Marketing Plan for Brilliance Auto Group - Assignment Example

MARKETING PLAN FOR BRILLIANCE AUTO GROUP I. Executive summary Brilliance Auto Group is a Chinese corporation with international locations in over 60 countries around the globe. It can be described as a leading automotive group in China with approximately 35% market share. The company has offers vehicles such as minivans, sedans, minibuses and other automotive components. There are two self-developed brands “Jinbei” and “Brilliance” which are highly appealing with astonishing performance. The market penetration of automotive industry in Jamaica is not fully exploited properly, there is a great potential if Brilliance Auto Group launches itself in Jamaica to increase its Market share. The partnership with industry giants such as Toyota, Porsche, BMW and Mitsubishi will give the company a competitive advantage against American cars. The automobile industry in China is very competitive and this has necessitated the need to globalize the industry. Global market of automotive is characterized with numerous competitors, which has seen the market grow tremendous for the past decade. Jamaican consumers are becoming affluent, and this makes them to be specific in the type of cars that want to purchase. The factors that consumers will take into consideration before they purchase is price, performance, brand and economical aspect. The market segment in Jamaica can be divided according to commercial and private, private cars will be characterized with aspects such as luxury and sporty while commercial cars will be characterized by economical and capacity. In an industry that has intensive competition in Jamaica, and deterring factors such as shipping the cars from China to Jamaica, it will be prudent to market Brilliance Auto Group in a holistic manner in Jamaica. II. Environmental Analysis Brilliance Auto Group operates in a huge macro-environment of forces that shape chances and stance threats to the company. Competitors such as Toyota, BMW, Ford, Mercedes Benz, Porsche and VW which are all foreign in Jamaica. Jamaica don’t produce its own cars, and this levels the competition with other firms. Jamaica is a developing country, and this makes it middle earning country characterized by the majority of the population using public transport. However, the country can be said to be characterized by lifestyle that will make model such as FRV, H530, M2, M2 Wagon and V5 SUV have a greater demand for the majority of the population that is keen about lifestyle. Marketing Environment 1. Competitive forces There is a stiff competition in the market from other international companies in Jamaica that offer automotive industries. The sales figure of Jamaican industry is very difficult to establish since there are insufficient records that are placed at the national level. 2. Economic forces Due to shipping costs and the freight expenses the price of the car is affected considering that a customer has to pay custom duty to the government upon the imported car. The economic forces are forcing Brilliance Auto Group to find it hard advertising its car models in mass media such as newspaper, television, and magazines. Currency difference is also a challenge, Jamaican currency is weak compare to china influencing again the price. 3. Political forces Political stability in Jamaica is very convincing, which means that there is no expected political influence in Brilliance Auto Group establishing its business in the country. 4. Legal forces The legal factors that surround the automotive industry in Jamaica are not rigid, which will not affect the marketing of Brilliance Auto Group models. The only legal aspect that should be taken into consideration is corporate tax. 5. Technological forces To the automotive industry is characterized with automation of cars, this technological revolution requires sophisticated computerized programs to be applied in the car. The innovation tem employed in Brilliance Auto Group are up to task and eventually beat other competitors such Mercedes Benz and BMW. 6. Socio-cultural forces Jamaica is a country that can be described as a country of middle-income earners yet enriched with lifestyle. It will be therefore to consider an economical model in terms of gas usage. It will therefore be important to come up with models that epitomizes lifestyle and economical to influence Jamaican consumers. III. SWOT ANALYSIS Strengths Differentiating strategy of Brilliance Auto Group is one of the strength it possess, this has enabled the company to produce customized cars and high performance cars. The company has a rich experience which has enabled them to identify customers’ need, which has enabled the company to produce products that suits customers need. Brilliance Auto Group has employed sales consultants that are highly trained, this will ensure that the company get the relevant information in the targeted market such as Jamaica. The technicians in Brilliance Auto Group are best in applying technology that is efficient and precise in vehicles. The service center at Brilliance Auto Group ensures that the technology is impeccable. Weaknesses The management of Brilliance Auto Group is highly centralized since decisions are made at the head quarter in China. Disposition of decision may slow down the growth of market share in Jamaica because a critical decision may take time to actualize. Language barrier will be a problem since the two nations have different languages, this will pose a challenge when communication will be needed between the Export/Import agents The geographical distance between China and Jamaica is too vast, it will therefore be difficult to coordinate logistics. The price of the car will be greatly affected by factors such as insurance, tax and shipping cost which is too high as compared to the other companies that are not too far from Jamaica. Opportunities The outlook of Jamaica’s tourism industry is very promising, this is a very good opportunity or Brilliance Auto Group with its cars. The tourism industry needs cars to move the tourists around the Caribbean islands, the companies cars are the best as compared to other models. The demand for rental cars is rising in Jamaica, more and more companies of leasing cars are formed each day. This is a very great opportunities of Brilliance Auto Group as this companies will ought to equip their business with more cars. The legal and political framework regarding automotive industry is not very strict as compared to other industries. This is a huge opportunity to launch Brilliance Auto Group model of cars in Jamaica with very minimal regulation. Threats The competition in automotive industry is very stiff, especially in Jamaica where other multinational corporations have established their business and brands. This brands include cars such as Toyota, BMW, and Ford. The main factors that are influencing competition are price, distribution, performance and economical. Methods of product promotion such as advertisement, brand reputation and marketing are other key factors that are influencing competition. Another major threat is the fluctuation of rate of fuel prices. The demand of cars is greatly influenced by the fuel prices, the consumer is very concerned about the fuel prices before he contemplate to purchase a car. It is estimated that the world’s fuel expenses augmented by $61 billion last year. Right-sizing, outsourcing and reengineering developments in management may change traditional channel associations with dealers, distributors and brokers in Jamaica, which may result to a decrease in sales. IV. MARKETING STRATEGY Marketing Objectives The marketing objectives of Brilliance Auto Group will be focusing on: i. To develop a brand equity, this will be measured after the current financial year. Brilliance Auto Group is aimed to attain a brand awareness of 70% in Jamaica. ii. To create an inclusive awareness that will boost our revenues through advertising, partnering with appropriate stakeholders, promotion, holding tradeshows around Jamaica. This will ensure that Brilliance Auto Group models and cars are preferred. iii. To make sure that partnership with major corporates is established, it is very advantageous to partner with corporates as they purchase many cars at once. Target Market Brilliance Auto Group is committed to produce cars that give the utmost satisfaction to its customers, which has prompted the company to implement a niche differentiation plan in the diverse market of automotive industry. Annual returns have been positively influenced as a result of differentiating the company’s cars to suit different consumers’ needs. The target market consists the middle income earners and high income earners, and the persons who wish to venture in Jamaica’s public transport industry. Brilliance Auto Group has been trying to penetrate in the international market, and for this reason Jamaica is one of the state. Marketing Mix Products Brilliance models include The V5 SUV, The FRV, M1, The FSV M2 Wagon, M2, Lead and The H530. Brilliance Auto Group will market this model in Jamaica to its clients, this car models are capable of meeting the customers’ expectation consistently, and the car models are made to meet various needs of various consumers. It will also be possible to customize various models to meet that needs of a particular customer. Color will also be another factor that the company will consider, which means that the company’s products which are the cars will be offered in various colors such as white, grey, black, red and green. The considerations that have been put in the regard to products (Brilliance Models) will ensure that the company has a competitive advantage. Price The fact that there are various costs to be considered in offering the product such as insurance cost, shipping costs, and the custom duty the price will differ from the actual price in China. However, the company will consider to large extent price elasticity of the company’s product as well as demand. Determination of the price will largely depend on the forces of demand and supply. The company will also consider to offer bulk pricing for the corporate that wish to purchase the cars in bulk. Discount will also another pricing strategy that will be used to attract more customers to purchase the cars, since there will be a probability of increasing the volumes of sales. Distribution Since cars are not perishable they will be shipped from china to Jamaica. There will also be some consideration to incorporate middlemen to facilitate the sale of the vehicles. It will also be very prudent for the business to consider involving import and export agents, this is because the shipping of cars will be very tricky at the port. There will also be a warehouse that will be set at the port to ensure that the cleared vehicles are well stored as the sales team seek for their market. Promotion The first promotional technique that the company has adapted is strategic alliance, which involves partnership with industry giants such as Toyota, Porsche, BMW and Mitsubishi. This will increase confidence to potential customers in Jamaica. Online marketing will also be another method that shall be used to market the car models in Jamaica, there is a lot of internet usage today around the globe. Print and electronic media will also be used as promotional method since they are very effective. V. IMPLEMENTATION PLAN Brilliance Auto Group will launch its product by using a phased approach, the first will be to create a brand awareness program. The awareness will be done and developed through crucial events such as shows and exhibition, strategic alliance, and online searches. When this is achieved the company will gain a visible gain and investment capital. Sales managers will be appointed in the country, they must be of Jamaican Nationality since this will help to integrate culture differences of the two countries as well as boos the public relation of the company. After 3months, the sales team will record and analyze the result of the 1st quarter, which will help the company find a way forward. There will also be a market information that will be generated to ensure that there is maximum satisfaction from the customers who will have bought the cars. In the 6th moth of the plan billing practices will be implemented to as advised by the business analysis team. Bibliography Booms, B.H. and Bitner, M.J. (1981), Marketing strategies and organization structures for service firms, in Marketing of Services, J. Donnelly and W.R. George (eds), American Marketing Association Kotler, P, Armstrong, G, Saunders, J and Wong, V, (2001), Principles of Marketing: Third European Edition, Prentice Hall, Harlow Read More