An Integrated Marketing Strategy for Carlstron - Case Study Example

Executive Summary: This paper is a marketing strategy of the products of a hypothetical motor vehicle company referred to as Carlstron. Carlstron Inclusive is an established motor vehicle company, and it seeks to explore the environmental conservation gaps in the manufacture of motor vehicles. This is by manufacturing sleek and beautiful cars that are environmental friendly. In meeting the objectives of this paper, the marketer provides an executive summary of the marketing strategy that is efficient in promoting these devices. This paper also contains a description of the motor vehicles and the desired brand image that the company will incorporate. This paper also describes the target market of the motor vehicles. This includes the demographics, psychographics, and the motivations a buyer will have in acquiring the product. An efficient and effective marketing strategy will have to identify the target market (Kotler and Armstrong, 2012). This will help the organization to identify the needs of the market, and hence develop products aimed at satisfying those needs. This marketing plan will also contain a description of the advertising and promotion campaigns, aimed at promoting the products of the company. Advertisements are important aspects of a marketing strategy. This is because they provide information regarding the product, its quality, and how the product is used. There is a detailed description of the public relations campaign of the organization. Public Relations is an important aspect of marketing, and this is mainly because it improves the brand image of the company under consideration (Kotler and Armstrong, 2012). A company with a good brand image will manage to achieve a competitive advantage over its rivals, hence achieving growth in its market. This paper also explains the use of other marketing strategies such as internet marketing, and customer relationship management. Internet marketing has achieved prominence because of the advances in technological knowhow, and the development of the social media. Almost every multinational company in the world has a presence in the social media, or they have developed their own online interactive platforms. Description of the Product and the Brand Image: Carlstron Motor Vehicle Company is an established multi-national corporation. It is the world’s third largest manufacturer of trucks, automobiles, buses, and robots. Apart from manufacturing and selling automobile vehicles, the company is also responsible for providing financial services to its wide pool of customers. Carlstron Motor Vehicles was established in the year 1970, and it began by the manufacture and production of motor cycles before upgrading to the production and manufacture of motor vehicles. The headquarters of the company is in New York, and it has offices all over the world. The company routinely constructs and designs a variety of motor vehicle products, and this includes sport cars, SUVs, etc. All motor vehicle products of the company are produced by the use of a hybrid engine, or a combustion engine. The products of the company are environment friendly, and their engines are designed in a manner that does not emit too much carbon dioxide in the air (Kotler and Armstrong, 2012). It is important to denote that too much CO2 would most definitely lead to the destruction of the environment. This is because the carbon emissions have a capability of destroying the ozone layer, hence leading to unpredictable changes in the climatic conditions. The production of automobiles that have the capability of preserving the environment is one of the main advantages of the company (Kotler and Armstrong, 2012). This is what distinguishes the company from all its main competitors. Furthermore, the company normally produces spare parts for all its automotive products or machines. As of the year 2012, the company had employees totaling about 72,000 people. This is all over the world. The company works with all people, irrespective of their cultures, race, or the environment in which they belong to. The company also believes in a sustainable development of the environment through inventions and innovations. This marketing strategy will ensure that the company is able increase its sales revenue, and become the leading automobile company in the world. The company also aims at improving its brand image through an effective public relations strategy identified in this paper. Almost every multinational company has a public relations department, and this is because these companies are concerned on how their customers perceive them. A good public image, will lead to an increase in the market share of the company. This is because the marketing department will have an easy job to convince prospective customers to invest in the products of the business organization. Target Market, Buyer Motivation, Demographics and Psychographics: The company has three major target markets that are Asia, America, and Europe. Asia, particularly China is one of the emerging economies, and penetrating this market is one of the major objectives of the company (Kotler, 2012). The Chinese market is very luxurious, and at the same time, it is very competitive. This is because China has the largest number of people, and hence it is a lucrative market for any automobile company. However, the major challenge is the emergence of cheap automobiles products produced in China. The products of these companies are very cheap, and this makes it difficult for the company to effectively compete with the Chinese auto mobile companies (Kotler and Armstrong, 2012). However, there is a segment of the Chinese people who would prefer high quality and luxurious vehicles. These are the upper social class people in China. These people have the money, and they are willing to spend it for their luxuries. The American and the European markets are the most reliable markets for the products of the company. This is because people their value high quality products, and they are willing to pay any amount of money to acquire the products. Furthermore, this market concerns itself with environmental conservation. As noted earlier, one of the major strengths of the company is its ability to produce motor vehicles that can conserve the environment. Carlstron automobiles will also seek to invest in Africa. Africa is also an emerging economy, and chances are high that the company will make profits by investing in countries such as South Africa, Egypt, Nigeria, and Ghana (Kotler and Armstrong, 2012). These are some of the strong economies in Africa. Other products of the company are spare parts of its vehicles. The target markets of these spare parts are auto vehicle dealers and distributors. These people are responsible for selling these spare parts in a retailing price. In selling these products, the company would use its offices all over the world, to distribute these spare parts to the auto dealers. Describe the overall marketing strategy, including positioning strategy versus competitors. The overall marketing strategy that the business organization will adopt is product differentiation. Under product differentiation, the company aims to develop its products in a manner that is unique from the products of its competing companies (Kotler, 2012). The main selling slogan that the company seeks to use is “affordable environmental friendly cars”. This slogan means that the automobile cars of the company are highly affordable, and they do not destroy the environment. Most cars consume too much fuel, and they are difficult to maintain. However, the automobile vehicles produced by our company are not fuel guzzlers, and they are easy to maintain. On this basis, most people in Europe and America will afford to purchase these vehicles (Kotler and Armstrong, 2012). In the selling of the spare parts, the company enjoys a monopoly. This is because it is the sole distributor and manufacturer of Carlstron auto-mobiles. In purchasing a car, most people normally value the availability of the spare parts. The company intends to achieve this objective by forming alliances with other automobile companies, with the intention of benefiting from their distribution channels. This will make it easy for the company to distribute its spares parts to all its target market. The ease of accessing the spare parts of the products of the company will attract many people to invest in the products of the company (Kotler and Armstrong, 2012). The company would also use two major positioning strategies. These strategies are benefit positioning, and quality positioning. Benefit positioning brings into focus the benefits of using the products of the company. The use of the auto-vehicles of the company has two major benefits. The first benefit is that it conserves the environment, and the second benefit is that the vehicles of the company are of high quality, and they last long. We are living in an era where customers are more focused on the social, economic and environmental responsibility of a company (Ogden and Ogden, 2014). When positioning the company as an environment friendly company, the organization will achieve a positive brand image. This is an essential requirement that the company can use to increase the sales of its products, and its market share. By positioning the products of the company as high quality, the company will be passing a message that its cars are long lasting, hence a customer will derive value by purchasing them (Ogden and Ogden, 2014). By appealing on the quality and uniqueness of its products, the company may manage to gain an advantage over its competitors. Describe a promotions and advertising campaign that includes a description of one advertisement. One of the most reliable promotional and advertising campaigns that the company will use is the use of the mass media to advertise its products. The company will use radio stations, television channels, and newspaper organizations to advertise its products. The television is useful because it is a visual media. The company will therefore use visual images to advertise its auto-mobile products. In using visual images, the company needs to use some element of popular culture (Kotler, 2012). This includes but not limited to popular musicians, sports men, etc. The use of celebrities is an effective method of carrying out a visual advertisement. This is because they have the capability of influencing a large number of people to act like them. The company should apply this strategy to all its potential or target market. Radio stations are also an effective method of advertisements (Ogden and Ogden, 2014). However, the target population should be the youth. The youth are more attracted to sports vehicles, and hence the advertisements should focus more on these types of vehicles. Newspaper is not a popular means of advertisements (Lamb, 2010). This is mainly because many people are not reading newspapers. The few people who read them are business executive, or other influential people within the society. For the company, this is an opportunity to reach them, by advertising the products of the company through the newspaper articles (Kotler and Armstrong, 2012). The company will also engage in a variety of promotional measures. These promotional measures includes offering to re-paint the vehicles to the taste of the customer, issuing a warranty of a minimum of five years, offering to service the vehicle for a given number of time, and issuing free spare parts to people purchasing the vehicle. By following these advertisement and promotional strategies, chances are high that the company will get a competitive advantage over its rivals. Some of the rivals of the company are Toyota, Mitsubishi, BMW, and Nissan (Kotler and Armstrong, 2012). These are companies with a huge distribution channels, and fancy vehicles. To overcome them, the company has to be unique in the type of product it gives to its customers. The company has to aggressively communicate this aspect to its target customers. Recommend and describe a Public Relations campaign. The company should adopt a public relations campaign referred to as Carlstron Refresh Project. Under this project, the company should look for vulnerable people, and the needy, in order to support them (Ogden and Ogden, 2014). For example, the company should look for cancer patients who are unable to pay for their medical costs. Upon identification, the company should pay for their medical costs. Another strategy that the company should adopt is to partner with financial institutions for purposes of offering bursaries and scholarships to needy students. A country such as China has a large population of poor people. To penetrate this market, the company has to show that it is also concerned with the welfare and well-being of its citizens (Lamb, 2010). This is by identifying bright, but poor students, in order to sponsor their studies. To appeal to the sports people, the company should look for an upcoming sports team, and sponsor the activities of the team. Furthermore, the company should plan and organize sporting activities, between its employees, and the surrounding communities. This is a way of creating a good relationship or association with the communities surrounding the company. Environmental conservation is also an important strategy that the company should develop. Planting of trees, cleaning of roads, are activities that the company should constantly engage in (Kotler, 2012). This is an important method of improving the image and the brand name of the company. The company should also establish a customer care system, which answers promptly the questions and concerns of its customers. Customer care system is an old strategy that most companies have effectively used it, to improve their images. Describe the use of an Internet marketing campaign, including web site and use of email. The company should also use the internet for purposes of advertising its products. The emergence of the social media has made communication to be interactive in nature. It is now possible for people to send messages to a large audience of people instantly, and receive feedback instantly. The company should capitalize on this technology. It should use companies such as Face book, and Twitter to advertise its products. This is because the two social media sites command the highest social media traffic at the internet (Kotler, 2012). Furthermore, the company should develop its own interactive website. This is for purposes of communicating with customers through the internet. This is an easy and cheap method of passing out information concerning new products, and promotional activities that the company engages in. The development of Google Adsense presents the company to use the many websites in the world for purposes of advertisement (Lamb, 2010). All that the company needs to undertake is pay Google Company, so that it may run these advertisements to the various websites around the world. This program by Google is called Pay per click program. Under this program, the company will create a web link that may guide users to its website. Google will run this link to the various websites enrolled in this program, and once a user clicks on this link, he or she will be directed to the site of the company (Lamb, 2010). This is an important method of advertisement, and it reaches a wide pool of people. Furthermore, this method is cheaper when it is compared to other methods of advertisements. The company should also use email advertisement program. Under this program, the company should email its target customers, explaining to them the existence of new offers, promotions, and products from the company (Ogden and Ogden, 2014). This is a direct method of talking to customers, and the company may have a chance of asking questions for purposes of identifying the needs of its customers. This is an example a tool that can be used to carry out a market research. Direct marketing campaign and Customer Relationship Management: The company will use four major types of direct marketing campaign. These types are, telemarketing, newsletters, post cards, and infomercials. Telling marketing involves directly communicating with prospective customers through the telephone. Under this method, the marketer will identify a list of people who would like to buy the products of the company. He or she will then call them, for purposes of informing them on the availability of the products, and various promotions the company is running. Newsletters are also another important method of communication (Kotler, 2012). Many people normally buy newsletters through the internet, email, or by mail. It is therefore easy to find customers by mailing them, or placing classified advertisements in magazines. Under this method, the customer will select an automobile magazine, and place the advertisements there. When this process is complete, the sales person will create an order form and a sales letter for purposes of communicating with the prospective customer. Infomercial is also an important method of direct marketing a company should use. Under this method, the company would run TV programs aimed at selling the automobiles through the television. Under this method, the sales person will select the time which prospective buyers are watching television, and carry out an advertisement aimed at selling the products of the company (Kotler, 2012). Finally the company should use postcards, as a direct method of marketing. Postcards are cheaper to mail, and they normally generate leads. The sales person will have to write an appealing headline to the prospective customers, and place a toll number on the post card, to enable people reach the sales representative of the company. The headlines on the post card should read, “the most environment friendly cars”. Conclusion: For Carlstron automobiles to be a leading automobile company, it has to aggressively advertise its products. This is because the automobile industry is very competitive, and it is dominated by companies such as Toyota, Nissan, etc. The company should develop unique products, and of higher quality. In as much as pricing is an important element in determining the market growth of a company, customers will be willing to pay more money for a high quality car. This is an aspect that the company wishes to capitalize on. The automobile products of the company are of high value, and they last long. The company believes that customers will be attracted to its products. Furthermore, the automobile products of the company are environment friendly. This appeal to a group of people, who will only buy products that conserves the environment. This gives the company an advantage over its rivals, whose products lead to a high emission of carbon to the atmosphere. The use of the internet and the mass media is an effective method of advertisements. This is because they have the capability of reaching a wide number of people. Following this marketing strategy will make the company to increase its sales, and market share. References: Kotler, P., & Armstrong, G. (2012). Principles of marketing (14th ed.). Boston: Pearson Prentice Hall. Kotler, P. (2012). Marketing (9th ed.). Frenchs Forest, N.S.W.: Pearson Australia. Lamb, C. W. (2010). Marketing (4th ed.). Cape Town, South Africa: Oxford University Press Southern Africa. Ogden, J., & Ogden, D. (2014). ntegrated marketing communications: Advertising, public relations. San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education, Inc. 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