The Marketing Mix of BMW - Essay Example

Table of Contents Selection of the Brand: 2 Analysis of the brand and Internationalization Process Theory (IPT 2 Overview of the Company: 2 Measuring the Seven P’s of Marketing: 3 Product: 3 Price: 4 Promotion 5 Place 6 Personnel 6 Performance: 7 Processes 8 Summary 9 Internationalisation Process Theory - Uppsala Model: 9 Conclusion: 10 References 11 Selection of the Brand: The brand selected for this assignment is among the 100 best brands at the global provided in the list of top brands of the year by Interbrand (2014). The ranking is based on different measures including the financial and operational performance of the company, its visibility and its reach over the market. The chosen brand is multinational giant namely BMW. This selection is backed by the strong position of the company across the world followed with the unique marketing mix of the company’s products, services and other offerings. The below present paper will be focused on the marketing mix of BMW. Analysis of the brand and Internationalization Process Theory (IPT): When it comes to branding BMW is a big name, and with branding comes marketing. This section of the paper will analyze the marketing mix of BMW. The section carries a brief overview of the company with the thorough study of the company’s marketing mix and to evaluate whether it is standardized or have been acclimatized in the in international markets. Further, the section discussed the IPT (Internationalization Process Theory) Overview of the Company: BMW is the widely known abbreviation of Bavarian Motor Works. It is the German based company and is in the business of manufacturing and selling of automobile, motorcycles and engines. BMW was incorporated in the year 1917 and it is now among the top ten automobile manufactures of the world. The company employees more than 105,000 people across the world, the products of the company include luxury vehicles and motorcycles (BMW, 2012). The company also operates in providing the financial services in terms of car leasing, retail customer financing, dealer financing, fleet business, insurance activities and customer deposit business. The company has four famous brands comprised of BMW, BMW Mini, Rolls Royce Motor Cars and BMW Motorrad. Measuring the Seven P’s of Marketing: The marketing is defined as a business tool and marketing practice that facilitates the evaluation of the offering of a brand for the customers (Gosnay, and Richardson, 2008). It involves a combination of activities that the companies perform in order to identify the target customers and to satisfy their need (Albaum and Duerr, 2011). Previously the marketing mix of the companies is illustrated by defining the four P’s of marketing; these were product, price, place and promotion (Keegan, & Green, 2011). But over the period of time, with the increase in number of service providing companies another three P’s were included; these are people, performance and processes (De Mooij, 2010). For the current assignment the seven P’s of BMW marketing has been discussed. Product: The product of a company is its main offering for its customers and by selling the product the companies generates their revenues (Kotler, and Keller, 2009). The products include tangible items to satisfy the needs of the customers (Fill, 2009). In order to do well at selling, the products of the company should possess an exclusive and distinct selling proposition and it should be difficult to imitate by the other players in the market. The entire stream of products of a company includes its main product and its augmented products in order to enhance the range of product portfolio of the company. On the other hand, the firms that operate at international level should ensure the uniformity in the quality, appearance, taste and delivery of the products (Anderson and Buvik, 2002). BMW offers a wide range of products in the form of different automobiles, motorcycles and engines. The BMW cars are among those products that are appeal by the people. The BMW cars are available in the series from 1 to 7 and series. With that the company offers other classes of cars carrying different characteristics. The key segment in the products of BMW includes Luxury segment of cars High Quality Products Brand Pull Excellency Good services The products of the company are standardized across all the regions of the world. However the product preference of each country is different. In the US market, the preferences of the customer go for the luxury models of the company. And BMW holds the strong position in the luxury segment of US market (Auto News, 2014). With that china has taken edge over the US market for BMW cars as the sales of the company have exceed in china in 2013. Predictions have been that China will turn out to be the biggest market for BMW electric cars (Reuters, 2014). In Dubai market, the demand of 22,786 BMW cars have risen up and also the BMW mini is among the best seller in the Dubai market. Price: BMW is an international brand and the income level varies across the world. The premium quality of the products, use of the state of the art technology and with extremely well positioning, the cars and motorcycles of BMW are priced at premium levels. Among different series of the cars, the prices vary along with the model of the car and its accessories. The product is not meant to be for everyone. Because of its image, technology and quality, the BMW cars quite expensive. The prices for the BMW cars vary from country to country, though the variation is not too much. This is very much linked with the exports of the country. Due to the parallel imports of china, the prices of some of the models of BMW cars rise by 30% (Winton, 2014). However, the prices of the cars fall in the medium range in United States. This is backed by the reason that when a customer wants an order of the car in few weeks, they are supposed to pay some amount extra. Promotion It takes years to build a strong and positive perception of the brand. BMW has promoted itself thorough its consistency in quality of the products, its remarkable television advertisements, print ads, online marketing and advertising and other activities. The company has a unique logo that is easily recognized by the people. The products of BMW are promoted as they are exclusive; the ads highlight the looks and appearance of the cars and focus on the exclusive experiences and delight of the customers. The company strongly focuses on the pull strategy; the positioning is done in a way that positioned the BMW products at the top of the minds. Also the promotional campaigns of the BMW cars are done at consistent level. These included the standardized promotional campaigns across the world, that present the sole message of the company. Place The BMW Company is head quartered in Munich, Bavaria. But the company has its manufacturing facilities in different countries across the world. The company is not in the distribution of automobiles; however it directly deals with the showroom dealers. The showrooms are authorized by the company and the products of the company right from the showroom s to the customers. These showrooms of the company are located in the urban areas of the selected regions. This reflects that the company has adopted a lean distribution model. And good margins are gained by the dealer and showrooms. Personnel The factor of personnel represents the employees of the company. These include the direct operators of the business activities that work at front line, the people at the production line along with the support staff of the company. All the products and the services of the company are delivered with the employees of the company along with the strengthening and weakening of the image of the brand (Carrigan, et al, 2005). The BMW has employed extremely skilled people who are perfect in the area of their expertise from the mechanics side of the company to the customer representation. The personnel at the BMW form higher level at lower levels of position are professional, hardworking and committed with their work and always strive to maintain the image of the brand. The company hires from all over the world in the market of china, BMW is facing a good competition with the local and multinational employers. The company facilitates the employees with proper training facilities. The company currently has its assembly plant in many countries of the world including China and United States of America; however there isn’t any assembly plant in Dubai (BMW, 2010). Performance: The company is performing well at local and global level and stands at eleventh position among the best brand in the world. The company is able to make it to that level by moving forward towards the sustainability. The company has initiated the practices of Brand Dynamics which offer its customers economy consumption of the fuel and low level of emissions. Below is the financial overview of the company’s financial performance. (Financial Times, 2014) Processes The company has its production line in automobiles and in motorcycle production. The production of the company pursues perfection in its operations and assembly. The company follows intelligent processes that are focused on the needs and expectations of the customers, management of quality of the products and services and the company’s production in the future. Throughout the world, the company has adopted the COSP (Customer Oriented Sales and Production Processes). Summary The presented sections have discussed and assessed the marketing mix of BMW in term of evaluating the seven P’s of marketing. From the entire study it has been evaluated that the company is extremely efficient in its operations and follow and practice the procedure that are consistent and highly standardized. The products of the brand are exclusive and the brand is position at quite a high position in the perception of the people. Since its incorporation the company maintains its premium quality and customer satisfaction thorough its products and services. The market of the BMW cars is standardized as all the products of the company does not build on the basis of particular market. Internationalisation Process Theory - Uppsala Model: The Internationalization Process Theory illustrates the methods, techniques and processes of the companies that expand their businesses in the international market (Piercy, 2009). All the big companies have started their operations at local level and with the passage of time (Oviatt, & McDougall, 1997); they have been developed and grown with the expertise and experience to expand their operations in the international market (Marcua, 1994). The company BMW has started its operations from Germany in the year 1917 and continued its operation in the country for some time. With the growth and expansion of the product line the company has expanded its business in the neighboring countries of Germany, soon after the company has started gaining popularity in the entire European markets. Then at the time of World War II the company has faced bankruptcy, the company then acquired by a German based financier who helped the company in its transformation. The company operated its first plant in South Africa; however it was exporting the products in different regions of the world by that time. In the decade of 1970’s the company has developed the sales subsidiaries across the world that has facilitated the growth of company’s sales. In the era of 1990’s BMW build its production facility of the automobiles in US and this step has highlighted the position of the company as a global player (BMW, n.d.). BMW, adopted the Uppsala model for its international expansion. The company has started its operation from Germany. The company then penetrated in the entire European region followed with its entrance in the United States of America. Now the company is operating in almost all regions of the world, including African region, Latin America, Middle East, China, India, and Canada etc. Conclusion: The above presented paper has assessed the seven P’s of marketing mix of BMW and the internationalization of the company. The study reflects that company has strived hard to make its strong position in the market and it is successful in doing so in its operations, production, and manufacturing and selling. The company is sharply focused on the need and expectations of the customers and maintains the premium quality of its products and services. For its internationalization processes, the company is using the Uppsala Model. It has started expanded its business in the neighboring regions and over the passage of time it established its production and assembly plant in the world, however the market of the company remain standardized in its operation. References Albaum, G. and Duerr, E., 2011. 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