Marketing Presentation and Video

 

For this assignment, you will be taking on the role of marketing manager for    the organization that you researched in Unit VI. Within that role, you will      need  to present the marketing plan that you completed in Unit VI to the      marketing  team. This will require no additional research, but you will be      compiling your  content into a PowerPoint presentation and subsequent video.     The  items below  should be included in your presentation.

• Introduction: Include a brief introduction of the  company.
• Competitive Analysis: Provide a comparison of the company  against two or                  three competitors.
• Marketing Strategies: Include an  examination of all four Ps (product,                  price, place, and promotion). This should  include the product and          service,         pricing, distribution/place, and both  traditional and          digital marketing         strategies.
• Competitive Advantage:  Address whether the company holds a competitive                  advantage in each of the areas  of the four Ps.
• Ethical Stance of Company: Present the company’s  ethical stance, which                  can include topics such as how they have created an  ethical    culture,         social       responsibility or corporate social    responsibility (CSR),    or   any     other   topics     related to ethical    behavior within the          organization.
• Conclusion: Provide recommendations for this company  with respect to                  future marketing strategies, remembering to include topics  involving      all       four       Ps.

The PowerPoint must meet the criteria below.

• Must be at least 12 slides in length (not counting the title slide).        
• Include speaker notes in order to further explain the information on  each                  slide.
• If outside sources are used, please follow APA Style when  creating                  citations and references.

The video portion of this assignment can be completed by choosing one of the    options below.

• Option 2: Using the “Record Audio” option in PowerPoint, record audio  for                  each slide. With audio added, the presentation must be at least    5            minutes in length. To record audio, select the “Insert” tab,      select     the             “Audio”  icon, and then select “Record Audio” from      the     dropdown to   begin       recording.

Assignment submission instructions are below.  

• Option 2: If you chose to record  audio using PowerPoint, you will submit                  one file, which will be your PowerPoint  presentation. Make    certain     to         preview   your presentation before submitting to  make    certain   that   the   audio       for each   slide is present and     understandable.

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Running Head: MARKETING PLAN

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MARKETING PLAN

Marketing Plan

Student’s Name

Institutional Affiliation

Marketing Plan

Bayerische Motoren Werke AG, popularly known as BMW, is a German multinational company that deals with luxury vehicles and motorcycles. It was established in 1916 as a creator of aircraft engines created for two years from 1917. The company was named the twelfth prime producer of automobiles, with the company producing over 2,279,500 vehicles. In this paper, we are going to look at the marketing plan of the BMW group.

Competitor Analysis

The company’s main aim is to make a profit, and it has to face the increasing competition, and thus it has developed different strategies to eventually make a profit. BMW faces stiff competition in producing luxury cars mainly from Japanese company Honda and also from cars made by Mercedes. These competitor companies have evolved and are differentiated by several factors. Compared to BMW, Honda is widely spread across the world, and the cost of ordering is considerably low. Also, there is the ease of accessing expertise, and there are higher levels of customer service. Mercedes also is a close competitor of BMW, and both are from Germany. The difference between Mercedes and BMW is mainly the models and design, both interior and exterior.

SWOT Analysis

The company’s strengths and weaknesses are used to analyze the company’s internal and external environments. It is the common outline used by most organizations across the world. Internal analysis of the company includes its strength and weaknesses. The first strength of the BMW Group is amongst the most valuable automobiles globally. It is the third most valued brand in the world, worth $28.8 billion, according to Forbes. BMW is one of the most recognizable brands because of its positive reputation. It offers comfort and luxury that many brands can’t compete with it. Another major strength of BMW is its successful partnership with China. In 2019, almost 25 million automobiles had been sold in China, which is almost twenty-five percent of all automobiles sold globally. BMW has a branch headquarter located in Shenyang, China, which is a joint venture between BMW and Brilliance Auto. This partnership has increased BMW annual sales, which increased from $2352.4 in 2016 to $2538.4 in 2019.

This solid partnership in china guarantees BMW’s achievements in the market and future growth of the company. Another major strength of BMW is its ability to produce hybrid and electric cars. In 2013, BMW produced its first-ever electric car BMW i3, which grew for two years to become the third bestselling company globally. IN 2014 BMW introduced the i8 plug-in hybrid vehicles to the market. BMW may not be the best in producing hybrid and electric vehicles, but it is better than many of its competitors. The ability to produce an electric car is a major advantage as they are environmentally friendly and save fuel costs.

BMW automotive brand has several weaknesses: firstly it has a poor brand selection with minimum product variations. BMW’S Group consists of only three different brands: BMW, Mini, and Rolls Royce, and in 2015 the company made sales of 2,247,485. Out of this, 92.8% of the sales were from BMW car brands, and so majority of the company income is from BMW; thus, the company is wholly reliant on its BMW luxury cars. This leaves the company at a loss because when the economic conditions become severe, consumer’s preference and taste changes leaving them vulnerable due to their high prices. Another major weakness of BMW is its increasing debt levels. In BMW financial reports, it shows a significant growing loss, and in 2015 the company’s loss was approximately $ 4549 and is the highest in the company’s history. The company’s debt majorly increased between 2014 and 2015 due to the high investment in electric and automated driving production. These huge debts limit the company’s capability to invest huge amounts in research and development projects, which would increase the growth rate of the company.

Marketing Strategy

Marketing mix strategy has always been crucial as it determines the true drivers of top marketing activity. Marketing strategy explains how the company’s financial changes have affected income and profit. This part will research and analyze the 4Ps of marketing, which include

Price

,

Product

, Promotion, and

Place

.

Product

A product is characterized by its quality, brand name, product range, and after-sales services. BMW group produces high-quality products, which has achieved a combination of all those features. This has granted them customer loyalty due to the quality production of its automobiles. BMW automobiles have several distinctive features from its competitors, which gives it the cutting edge and increases sales. The company’s mission is to meet customer satisfaction by providing vehicles that meet the customer’s expectations.

BMW, popularly known for producing luxury cars, is made out of top quality materials used in the interior, making comfortable seats, increasing the vehicle’s looks and comfortability. Other features that distinguish BMW vehicles from those of its competitor are the fuel consumption where BMW has also created electric cars that save on fuel. Also, the performance of BMW distinguishes it from its competitors. BMW automobile has greater power and speed than its competitor with vehicles like BMW X5 having a top speed of 235 km/h and a maximum output of (hp) 225. The development of BMW’s product led the company to develop further its marketing strategies to meet its required market demand.

Place

This is the location of the company where its customers will purchase their products. BMW Group operates in more than a hundred countries worldwide, with almost four thousand dealers located all over the globe who are wholly authorized in dealing with BMW automobiles. 80% of all sales in BMW contain car dealers where the buyer sees what vehicles are ready for sale in the showrooms while the 20% is from online customers where they make their orders online, and their vehicles are customized and delivered when ready. By benchmarking the competitors, BMW has learned that the distribution channel is very important regarding the sales made by the company since customers want easily accessible vehicles with less cost of obtaining them from their current location.

Price

It is the value of the product or service being offered to a target market. BMW’s cost varies accordingly with the type of automobile. Its products are priced at a premium linked to its competitor in the same classification. It establishes a luxury pricing to make sure that the brand does not get weakened or confusion in the positioning of the brand, and it maintains its status. Also, the pricing of BMW’s spare parts and service cost is higher than other brands. BMW has assumed vibrant pricing for its newer markets like India and Brazil, where it offers a competitive price that encourages customers to want to own a luxury car since its price is enticing. Generally, the pricing strategy is mainly to attract the sales of its automobile and increase its market.

Promotion

To build a positive brand image takes years, and BMW has gradually grown over the years to acquire its status. In 2012 BMW was named the most reliable company by Forbes.com, which included customer’s preparedness to purchase, advise, and work for the company. BMW promotes itself with television advertisements, printing out advertisements for its products, and also through online advertising. A customer expects a certain standard of quality to be maintained, and consumers are willing to pay extra for it. BMW uses both traditional and digital methods of marketing, which include the following. In digital methods, BMW uses several ways such as online television, where it has invested heavily to promote its brand name, technology, and performance. Also, it promotes itself through online games, where it has created a BMW multi-player online video game, which is used by the company to demonstrate the capability of its cars and also increase the awareness of its products. It also influences players who can be a potential buyer.

Traditional methods of promotion used by BMW are mainly through newspapers and magazines production, which is usually done at a price regarding the size of the advertisement and the means in which it is broadcasted. This is not commonly used today since technology has evolved, and more digital ways of promotion are used. More potential buyers are now changing to getting their information online rather than using magazines and newspapers since it is much more easy and convenient to get the information you require online.

BMW has invested heavily in research and development, which has resulted in the company’s high growth rate and ensuring company sustainability. BMW’s aim is to provide high-quality and luxurious brands to help them beat their competitors. It had invested in research for the production process, with the company reaching new heights in 2015 when it produced its first electric car. The amount of money invested in research and development has been a key competitive advantage since most competing companies cannot afford to invest as heavily as the BMW Group. Another competitive advantage of BMW is its technological advances. Technology and advances made on new series of BMW products make loyal customers want and return to buy the new upgrade due to its unique features and performances. Since the target market for BMW is to sell luxury cars to rich people, it is able to maintain its high prices compared to its competitors due to technological advances.

BMW’s ability to please the elite people has been a significant advantage over its competitors, having a well-known reputation that BMW car belongs to a class of wealthy people. Globally, most government officials use BMW automotive and wealthy individuals looking for class and status. BMW luxury and advancement has created a brand status where everyone is ordering a BMW whenever a new series is being created. This has led to the growing sales in its automotive.

In general, BMW investment in technology, research, and development is massive. As a result, it has been one of the major sellers of automotive, as evidenced in its sales statistic and hitting new sales levels each year. Its advancement in new markets will only increase its sales. In years to come, it will become the lead dealer of automotive since the world is developing and a car is becoming an essential tool for day to day activities. The high risks of investment BMW have taken the higher rewards it has received, as seen in its revenue statistics.

References

Jiang, X. (2018). Improving the Cross-Cultural Marketing Strategy of Chinese Atomobile Industry: Case Company: BMW.

Jiang, X. (2018). Improving the Cross-Cultural Marketing Strategy of Chinese Atomobile Industry: Case Company: BMW.

Xu, X. (2019). Assessment of Profitability of the Company BMW AG.

Zeng, X., Li, M., Abd El‐Hady, D., Alshitari, W., Al‐Bogami, A. S., Lu, J., & Amine, K. (2019). Commercialization of lithium battery technologies for electric vehicles. Advanced Energy Materials, 9(27), 1900161.