Customer Relationship managements (CRM)
The aim of customer relationship management is to produce high customer equity. Customer equity is the total of the discounted lifetime values of all of the firm's customers. Clearly, the more loyal customers, the higher the customer equity.
Rust, Zeithaml and Lemon distinguish three drivers of customer equity:
Value equity
Brand equity
Relationship equity
This formulation integrates value management, brand management and relationship management within a customer-centered focus. So how much should a company invest in building loyalty so that costs don't exceed the gains? Here are five different levels of investments in customer relationship building.
1. Basic Marketing > The salesperson simply sells the product
2. Reactive marketing > The salesperson sells the product and encourages the customer to call if he or she has questions, comments or complaints.
3. Accountable marketing > The salespersonl phones the customer to check whether the product is meeting expectations. The salesperson also asks the customer for any product or service improvement suggestions or any specific dissapointments.
4. Proactive marketing: The salesperson contacts the customer from time to time with suggestions about improved product uses or new products.
5. Partnership marketing
In our Audi case, the most used one's are approach 2, 3 & 4. With a combination of these 3, the salepersons can pass the received information ahead so any problems are tackled to prevent them from happening again, also trying to improve sales by reminding customers about themselves and new coming models of audi.
CRM program: I have been involved in a CRM program within our own company (established in finland). We were selling sports supplements and we had such a CRM program created by Microsoft access and our own database, that we could easily follow which customer have bought the most based on day, week, month or year. How often they purchase from us, which payment methods they choose and what did they purchase. This was made easy for us, obtaining the information that is, because we had a e-commerce shop also to complement our retailing shop. So the customer had to fill some infomartion before making the order, which made the job for us easier. Through this CRM program and info received from it, we would market our products to the appropriate target customers, decreasing marketing costs.
Technology is a great tool in retaining customer relationships, because it's easy to send out a message to existing and possible customers about new products or offers with very low cost. Technology also makes it possible and easy to obtain information about the customers and storing that information, specially through the internet. Customers seem to be willing to give such information because they also think it's better for them and increases the service quality received as the customers are understood better.
Sources:
Marketing Management 11th edition (Philip Kotler 2003)
Marketing 2nd edition (Hill & O'Sullivan 1999)
http://www.tutor2u.net/
torstai 13. joulukuuta 2007
Theme 9: People as a competitive tool
Internal marketing
The process of eliciting support for a company and its activities among its own employees, in order to encourage them to promote its goals. This process can happen at a number of levels, from increasing awareness of individual products or marketing campaigns, to explaining overall business strategy.
The following are the features of an internal marketing-oriented business:
1. creating enabling culture: this is done when employees are empowered by management through allowing creativity, innovation, allowing initiatives and accountability and responsibility of their decisions.
2. Practising participative hiring: that is involving current employees in the process of hiring new employees.
3. Ensuring equitable cock recognition and reward: business must exercise employee recognition with reward to what employee has achieved.
4. Demonstrating fairness during hardtimes: fair treatment of employees when faced with hardtimes and difficult moments like death of the near family members. this can be achieved by setting aside emergency funds.
5. Good organisation structure that allows learning, total quality management and re-engineering.
Benefits of Internal Marketing
1. Internal Marketing encourages the internal market (Employees) to perform better.
2. Internal Marketing empowers employees and gives them Accountability and responsibility.
3. Internal Marketing creates common understanding of the business organisation.
4. Internal marketing encourages employees to offer superb service to clients by appreciating their valuable contribution to the success of the business.
5.Internal marketing helps non marketing staffs to learn and be able to perform their tasks in a marketing-like manner.
6. Internal Marketing improves customers retention and individual employee development.
7. Internal Marketing integrates business culture, structure, human resources management, vision and strategy with the employees' professional and social needs.
8. Internal marketing creates good coordination and cooperation among departments of the business.
Problems affecting successful implementation of Internal Marketing.
The following are the problems affecting effective implementation of internal Marketing.
1. Managerial Incompetence in interpersonal, technical and conceptual skills is some of the stumbling blocks against successful internal marketing.
2. Poor understanding of internal Marketing concept.
3. Individual conflict and conflict between departments makes the implementation of internal marketing difficult.
4. Rigid organisational structure coupled by bureaucratic leadership hinder success of internal Marketing.
5. Ignoring and not listening to subordinate staffs.
6. the Tendency of ignoring employees importance and treating them like any other tools of the business.
7. Unnecessary protection of information against employees.
8. Resistance to change.
Customer Service - Internal Customers: Many people deal with customers WITHIN their own companies. Internal customers are those people and employees who might use your services and products, who reside in the same company. For example the computer department, and human resources department serve internal needs.
Customer Service – External Customers: Refers to individuals or households that purchase goods and services generated within the economy. The word historically derives from "custom," meaning "habit"; a customer was someone who frequented a particular shop, who made it a habit to purchase goods there, and with whom the shopkeeper had to maintain a relationship to keep his or her "custom," meaning expected purchases in the future.
Customer service in my own opinion is extremely important, sometimes almost as important as the quality of the product or service offered, since customer service at best can be very fulfilling to the customer. Getting the adequate answers to your questions and being treated good makes the customer feel good and more willing to do the purchase. As to bad customer service, where the customer is belittled and answers are not given, that drives the customer away to another retailer or shop no matter how good the product is. Also in my opinion and experience, it’s bad to treat customers the same way, because not all customers are the same with equal value. Better customers should be treated better since they bring in more money and you don’t want to lose them, other customers should also be treated well so they might one day become regular customers also.
Sources:
Internal Marketing (Jeff Pervaiz 2005)
www.tutor2u.net
www.wikipedia.com
The process of eliciting support for a company and its activities among its own employees, in order to encourage them to promote its goals. This process can happen at a number of levels, from increasing awareness of individual products or marketing campaigns, to explaining overall business strategy.
The following are the features of an internal marketing-oriented business:
1. creating enabling culture: this is done when employees are empowered by management through allowing creativity, innovation, allowing initiatives and accountability and responsibility of their decisions.
2. Practising participative hiring: that is involving current employees in the process of hiring new employees.
3. Ensuring equitable cock recognition and reward: business must exercise employee recognition with reward to what employee has achieved.
4. Demonstrating fairness during hardtimes: fair treatment of employees when faced with hardtimes and difficult moments like death of the near family members. this can be achieved by setting aside emergency funds.
5. Good organisation structure that allows learning, total quality management and re-engineering.
Benefits of Internal Marketing
1. Internal Marketing encourages the internal market (Employees) to perform better.
2. Internal Marketing empowers employees and gives them Accountability and responsibility.
3. Internal Marketing creates common understanding of the business organisation.
4. Internal marketing encourages employees to offer superb service to clients by appreciating their valuable contribution to the success of the business.
5.Internal marketing helps non marketing staffs to learn and be able to perform their tasks in a marketing-like manner.
6. Internal Marketing improves customers retention and individual employee development.
7. Internal Marketing integrates business culture, structure, human resources management, vision and strategy with the employees' professional and social needs.
8. Internal marketing creates good coordination and cooperation among departments of the business.
Problems affecting successful implementation of Internal Marketing.
The following are the problems affecting effective implementation of internal Marketing.
1. Managerial Incompetence in interpersonal, technical and conceptual skills is some of the stumbling blocks against successful internal marketing.
2. Poor understanding of internal Marketing concept.
3. Individual conflict and conflict between departments makes the implementation of internal marketing difficult.
4. Rigid organisational structure coupled by bureaucratic leadership hinder success of internal Marketing.
5. Ignoring and not listening to subordinate staffs.
6. the Tendency of ignoring employees importance and treating them like any other tools of the business.
7. Unnecessary protection of information against employees.
8. Resistance to change.
Customer Service - Internal Customers: Many people deal with customers WITHIN their own companies. Internal customers are those people and employees who might use your services and products, who reside in the same company. For example the computer department, and human resources department serve internal needs.
Customer Service – External Customers: Refers to individuals or households that purchase goods and services generated within the economy. The word historically derives from "custom," meaning "habit"; a customer was someone who frequented a particular shop, who made it a habit to purchase goods there, and with whom the shopkeeper had to maintain a relationship to keep his or her "custom," meaning expected purchases in the future.
Customer service in my own opinion is extremely important, sometimes almost as important as the quality of the product or service offered, since customer service at best can be very fulfilling to the customer. Getting the adequate answers to your questions and being treated good makes the customer feel good and more willing to do the purchase. As to bad customer service, where the customer is belittled and answers are not given, that drives the customer away to another retailer or shop no matter how good the product is. Also in my opinion and experience, it’s bad to treat customers the same way, because not all customers are the same with equal value. Better customers should be treated better since they bring in more money and you don’t want to lose them, other customers should also be treated well so they might one day become regular customers also.
Sources:
Internal Marketing (Jeff Pervaiz 2005)
www.tutor2u.net
www.wikipedia.com
Theme 8: Nicely available
1.Manufacturer >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Consumer
2.Manufacturer >>> Retailer >>> Consumer
3.Manufacturer >>> Wholesaler >>> Retailer >>> Consumer
4.Manufacturer >>> Wholesaler >>> Jobber >>> Retailer >>> Consumer
We can see different marketing channels used by companies, I think in our case concerning Audi, they use a combination of number 2 and 3, my conclusion to this is that they will use approach 2 when it concerns a bigger retailer, who can also import the cars straight from the manufacturer in this case being Audi. But mainly they use approach 3, making it so that Audi Finland imports the brand new Audi cars and sells it to retailers around finland and them selling it to the end-user, the customer.
This approach makes most sense concerning profitability and turnover of cars.
Sources:
www.tutor2u.net
2.Manufacturer >>> Retailer >>> Consumer
3.Manufacturer >>> Wholesaler >>> Retailer >>> Consumer
4.Manufacturer >>> Wholesaler >>> Jobber >>> Retailer >>> Consumer
We can see different marketing channels used by companies, I think in our case concerning Audi, they use a combination of number 2 and 3, my conclusion to this is that they will use approach 2 when it concerns a bigger retailer, who can also import the cars straight from the manufacturer in this case being Audi. But mainly they use approach 3, making it so that Audi Finland imports the brand new Audi cars and sells it to retailers around finland and them selling it to the end-user, the customer.
This approach makes most sense concerning profitability and turnover of cars.
Sources:
www.tutor2u.net
Theme 7: At any cost?
Pricing - introduction
Setting the right price is an important part of effective marketing . It is the only part of the marketing mix that generates revenue (product, promotion and place are all about marketing costs).
Price is also the marketing variable that can be changed most quickly, perhaps in response to a competitor price change.
Put simply, price is the amount of money or goods for which a thing is bought or sold.
The price of a product may be seen as a financial expression of the value of that product.
For a consumer, price is the monetary expression of the value to be enjoyed/benefits of purchasing a product, as compared with other available items.
The concept of value can therefore be expressed as:
(perceived) VALUE = (perceived) BENEFITS – (perceived) COSTS
A customer’s motivation to purchase a product comes firstly from a need and a want:e.g.
• Need: "I need to eat
• Want: I would like to go out for a meal tonight")
The second motivation comes from a perception of the value of a product in satisfying that need/want (e.g. "I really fancy a McDonalds").
The perception of the value of a product varies from customer to customer, because perceptions of benefits and costs vary.
Perceived benefits are often largely dependent on personal taste (e.g. spicy versus sweet, or green versus blue). In order to obtain the maximum possible value from the available market, businesses try to ‘segment’ the market – that is to divide up the market into groups of consumers whose preferences are broadly similar – and to adapt their products to attract these customers.
In general, a products perceived value may be increased in one of two ways – either by:
(1) Increasing the benefits that the product will deliver, or,
(2) Reducing the cost.
For consumers, the PRICE of a product is the most obvious indicator of cost - hence the need to get product pricing right.
Audi Case:
Audi uses premium pricing, this aims at using price to maximise the image of quality in a product. Very often it will involve offering a range of cars at different price points. The relationship between price and quality can then be justified in the eyes of the customer by reference to the differences between each level when they can be displayed or demonstrated together using the different models that Audi has to offer with different price points.
I think Audi has a image and quality to maintain, to keep with competitors such as Mercedes Benz and BMW, so going lower in pricing might actually hurt Audi’s profits and sales in the long run, as the perceived value is lowered in the eyes of the customer compared to the competitors products.
Sources:
www.tutor2u.net
Marketing 2nd edition (Hill & O'Sullivan 1999)
Setting the right price is an important part of effective marketing . It is the only part of the marketing mix that generates revenue (product, promotion and place are all about marketing costs).
Price is also the marketing variable that can be changed most quickly, perhaps in response to a competitor price change.
Put simply, price is the amount of money or goods for which a thing is bought or sold.
The price of a product may be seen as a financial expression of the value of that product.
For a consumer, price is the monetary expression of the value to be enjoyed/benefits of purchasing a product, as compared with other available items.
The concept of value can therefore be expressed as:
(perceived) VALUE = (perceived) BENEFITS – (perceived) COSTS
A customer’s motivation to purchase a product comes firstly from a need and a want:e.g.
• Need: "I need to eat
• Want: I would like to go out for a meal tonight")
The second motivation comes from a perception of the value of a product in satisfying that need/want (e.g. "I really fancy a McDonalds").
The perception of the value of a product varies from customer to customer, because perceptions of benefits and costs vary.
Perceived benefits are often largely dependent on personal taste (e.g. spicy versus sweet, or green versus blue). In order to obtain the maximum possible value from the available market, businesses try to ‘segment’ the market – that is to divide up the market into groups of consumers whose preferences are broadly similar – and to adapt their products to attract these customers.
In general, a products perceived value may be increased in one of two ways – either by:
(1) Increasing the benefits that the product will deliver, or,
(2) Reducing the cost.
For consumers, the PRICE of a product is the most obvious indicator of cost - hence the need to get product pricing right.
Audi Case:
Audi uses premium pricing, this aims at using price to maximise the image of quality in a product. Very often it will involve offering a range of cars at different price points. The relationship between price and quality can then be justified in the eyes of the customer by reference to the differences between each level when they can be displayed or demonstrated together using the different models that Audi has to offer with different price points.
I think Audi has a image and quality to maintain, to keep with competitors such as Mercedes Benz and BMW, so going lower in pricing might actually hurt Audi’s profits and sales in the long run, as the perceived value is lowered in the eyes of the customer compared to the competitors products.
Sources:
www.tutor2u.net
Marketing 2nd edition (Hill & O'Sullivan 1999)
keskiviikko 28. marraskuuta 2007
Theme 6: I was hit (Product adoption and promotional mix)
Product Adoption
Five step adoption process
*Knowledge / Awareness
-Aware of the product but lack of detailed knowledge
*Interest
-Curious, seeking more information
*Evaluation
-Deciding whether to test the product
*Trial
-Using the product on a test basis
*Adoption
-Deciding to become a regular customer/user.
Adopter categories
*Innovators
-The first people to adopt a new product (2,5% of the market).
*Early adopters
-People who choose new products carefully and are consulted by people in the subsequent categories (13,5 %).
*Early majority
-People who adopt just prior to the average person (34%).
*Late majority
-Conservative and sceptical but eventually adopt (34%).
*Laggards
-The last people to adopt a new product (16%).
So we talked about the adoption model and process, why is it important, so let’s get into the relevance of the adoption model:
*Need to develop strategies to move customers from awareness to adoption.
*Need to win over the innovators and early adopters (i.e. the trend setters) – unless they purchase the product, it will fail commercially, since the rest follows this group.
*Need to win over late customers in a cost effective way.
Own case concerning adoption model: I fall into the catogory of early adopters, since i choose products carefully with through research and usually many of my friends and family/relatives follow my example, so i would consider my role important to companies, since people like me tend to be trend setters. However i'm not a innovator, i usually am not the first one to try it, since i need some research and review from it.
Going through the adoption process in the case of product chosen Audi A6, following the five step guidline. In the beginning i was aware of Audi and their products but not in detail and lacked knowledge, since my main interest was Bmw. Then i built interest toward audi and decided to give it a test drive after which i liked the car and started seeking information about the car and their brand. After this i decided that i would first like to test audi by buying a used car of theirs for a while. After a few months i was sold on audi and decided that i must have the new model.
Promotional mix
It is not enough for a business to have good products sold at attractive prices. To generate sales and profits, the benefits of products have to be communicated to customers. In marketing, this is commonly known as "promotion".
Promotion is all about companies communicating with customers.
A business' total marketing communications programme is called the "promotional mix" and consists of a blend of advertising, personal selling, sales promotion and public relations tools. In this revision note, we describe the four key elements of the promotional mix in more detail.
It is helpful to define the four main elements of the promotional mix before considering their strengths and limitations.
(1) Advertising
Any paid form of non-personal communication of ideas or products in the "prime media": i.e. television, newspapers, magazines, billboard posters, radio, cinema etc. Advertising is intended to persuade and to inform. The two basic aspects of advertising are the message (what you want your communication to say) and the medium (how you get your message across)
(2) Personal Selling
Oral communication with potential buyers of a product with the intention of making a sale. The personal selling may focus initially on developing a relationship with the potential buyer, but will always ultimately end with an attempt to "close the sale".
(3) Sales Promotion
Providing incentives to customers or to the distribution channel to stimulate demand for a product.
(4) Publicity
The communication of a product, brand or business by placing information about it in the media without paying for the time or media space directly. otherwise known as "public relations" or PR.
Advantages and Disadvantages of Each Element of the Promotional Mix:
Advertising
Advantages
Good for building awareness
Effective at reaching a wide audience
Repetition of main brand and product positioning helps build customer trust
Disadvantages
Impersonal - cannot answer all a customer's questions
Not good at getting customers to make a final purchasing decision
Personal Selling
Advantages
Highly interactive - lots of communication between the buyer and seller
Excellent for communicating complex / detailed product information and features
Relationships can be built up - important if closing the sale make take a long time
Disadvantages
Costly - employing a sales force has many hidden costs in addition to wages
Not suitable if there are thousands of important buyers
Sales Promotion
Advantages
Can stimulate quick increases in sales by targeting promotional incentives on particular products
Good short term tactical tool
Disadvantages
If used over the long-term, customers may get used to the effect
Too much promotion may damage the brand image
Public Relations
Advantages
Often seen as more "credible" - since the message seems to be coming from a third party (e.g. magazine, newspaper)
Cheap way of reaching many customers - if the publicity is achieved through the right media
Disadvantages
Risk of losing control - cannot always control what other people write or say about your product
Author: Hezha Sadek Muhammad
Sources:
*Online resource for learning
www.tutor2u.net
*Marketing 6th edition ( Evans & Berman 1994)
*Marketing 2nd edition (Hill & O'Sullivan 1999)
Five step adoption process
*Knowledge / Awareness
-Aware of the product but lack of detailed knowledge
*Interest
-Curious, seeking more information
*Evaluation
-Deciding whether to test the product
*Trial
-Using the product on a test basis
*Adoption
-Deciding to become a regular customer/user.
Adopter categories
*Innovators
-The first people to adopt a new product (2,5% of the market).
*Early adopters
-People who choose new products carefully and are consulted by people in the subsequent categories (13,5 %).
*Early majority
-People who adopt just prior to the average person (34%).
*Late majority
-Conservative and sceptical but eventually adopt (34%).
*Laggards
-The last people to adopt a new product (16%).
So we talked about the adoption model and process, why is it important, so let’s get into the relevance of the adoption model:
*Need to develop strategies to move customers from awareness to adoption.
*Need to win over the innovators and early adopters (i.e. the trend setters) – unless they purchase the product, it will fail commercially, since the rest follows this group.
*Need to win over late customers in a cost effective way.
Own case concerning adoption model: I fall into the catogory of early adopters, since i choose products carefully with through research and usually many of my friends and family/relatives follow my example, so i would consider my role important to companies, since people like me tend to be trend setters. However i'm not a innovator, i usually am not the first one to try it, since i need some research and review from it.
Going through the adoption process in the case of product chosen Audi A6, following the five step guidline. In the beginning i was aware of Audi and their products but not in detail and lacked knowledge, since my main interest was Bmw. Then i built interest toward audi and decided to give it a test drive after which i liked the car and started seeking information about the car and their brand. After this i decided that i would first like to test audi by buying a used car of theirs for a while. After a few months i was sold on audi and decided that i must have the new model.
Promotional mix
It is not enough for a business to have good products sold at attractive prices. To generate sales and profits, the benefits of products have to be communicated to customers. In marketing, this is commonly known as "promotion".
Promotion is all about companies communicating with customers.
A business' total marketing communications programme is called the "promotional mix" and consists of a blend of advertising, personal selling, sales promotion and public relations tools. In this revision note, we describe the four key elements of the promotional mix in more detail.
It is helpful to define the four main elements of the promotional mix before considering their strengths and limitations.
(1) Advertising
Any paid form of non-personal communication of ideas or products in the "prime media": i.e. television, newspapers, magazines, billboard posters, radio, cinema etc. Advertising is intended to persuade and to inform. The two basic aspects of advertising are the message (what you want your communication to say) and the medium (how you get your message across)
(2) Personal Selling
Oral communication with potential buyers of a product with the intention of making a sale. The personal selling may focus initially on developing a relationship with the potential buyer, but will always ultimately end with an attempt to "close the sale".
(3) Sales Promotion
Providing incentives to customers or to the distribution channel to stimulate demand for a product.
(4) Publicity
The communication of a product, brand or business by placing information about it in the media without paying for the time or media space directly. otherwise known as "public relations" or PR.
Advantages and Disadvantages of Each Element of the Promotional Mix:
Advertising
Advantages
Good for building awareness
Effective at reaching a wide audience
Repetition of main brand and product positioning helps build customer trust
Disadvantages
Impersonal - cannot answer all a customer's questions
Not good at getting customers to make a final purchasing decision
Personal Selling
Advantages
Highly interactive - lots of communication between the buyer and seller
Excellent for communicating complex / detailed product information and features
Relationships can be built up - important if closing the sale make take a long time
Disadvantages
Costly - employing a sales force has many hidden costs in addition to wages
Not suitable if there are thousands of important buyers
Sales Promotion
Advantages
Can stimulate quick increases in sales by targeting promotional incentives on particular products
Good short term tactical tool
Disadvantages
If used over the long-term, customers may get used to the effect
Too much promotion may damage the brand image
Public Relations
Advantages
Often seen as more "credible" - since the message seems to be coming from a third party (e.g. magazine, newspaper)
Cheap way of reaching many customers - if the publicity is achieved through the right media
Disadvantages
Risk of losing control - cannot always control what other people write or say about your product
Author: Hezha Sadek Muhammad
Sources:
*Online resource for learning
www.tutor2u.net
*Marketing 6th edition ( Evans & Berman 1994)
*Marketing 2nd edition (Hill & O'Sullivan 1999)
tiistai 27. marraskuuta 2007
This is something i love ( theme 5)
First definitions for product line and then product mix:
The Product Mix refers to the total set of all product items sold by an organisation. It can expanded in three ways; firstly by creating a product line, and then by increasing the number of product items within each product line, or by increasing the number of product lines in the mix.
The Product line is a group of closely related product items. For example the range of aerobics footwear produced by Reebok would be considered as a single product line as they are all intented for the same end use.
Product line : Automobiles
Product mix of Audi:
A3
Tagline: Sporty, progressive and sophisticated
A4
Tagline: Presence, performance and power
A5
Tagline: Coupe redefined
A6
Tagline: A celebration of form and function
A8
Tagline: Metallurgical marvels
TT
Tagline: Pure Audi
Q7
Tagline: No compromises
R8
Tagline: Our ultimate execution
They also have different models within these product mixes, but that would be getting into too much detail of it. We can see from the product line, that Audi wants to offer something for everybody staying within their own customer segmentation. As previously mentioned Audi is a brand of entry-level luxury to high-executive luxury level. Their product line is a great example of that.
The product that I chose for THEME 3 was AUDI A6, one thing has to be said before hand about the car industry. That usually they continue the models, they just update it, so after saying this, it’s safe to say that the life cycle of the product is renewed each time a newer version of the model comes out. At this point of 2007, the Audi A6 has entered the growth phase of the product life cycle, soon closing in on the maturity phase as within 2-3 years Audi will introduce a newer version of Audi A6.
Definition of a brand:
A brand is an element or combination of elements that uniquely identify a product as being produced by one particular supplier and thereby distinguish it from competitor’s products. These elements usually include a particular name, logo, symbol and/or design that the customer then associates with a particular supplier and that the supplier, thanks to trademark law has the exclusive rights to use for an unlimited period of time.
Importance of branding
From the customers point of view:
*Saves time and effort, as customers know that they expect
*Provides security and reduces the risk of purchase as the brand offers quality
*Can offer psychological rewards
From suppliers point of view:
*Can generate a loyal base of repeat customers
*Can command higher prices because of value placed by customer on the brand
*Provides a platform from which to launch new products
*Has value as an asset of the organisation. Brand equity can be valued, so a brandname can be sold if it is no longer required.
Audi Brand:
Looking into Audi’s website concerning their brand, they included the following in their brand presentation: progressive design, groundbreaking technology, enhanced driving pleasure
stylish and modern, innovative yet timeless. new unique design, irresistibly dynamic, unlimited driving pleasure , supreme sports appeal.
So by looking at this, Audi doesn’t really want to stand out with their brand, which is bad for them. Since now people are saying as lacking "a personality." Also Audi acknowledges this as Len Hunt, the head of Audi of America, was quoted as lamenting, "we have got an unclear image" among the public in general and luxury car buyers in particular.
Author: Hezha Sadek Muhammad
Sources
Marketing 2:nd edition (Hill & O'Sullivan 1999)
The Product Mix refers to the total set of all product items sold by an organisation. It can expanded in three ways; firstly by creating a product line, and then by increasing the number of product items within each product line, or by increasing the number of product lines in the mix.
The Product line is a group of closely related product items. For example the range of aerobics footwear produced by Reebok would be considered as a single product line as they are all intented for the same end use.
Product line : Automobiles
Product mix of Audi:
A3
Tagline: Sporty, progressive and sophisticated
A4
Tagline: Presence, performance and power
A5
Tagline: Coupe redefined
A6
Tagline: A celebration of form and function
A8
Tagline: Metallurgical marvels
TT
Tagline: Pure Audi
Q7
Tagline: No compromises
R8
Tagline: Our ultimate execution
They also have different models within these product mixes, but that would be getting into too much detail of it. We can see from the product line, that Audi wants to offer something for everybody staying within their own customer segmentation. As previously mentioned Audi is a brand of entry-level luxury to high-executive luxury level. Their product line is a great example of that.
The product that I chose for THEME 3 was AUDI A6, one thing has to be said before hand about the car industry. That usually they continue the models, they just update it, so after saying this, it’s safe to say that the life cycle of the product is renewed each time a newer version of the model comes out. At this point of 2007, the Audi A6 has entered the growth phase of the product life cycle, soon closing in on the maturity phase as within 2-3 years Audi will introduce a newer version of Audi A6.
Definition of a brand:
A brand is an element or combination of elements that uniquely identify a product as being produced by one particular supplier and thereby distinguish it from competitor’s products. These elements usually include a particular name, logo, symbol and/or design that the customer then associates with a particular supplier and that the supplier, thanks to trademark law has the exclusive rights to use for an unlimited period of time.
Importance of branding
From the customers point of view:
*Saves time and effort, as customers know that they expect
*Provides security and reduces the risk of purchase as the brand offers quality
*Can offer psychological rewards
From suppliers point of view:
*Can generate a loyal base of repeat customers
*Can command higher prices because of value placed by customer on the brand
*Provides a platform from which to launch new products
*Has value as an asset of the organisation. Brand equity can be valued, so a brandname can be sold if it is no longer required.
Audi Brand:
Looking into Audi’s website concerning their brand, they included the following in their brand presentation: progressive design, groundbreaking technology, enhanced driving pleasure
stylish and modern, innovative yet timeless. new unique design, irresistibly dynamic, unlimited driving pleasure , supreme sports appeal.
So by looking at this, Audi doesn’t really want to stand out with their brand, which is bad for them. Since now people are saying as lacking "a personality." Also Audi acknowledges this as Len Hunt, the head of Audi of America, was quoted as lamenting, "we have got an unclear image" among the public in general and luxury car buyers in particular.
Author: Hezha Sadek Muhammad
Sources
Marketing 2:nd edition (Hill & O'Sullivan 1999)
torstai 22. marraskuuta 2007
Targeting strategy
The product that i chose for these 3 was a car; Audi A6 and according to www.autos.yahoo.com
it's a luxury sedan. Going further into it from wikipedia. A luxury vehicle is a relatively expensive vehicle that includes additional features designed to increase the comfort of the driver and passengers. Luxury vehicles usually place more emphasis on comfort, appearance, and amenities such as technological upgrades and higher quality materials than on performance, economy, or utility. Mid-luxury segment
To be more exact Audi A6 falls on the category of mid-luxury segment sedan.
In order to be considered part of the middle-luxury segment, a vehicle should feature a base MSP between approximately $36k and $60k[2], have a very high degree of comfort, and should have the latest or near latest technological and safety innovations. Customers in this segment also yield some priority to performance. Therefore, many car manufacturers produce these cars with V8s and some highly sophisticated 6-cylinder engines. In Britain, these models are commonly referred to as executive cars. Vehicles in this segment include the mid-range models of several luxury car manufacturers such as the Mercedes-Benz E-Class, BMW 5 Series, Holden Caprice, Holden Statesman, Volvo S80, Audi A6, Saab 9-5, Lexus GS, and Jaguar S-Type.
Audi has mainly luxury cars, they have entry-level luxury cars, High-end luxury segment, Ultra-luxury segment and Luxury SUV's along with the Audi A6 mid-luxury segment. So we can see that Audi mainly concentrates with high brand name and value customers.
Marketing mix of Audi:
The marketing mix is the combination of marketing activities that an organisation engages in so as to best meet the needs of its targeted market. Traditionally the marketing mix consisted of just 4 Ps. For example, a motor vehicle manufacturer like Audi:
*Produces products that are of the highest quality and fit for the needs of different groups of consumers,
*Offers a range of cars at value for money prices, depending on the market segmented they are targeted at,
*Sells the cars through appropriate outlets such as dealerships and showrooms in prime locations, i.e. in the right places, and
*Supports the marketing of the products through appropriate promotional and advertising activity.
Author: Hezha Sadek Muhammad
Sources:
www.autos.yahoo.com
www.wikipedia.com
Marketing 2nd Edition (Hill & O'Sullivan 1999)
it's a luxury sedan. Going further into it from wikipedia. A luxury vehicle is a relatively expensive vehicle that includes additional features designed to increase the comfort of the driver and passengers. Luxury vehicles usually place more emphasis on comfort, appearance, and amenities such as technological upgrades and higher quality materials than on performance, economy, or utility. Mid-luxury segment
To be more exact Audi A6 falls on the category of mid-luxury segment sedan.
In order to be considered part of the middle-luxury segment, a vehicle should feature a base MSP between approximately $36k and $60k[2], have a very high degree of comfort, and should have the latest or near latest technological and safety innovations. Customers in this segment also yield some priority to performance. Therefore, many car manufacturers produce these cars with V8s and some highly sophisticated 6-cylinder engines. In Britain, these models are commonly referred to as executive cars. Vehicles in this segment include the mid-range models of several luxury car manufacturers such as the Mercedes-Benz E-Class, BMW 5 Series, Holden Caprice, Holden Statesman, Volvo S80, Audi A6, Saab 9-5, Lexus GS, and Jaguar S-Type.
Audi has mainly luxury cars, they have entry-level luxury cars, High-end luxury segment, Ultra-luxury segment and Luxury SUV's along with the Audi A6 mid-luxury segment. So we can see that Audi mainly concentrates with high brand name and value customers.
Marketing mix of Audi:
The marketing mix is the combination of marketing activities that an organisation engages in so as to best meet the needs of its targeted market. Traditionally the marketing mix consisted of just 4 Ps. For example, a motor vehicle manufacturer like Audi:
*Produces products that are of the highest quality and fit for the needs of different groups of consumers,
*Offers a range of cars at value for money prices, depending on the market segmented they are targeted at,
*Sells the cars through appropriate outlets such as dealerships and showrooms in prime locations, i.e. in the right places, and
*Supports the marketing of the products through appropriate promotional and advertising activity.
Author: Hezha Sadek Muhammad
Sources:
www.autos.yahoo.com
www.wikipedia.com
Marketing 2nd Edition (Hill & O'Sullivan 1999)
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