Portfolio Assessment


 


Executive Summary


Success in any company that operates for marketing and profit acquisition lies on the ability of the management in positioning and establishing the products/services being offered. Furthermore, the ability of the company and its management to compete and maintain a competitive edge among its competitor is another basis to say that it is successful. The constant development and innovation on the product line and the growing number of clientele also define the corporate standing of a company.


Thus, analyzing the role of environment in marketing is important (Jobber, 2007). This paper discusses the role of environment in successful business enterprise e.g. BMW. It primarily details the relationship of formulating marketing strategy and environment as linked with progressive business performance. It argues that the role of environment in successful business operations is rooted on the idea that consideration of the marketing environment is essential in the effective formulation of strategy for marketing as well as management functions. For this, BMW a business related to luxury automobiles and motorcycles industry are evaluated with respect to their marketing mix.


Product Development - The main products of the BMW are luxury automobiles and motorcycles which were distributed worldwide. These products will be available for the customers who want top-quality and branded cars and those who wanted to fulfil their hobby (e.g. car collection). On the other hand, the company also offered variety of products like the BMW 3 Series which was an entry-level luxury car/compact executive car manufactured by BMW since May 1975. It was modelled to their 2002 coupe, but added a more powerful 2.0 L 110 hp (82 kW) engine and other performance augmentations (BMW Website, 2009). Actually, the 3 Series was the smallest car line manufactured by BMW (exempting the BMW-owned MINI) before the release of the BMW 1 Series in 2004 (BMW Website, 2009). 


The products are different in other competition in a way that the company maximises quality.  Through the use of demographics and psychographics, all needs and demands of target market will be known by the company in order to provide the customers in the utmost time. The products are available at the BMW outlets worldwide.  And other consumers can avail the car products using the on-line marketing store which provides all the product lines by contacting the outlets near the location of the customers.


Distribution/Place - To be known in the market place, the product was distributed directly to its clients and customers.  And to be known internationally, one of the strategies that BMW utilises is on high-powered engine vehicles and innovation of car series (i.e. BMW 1 series, BMW 3 series, motorcycles) (BMW Website, 2009).  The company also find other car enhancements to be known globally. 


Price - One of the advantages of the company is when it comes to its pricing tactic.  In order to be known into the market place, the company provides its target market with a competitive cost that corresponds to their high quality products and services (BMW Website, 2009).  The company gives the customer and client a price that is enough and matches the quality of their products.


Promotion – To promote the company and its product (BMW 3 series), the BMW uses video advertisements, print advertisements and the concept of e-marketing (BMW Website, 2009). These promotion and communication strategy tend to meet the consumers from different places everywhere, especially those target markets or the consumers in the working place.  Moreover, since the trend in the market place today is the usage of e-marketing, the company provided a website that any client can access.  The use of the Internet is changing high-tech marketing overnight while different industries have been trying to use it as part of their marketing strategy. It does not only reconfigured the way different firms do business and the way the consumers buy goods and services but it also become instrumental in transforming the value chain from manufacturers to retailers to consumers, creating a new retail distribution channel (Kotler & Armstrong, 2006). E-marketing is a powerful tool used by different business organisations around the world. It is defined as the process of achieving marketing objectives through the use of electronic communications technology. Smith and Chaffey (2001) have provided a 5Ss’ mnemonic for how the internet can be applied by all business firms for different e-marketing tactics.  These 5S’s are selling, serve, speak, save and sizzle.


People - The world’s automotive industry particularly the BMW affects the society as a whole. It employs millions of people directly, tens of millions indirectly. Its products have transformed society, bringing undreamed-of levels of mobility, changing the ways people live and work (BMW Website, 2009). The social value of the additional mobility that this industry brings involves the value of the people being able to commute over longer distances easily, among many others. For most of its existence the motor industry has been a model of social discipline and control and it is not just that the auto sector offers a ‘pillar’ of something else. There are, on the other hand, particular social issues to address in many developing countries, often those that are the result of an undertone of religious faith. The automotive industry has the role to play in helping develop the mobility of such countries and it can be achieved at an acceptable social cost of the country is prepared to learn the necessary lessons from those who have travelled this route before it, and to make the necessary investments.


Process - As stated, BMW uses several of marketing strategies to sell their car products (i.e. through TV advertisement, billboards, tours, and internet/e-marketing).  E-marketing is also known to be the online marketing strategy utilised by BMW whose objective is to be the best company in their field.  Thus, the BMW created its own website www.bmw.com. The main objective of utilising e-marketing strategy is to keep in touch to different internet users to be able to attract more clients and travellers. All in all, through the website, whether the user is a customer, employee, stockholders, vendors, retailers or end customers, the true strength of e-marketing is acceleration of the business portfolio.


Physical Evidence - The BMW works on a scale so awesome and has an influence so vast that it is often difficult to see. The level and diversity of technologies that it must deploy are increasing, which imposes both new investment burdens and new uncertainties and risks. Roughly a million new cars and trucks are built around the world each week – they are easily the most complex products of their kind to be mass-produced in such volumes. The industry uses manufacturing technology that is the cutting edge of science. But still, the potential for developing coordination skills, intellectual capabilities and emotional sensitivities through electronic technologies remain far from fully exploited. There are numerous additional near-term technological opportunities to adapt the automobile to changing energy availability. The possibilities suggest that BMW technology is unexpectedly robust and provides a powerful defence against energy starvation even if the real price of oil climbs steadily during the next couple of decades.


 


References:


 


Jobber, D (2007) “Principles and Practice of Marketing”, 5th Edition, McGraw-Hill.


 


Kotler, P & Armstrong, G (2006) “Principles of Marketing (11th Edition), Pearson.


 


BMW Website 2009, About Us, Accessed: 04 May 2009 Retrieved from <www.bmw.com>


 



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