BMW - Increasing Satisfaction and Loyalty with External Factors - Essay Example

BMW Consumer Research Increasing Satisfaction and Loyalty with External Factors May 29, 2006 [Insert [Insert [Insert 0 BMW BMW's mission statement is "To be the most successful premium manufacturer in the industry" (BMW 2006). Success for an auto manufacturer of premium vehicles is inherently dependent on the consumer's viewpoint of the company and product. The BMW brand groups include the BMW series, which is "sporting and dynamic performance combined with superb design," and the Mini, an exciting visual experience with plenty of attitude. The third vehicle group is the Rolls Royce, to which is valued as an "Uncompromising concentration on quality is a matter of course. The Rolls-Royce fascinates through unique solutions to detail. These brand images create the high quality and exquisite standards BMW consumer's can take pride in purchasing and owning. Pg 1 - You say that your quotation in para 1 comes from BMW - where We need the publication details here. Has this first sentence come from the BMW web site If so, this should be referenced and critiqued - company web sites are not objective and valid sources of data this comes from BMW.com as stated in the reference page (BMW 2006). You are not 'supposed' to type a .com in a paragraph citation. BMW is listed in the reference page as BMW.com. That is why we have citation and then you look at the reference page. That is where this information is at. 1.1 Research Methodology The scope of this research is to define factors that influence BMW's brand and image with an inference to create a program that increases customer value, satisfaction and loyalty towards the BMW brand and image. This will be done by examining the external environment in relation to Kotler and Keller's Marketing Management (2006), where: The societal marketing concept holds that the organization's task is to determine the needs, wants and interests of target markets and to deliver the desired satisfactions more effectively and efficiently than competitors in a way that preserves or enhances the consumer's and the society's well-being. Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is a method of cataloguing and arranging consumer values and relationships in an effort to create and maintain target audiences and develop satisfied consumers. This can be achieved by understanding the factors that influence consumer behavior and by building a trustful and committed reputation for BMW that is in alignment with consumer needs (Little and Marandi 2003). To create a program that will effectively increase consumer satisfaction, the research proposed is secondary literary research and the applications to BMW's environment. This will allow BMW to define potential consumer's perceptions and lifestyles and the manner in which these factors are affected by external engagement. This research will deal with the people who purchase from BMW as well as the external factors that effect their purchase behaviors. 1.3 Research Justification While the application of such things as internet and email based surveys are quite wide-spread and appropriate in most areas of marketing research, we can assume that implementing a research program based solely on the application of primary research and conclusions of statistical inferences will not allow for a subjective review and will only be based on the consumers collective responses to a question (Craig and Douglas 2000) This does two things, first it removes the possibility of consumer interpretations towards marketing research and secondly it is only representation of a single sample, in this case BMW's previous research has been gathered around the current customers, but not inherently dependant on cultural factors that engage or disengage a consumer behaviour in relationship to external forces. Pg 3 - how do you know that BMW currently has primary information on consumers Where did you get this from How can you state that BMW is lacking in subjective and theoretical research If this is true, it needs substantiating: if this is merely your opinion, then in it is inappropriate www.bmw.com-consumer research---there are about 10 documents The secondary research methodology was chosen for this project because it will allow for empirical evidence to be categorized and described based on subjective opinions. The marketing opportunity is to develop a customer satisfaction and supporting program with regards to increasing BMW's image and reputations across the automotive manufacturers' board. This is very interpretive oriented and not statistically oriented, however BMW currently has quite a bit of primary research information on consumer's age, purchases, occupations and style preferences (BMW 2006), it can be stated that BMW is lacking in the realm of subjective and theoretical research. The implications of developing and understanding of the forces affected by external engagement in the consumer realm is to gather better knowledge of how to reach BMW consumers and develop an intensified program for bringing BMW customer satisfaction to a highpoint. The external environment will be analyzed first in relation to BMW. Secondly, a comprehensive look at consumers' interactions and responses to external environment factors will be made, and this will be followed by a theoretical framework based on subjective research answers. A conclusion will then be made towards developing a definitive consumer satisfaction program. 2.0 Competitor Engagement The external environment of BMW can be identified as being constituent of the degrees of competition with an examination lending towards delivering to the target market better than the competitors. Foremost, we can define our major competitor to be Mercedes-Benz, a manufacturer which, very much like BMW, prides itself on a classy and unique driving experience: [] Mercedes forcefully pushing back against BMW and others. Unit sales rose 16%, buoyed from a vastly improved model mix. Mercedes launched new M-Class, R-Class, and S-Class models. What's more, the luxury super-SUV, the GL-Class, goes on sale this May in the U.S. And reception of upcoming clean BlueTec diesel technology, showcased at the Detroit and Geneva auto shows, has been positive (Vella p 10 2006). You say that sales rose 16% - during what time period Where has this come from Where are your references 'What's more, the luxury super-SUV, the GL-Class, goes on sale this May in the US' - where has this come from The web site And what, if any, is the relevance of this material!!! The quote comes from a journal magazine in 2006, Which is referenced. As (Vella 2006). You then go to the REFERENCE PAGE.I thought that the citation of Vella P 10 2006 would be explanatory enough. 'our competitor's model mix.' 'mannerisms of our consumers'- so are you part of BMW Again, where has this come from Why no references Too much referring to 'we' and 'us' here! You are clearly taking material from BMW direct, and this is NOT ACCEPTABLE (not is it appropriate!). Taking material without adequate referencing is a serious academic offence The use of we and our is correct in some instances, in this instance it is to show the company's perspective as noted by Vella p 10 2006, it is NOT plagiarized. It is used in the context of summary. This shows that consumers are influenced by our competitor's model mix as well as the 'green environment' Mercedes-Benz is applying to their future marketing strategy. BMW must realize that this competitor has an effect on consumer behavior and act accordingly, first we can develop consumer behavior in this realm by strongly addressing the environmental issues that are being addressed by our competitors. Consumer satisfaction is highly based on the image and product; in this case if we are to increase consumer perceptions, we must also match and exceed competitors' engagement in the environmental sector. 2.1 Economic Engagement Pg 5 - relevance of first para Resources Or reasons Not clear This is used to define the economic engagement in the UK economy. Economic factors also play a role in BMW's environment, where "Car sales reflect the state of the UK economy - a healthy, growing economy indicates positive indicators such as high production and low unemployment. However, fiscal tools such as interest rates and exchange rates have a direct bearing as well" (BMW 2006).In competition marketing, BMW has often matched to the consumer behaviors, however, it stands that current economic struggles are a large factor in defining the mannerisms of our consumers. Recently, Supply Chains Market and Power (2001) stated that: Each of the major European economies possessed at least one national champion producer. For Germany it was BMW, Mercedes-Benz AG and Volkswagen AG; for France, Renault and Peugeot; for Great Britain, British Leyland; and for Italy it was Fiat. These companies disproportionately sourced and marketed on a domestic basis. The importance is placed on the disproportionate sourcing and marketing, in effect this flooding of an advertisement campaign only leads to a less than desirable economic position. Consumers today have many resources for understanding the state of the economy, in the UK we see many approaches to the betterment of our economy, What do you mean, 'In the UK we see many approaches to the betterment of the economy..' - what does this mean As noted by BMW 2006 in the above, the UK economy is changing, it has been changing based on interest changes as well as the consumer economy as noted below. and yet BMW as well as other auto manufacturers do not often address the consumer economy in relationship to consumer behavior, especially as it pertains to the cavalier customers we market towards. This is an opportunity for BMW to recognize that consumers today want luxury as well as an economical vehicle. Incorporating this metric into our consumer satisfaction plan will help overcome previous negative views. 'Incorporating this metric into our consumer satisfaction plan..' - what, precisely, does this mean The sentence right before that states that there is an opportunity in afforadable luxury vehicles. I thought that was pretty self explanatory. 2.2 Ethics and Consumers In relationship to ethical considerations as an external factor, BMW seeks to manufacture in a method that is continually sound, with a special commitment to nature, people and technology in the respects of creating a better environment. In a recent article, Robin Hicks (2005) of the UK Campaign states that: 'Even though more than half of the UK's population links ads to over-commercialisation.' Where is the evidence to support this statement You cannot say something like this without justifying it! '18% would buy greener products' - source Reference Does all this come from Hicks When quoting source of more than 3 lines, in HARVARD STYLE the quotation is an inverted paragraph. I suggest your show your instructor how to cite paragraphs. This is grammatically correct, the use of the colon exemplifies that it IS HICKS TALKING, the use of the INVERTED PAEAGRAPH DOES THE SAME THING. Even though more than half of the UK's population links ads to over-commercialisation, 95 per cent think brands should advertise 'responsible credentials'. But the picture is confused. While 18 per cent would buy 'greener' products, regardless of price, one in ten insisted they would not boycott a favourite brand if it used sweatshop labour. Mike Longhurst, the European Association of Communication Agencies' advisor on sustainability, said more companies should 'take corporate social responsibility work down from websites and into ad campaigns,' but warned young consumers were fickle: 'Generation Y is nothing like the Baby Boomers adland is used to targeting. These days, consumers are risk-averse and aren't against a nanny state.' To BMW's consumer satisfaction program, this means that we must take into account that UK consumers want to know that BMW is ethically and morally responsible in business ventures, labour, society and the environment. To engage consumer satisfaction within BMW's customer domain, it is important to recognize responsibility and then maintain responsibility with our consumers. 2.3 Politics and Legislation In the previous, we noted the importance of maintaining responsibility to UK consumers. The political and legal external factors also play a large role in the manner of which BMW asserts that the UK government has raised motorist taxation to being almost 11% of the total taxation (BMW 2006). Legal factors also have an effect on BMW's business processes, where the mid 1980's block exemption where "the EU commission has recognised the unique nature of the car distribution system and granted a Block Exemption in competition law," which effectively controls competition in the auto industry, and BMW further states that this legislation is a "continuation of this exemption and believes that an independent, professional and successful dealer network will continue to provide the best customer-oriented system of distribution" (BMW 2006). This is an important value to BMW if the company is to increase customer satisfaction. In 2000, there was a lot of negative comments towards BMW in regards to the closing of the Rover factory, many of these comments were directed from the government to BMW chief officers. This type of negative publicity from political parties has an influence on the consumer base. Second to that, in 2002 the European Union created an end-of-life vehicle directive that is: Aimed at dealing with the 10 million tonnes of waste generated by the 12 million-odd cars that reach the end of the road each year, the directive is the EU's first piece of "producer responsibility" legislation and, as such, is causing its fair share of debate and confusion. (EU 2002) These components of legislation and politics may have a negative effect on consumer purchase behavior in the UK, in part because of comments centered towards BMW and secondly because of confusion in what BMW's hand in these components is. In developing customer satisfaction, BMW must also hold a measure of accountability in its legislative and political behavior that is neutral to any political party but instills confidence in consumers that we are behaving ethically and responsibly. This will be an important component of the customer satisfaction and loyalty towards BMW. The fact of the matter is that consumers are aware of the media and quite often listen to the media. It is past time for BMW to incorporate a strategy towards ensuring consumer loyalty by developing appropriate responses to political and legislative influences. 2.4 Social Factors BMW strives to control the social environment through the dealerships by exemplifying local advertising and promotional support through national promotions with dealership events geared towards creating consumer awareness and thereby increases sale performance. Anurit et al (1998) identify the major subjective consumer values in society as being value; style; comfort; prestige; status and visual impact. In this perspective, Anurit et al (1998) continue to define consumer values as being constituent of "response dispositions" to a set of "patterned emotional reactions," and that social statuses as well as culture have a large effect on these behaviors. An example of how social status reflects BMW's status is inferred in this commentary from Martin Andrew, "In a Park Square barristers' chambers, I was offered a pupillage with a view to a tenancy, which, translated into layman's language, means a job and a BMW for life" (Andrew p 58 2002). This is reflective of the social behaviors where consumers equate BMW with status and financial gain. However, it becomes important for BMW to recognize that social status does not necessarily mean customer satisfaction and loyalty. In the new economy, consumers are more aware of corporate functions, and their influence on society. One of the great things BMW has done in relationship to this is the education initiatives: The BMW Education Programme has a long established record of providing teachers, students and parents nationwide with a variety of specially produced educational materials and resources. Due to this ongoing commitment, BMW tend to only support events that have been created by the BMW Education Programme (BMW 2006). This shows that BMW is aware of our consumer concerns for socially forward engagements. Furthermore, this is one of many steps towards creating an environment that is socially acceptable, and can be incorporated into BMW's customer satisfaction and loyalty plan. From this point, it becomes necessary to examine what other factors consumers of a social mind look for in their company, such as environmentally friendly and education initiatives. The most important factor here is to create customer loyalty that is reflective of BMW's social responsibility through marketing and awareness programs. 2.5 Technology and Advancement The external factor of technology and advancement has a huge hand in BMW's innovation pot, and BMW maintains that " Quality control is achieved through a system of quality audits at every stage of the manufacturing process: the production of parts, components and in the assembly plants" (BMW 2006). Of course it stands to be said that no automotive manufacturer would exist in any viable sense without a strong technological foundation. Technology is especially important when dealing with informed car buyers not only to provide performance standards, but also to show an amount of responsibility in the environmental and social sectors. Adequate technology research should be developed with regards to the social buyer; BMW must understand that these purchasers, in a summary of the above key points, look for responsibility and status. An appropriate UK marketing strategy to improve consumer loyalty must incorporate both of these points. Currently, BMW is facing these dimensions and improving the perception of luxury vehicles with innovation: BMW is the automotive sector leader in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index which rates various performance areas in the economic, environmental and social dimensions. BMW has been cited for its powder-based clear paint technology, an environmental-friendly process that does not use solvents or water. The company was also recognized for its good management team, production process and supply chain management (Industrial Engineer p 20, 2006). A plan for developing consumer satisfaction and loyalty will employ awareness of BMW's environmental commitment right down to the sales floor. It is not enough in today economy with well educated buyers to have great technology; we must also be responsible to that technology and the environment it effects. Consumers are more aware today than ever about the environment, and it is important to tell consumers that we are aware and responsible. 3.0 Recommendations and Further Research It is then recommended that BMW create a program for consumer satisfaction and loyalty that creates European awareness of the above external factors and the manner in which BMW interacts with them. In this global economy with information for consumers found at the click of a computer button, it is not enough to rely on status and luxury in automotive marketing. We must also show consumers why competitors are not adhering to the same standards of unique, ethical and exciting experiences the BMW offers. Further, this program development must incorporate a manner of economic progress, showing consumers why BMW luxury is an economically viable solution. We must further play towards the consumers' awareness and emotions in the ethical and environmental realm to better develop a long-term relationship while proving to our customer base that we are aware and responsible toward government legislation and politics by continuing to be upfront and honest in our communications and adherences. Lastly, BMW must develop a component that combines social trust with technological advancements and maintain a high level of responsibility towards these factors. I am very unhappy with this assignment. It seems to me that it lacks focus and is far too descriptive: the written English needs attention in places, as it is sometimes difficult for the reader to access. However, the factor that makes it liable to failure is the fact that there seems to be considerable amounts of material which have been taken, unreferenced, from other sources. If you would like to come and talk to me about these materials I will listen but I need convincing that this work is yours, not heavily dependant on BMW materials. THERE IS NO UNREFERENCED MATERIAL. (BMW 2006) IS A REFERENCE. (VALLA P 10 2006) IS A REFERENCE. I DO NOT KNOW WHY YOUR INSTRUCTOR THINKS THIS. AGAIN, THERE IS NO UNCITED MATERIAL IN THIS PAPER. References BMW (2006) "Company Facts" BMW Education Programme PO Box 633, Harrow, HA1 2GS [online] [accessed May 29, 2006] Available from Kotler, P. and Keller, K.L (2006) "Marketing Management.12ed", New Jersey Pearson Education Little, E & Marandi, E, (2003) "Relationship Marketing Management," Thomson Craig C S & Douglas S P, (2001) "International Marketing Research" J. Wiley Matt Vella (2006) German Throwdown: BMW vs. Mercedes-Benz. Business Week Online p10-10, 1p [online] [Accessed May 29, 2006] Available from Supply Chains, Markets and Power (2001) "Information asymmetry innovation, scale and regulation." Routledge p185-206, 22p Robin Hicks (2005) "Ethical issues rise up consumer agenda" Campaign (UK); 7/15/2005 Issue 29, p1-1, 1/5p Industrial Engineer IE (2006) SUSTAINABLE STRATEGY. Vol. 38 Issue 5, p20-20, 1/4p European Union (2002) A Cleaner, Greener Europe [online] [Accessed May 29th, 2006) Available from < http://www.eu.int> Anurit Jakrapan, Newman Karen, Chasarkar Bal (1998) "Consumer Behaviour of Luxury Automobiles: A comparative Study between Thai and UK Customer's Perceptions" [online] [Accessed May 29th, 2006] Available from < http://mubs.mdx.ac.uk/research/Discussion_Papers/Marketing/dpap_mkt_no1.pdf> Andrew Martin (2002) " A BMW, a big house and a powdered wig--they all could have been mine." New Statesman; 9/9/2002, Vol. 131 Issue 4604, p58, 1p Read More