Toyota Supercar Marketing Plan - Research Paper Example

?Marketing Plan for Toyota’s Super Car Implementation Timetable December In order for a new product to be successful, it is necessary to conduct market research, be familiar with sales potential, cost, the distribution channels, the cost of promotion and the adequate promotion technique, conduct research and development and to have and know the engineering costs and requirements (Benedetto, 1999). Thus the month of December will be spent researching. In this regard, marketing management and product management teams will be formed for appointing the required teams and identifying the budget for market research, engineering research, parts, research and development, identifying the distribution channels, promotion techniques and the costs of promotion. January 2013: After the budget has been identified and team research tasks have been allocated, the teams will conduct their research and compile reports for top management and for marketing decisions and product management and decisions. At this point the planning stage begins. As Moorman and Miner (1998) inform, a marketing strategy beings with a “careful review of environmental and firm information” which is then followed by planning (p. 1). At this point all of the necessary research would have been completed and the budget identified for execution of the launch of the product. The month of January 2013 will therefore be set aside for planning marketing, production/manufacturing, promotion and distribution strategies and time tables will be established for each process. Teams will be formed for managing and putting these strategies into action. February 2013: At this stage, Toyota will have to appoint a design and mechanic team who will design and plan the mechanics of the super car respectively. The design team will plan and design the physical architecture of the car. The mechanic team will plan the engine and other mechanical functions of the car. At this point the design and engineering/mechanic teams will also have information from technological experts informed by research and development as to the desired specifications for the super car. Technological, mechanical knowledge and knowledge of all the specifications that appeal to super car enthusiast will go into the design and mechanics of the new Toyota super car. After all when Ferrari Maserati Group launched its new Maserati MC in 2004, it was Ferrari’s knowledge in the construction of super cars and its knowledge of Formula 1 technology that drove the design and mechanics of the Maserati MC (Arema, 2010). March 2013: The finished vehicle will have to be tested for durability, safety, efficiency, speed and generally whether or not the super car is fit for purpose (Weitz & Wensley, 2002). Obviously, if there are any defects in the product design, those defects will have to be rectified. Thus the month of March is set aside for identifying any defects and rectifying defects and otherwise ascertain whether or not the design, style and performance of the super car can be improved before putting the car on the market. April 2013: Once a model is satisfactorily built, the marketing team will likely decide that they would like to test the market. This is usually the case with the launching of a new automobile (Weitz & Wensley, 2002). Thus the marketing team will be required to know, what needs to be done in order to sell the new super car. Thus an estimation of the funds and other resources needed for advertising, creating incentives for dealers, and promotions generally. Although, a research was conducted in the initial stages, this research was done in advance of an actual car. Now that a car has been designed and it is ready to be launched the promotional and marketing aspects can be planned more specifically. It will be necessary to know how many cars will be produced with specific features such as mapping, colors, sound systems, etc. Toyota might want to conduct a search of global markets to determine compatibility of features to specific markets (Wietz & Wensley, 2002). May 2013: Now that the market has been tested, it is now time to go into production. The specifications for the car and the types of cars or car styles for each market will be distributed to assembly lines at convenient locations. June 2013: Now that the super car is in production, it is time for the marketing team to go about promoting the new super car. One method of promoting the car is via car shows. Thus in June 2013, the car will be officially introduced to car shows near and in target markets. June 2013-July 2013: With the super car formally introduced, the marketing team will commence promotions and advertising via the traditional media, social networking and the print media. Special campaigns will be launched specifying the special features of the super car and specific attention will be drawn to the fact that the super car is just as good and as fast as European super cars, but cost substantially less. Projected Sales Figures for One Year Drawing on the experiences and practices of Ferrari, who launches less super cars that the market demands to increase intrigue and therefore demand and sales (Martin, 2009), it is suggested that Toyota: Assess each target market for demand. Produce fewer cars than the target market demands. Launch the car on the target markets at the advertised price of US$100,000.00. Taking into account that Ferrari typically launches approximately 349 cars over two years (Martin, 2009) we would suggest that since Toyota’s cars are substantially cheaper than Ferrari’s cars, Toyota can introduce 350 cars over a one year period. Since Ferrari usually introduces its super cars to the European market followed by the American market (Martin, 2009), we would suggest that Toyota do the opposite. In this regard, the first 50 cars should be introduced to the American market. Once these cars have been exposed to the American market then they should be introduced to the European market, followed by the Asian, Canadian and Latin American markets. Since the cars are going to be produced at a rate that does not match the demand, we project that the all of the cars will sell over the year. We anticipate that demands for the car will grow as they enter the market and that all of the cars will sell. Based on the above assessment, the projected sales for the year are: 350 X 100,000 = US$3, 500,000.00 References Arema, S. (2010). The Three Hundred Club. Pittsburgh, PA: Dorrance Publishing Co., Inc. Benedetto, C. A. D. (November 1999). “Identifying the Key Success Factors in New Product Launch.” Journal of Product Innovation Management. Vol. 16(6): 530-544. Martin, S. (2009). “1996 Ferrari F50.” In Keith Martin’s Sportscar Market. Magazine http://books.google.com/books?id=-SixJrUESDcC&pg=PT17&dq=the+market+for+super+cars+in+the+US&hl=en&sa=X&ei=9rG-UPa7CaeO2AXUuoCoAg&ved=0CEoQ6AEwBg#v=onepage&q&f=false Moorman, C. and Miner, A.S. (July 1998). “The Convergence of Planning and Execution: Improvisation in New Product Development.” Journal of Marketing, Vol. 62(3): 1-20. Weitz, B. A. and Wensley, T. (2002). Handbook of Marketing. London: Sage Publications Ltd. Read More