be acting as an independent consultant to produce a report for the Marketing Manager of your selected brand/company.
Purchasing a car is a dream for many people with the advancement of technology. There are many companies which manufacture cars but this report will only focus on the Toyota car manufacturer which produces different types of cars. We will focus on the Land Cruiser type of the car manufactured by the Toyota company (Monden,Y.,, 2011, p. 10). Land cruiser is a type of car which is one of the best cars in the world because of its excellent features. It has multi-terrain and craw control, 5.7LV8 engine, a stylish interior, 8-passenger seats and many other excellent features.
Toyota Motors is a company which designs, manufacture, assembly, and sale passenger cars, vans and commercial vehicles. It was established in 1937 and its markets include Japan, North America. Europe and Asia. Toyota Motor Company is the 8th largest automotive manufacturer in the world. Toyota has a huge market in Japan which is the second-largest market for the Toyota company (Liker,J.K.,& Franz,J.K., 2011, p. 66). The largest market for Toyota Motors in North America where according to study the company sold 2.8 million vehicle units in North America. Also, the company has markets in Asia and Europe. Industry overview in Toyota Motors is conducted to analyse the external factors that affect the operations of the company. The information is important because it reviews the current economic conditions in the market. Land cruiser is a type of car which is one of the best cars in the world because of its excellent features. It has multi-terrain and craw control, 5.7LV8 engine, a stylish interior, 8-passenger seats and many other excellent features. The current market share of the Toyota Land cruiser is 8.4 out of 10. The car has an excellent off-roader, plenty of standard features and comfortable cabin. The current challenges of the vehicle are poor gas mileage and unresponsive touch screen.
There are several factors which influence the Toyota Motors company both positively and negatively (Saleeshya,P.G.,Austin,D.,& Vamsi,N., 2013, p. 200). The factors are discussed below;
Threat of new entry
The amount of capital required is large and there are few legal barriers protect the companies from competitors. The products are differentiated where the governments protect the domestic market by introducing high import taxes. The competitors easily access suppliers and distributors and the company has developed a brand image and reputation.
Current Market Position of Toyota Land Cruiser
Suppliers power
The number of suppliers is large but they don’t pose threats of forward integration. Materials are widely accessible and the Toyota Motors use another type of material but only to some extent.
Buyer power
The buyers are many where most are individuals who only buy one car but governments purchase fleets of cars hence bargaining for lower prices. The buyers are able to choose alternative car brands and they are always price sensitive and they are mostly concerned about the cost of the vehicle. The cost of switching to other brands and using other transport types is not much.
Threat of substitutes
In the automotive industry, there are many alternative transportation types like buses, planes, trains or bicycles and all these don’t offer the same convenience. These substitutes are less costly and environmental friendly.
Competitive rivalry
The number of competitors in Toyota Motors is moderate and the threat of being acquired by the competitor is also moderate. The customers of the company are very loyal to their brands where the rivals compete for different consumer segments. The Toyota company is large and if it would leave the industry, it would incur a lot of losses hence it chooses to stay in the automotive industry.
Some of the success factors in Toyota Motors company are listed below;
The capital utilization is optimum.
There is effective use of cost controls.
The work practices in the company are the most efficient ones.
The company has established export markets.
The company uses the advanced technology and techniques in its operations.
The determination of expenditure is flexible.
The consumers of the Toyota Land cruiser have had many questions concerning this product so as to gain knowledge and skills in buying the car. The questions that the manager of the Toyota Motors should try to answer the consumers are listed below;
1.Is the Toyota Land cruiser a good SUV?
The consumers would like to know if the Land cruiser is a good SUV because they are looking for a capable off-road SUV and they would be more pleased with the land cruiser.
2.Should we buy the Toyota Land cruiser?
This is important for the consumers because they would like to know what features the land cruiser has for them to purchase it.
3.Should we buy a new or used Toyota Land cruiser?
The consumers would like to know both the pros and cons of buying both the new and used Toyota Land cruiser.
Micro-Environmental Analysis of Toyota Motors
To be able to gather information for the questions, some important steps are followed (Onwuegbuzie,A.J.,Leech, N.L., &Collins ,K.M., 2010, p. 44).
i). First, I would identify all those questions that the consumers of the Toyota Land cruiser would like answered by the management of the company. I would use a quantitative research method where I would carry out a survey by asking the consumers some questions about the company and the brands they purchase. The method is faster and cost effective, the researcher is able to test hypothesis and the statistical nature allows for generalization. On the other hand, in using the method one is not able to achieve specific details that are achieved by qualitative method.
ii). I would then select one key question so as to gather information and set my goals and objectives to find the answers to the question.
iii). The next stop I will be able to plan an approach and methods I will use in the information gathering by deciding who to survey especially the manager of Toyota company, and how I will be able to collect the information.
iv). I would then carry out the information collection where I will be able to gather all the information I need to provide answers to the consumers of Toyota Land Cruiser.
v). I would then do the analyzing and interpretation of the information have gathered using quantitative research method (Waltman et al., 2012). The type of research I would use is a descriptive research which is varied, relatable, applicable and potentially subjective.
vi). After analyzing and interpreting my information, I would then act on the results. I would decide either to collect more information or modify the one I already have.
By carrying out all these steps, I will be able to come up with answers to the questions of the consumers of Toyota Land cruiser (Leeining,M.J.,Kavousi,M.,Heeringa,J.,Van Roiji,F.J.,Verkroost-van Heemst,J.,Deckers,J.W.,& Witteman,J.C, 2012, p. 101).
Market segmentation is the act of dividing a collective product into different groups based on one or more criteria. The Toyota Company which is the leading car manufacturer has its own market segmentation. Example the Toyota Land cruiser is segmented for the middle-income earners while Toyota Fortune is segmented for high-income earners. This segmentation enables the Toyota Company to serve its consumers more effectively. Some of the characteristics which make the Toyota Land cruiser to be different from the other cars include; a leather-trimmed, heated steering wheel; ventilated and heated seats; instrumental panel; four-zone automatic climate control; rear-seat DVD entertainment system. These characteristics are behavioral and they are useful for the Toyota land cruiser because they show the benefits consumers get from the brand, how the brand is used, the usage situation and the customers’ loyalty to the brand.
Consumer Questions about Toyota Land Cruiser
The segmentation in this case involves dividing the people and the company into groups according to their behavior toward the land cruiser. Segments in this case include; purchasing behavior, benefits sought, usage rates and user status. The purchasing behavior deals with both the product and the consumers. By looking at how they two are related, the moments in which the consumer is likely to buy the land cruiser is determined. In the benefits sought, the Toyota company should understand what the customers expect to receive from using the Toyota land cruiser. In the usage rates, the company should know how often the consumers will use the vehicles. They should be categorized in usage users, middle-level users and light users. In the user status, the consumers should be categorized into non-users, prospects, first-time buyers, regular users and defectors.
Conclusion.
This task was about the purchase of a Land Cruiser which is manufactured by the Toyota company. We have looked at the environmental analysis of the Toyota company, its success factors and the micro environment factors. The task has also described a market research which contains information that consumers of the Toyota Land cruiser require. Lastly, the task has viewed the market segmentation, targeting and positioning of the Toyota Land Cruiser. The Toyota company should continue undertaking the efforts so as to strengthen the management platform and to expand the business by looking at the marketing conditions in its different markets. The company should aim at supporting the industries and social infrastructures in the world by supplying more automotive products and services to meet the needs of their consumers all over the world.
References
Diamantopoulos,A.,Ring,A,Schlegelmilch,BB & Doberer,E, 2014. Drivers of Export Segmentation effectiveness and their impact on export performance. journal of international marketing, 22(1), pp. 39-61.
Garberson, N, 2015. ‘Positioning your message for success’. Corridor Business Journal, 11(44), p. 28.
Learning, M.J., Kavousi, M., Heeringa, J., Van Rooij, F.J., Verkroost-van Heemst,J., Deckers, J.W.,& Witteman, J.C, 2012. Methods of data collection and definitions of cardiac outcomes in the Rotterdam study. European journal of epidemiology, 27(3), pp. 173-185.
Li,F.,& Shooshtari,N.H, 2012. On Toyota’s misstep in advertising its land cruiser SUV in Beijing: A distortion of consumers’sociolingistic system.. Journal international consumer marketing, 18(4), pp. 61-78.
Liker, J.K.,& Franz, J.K., 2011. The Toyota way to continuous improvement: linking strategy and operational excellence to achieve superior performance.. s.l.: McGraw Hill Professional.
Monden, Y., 2011. Toyota production system: an integrated approach to just-in-time.. s.l.: CRC Press.
Nkomo, T., n.d. Analysis of Toyota Motor Corporation.
Onwuegbuzie, A.J., Leech, N.L., &Collins, K.M., 2010. Innovative data collection strategies in qualitative research. The qualitative report, 15(3), p. 696.
Saleeshya, P.G., Austin, D.,& Vamsi, N., 2013. A model to assess the lean capabilities of automotive industries. International journal of productivity and quality management, 11(2), pp. 195-211.
Waltman, L., Calero-Medina, C., Kosten, J., Noyons, E., Tijssen, R.J., Eck, N.J.,& Wouters, P., 2012. The Leiden ranking 2011/2012: data collection, indicators, and interpretation. Journal of the association for information science and technology, 63(12), pp. 2419-2432
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