Car Strategies in India
Car Strategies in India
Car Strategies in India
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Table of Contents
1. Objective
2. Scope of Work
3. Rationale
i. Promotional Strategy
iv. Advertising
v. Direct Marketing
i. Target Market
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ii. Adopting offer to suit target segment
7. Questionnaire
9. SWOT Analysis
11. Conclusion
12. Bibliography
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Chapter 1
Introduction
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Objective
To study and analyze the elements of Promotional Strategies.
Study and analysis of promotional strategies of Ford India for its product Ford
Fiesta.
a questionnaire.
Study the promotional strategies of Ford Fiesta with all the tools of promotion.
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Data Collection and Analysis
Secondary data collection from the various car information websites,
Rationale
One of the fastest growing industries in the world is automobile industry. This
automobile industry even has its influence on the Indian market. There is an
emergence of global automobile players in India, such as Ford, for the past decade
and each player have their different promotional strategies to interact customers. This
automobile companies in India. This project concerns with the study of choosing the
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most appropriate mix of advertising, sales promotion, personal selling and publicity
for cars in India with a detailed study of promotional strategy of Ford Fiesta. This
project also targets the customers in India regarding the promotions of cars in India
Chapter 2
Literature Survey
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Theoretical Framework and Review of Literature
Promotional Strategy
A successful product or service means nothing unless the benefit of such a service can
Advertising: Is any non personal paid form of communication using any form of mass
media.
media public. The art of good public relations is not only to obtain favorable publicity
within the media, but it is also involves being able to handle successfully negative
attention.
Sales promotion: Commonly used to obtain an increase in sales short term. It could
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Personal selling: Selling a product service one to one.
organization. There has been a massive growth in direct mail campaigns over the last
5 years. Spending on direct mail now amounts to £18 bn a year representing 11.8% of
advertising expenditure (Source: Royal Mail 2000). Organizations can pay thousands
of pounds for databases, which contain names and addresses of potential customers.
Direct mail allows an organization to use their resources more effectively by allowing
them to send publicity material to a named person within their target segment. By
improving sales. Listed below are links to organization whose business involves direct
mail.
Promotional Mix
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Message and Media Strategy
strategy. What message are you trying to put across to your target audience? How will
you deliver that message? Will it be through the appropriate use of branding? Logos
or slogan design? The message should reinforce the benefit of the product and should
also help the company in developing the positioning strategy of the product.
Media strategy refers to how the organization is going to deliver their message. What
aspects of the promotional mix will the company use to deliver their message strategy.
Where will they promote? Clearly the company must take into account the readership
and general behavior of their target audience before they select their media strategy.
What newspapers does their target market read? What TV programmes do they
watch? Effective targeting of their media campaign could save the company on
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AIDA is a communication model which can be used by firms to aid them in selling
their product or services. AIDA is an Acronym for Attention, Interest, Desire, and
Action. When a product is launched the first goal is to grab attention. Think, how can
Once you grab attention how can you hold Interest, through promoting features,
clearly stating the benefit the product has to offer? The third stage is desire, how can
you make the product desirable to the consumer? By demonstrating it? The final stage
is the purchase action; if the company has been successful with its strategy then the
Internet Promotion
The development of the World Wide Web has changed the business environment
forever. Dot com fever has taken the industry and stock markets by storm. The e-
Shoppers can now purchase from the comfort of their home 24 hours a day 7 days a
week.
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Owning a website is a now a crucial ingredient to the marketing mix strategy of an
to aid them in their crucial purchase decision. Sony Japan took pre-orders of their
popular Play Station 2 console over the net, which topped a 1 million after a few
days, European football stars are now issuing press releases over the web with the sites
Advertisers have now moved their money over to the internet as customers are on
average spending more time online then watching TV. Popular ways to advertise seem
development is just stating the obvious. Marketing targeting simply means choosing
one‟s target market. It needs to be clarified at the outset that market targeting is not
market selection. One has to carry out several tasks besides segmentation before
choosing the target market. Through segmentation, a firm divides the market into
many segments. But all these segments need not form its target market. Target market
signifies only those segments that it wants to adopt as its market. A selection is thus
involved in it.
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Marketing segmentation is a process that throws up not one but several market
segments. There may be segments that are sizeable and the ones that are not so
sizeable. There may be segments assuring immediate profits and the ones that call for
heavy investments in market development. There may also be segments that show
great potential, but display tough barriers to entry. As such, the question, which
segment/segments, the firm should select as its target market, assumes crucial
importance.
Markets can be segmented using several relevant bases. For example, demographic
level etc, form one base for segmentation. Geographic characteristics constitute
another; and buying behavior of the consumers forms yet another base. The various
Product positioning denotes the specific product category/product class in which the
given product is opting to compete. And brand positioning denotes the positioning of
the brand viz-a viz the competing brands in the chosen product category.
It is evident that for any product, before entering the market it has to sequentially
carry out the two exercises, product positioning and brand positioning. In the first
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step, the product category where the new entrant should enter and compete, i.e.
against what all products it has to compete, has to be decided. In this step, it is the
broad function that the product is trying to serve that matters. This choice of product
category will decide the nature of the competition the product is going to face. Once
product category positioning is decided, the position for the new entrant against
competing brands in the chosen product category has to be analyzed and fixed.
Can the new brand claim the needed distinction and take the position and
Promotional Decisions
Promotion has been defined as the coordination of all seller initiated efforts to set up
channels of information and persuasion in order to sell goods and services or promote
an idea. While implicit communication occurs through the various elements of the
marketing mix, most of an organization‟s communications with the market. The basic
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Advertising
organization, product, service, or idea by an identified sponsor. The paid aspect of this
definition reflects the fact that the space or time for an advertising message generally
Advertising is the best-known and most widely discussed form of promotion, probably
because of its pervasiveness. It is also very important promotional tool, particularly for
companies, whose products and services are targeted at mass consumer markets. It is a
very cost-effective method for communicating with large audiences. It can be used to
Direct Marketing
One of the fastest-growing sectors of the U.S. economy is direct marketing, in which
a transaction. It has become such an integral part of the IMC program of many
organizations and often involves separate objectives, budgets, and strategies; we view
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Direct Marketing is much more than direct mail and mail order catalogs. It involves a
direct response ads through direct mail, the Internet, and various broadcast and print
media.
One of the major tools of direct marketing is direct response advertising, whereby a
Interactive/Internet Marketing
Interactive media allow for the back-and-forth flow of information whereby users can
participate in and modify the form and content of the information they receive in real
which are one-way in nature, the new media allow users to perform a variety of
functions such as receive and alter information and images, make inquiries, respond
to questions and of course make purchases. In addition to the Internet, other forms of
Sales Promotion
The next variable in the promotional mix is sales promotion, which is generally
defined as those marketing activities that provide extra value or incentives to the sales
force, the distributors, or the ultimate consumer and can stimulate immediate sales,
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sales promotion is generally broken into Consumer-oriented and Trade-oriented
activities.
Sales promotion consists of diverse collection of incentive tools mostly short term,
by the consumer. Sales promotion is the only method that makes use of incentives to
complete the push-pull promotional strategy of motivating the sale force, the dealer
Price-Off Offers
Price-off offers refers to offering the product at lower than the normal price. This
encourages immediate sales, attracts non-users, induces product trail and counters
competition.
Premium
the product.
Coupons
In order to encourage product trail, stimulate re-purchase rate and build loyalty
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Dealer stock display context
It is a type of point of purchase advertising which uses the show windows of the dealer
service, or idea not directly paid for or run under identified sponsorship. It usually
and its products and services. Like advertising, publicity is not directly paid for by the
company.
advantage of publicity is its low cost, since the company is not paying its time or space
Public relations are defined as “the management function which evaluates public
the public interests and executes a program of action to earn public understanding
and acceptance”. Public relations generally have a broader objective than publicity, as
its purpose is to establish and maintain a positive image of the company among its
various publics.
Personal Selling
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It is a form of person-to-person communication in which a seller attempts to assist and
an idea. Unlike advertising, personal selling involves direct contact between buyer and
telephone sales. Personal selling involves more immediate and precise feedback
because the impact of the sales presentation can generally be assessed from the
customer‟s reactions.
FORD FIESTA
About Ford
The modern Ford India began production in 1998, although the roots trace back to
1907 when the Model A was launched. Its manufacturing facilities are in Maraimalai
Nagar near Chennai. Ford India began production in 1926, but was shut down in
1954. Production began again with the joint venture Mahindra Ford India, Limited
(MIFL) in 1995, a 50-50 venture with Mahindra & Mahindra Limited. Ford increased
its interest to 72% in 1998 and renamed the company Ford India Limited.
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The first model was the Ford Escort, which was later replaced by locally produced
Ford Ikon in 2001. It has since added Fusion, Fiesta, Mondeo, Endeavour and
Key Products
Ford Ikon
Ford Fiesta
Ford Fusion
Ford Endeavour
Ford Fiesta
While Fiesta continued to impress people all over the globe, Ford had different plans
for the Indian market. Ford engineers in Melbourne, Australia, designed a car from
scratch specifically for the Indian market and badged it as Fiesta (2005).
This sedan was sold with two engine options, 1.4 Diesel (TDCI) and 1.4/1.6 Petrol.
The 1.6 Petrol version was marketed for its acceleration and performance to keep it
competitive with other car makers. The Diesel version saw much success as its main
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selling point was the fuel efficiency. Ford test delivered a whopping 30+Km/L Since
cost of fuel was rising this was the right time for Ford to showcase its turbocharged
direct-injection diesel technology. Ford claims to have sold more diesel variants than
Recently Ford gave some minor facial uplift to the well sold Fiesta and also reworked
on safety features. Dual Airbag was included because the competitors the Suzuki SX4
Ford Fiesta is engineered specifically to adapt the demanding Indian road conditions.
It is a mid-sized car having a perfect combination of style and solidity. The car has
high stability and exceptional driving comfort. Structurally engineered, Ford Fiesta
Model Variants
Fiesta 1.6 S
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Fiesta Duratorq 1.4 Zxi
Color Variants
Flare
Jewel Violet
Panther Black
Diamond White
Paprika Red
Vitro
Moondust Silver
Platinum
Catch Phrase
Go Fida!
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Quote Unquote
Price Tag
The prices are to the close approximation ex-showroom as in Delhi. Please check the
Target Market
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Profession: Businessmen, Servicemen, Industrialists, Bureaucrats, Politicians,
Ford modifies its models for Indian target segments as shown below:
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Higher ground clearance to make the car more compatible to the rougher road
surface in India.
roads.
Location of horn buttons on the steering vehicles. (As the India motorist uses
the horn more frequently, for cars sold in India, the horn buttons are kept on
the steering wheel and not on a lever on the side as in the models sold in
Europe.)
Market Competition
Ford Fiesta comes in “C” segment „Sedan‟ and is available in both Diesel and Petrol
variants in Indian Market. Along with Fiesta, other cars in this segment are Hyundai
Verna, Maruti Suzuki SX4, Chevrolet Aveo and Tata Indigo Manza.
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Ford follows the promotions at two levels, they a
In the first step the products of vehicles manufactured by the Ford Automotives are
strategies like
3. Direct marketing.
In the second step the dealer of the vehicles promotes the vehicles.
1. Advertising though news papers, radios, palm plates. In this all the features of
the product and its prices are given in detail to the customer.
Hoardings
A heavy picture of the product which comprises of its attributes and special features
are displayed on the roadsides in the form of hoardings. It is a bit expensive strategy
This type of advertisement is prepared for those segments of people who cannot afford
their time in reading newspapers and watching televisions. While travelling from their
home to office, moving on their business activities they may watch these hoardings.
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In this the dealer collects personal/bio-data (address and contact number) of many
people from various organizations and different sector who are ready to buy the
These people are met-in person or contacted through their contact number. The
various new features and new offers regarding the vehicles are advocated to them and
are given discounts on group purchase of vehicles, i.e. if 5 or more friends in the
group purchase the cars at a time then they are given special discounts on the
vehicles.
Free Insurance
The dealers of Ford may give a special offer of free insurance on the purchase of each
Relationship Marketing
Fortune Ford pays a special attention towards its old customers. To retain the old and
existing customers it conducts a corporate meet at a luxurious hotel. The event aims at
knowing the problems of the customers regarding the vehicles and also service
feedback.
In this way it maintains an effective relationship with the customers and gains the
Sales Promotion
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The sales promotion is done by ford at three levels:
about the details of the product. Specially trained sales executives who are
present in the showrooms give a detailed explanation about the product to the
various offers given by the manufacturer and also by the dealer to the customer
2) Corporate sales: A special team of sales executives are sent to some big
corporate sectors and there they personally meet the heads of the organizations
like C.E.O‟s, Managers, etc., and explain about the vehicles and the offers and
3) Field sales: The sales executives conduct some events with the corporate
working people and try to demonstrate the product features and its benefits and
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This is a unique program conducted by the dealers of Ford. This is a program
conducted to retain the old customers of the Ford. The old customers of Ford are
meeting personally and they are requested to give their feedback by filling in the
problems regarding the vehicle and also their post sale service experience are taken. If
there exists any problem, then the Fortune Ford service men try to resolve the
problems of their customers as soon as possible and makes the customer satisfied. This
is a technique to attract the new customers by satisfying the old customers and gaining
Extended Warranty
The dealers of Ford Fiesta give an extended warranty to its customers where there will
After the factory warranty expires, customer is exposed to the risk of parts
failures.
Extended Warranty:
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Covers all Mechanical and Electrical Failures
Covers labor
Benefits to customer
Car can be repaired at any Ford out let across the country
No excess to pay
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What is Total Maintenance Plan?
the vehicle
customer. This enables the customer to have total peace of mind in the form of
a “Maintenance Holiday”
Scheduled servicing like Engine Oil change, Fuel filter, Oil filter, Spark plugs
etc.
Mechanical/Electrical repairs
Accident repairs
Tyres
Fuel
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Benefits to the customer
Can avail this service across the country at all Ford authorized outlets
Transferable
Advertising
communication using any form of mass media such as TV, radio or newspapers. The
mileage. The advertising of Fiesta relates with the word “fida”, and its catch phrase is
“go fida”.
newspapers, magazines- auto and general and lifestyle), placing hoardings and on-
line advertisement.
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It is also done by sponsored Links on popular social networking websites and through
banners, etc.
The other indirect tools of promotions are through sponsorship and words of mouth.
Ford sponsors various environment and sports events. Ford‟s cars are very much
appreciated for their superb performance and stylish aerodynamic looks. Among
motorsport lovers the ford cars are promoted in Rally Racing Championships.
Now, to understand the customers view regarding the promotion of cars in India and
its effect on customers is done through a questionnaire. The basic method adopted in
the sample respondents. However, there are certain cases where personal interactive
The questionnaire study the impact of various promotion techniques and tool used for
Ford Fiesta: 2213 units (in Sep „09), 1478 units (in Sep „08)
Honda City: 4281 units (in Sep „09), 2566 units (in Sep „08)
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QUESTIONNAIRE:
Name:
E-mail address:
a) Maruti Suzuki
b) Hyundai
c) Honda
d) Ford
e) Chevrolet
f) Other
a) Style/design
b) Comfort
c) Brand
d) Service
3) What do you feel great about your car when compared to other cars in the
market?
a) Fuel Efficiency
b) Durability
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c) Low Maintenance
d) Sound Quality
e) Brand Name
b) Advertisements
c) Car Experts
a) Television
b) Magazine
c) News Papers
d) Radio
c) Sports Channel
d) Entertainment Channels
a) Free insurance
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d) Finance availability with 0% interest
8) How do you feel when an unknown sales person approaches you by knowing
a) I will respond
b) Lost my privacy
a) Very necessary
b) Not necessary
10) What‟s your opinion about the previous brand ambassador Abhishek
11) Who do you suggest as the right person for promoting the car?
a) Sports Person
b) Film Star
c) Car Expert
d) Any celebrity
12) Do you think the expensive hoardings of cars catch your eyes at the roadside?
a) Absolutely
b) Don‟t bother
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c) Not at all
a) Maruti Suzuki
b) Honda
c) Hyundai
d) Ford
e) Others
14) Which brand do you seriously consider before making a car purchase?
a) Maruti Suzuki
b) Hyundai
c) Honda
d) Ford
e) Other
a) Student
b) Businessman
c) Service
d) Other Professional
Thanks for taking the time to fill out this questionnaire and for providing valuable
information which will be used for my project work, and reports. We do not share or
sell your name, e mail address or any other data with anyone.
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Chapter 3
Analysis
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Analyzed Survey Report of the Questionnaire
g) Maruti Suzuki
h) Hyundai
i) Honda
j) Ford
k) Chevrolet
l) Other
Data Analysis
Maruti Suzuki 45
Hyundai 30
Honda 13
Ford 7
Chevrolet 2
Other 3
Interpretation
This question is meant for taking the information regarding the most preferred car
company in India. From the above graph it is found that most preferred car company
is Maruti Suzuki.
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2) What do you like most about a car?
e) Style/design
f) Comfort
g) Brand
h) Service
Data Analysis
Style/Design 27
Comfort 69
Brand 39
Service 15
Interpretation
This question is meant to know the Respondents preferences and likes towards the
cars. From the data we can position our product to the comfort seeking group of
people.
3) What do you feel great about your car when compared to other cars in the
market?
f) Fuel Efficiency
g) Durability
h) Low Maintenance
i) Sound Quality
j) Brand Name
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Data Analysis
Fuel Efficiency 6
Durability 21
Low Maintenance 27
Sound Quality 36
Brand Name 60
Interpretation
From this question we can position the cars according to the Respondents
perspectives. Many of the Respondents are buying the cars by seeing its Brand Name
only. The no. of customers satisfied with the fuel efficiency are very low.
g) Advertisements
h) Car Experts
Data Analysis
Advertisements 75
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Car Experts 9
Auto Magazines 15
Interpretation
Most of the Respondents came to know about their vehicle through advertisements
e) Television
f) Magazine
g) News Papers
h) Radio
Data Analysis
Television 78
Magazine 21
News Papers 48
Radio 3
Interpretation
From this analysis we come to know that most of the Respondents are interested in
watching televisions, which is a good media for communicating with people and
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6) What kind of TV channels do you watch regularly?
g) Sports Channel
h) Entertainment Channels
Data Analysis
Sports Channel 12
Entertainment Channels 60
Interpretation
This question is meant to know the interests and preferences of Respondents towards
T.V. channels. More than quarter of the sample size showed interest only on the
entertainment channels and next preference goes to the regional news channels.
e) Free insurance
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h) Finance availability with 0% interest
Data Analysis
Free Insurance 27
Special Discounts 9
0% Finance 33
Interpretation
By the result of this question we come to know about the various promotional
techniques/offers which attract the customers. From the above analysis many
customers are expecting the extension in the service period from the various offers
given to them.
8) How do you feel when an unknown sales person approaches you by knowing
d) I will respond
e) Lost my privacy
Data Analysis
I will respond 33
Lost my privacy 15
44
Interested in knowing 102
Interpretation
This question is prepared indirectly to know about the customer‟s opinion about the
gave a positive reply by showing interest in knowing about the cars when a sales
d) Very necessary
e) Not necessary
Data Analysis
Not Necessary 21
Waste of money 0
Interpretation
This question is meant to know about the importance of Brand Ambassador for a car
in the customer‟s point of view. Most of the respondents think that a Brand
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10) What‟s your opinion about the previous ambassador Abhishek Bachchan
Data Analysis
Interpretation
Most of the respondents think that the Brand Ambassadors full filled the purpose and
11) Who do you suggest as the right person for promoting the car?
e) Sports Person
f) Film Star
g) Car Expert
h) Any celebrity
Data Analysis
Sports person 54
46
Film Star 63
Car Expert 21
Any Celebrity 12
Interpretation
Most of the respondents suggest a film star as the best ambassador. Because many of
them get attracted only to their favorite film stars other than other brand ambassadors.
12) Do you think the expensive hoardings of cars catch your eyes at the roadside?
d) Absolutely
e) Don‟t bother
f) Not at all
Data Analysis
Absolutely 90
Don‟t bother 48
Not at all 12
Interpretation
Most of the respondents think that hoardings are a good option for catching the eyes
of a customer.
a) Maruti Suzuki
47
b) Honda
c) Hyundai
d) Ford
e) Other
Data Analysis
Maruti Suzuki 45
Honda 32
Hyundai 36
Ford 34
Other 2
Interpretation
The response shows that Maruti Suzuki, Honda, Hyundai, and Ford have good
14) Which brand do you seriously consider before making a car purchase?
f) Maruti Suzuki
g) Hyundai
h) Honda
i) Ford
j) Other
Data Analysis
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Maruti Suzuki 87
Hyundai 27
Honda 21
Ford 3
Others 12
Interpretation
The response shows that most of the people think of Maruti Suzuki product before
making a decision.
e) Student
f) Businessman
g) Service
h) Other Professional
Data Analysis
Students 69
Businessman 24
Service 45
Other Professional 12
Interpretation
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Most of the respondents were students but more than half of the respondents were
working.
According to the questionnaire, the facts gathered about the promotional strategies of
provides.
2. The companies should catch in for their brand name while designing the
promotional strategies.
3. Advertisements of the cars are the best source of awareness for the customers.
4. Television is the most important media that most of the people communicate
with, and entertainment channels should more be targeted than news channel
or sports channel.
5. More people look for extended service period while buying a car, rather than
and most respondents feel that a film star is the most appropriate choice.
8. Approximately, half of the respondents were students and rests were working
professionals.
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SWOT Analysis
It involves specifying the objective of the business venture or project and identifying
the internal and external factors that are favorable and unfavorable to achieving that
objective.
objective.
opportunities.
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Converting is to apply conversion strategies to convert threats or weaknesses
A firm should not necessarily pursue the more lucrative opportunities. Rather, it may
the firm's strengths and upcoming opportunities. In some cases, the firm can
In SWOT analysis, Strength and Weakness are internal factors while Opportunities
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SWOT Analysis of Ford (Fiesta)
Internal Factors
Strength
Good experience of Indian market of about 15 years. Have tested the potential
of Indian market.
Settled and has branches in North, South, East and West of India. Location is
Weakness
Weaker brand image in India. Despite of strong hold in larger markets of the
world, has weaker brand image in one of Asia‟s largest car market.
for Ford Fiesta, no brand endorsements are done with any celebrity.
Very low market share. Companies such as Hyundai and Honda, has more
market share despite entering the Indian market after Ford. (media.ford.com)
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Opportunities
Threats
Rising prices of Oil and raw material all over the world. Rising prices in the
global economy could pose a threat. The price of steel and aluminum is
Maruti Suzuki, Honda, Hyundai are all in the segment of tuff competition.
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Chapter 4
Conclusion
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Conclusion
4. Customers look for various offers while buying a car, for example, free
availability at 0 %, etc.
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Bibliography
2. http://www.india.ford.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=DFY/IN
3. http://www.carwale.com/blog/category/sales-figures/
4. http://media.ford.com/
5. http://tutor2u.net/business/marketing/promotion_mix.asp
6. http://learnmarketing.net/promotion.htm
7. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SWOT_analysis
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