In the modern world of conducting business, any company that wishes to succeed must differentiate its products or services from others in the industry. Differentiation makes it possible for consumers to point out notable differences between one company’s products as compared to those of competitors. Differentiation helps companies build brand loyalty as the uniqueness keeps customers fixed on a particular product. BMW is one of the most popular automakers in the world today. It definitely uses differentiation as a strategy to beat off competition by building products that are innovative, detailed and incomparable to those of competitors. One of the differentiation strategies used by BMW is the creation of auto products that consumers can emotionally relate to. In building the BMW brand, the company has succeeded in positioning its products as prestigious or luxurious. Therefore, most consumers want to own a BMW car solely for the prestige it gives them. BMW products are not only purchased due to their usability or functionality but for the status they give the owner. Subsequently, when a person buys a BMW product, they are emotionally attached not just to the car but to the brand as a whole. This has created increased brand loyalty in BMW growing its customer base as more people search for the status associated with the company’s products. Another strategy used by BMW to differentiate itself from other automakers in the market is the proactive usage of technology and innovativeness in the development of products. From the early 1990’s, BMW has been on the forefront of incorporating technology in its designs in line with the technological advances of the modern world. This has led to the creation of inventive products. The uniqueness of these auto products put BMW in a position of advantage. The development of the hydrogen car as early as 2000 was an indicator of the company’s innovative strategy. In addition, the company also presents itself as environment friendly creating a whole range of vehicles in this category. This is a differentiation strategy meant to boost the company’s image and reputation amongst customers. In addition, this gives the environment conscious customers a variety of products to choose from giving BMW an upper hand in the industry. Another important differentiation strategy that BMW has incorporated is the establishment of links between the customers and the company. Over the years, the company has created a servicing segment that ensures that contact between the company and the customer continues even after the initial vehicle purchase.
Nevertheless, it must “defend” its current market share if not increase it, by maintaining premium quality and develop innovative products. The marketing mix strategies will effectively achieve targeted revenue and profitability in the near future.
European-wide qualification is directly controlled. Global cooperation strengthens the BMW Group and allows folks to detect more intensely with the makes of the collection: with the subtleties of BMW, the city agility of MINI, the esteem worth of Rolls-Royce or the driving desire of BMW Motorrad. It paves the mode for consumers to experience BMW Finest round the world.
Differentiation through marketing strategies, this is a form of innovation driven by the need to create a superior brand (Sadler, 2003).
The year 1994 entailed multiple revolutionary inventions that would forever change the world. Katie Couric and Bryant Gumbel were icons in the forefront of introducing the world to many trendsetting topics. For example, Couric and Gumbel showed the public when the first Playstation released, which featured successful games like Grand Theft Auto, Crash Bandicoot, and Final Fantasy. Later in 1994, they featured an episode on Netscape Navigator, whose groundbreaking success led to the beginning of Internet use today. Inventions like Playstation and Netscape Navigator have one common ground; the majority of people know about their existence today. In its commercial “Newfangled Idea”, BMW uses a parallel between the years 1994 and 2015, well
Porsche highly motivate their engineers to innovate and they open their eyes to external technology development and they are open minded to adopt external technologies to Porsche to make their products competitive and environmental friendly.
Threats: The market is filled with sedans that all have very similar features and it can be difficult to truly distinguish your product in the eye of the
Historically, CarMax had used mass marketing, like broadcasting and mass promotion, for growing its brand value. Now with the CMO’s vision, they have great opportunity to create value through personalised experience using analytics. Using information, provided by customers through website or mobile app, to help them have better personalized experience. Customers nowadays do a lot of online research before going to a store and using that information, keeping those researched cars ready when they reach the store. This personalization gives CarMax a great push. (Eric Krell,
Marketing differentiation, where firms try to differentiate their product by distinctive packaging and other promotional techniques. For example Monster advertises by sponsoring tournaments, getting ownership of sports teams and conducting music concerts.
Innovation is an ever-continuing question in many industries and its players. In order remain competitive; players have to constantly figure out new innovative capabilities. The automobile industry is one where there is many innovation occurring. Innovation can be spotted at different levels of price level, different geographic regions, and different type of vehicles. As automotive industry relies heavily on technology, many of the source and cause of innovation come from technological development. However, this is also much innovation that arises from the administrative portion of an automotive company. This could relate to how cars are sold to the end consumer.
Differentiation – where companies introduce a unique dimension that is considered to be important to the market. Some LCCs have moved onto this strategy.
When customer identify with specific brand and has emotional attachment they form a psychological attachment and relationship with the brand and try tell those thing of the brand which he/she like and work instinctively to the benefit of the brand (Kuenzel & halliday, 2010). Thomson et al, (2005) argued that brand identification such as brand attachment, brand connection and bond with brand, has strongly predicts the frequency of past and future purchase of the brand. The intense relation and attachment also drives consumer toward the benefit of the brand by purchasing the specific brand. Kuenzel et al. (2010) identify that the brand identification concept is built on social identity theory in which consumer are engaged with the brand and extensively of the brand concept in other self-restraints. Identification based on social identity theory is in core a perception of oneness with a group of persons and make an identity in marketing we can also say that customer make their brand as an identity of their self-mean people identify someone with their brand (Albert et al., 2013). The customers who they uses the brand and they emotionally attached to the brand make the brand their identity, those customer called evangelist.. Stronger brand identification with consumer disposed to emotional attachment in pro-brand activities. Their self as an evangelist with the brand and also with the manufacturer (Bhattacharya &Sen,
Toyota’s uses both differentiation and low cost as generic strategies to try and gain a competitive advantage over their competitors in the automotive industry. The market scope that Toyota uses is a broad one that encompasses nearly every type of customer that is in the market to purchase an automobile. Toyota is able to target such a large market because they have something for everyone. Toyota has four wheel drive trucks and SUVs for the outdoor types or those who live in areas that face severe weather conditions, hybrid models like the Prius for the eco-friendly customers that are interested in saving the environment, along with the standard cars for general, everyday use. Additionally, Toyota provides vehicles for all price ranges.
BMW- differentiation strategy, high price, breadth of product line is moderate, known for their cars being in the shop constantly and high maintenance bills.
The global company Mercedes-Benz is considered one of the most successful and well-known automotive companies worldwide. Since 1886, the company’s founders Gottlieb Daimler and Carl Benz made history with the invention of the automobile, including the Daimler Group, which is one the biggest producers of premium cars and the world’s biggest manufacturer of commercial vehicles globally (Daimler, 2013). Their main focus is innovation, safety, technology, style, brand image, expansion, and superior automobiles by offering the best of the best to consumers worldwide. The brand’s philosophy is to continuously create radically new products to advance the cause of human mobility. It is also the number one luxury brand in the United States and Germany while continuously expanding in China and Russia as well (Interbrand, 2013). Mercedes-Benz has a great selection on divisions such as cars, trucks, vans, buses, and financial services offered to any consumer or business. Their global reach has increased tremendously by including production facilities in 17 countries on five continents and having 93 locations worldwide. As a pioneer of automotive engineering, their strategy is to continue the same pioneer role with the ongoing development of mobility, especially in the areas of safety and sustainability (Daimler, 2013). It is very essential for the company to focus on consumers’ needs and their highly well known brand in a competitive global economy. That is why the company Mercedes-Benz releases a brand new model every year to stay on top of its competitors by improving previous models. Some strategies practiced are global marketing, global product development, global product pricing, global advertising, global distribution, an...
Market Segmentation, Positioning and targeting for BMW 1.1 Introduction This report aims to examine the market segmentation, positioning and targeting of BMW (automobile company). BMW will be examined giving information about the company and where it is now and any recommendations that we feel are appropriate. 1.2 BMW Company Profile BMW was formed in 1917, from the merger of two small aero engine makers. Their famous blue and white symbol stems from the colours of the Bavarian Luftwaffe and is said to resemble the view of the one of their plane through a propeller. BMW is renowned for its sporty, sophisticated & luxury image which has been built up since the 1970's with many motor sport victories ranging from Touring Car to Formula 1.