Cars

There are many cars on the market that are exciting with respect to power(Accord), interior design(Octavia, Benz), overall execution(again Accord) & the vitality in the segment they play in (New City) but no other car is as close to what ALTO is in the entry level segment. Santro & Indica do have a strong hold on the upper level where Alto plays (Alto 1. 1) but with respect to the range that Alto has from mid 2 to low 4 lac it is the only choice. August 05 Alto is being launched with better styling (clear head-tail lamps), changed nose and a few more vibrant colors to make matters interesting.

The seat fabric have received an upgrade. Although Swift continues to take limelight, guess Alto is serving Maruti and entry level buyers just fine. I wish they again launch it with the 1. 1 liter engine. Given that Alto has longer wheelbase and (more) modern chassis than Zen it would kill Zen’s sales if launched with 1. 1 liter engine. June 04: For the first time ever a model (Alto) outscored 800 on the sales chart. This is due to Maruti positioning Alto as entry level car & in order to phase out 800 & also they slashed entry level price by 25,000 (without AC) at 2,34,000. Recently I had a test ride of a used Alto 1. without power steering. The car was in a good condition. I really liked the power of 1. 1 engine. With 4 passengers it was pulling very well. The transmission was typical Maruti/Suzuki, a little rough but spot-on. As I am used to Palio’s butter smooth gears I found the gears in Alto a little crude but accurate & easy to locate specially from 2nd to 3rd, it is easy to find it. Although I have heard a few complaints from some owners about Grinding noises from transmission. So better watch-out for that. The AC was good enough but left me for wanting as it was VERY hot. Also with AC on the acceleration suffered a bit.

Can’t blame as I had 4 full grown adults with me! 🙂 Overall I was very satisfied but when finally we sat for negotiations the Doctor was asking a little too much than I thought a used Alto should cost. This led to me test drive of the new Alto (800), at 2,60 it was very close to the used 1. 1! The test drive without AC was very good but with AC full blown the acceleration did suffer significantly. So I tried shutting off AC when I was speeding & then started it when cruising, it worked just fine. I thought I can manage with this power by effectively shutting off AC when I needed to Pass & on inclines (valleys etc).

The interior was a bit lacking compared to Palio & also Santro but at this price point it did meet my expectations. It is only a matter of getting used to. I didn’t like the shifter coming out of teh floor as opposed to much better treatment in Palio/Santro. Here in Alto it seem to come out of the floor! 🙂 But not a point that would affect my decision. The interior room is satisfactory if not significant. 4 Adults can fit in for trips of say 3/4 hrs with some halts. The seats themselves are good & I found a very comfortable seating position except some room for my legs as I am 6’ 1’ with the legs of same length as of my 6’ 3’ friend! ) The fuel economy I was told as phenomenal with at least 14 in city & 17-18 on the highways! That was MUCh better than 10/14 of my Palio. As this car is for my father I thought he would get a little better than what I can extract! Driving style you know! 🙂 I was a bit concerned about the tire size & thought for a longer trips bigger tires would be preferable but it would affect the fuel economy I guess. You can’t have all!! The styling is conservative but tasteful for the common man who thinks that car is an extension of their personality. The fashion seekers should shop elsewhere.

Both front & rear styling is interesting enough but at the same time toned down to take out the last drop of boldness.. The car looks much better with body colored bumpers than the ugly black ones! They look like an accessory externally attached than the integral part of the car! Only black car looks ok with those bumpers. Anyways, who buys a black color car in a counry of hot summer! 🙂 (There are quite a few mind you! ) I am almost set on Alto 800. I compared it with all the competition & it bits the competition when you factor in the price & daily running costs (fuel/maintenance) & have decided to go for Alto 800 Lxi.

I think it is worth to pay for the extra features for some price. At the same time I didn’t think it was a good idea to spend more than 4 lac for 1. 1 as I thought the level of interior materials & overall comfort would be more justified in Santro/Indica/Palio for a little more cash. Fuel economy is again where Alto 1. 1 would do better than most though. The color availability is again ok for this price range. I would love to see more colors coming out soon to keep interest in the product. I would recommend Alto to anyone planning to buy a entry level car.

It is a must to have a loot at this car before buying any other car you like. This is the perfect as far as the segment it plays in goes. MARUTI UDYOG LIMITED – Managing competition successfully Maruti Udyog Limited (MUL) was established in Feb 1981 through an Act of Parliament, to meet the growing demand of a personal mode of transport caused by the lack of an efficient public transport system. It was established with the objectives of – modernizing the Indian automobile industry, producing fuel efficient vehicles to conserve scarce resources and producing indigenous utility cars for the growing needs of the Indian population.

A license and a Joint Venture agreement were signed with the Suzuki Motor Company of Japan in Oct 1983, by which Suzuki acquired 26% of the equity and agreed to provide the latest technology as well as Japanese management practices. Suzuki was preferred for the joint venture because of its track record in manufacturing and selling small cars all over the world. There was an option in the agreement to raise Suzuki’s equity to 40%, which it exercised in 1987. Five years later, in 1992, Suzuki further increased its equity to 50% turning Maruti into a non-government ganization managed on the lines of Japanese management practices.

Maruti created history by going into production in a record 13 months. Maruti is the highest volume car manufacturer in Asia, outside Japan and Korea, having produced over 5 million vehicles by May 2005. Maruti is one of the most successful automobile joint ventures, and has made profits every year since inception till 2000-01. In 2000-01, although Maruti generated operating profits on an income of Rs 92. 5 billion, high depreciation on new model launches resulted in a book loss.

COMPANY HISTORY AND BACKGROUND

The Evolution

Maruti’s history of evolution can be examined in four phases: two phases during pre-liberalization period (1983-86, 1986-1992) and two phases during post-liberalization period (1992-97, 1997-2002), followed by the full privatization of Maruti in June 2003 with the launch of an initial public offering (IPO). The first phase… Hindustan Construction Co. Ltd. Hincon House, LBS Marg, Vikhroli (W) Mumbai – 400083 email: corpcomm@hccindia. com Tel: +91 22 25775959 Fax: +91 22 25775732 Hindustan Construction Co. Ltd. 706-707, 7th Floor Surya Kiran, 19, KG Marg New Delhi – 110001 Tel: +91 11 23358717, 23358727 Fax: +91 11 23358837

Current market Size & key market trends

India’s Socio demographic profile

India has been adjourned the fifth best country in the world for dynamic growing businesses, as per the Grant Thornton Global Dynamism Index. The index gives a reflection of how suitable an environment the country offers for dynamic businesses. It is also important to note that the Indian economy is growing, despite the economic crisis that engulfed the world. A survey conducted by Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Ltd (Deloitte) showed that the Indian tax climate was also considered to be reasonably favorable and India continued to be an attractive investment destination. .Figure: Growth in Population categories with higher incomes (Source NCAER Estimates)

The population categories with higher incomes has changed drastically from 2001-02 to 2009-10. Whilst the high income category (incomes of >180K INR per month) in 2001-02 was 13.8K households, this increased to 46.7K households in 2009-10; an increase of 16%. The middle income category (monthly income of 45K-180K INR per month) has also seen an increase from 109.2K households in 2001-02 to 140.7K households in 2009-10, with a growth of 3%. The low income category (=100, with industry average for passenger cars being around 95.

Positioning of different brands in SUV market in India
Entry Level SUVs:
Renault Duster
For What: Power & Space
For Whom: Aspiring SUV customers who might be looking for an alternative to the sedan Tag Line: Drive the change
Price: 7.69 to 11.79 Lacs

Positioning Analysis:
The Renault Duster is a vehicle that not meets the aspirations of the customers but also set the benchmark on all parameters. A new market reference in India, the Renault Duster is set to attract a new set of aspiring SUV customers who might be looking for an alternative to the sedan. The Duster Pre Launch advertisement shows men crying and these are those who have just bought a sedan and the ad says “Our apologies to everyone who just bought a sedan”. In a way, the Renault Duster re-defines Renault’s motto – “Drive the Change”. The Duster stands for Renault’s iconic image of bringing Comfort, Convenience, Styling, Safety & Technology, all in one power packed offering with an accessible price positioning. Mahindra Scorpio

For What: Strength, Affordability
For Whom: Big family, People who look for powerful cars
Tag Line: Nothing else will do
Price: 7.81 to 12.22Lacs
Positioning Analysis:
Mahindra based on its market research, had identified a need in the market for the dual benefits of comfort and luxury of a car as well as the ruggedness and thrill of an SUV. Also, this segment was big enough to generate the volumes required to justify the investment in the development of the new vehicle and to get the desired return. Finally, the hybrid positioning was considered to be feasible, communicable, and sustainable with an acceptable cost. Scorpio was positioned as “Luxury of a car. Thrill of an SUV”, a strategy through which the vehicle tried to acquire membership in two different categories. This strategy had a number of advantages. M&M was able to extend its reach beyond the SUV segment to the car segment, and it was able to get itself included in the consideration set of customers looking for a car as well as an SUV. It was able to target the customers looking for the mixed benefits of, the thrill and ruggedness of an SUV and the comfort, luxury, and easy handling of a car effectively. Finally, by adopting a straddle positioning, Scorpio was able to differentiate itself from other competitors by acquiring a distinct point-of-difference. Tata Safari

For What: Spacious, Power, Performance
For Whom: Die-hard Tata fans; middle class segment
Tag Line: Make your own road; Reclaim your life
Price: 8.34 to 13.26Lacs
Positioning Analysis:
Safari is India’s first full bodied luxury sport utility vehicle is known for its comfort and luxury. Launched as an off roader, the positioning of Safari has been changed thrice. Initially Safari was positioned as an offroader. The ads had jungle as the main locale and the baseline said “Make your own road”. The ads created by O&M were catchy and rightly positioned the premiumness of the brand. Later consumer research revealed that Safari is used by urban folks and perceived as a City vehicle and not an off roader. Hence Safari shifted its positioning as a “Car for the urban Jungle”. Safari recently did a major overhaul and launched it with new look and new engine DICOR and a new positioning. The new DICOR says “Reclaim your life” taking the campaign to a higher level and trying to connect with the customer at a higher plane. It can be called as Laddering where initially you start taking about functional aspects but later when the brand awareness is high you connect with the need of the customer at a higher level. Here Safari dares you to break from your past and go after your dreams. The ad, the message and the product is really impressive. Going by the new strategy of Tata Motors to load their products with value, Safari is also loaded with all the high-techs that is seen usually in high end SUV’s. Safari has all the potential to Reclaim its Rightful place Mid Segment:

Tata Aria
For What: Luxury, Comfort
For Whom: Cross over for urban families
Tag Line: Luxury that thrills
Price: 9.95 to 16.64
Positioning Analysis:
Tata Aria was publicized as India’s first 4×4 Crossover. Crossovers are those vehicles that combine the attribute of cars and SUVs. Tata motors aimed to create a new segment of luxury crossovers with the launch of Aria. Tata Aria was launched with an expensive price tag of Rs 12 -15.5 Lakh making it the
most expensive model from Tata’s brand portfolio to compensate for the high price tag, Aria came with many features, attributes and gadgets which was available only in super luxury segments. Tata Aria wanted to position itself as a pioneer of a new category – a Crossover between a sedan and an SUV. Positioning theory talks about Points of Parity and Points of Difference as the two main focal points of positioning process. Marketers use Points of Parity to establish a membership in a category and also to establish parity with competitors. Tata Motors failed to understand the perceived points of parity of Tata Aria with brands like Innova and Xylo. It is obvious to any person that Tata Aria looks very similar to Toyota Innova which is the market leader in the premium Multi-Utility Vehicle segment. So just by looking at Aria, consumers establish its membership in the MUV category of Innova. Aria’s category membership is with Innova and not as a crossover. The first launch campaign was expected to identify Tata Aria with the new category – Crossover Sensing the mood of the market, Tata Motors launched a lower priced version of Tata Aria in the form of a 4×2 variant. The brand priced the product at par with the competitors and launched it with a different positioning. Here again Tata Aria was unsure about the positioning. The brand discarded its Crossover positioning and began to focus on features. The tagline was changed from “A New Breed “to ” Luxury that Thrills”. Within one year of launch, the brand had to make significant positioning changes which again proved to be a disadvantage for establishing a consistent brand image Tata Motors always nurtured an ambition to compete in the luxury segment in the Indian automobile market. It tried with brands like Estate, Safari, Manza but couldn’t find huge success because Tata Motors was perceived to be a value-for-money brand and consumers were never comfortable with paying a premium for Tata cars. Force One

For What: Power
For Whom: For people who want to make their presence felt
Tag Line: Be the force
Price: 11.19 to 11.26 lacs
Positioning Analysis:
With Amitabh Bachchan as the brand ambassador, the ads are very Indian and focus on one aspect- Force. The brand has adopted the tagline “Be The
Force”. In the ad, Big B says “India mein sirf Force hi Chalta Hai “. This message really strikes a chord with the consumers mind since everyone has felt this at some point in his life in India. With regard to the brand promotion, it is interesting to observe that the brand deliberately chose not to project itself as a premium. The brand is targeting those consumers who are pissed off by Indian roads. The brand is talking to the prospective sedan buyers and telling them that only a beast will survive in Indian roads. MAHINDRA XUV 500

For What: Powerful on-road, off-road capabilities
For Whom: The next generation of car & SUV buyers who are seeking new experiences in their lives Tag Line: License to thrill
Price: 11.82 to 14.42 lacs
Positioning Analysis:
Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. (M&M), India’s leading SUV manufacturer, recently launched its new television commercial for its premium SUV model, the XUV500. The television commercial reinforces its brand positioning of ‘May your life be full of stories’. The XUV500 has been seamlessly integrated into the film to showcase its on-road and off-road capabilities. The surprise towards the end of the film leaves the viewers thinking of those incredible experiences that make for life’s memorable stories and thus ties in with the positioning of the brand The idea was to create an aspiration among consumers to go on exciting road trips where the XUV500 can play an enabling role in the fulfillment of its brand promise of “May your life be full of stories”. The new television commercial of the XUV500 has been successful in creating connect and aspiration for the next generation of car & SUV buyers who are seeking new experiences in their lives. Skoda Yeti

For What: Power, Features, and Comfort
For Whom: Families and off roader drivers
Tag Line: The right of way
Price: 14.25 to 17.76 lacs
Positioning Analysis:
Skoda Launched an expedition campaign for its SUV, Skoda Yeti. Called the Right of Way Expedition, this month-long tour was flagged off by wildlife
enthusiast. The aim was bring out the exclusivity for Yeti during the launch and showcase a campaign which is unique in the current SUV segment. The targeted customers were who didn’t possess a herd mentality, had a strong individualistic streak and appreciated nature, wanting to get away from the corporate jungle every once in a while. These were the people who symbolized the values that the Yeti stood for. Skoda Yeti was positioned as a tough car built for rough terrains but at the same time comfortable for a drive. Ford Endevour

For What: Spacious, Comfortable
For Whom: Young adventurous upper middle class
Tag Line: Magnify the adventure; India’s no. 1 SUV; The Next Big Thing; Take the lead Price: 18.20 to 23.20lacs
Positioning Analysis:
Ford positioned the Endeavor as a spacious, comfortable car which also possesses good road presence. The print media campaigns emphasize size of the vehicle with tag line: Next Big Thing, Think Big, Magnify the adventure and Take the lead. The ad show endeavor is visible from a very high altitude in various terrains. CHEVROLET Captiva

For What: Style, Comfort, Sporty
For Whom: All-round family SUV for the upper middle class
Tag Line: Choose your turf
Price: 18.75 to 24.60 lacs
Positioning Analysis:
Positioned as a potential soft-roader designed to captivate the customers with its stunning presence and appearance. The Television ad show emphasis on various feature that enable easy handling, safety and capability to take on any terrain HONDA CRV

For What: Style, Sporty
For Whom: Upper middle class executives
Tag Line: Something new to crave; Live up
Price: 18.75 to 24.60 lacs
Positioning Analysis:
Honda CRV is one of the compact SUVs in India. CRV is the only SUV launched in India by the Honda till now. Positioned as a stylish and sporty SUV for the upper middle class executives, with print ads focusing on e style, feature and exclusivity with punch lines like – something to new crave, live up and Step into new life. TOYOTA Fortuner

For What: Luxury, Power and Performance
For Whom: Businessman and urban families
Tag Line: The world is mine
Price: 18.75 to 24.60 lacs
Positioning Analysis:
Fortuner is positioned as SUV having sophistication and bold design. The Fortuner was launched in August 2009 and TKM has so far sold over 41,000 units. The positioning campaign was launched at 5 airports in India with punch lines – “The Art of Power” implying on Power, Luxury and Performance.

Key Advertising and Promotion campaigns adopted by leading brands Mahindra XUV 500
Mahindra XUV 500 launched various parallel advertising and promotional campaign and they have been detailed below – Digital Marketing – FAce Book ; Twitter
* From the beginning, Mahindra has carried out a digital campaign on Internet: Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and has shunned the traditional TV ; print media * Secrecy as an Influencing Strategy
* Before launch, Mahindra chose secrecy as a marketing strategy. The online marketing campaign had three parts: 1. Guess the Name
2. Unveil the XUV campaign
3. Guess the price
* The campaign was spread mainly through social media (new way of word-of-mouth spreading message) * Marketing campaign was created using “secrecy” as a strategy and enticing the customers to guess. The excitement of getting to know this secret kept the viewers hooked, while Mahindra used a staged tactic to reveal part by part of the new car Launch Campaign

* The launch campaign: XUV (I don’t like Carrots) – This launch campaign
would easily be one of the horrible ads in recent times. The client brief would be something like ” Let us build a horrible ad and see whether a good product would sell despite bad advertising” * There is nothing much to talk about this launch campaign. The campaign neither has a big idea nor has some newness in execution. Jungle, hunk, scantily clad man-eating ladies and XUV. There is no trace of any logic or marketing thought behind the advertisement. To add to the insult, there are some phrases like “I hate Carrots” I am Hungry etc. May be the agency thought XUV 500 was a deo with some fruit and vegetable flavors Force One

Big B as the Brand Ambassador
* With Amitabh Bachchan as the brand ambassador, one would wonder how the brand is going to structure its message * Force One had to convey a feel of ruggedness in order to gain consumer interest. The presence of Big B will assure eye-balls but if the communication is not right, people are going criticize the effort * In the advertising it project an international look and feel , something of the sort of a Reid and Taylor campaign highlighting the brand ambassador * The brand has started on a rugged communication hence it has virtually closed its doors on premiumness * The brand has chosen “Powerful ” as its USP and uses the analogy of ” Force ” to communicate its positioning * The role of the ads for automobiles serves as bait for the consumers for a test drive. No on buys a car just because of the ads. The product will sell itself if it excites the consumers and the influencers * Watch the campaign here : Force one Kids, Force One Clean

Toyota FORTUNER
Toyota launched Fortuner in India on August 9th 2009. The major marketing Campaign used by Toyota for Fortuner was named as – The Art of Power and it has been elaborated as below. Campaign Tag: “The Art of Power”

Move ahead with cutting-edge style and sophisticated luxury. The New Fortuner with its bold design and imposing presence gives you a distinctively new experience. So stand out and make your presence felt. A presence that won’t be ignored or overtaken!

Toyota Fortuner Marketing Campaign: Experience the Power of Art on your Mobile Campaign details:
* Campaign duration: Sep 05 2009 to Oct 05 2009
* Location: Airports in: Delhi, Mumbai, Cochin and Hyderabad * TG: HNIs, SEC A+ customers
Marketing Challenge
Toyota wanted to provide a great experience of Toyota Fortuner in major Airports of India to target the potential customers Along with the car display which provides a great visibility the client wanted customers to take home the Fortuner experience despite having promoters at the display, client wanted every customer to be informed well about the car specs functionality etc Solution

Let the customer take Fortuner on their mobile! Provide the product information in an interesting way Customize the content based on different mobile phone models Make it as easy as pushing the thumb to get details of the car Through standees, Visual displays ; promoters users were educated to turn their mobile Bluetooth. Use multiple media channels to maximize the reach for the mobile activation The mobile application included the following information for the SUV – * Mobile brochure

* Specifications
* Color Options
* Dealer locator
* Fortuner Mobile wallpapers
* Standees and visual merchandise
* Social media – links to Fortuner Facebook ; Twitter pages Results and achievements
The campaign results as on 24th Sep 12 –
* Total Downloads – 46,273
* Unique users – 13,427

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RENAULT DUSTER
Big, Beautiful, Efficient

Campaign Tag Line- Drive the Change
Renault Duster is a robust, reliable and easy-to-drive SUV, ideal for drivers looking for a vehicle with real off-road capacities. Depending on the market, it ships in 4×2 or 4×4 versions. Touted as the first product in the compact SUV segment and a make-or-break model for Renault, the Duster was launched in July at a starting price of Rs 7.19 lakh for petrol and Rs 7.99 lakh for diesel variants All-terrain vehicles are frequently synonymous with bulk, but Renault Duster ‘s compact dimensions – 4.31m long and 1.82m wide –show that this does not have to be true. The reinforced underbody is suitable for all-track, all-terrain use, with high ground clearance of 210 mm, short overhangs (822 mm at the front, 820 mm at the rear) and big clearance angles. FACEBOOK Promotion

Targeting the premium C segment with this launch, Renault India has started a new campaign titled –Big Beautiful Efficient on Facebook. In fact the name of the contest is also the tag line of Renault Duster. Contest Details:

* The contest that Renault India has started for its more than 137K fans is exclusive for it’s community. In other words, when you click on the app the page will ask you to like it before you could carry on further * After liking the page and the authentication process gets over, you land up on a page where the brand will ask you to select three of your buddies. You will have to select your buddies on the three features: Big, Beautiful and Efficient that also resemble the features of Renault Duster. * You are shown the list of your friends and you have to select them according to the various attributes the brand has asked for. Once you have done that the next step is to tell a place where you would want to take your friends in the new Renault Duster. * Well that is all you have to do and if you are lucky enough then you will get to ride Renault Duster along with your friends. However, I would have preferred if there is some clarity regarding the actual prize – some fan comments were of the opinion that they would win a
Renault! What was GOOD?

* Design: The app no doubt scores on this. The app makes the selection of friends easy and it allows you a search option to find your friends if you have a heavy list. Along with this, the app gives a dashboard feel where you can not only post your entry but can also see who else has done. The page also has an option to go back to the Facebook page of Renault. * . Viral features: The app has used the viral feature that is provided by Facebook such as the ‘Share.’ Use of such features helps the contest to spread out to more users on Facebook. Short commings

* The campaign that has been designed for this contest is nothing spectacular. The brand has simply asked to select friends based on the features like big, beautiful, etc. But it has not kept an option to tell why one has done so. Doing that could have brought in some amount of creativity and excitement to the friend who is being voted also. * The content that is being shared regarding this campaign is nothing innovative. Simply asking fans to select friends. It would have been great if the brand had shared content related to the tag line. May be they could have scouted for people who are big, beautiful and efficient for their work. * Definitely the brand is trying to be social by giving you and your friends a chance to take a ride on the new Renault Duster but would require more brainstorming in terms of running Facebook campaigns. Production Constrains – All other campaigns were DELAYED:

A production constraint amidst the unprecedented success of the Duster compact SUV has made Renault delay an elaborate post-launch advertising campaign planned to promote the vehicle. With bookings now crossing the 18,000-mark, the waiting period has now stretched to over four-and-a-half months for certain color and variant options, company and dealer sources said.In Sep 2012 as per the company official – “Our production is sold out till November end. There was a mad frenzy at some dealerships with some unable to manage the crowd that showed up on launch day. At 2.5 to 4.5 months, the waiting period is highest for the two top diesel variants. Renault currently makes about 4,500 units of the Duster a month, as part of
a four-month production planning target. Touted as the first product in the compact SUV segment and a make-or-break model for Renault, the Duster was launched in July at a starting price of Rs 7.19 lakh for petrol and Rs 7.99 lakh for diesel variants (two power options, 85 and 110 PS). The target customer was those of entry sedans, who were looking for an SUV experience at an affordable cost. Tata Aria

Tata Launched Aria on 10 Oct 2010. Besides Electronic ; Newspaper Campaign Tata Motors has taken the outdoor route to launch India’s first 4×4 Crossover. Physical Display
Three weeks launch campaign in Major cities and Physical display in major Airports . The campaign began on November 10 and will run for three weeks in Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Kolkata and other tier I cities. Campaign team felt Outdoor is a natural medium for a car brand as the car buyers are expected to be on road. Also, looks are an integral part of a car brand’s salience and outdoor has the unique distinction of showcasing the product in very large sizes. Keeping that in mind, this campaign is to launch the Aria in the Indian market, to create awareness about the brand, communicate the product attributes and USPs. Online Campaign

To connect with its consumers and build awareness about this car loaded with approximately 50 unique features, Tata Aria has launched a contest that ask consumers to name 36 of the 50 features of the Aria.

The Tata Aria website has sports the Tata Aria in all its grandeur pointing out all of the 36 features of the Aria. A click on any of the numbers reveals a hint to what the feature might be – expecting the consumer to select the right feature out of the list of 50 options. One winner who guesses all of these features correctly wins himself the Tata Aria.

Marketing Strategies adopted by two key players
Mahindra XUV 500
Mahindra & Mahindra launched XUV 500 on 29th Sep 2011. The key elements for Mahindra & Mahindra marketing strategy for XUV 500 are as described below – Metaphor Cheetah
* Presenting the idea that XUV 500 was inspired by Cheetah. Cheetah which is known for its speed and agility was a perfect metaphor for the attributes that XUV wanted to project * The teaser ad for XUV launch was bang on with the idea of being Cheetah Inspired * The idea of using the Cheetah as the metaphor is really smart because of the ease with which that conveys the brand’s projected attributes. Secrecy

* Secrecy is a great marketing tool – especially when the final product is really well executed and world class. Apple is renowned for its secrecy as a marketing campaign. Apple pre-announces the product, but does not reveal the details till the day of launch and at the launch; Apple will spare no quarter to promote the product. The secrecy of the product adds to the customers inquisitiveness and creates an inbuilt desire to get that latest gadget * Secrecy is not a standard marketing tool – it must be used with great caution There are few prerequisites for using secrecy as a marketing tool: 1. Understand your prime market demographics

2. Know the customer expectations before hand
3. Create a hype, mystic and emotional attachment to your product 4. The final product must beat customer expectations
Shortage
* When the XUV500 was launched in October – the result was a tremendous success. More than 8000 cars were booked in the first 10 days. The overwhelming response forced Mahindra to close the booking after 10 days. * The marketing campaign was a success beyond belief.

* 1. 150,000 people participated in reveal the name contest * 2. Over 100,000 people visited the web site every day * 3. Over 120,00 fans on Facebook
* 4. 35,000+ requests for test drives
* Soon after the launch, Mahindra changed gears and switched over to “shortage” as an influencing strategy * The initial bookings of 8000 cars were achieved within 10 days, and Mahindra created a shortage by stopping all new bookings. From October 2011 to Jan 26th 2012, Mahindra had stopped taking orders for new XUV500 cars! * This created a sense of scarcity and
more people rushed to car dealers to inquire about the car and when they can buy it * In the meantime, Mahindra put considerable marketing resources to Facebook and Twitter and kept the market hooked by revealing more stories about XUV500 * Finally on January 26th, Mahindra reopened the sales of XUV500 for 9 days only, and announced that they will stop taking new orders on 3rd February, and this will be limited time offer. I.e., customers now have an opportunity to buy the XUV500 in that short window * To create a hype for new car buyers, Mahindra decided to allot only 8000 cars by lottery! I.e., only 8000 of the lucky customers will get the car, and rest will have to wait longer – till Mahindra opens up XUV500 sales again * The human psychology reacts to a shortage by hoarding. Mahindra has now created a huge fan following to its car and then created a sense of shortage – thus making people rush to its dealers to buy the car * In the meantime, Mahindra has increased the price of the car by Rs 55,000 and people did not seem to care about the increased prices * The notion of shortage also creates a sense of exclusivity. So people rush to get the object in shortage – thus increasing demand (which results in willingness to pay more for the same product). For customers who were “lucky” to buy the XUV500 have a aura of exclusivity Tata Aria

Game Changer, New Breed, Super Luxury, Most Awaited, Eagerly Awaited, Flagship … These were the terms that were used during the much publicized launch of Tata Motor’s luxury offering – Tata Aria. Aria was launched on 11th Oct 2010, in Mumbai India – touted as the most luxurious, sophisticated and most expensive offering from Tata Motors in the passenger vehicle segment. The punch line on the brochure says about Tata Aria – “The fitness of a sedan with the muscle of an SUV”, which seems to be justified with the exteriors, interiors, power and the space which it offers.

Tata Aria was publicized as India’s first 4×4 Crossover. Crossovers are those vehicles that combine the attribute of cars and SUVs. Tata motors aimed to create a new segment of luxury crossovers with the launch of Aria. The objective was to provide to the Indian automobile users a vehicle that meets every conceivable requirement, from weekday serious business transport to weekend holiday travels, and from highway cruising to off-road punishment.
The vehicle was offered in four variants, Pure, Pleasure, Pride and Prestige, with the last two models being the high end models with all-wheel drive (4X4) capability. The vehicles had a host of electronics and safety features hitherto not offered in the Indian automobiles and provided a great combination of style and performance as well as comfort and safety. In fact, one of the campaigns of the company claimed at least thirty six features that were first in class for indigenous automobiles.

Tata Aria also benefitted from the design inputs provided by Tata Motors’ JLR team, which is reflected in the quality of trim and the various bells and whistles for driving and passenger comfort. Clearly, the emphasis was on providing an international class vehicle to the Indian consumer. The prices ranged from Rs 12Lakhs to Rs. 16 Lakhs ex-showroom. The introduction was accompanied by a marketing campaign that emphasized the capability to seat seven passengers and conquer off-highway applications without any compromise to the feel of a premium car.

Advertising Strategy

A robust economic environment, higher consumer spends and the entry of new car models have turbo-charged the domestic automobiles segment, taking the demand curves to a new high. Tata Motors has chosen this opportune moment to launch its much-fancied crossover model Tata Aria, which combines the features of a sedan and SUV. And, to take this model to the right TG, the car major has taken the outdoor route, having vested the campaign execution duties with Clear Channel Mudra, an OOH arm of Mudra max. To showcase the car and communicate the brand message to a premium car audience which falls in the spending category of Rs. 12-16 lakh range, the company briefed its outdoor agency to look for sites in specific locations. They have taken care of several finer aspects like a clutter free creative so that the product and brand message stand out, and easy readability of message. Since their TG mostly travels in chauffeur-driven cars so they have taken eye-level sites which are visible from the rear seats of cars.

High visibility Strategic Placement
They decided to concentrate on strategic thinking through the campaign spread across markets, making the budgets work harder for visibility and lend the launch a bigger feel, purely by the craft of planning.

Wide format display to maximize exposure

Vertical Branding with Horizontal Display
The company has used hoardings, cantilevers and pillar branding in premium areas. As an innovation, neon has been used on billboards to highlight the brand name. Also, the halo effect created around cutouts of the car is eye-catching .

Neon used to highlight cutout ; brand name
Marketing Strategy not worked out well
Despite so much going for the car, Aria failed to take off. The sales trickled to hundreds and showrooms started collecting unsold Arias. The Aria has been on sale for quite a while now but has failed to capture the fancy of the Indian automobile market.

An analysis of Aria saga teaches several lessons in competitive strategy and marketing. Wrong Positioning, the core
Points of Parity and Points of Difference are the two main focal points of positioning process. Marketers use Points of Parity to establish a membership in a category and also to establish parity with competitors. For brand launches in existing product category, category membership is automatically established because of similarity in product form, pricing, attributes etc. For example a new soap brand need not establish category membership since consumers know that the brand belongs to soap category just by seeing the product. Category Points of Parity is important for “really new products” where consumers are not able to connect any existing category to the new product. In such cases, marketers try to tell the consumers that the new product is related to an existing product category. Clearly, for a few thousand vehicles, the utility vehicle model variety is mind boggling. Amongst these, Tata Aria can lay claim to be different from all the SUVs with its car like profile and performance. This has, however, failed to
translate into a positioning proposition. At one level, Aria bore a significant resemblance to Innova which has been the acknowledged king of MUVs in India. With a length of 4780 mm which is longer by 200 mm and a width of 1895 mm which is larger by 125 mm compared to Innova but with the same seven seater profile, Aria began to be positioned in the marketplace by the buyers against Innova rather than against any of the other SUVS, despite the off road capability, imposing looks (with 17” wheels), and the several comparable sophisticated features it possessed. The sophistication and awesomeness of Aria was not a match for the simplicity and friendliness of Innova for the Indian market. This is borne out by the fact that Aria’s hundreds were, in fact, better sales than those of any of the imported vehicles but were just a fraction of the numbers notched up by the indigenous simpletons like Innova, Scorpio and Bolero. M;M’s newer SUVs, Xylo and XUV with greater sophistry also did substantially better. Here Tata Motors failed to understand the perceived points of parity of Tata Aria with brands like Innova and Xylo. It is obvious to any person that Tata Aria looks very very similar to Toyota Innova which is the market leader in the premium Multi-Utility Vehicle segment. So just by looking at Aria, consumers establish its membership in the MUV category of Innova. Whether Tata Motors likes it or not, Aria’s category membership is with Innova and not as a crossover. Probably, if Aria was positioned as just a superior Innova the marketing game would have been set differently. While Tata’s marketing team argues that it is a blend of a SUV and a Sedan and one can’t directly compare it to either of them, we think otherwise. For all fair comparisons, let’s assume that it is a car that can ferry 7 passengers in good comfort. A few contenders that immediately spring to mind are Innova, Tavera, Safari, Xylo, Scorpio, Endeavour, Fortuner and the Captiva. Here is a chart that gives sales figures of these contenders.

Entry deterrent price
As Michael Porter theorized, entry deterrent price is a vital concept in the success of new products. The price of a product is closely linked to the positioning of a product. Tata Motors may have calculated that Aria is substantially cheaper than the imported comparable (SUVs) by 25 to 75 percent. On the other hand, given that it was positioned vis-à-vis Innova it
was actually perceived to be 25 percent costlier than Innova. Although Aria was made available in a number of variants with increasing sophistication, the premium of 30 percent for the high end model relative to the base model was also seen by the market to be unattractive. There was no significant WOW factor in Aria which made consumer think that Aria belonged to a different category distinct from MUV brands like Innova. So when consumers checked out the brand Aria, they began to compare it with Toyota Innova. Innova had established itself as one of the most reliable and comfortable Car in India. Innova was priced at around Rs 12 lakh. When consumers began to compare Innova and Aria, Aria was perceived to be expensive despite the presence of many new features and attributes. Aria’s inflexibility with positioning and experimentations with pricing illustrate that a successful product entry requires both these factors to be properly benchmarked ab initio, failing which they are to be at least dynamically aligned as the market evolves. Had the vehicle been promoted with a clear crossover niche and in comparison with imported vehicles the positioning-pricing equation would have been more positive Service, makes or mars

If right positioning and pricing are the strategic enablers of product success in the automobile industry, satisfying after-sales service is the tactical assurance of product sustainability and customer delight in the marketplace. Ideally, a well designed and manufactured automobile should not require any servicing. Unfortunately in the case of Aria it appears that the incorporation of new generation of electronics caused considerable service issues. The lack of preparedness of the service infrastructure to handle a new generation automobile in the vehicle family has been a concern. This could have been obviated through extensive road testing on one hand and intensive training of service engineers in the new generation electronics on the other. Market Communication

For a brand that aims to create a new category that too a luxury one, the launch campaign failed miserably to communicate the concept of a new category. A sedan and an SUV colliding to form Tata Aria crossover was too basic , too amateurish communication strategy. The brand initially had the tagline “A New Breed “. The campaign managers failed to understand that just
by labeling the product as a crossover does not make it a crossover. The brand should produce sufficient evidence that it belongs to a new breed. In the case of Aria, the campaigns failed to provide a significant reason to be called as a new category pioneer. NEW Strategy

Because of the high price, it is clearly not a ‘mass-market’ car like the Innova so it cannot go high up the ranking table. But at the same time, it is not a luxury car because the masses are not ready to perceive the brand ‘Tata’ as a luxury manufacturer. People find the Tata Aria very expensive and over-priced, something that doesn’t bode well with the brand image. Tata’s products are inexpensive and offer ‘more car per car’ but the Aria seemed to break that rule and hurt itself in doing so. It is quite evident because the Fortuner from Toyota, which is in fact more expensive than the Aria, is also outselling the Aria and by miles! Only through building advanced products can Tata make the customer change his opinion or view on the brand, but opinions take years and generations of products to change. Tata definitely has to make the pricing attractive without cutting down on the features. Sensing the mood of the market, the brand discarded its Crossover positioning and began to focus on features. The tagline was changed from “A New Breed ” to ” Luxury that Thrills”. Within one year of launch, the brand had to make significant positioning changes which again proved to be a disadvantage for establishing a consistent brand image. Along with these campaigns in TV, the brand also ran a series of print campaigns highlighting the 36 new features of Aria. Those campaigns helped the brand to create a positive image of Aria.

Seeing the steep pricing dampened the enthusiasm over the features, Tata Motors launched a lower priced version of Tata Aria in the form of a 4×2 variant. The brand priced the product at par with the competitors and launched it with a different positioning. Having advanced technology and more features is definitely the only way to keep pace with the competition with balanced pricing and good marketing strategy. Hope new strategy works well for Aria.

Conclusion

Introduction

Handling business through corporate deals is quite a huge issue for many business organizations today. In putting up a new car rental company, it is important to consider the values of the target market for the services and products that they are actually offering. The involvement of new era marketing approaches is indeed a huge aspect that contributes to the success of putting up such business.

In creating such deals with corporal clients, it is important that the new care rental business be able to find the most effective as well as innovative manner of reaching to their market. Undoubtedly, the matter is undeniably affective to the success of the said system of business. Closing deals with the target corporations to accept package services of the car rental company could also help. How to market the said services? The modern approach in e-business could help in this particular issue.

The Involvement of Modern Technology

The importance of management enhancement among business facilities and organizations around the world is indeed a serious issue to consider when it comes to realizing the different impacts of IT [Information Technology] procedures is being discussed about. The growing developments that technology and communications have taken so far have been an essential part of the growing system of technological applications. Along with the technological advancements, the social living of humans also is further enhanced. Both economic and social lifestyles were advancing but there was no rest in incurring the best possible progress that the developers of technological systems wanted. With the introduction of computers to the society, the easier way of living and completing everyday tasks has become a trend for many industrial workers. However, as mentioned earlier, the development in the eyes of the ones who are in charge of the enhancement of the operating systems is never ending. Hence, although there were already some great achievements in terms of the developed operating systems, things got better each time there are new innovations introduced. As for this paper, much of the advancement shall be focused upon the implementation of the .NET technologies on the existing operating systems at present.

Information Technology started to boom and take over the business industries during the early 20th centuries. This development has highly alleviated the status of commerce in the society. This has also been the reason why many companies worldwide choose to invest so much on IT processes for their businesses. Mainly to ensure their company’s capability of remaining in existence, they tend to put so much attention to how their firm keeps up with the fast-paced changing world of technology.

As mentioned earlier, the Internet has mostly invaded the entire human activities, and in this manner, even business transactions became a new approach of the Internet to invite surfers to appreciate the business services available through the cyber space. As an example, a common resource provided by the Internet is a worldwide system for sending and receiving electronic mail, known as E-mail. In fact, E-mail represents a large portion of all Internet traffic and is for many the only Internet resource they use. In this manner of transferring data, many business companies are able to transact with their consumers from other parts of the world simply by posting the details of their company through the net for international viewing. After which, the consumers who are interested in their products or services are able to have options of ordering for services and products offered by the said company and pay for the provisions through wire transfers and other bank to bank transactions.

How does this benefit the company? In a vivid description, the company is able to advertise and reach a vast number of consumers around the globe, making it possible for them to accumulate more and more sales revenues from their Internet marketing strategies. Through the animated presentations, the company is also able to make a clear presentation of its missions and visions which makes its reputation more acceptable for the consumers as well. Aside form this; the company is able to ensure its consumers with fine service without actually having to personally deal with them. Thus, this paves way to a more effective consumer communication since all the necessary details they need to know about the company or the product they ought to have is available within a click of the finger. Thus, the company is able to give its consumers a fine service at their own convenience. Knowing this, since the manufacturing company named B&H Incorporated is a computer manufacturing company, it is indeed necessary for them to upgrade to becoming a click and mortar type of business organization. Many consumers needing computer paraphernalia and other products in connection to computers usually check the Internet for necessary information. This is the reason why B&H Incorporated should be able to innovate their business systems through the use of e-business strategies.

Changes in marketing

Since the business approach is sure to change, the marketing strategies are also sure to take large adjustments. Thus, this means that additional training should be catered well by the company as they take the necessary steps in entering the e-business industries. As for example, the old advertising systems used by the company is based upon catalogue posts, newspaper announcements and television commercials. The new approach of marketing in the e-business approach would be mainly based upon flash animations, computer effects and further more innovations applied through computer skills in making the company program, which would be used in the company’s Internet website, which would be created for its e-business transactions.

Why trust the innovative way of marketing?

Certainly, for e-business organizations, the costs may be much less since the only expense they have to pay would be the Internet services and the website fees. However, their inability to deal personally with their consumers hurt their organizations in a service based evaluation. On the other hand, the integrated organizations having a physical establishment along with a website established through the cyber space have bigger chances of catering to more consumers while catering to their needs at the best possible way there is. Expenses may be higher but the return for these companies sure are worth enough for risking. True, the globalization of business systems has been a cause for advancements in the business systems created for both the business organizations and the consumers as well. The latest fad of entering the e-business has also helped in making the necessary changes in the business industry a worthwhile form of adjustment for profit and service oriented business companies.

What the Company Need to be aware of?

The growing developments that technology and communications have taken so far have been an essential part of the growing system of technological applications. Along with the technological advancements, the social living of humans also is further enhanced. Both economic and social lifestyles were advancing but there was no rest in incurring the best possible progress that the developers of technological systems wanted. With the introduction of computers to the society, the easier way of living and completing everyday tasks has become a trend for many industrial workers.

With the introduction of the computer technology to the human society during the 19th Century, the works or the tasks of people have been further created with ease. With the implementation of computer systems within the existing systems of completion for human tasks, the jobs of people, which can be merged with technological arrangements, were enhanced to becoming easily completed. Today, 95% of the whole population of man all around the world utilizes the computer systems for their everyday application. Even ordinary appliances are now compiled with complex operating systems based upon computer arrangements to be able to meet the best possible performance that they could render the human society. (Tanenbaum, 2006, 15)

Now, even more complex role is played by the application of operating systems in the daily dealings of people has been introduced. With the development of the communication systems such as the internet, learning from home, using top of the art facilities and technologies became possible for many students who cannot attend universities because of some unavoidable circumstances. Through the existence of the emerging technological innovation on communication and information transfer, everything became possible and available through the Internet. As of the present situation, there are still other innovations that have been affected by the developing Operating Systems. The world trade systems has become more easy for the traders since the Internet systems allow them to connect with others easily and effectively transact with their business partners abroad. (Tanenbaum, 2006, 19)

The introduction of the Internet systems to the world has been noted as one of the most successful breakthroughs that has been attempted, pursued and now fulfilled by the merging of science and technology in increasing the capability of human communication in connecting people together from a worldwide perspective. Years before the said introduction, people simply depended on snail mails and telephone calls to be able to communicate with their loved ones abroad. It could also be remembered that people who had lesser financial resource also have lesser chances of actually meeting foreign friends. Now, all those situations have already changed. The connection of people to people actually managed to step forward to the next level. Most likely enough, the situation of connecting humans from the different parts of the world has already been revolutionized through the development and continuous advancement of the Internet Systems.

Certainly, the entire human systems now mostly depend on the said global connection. Economic and political arrangements are now much more effectively done through the adaptation of the said systems with the arrangements of the Internet instituted within the said human engagements. Overall, seeing the said progress on the positive side would actually suggest the fact that internet arrangements have actually brought the whole human society into the new age of communication and information burst out.

The Four P’s Analysis

To understand the business operations better, it is important to measure the implication of the process through knowing the four P’s analysis result on the said business system prepared for.

• Price
• Product
• Place
• Publicity
• Place

As included within this analysis, the organization should also be aware of the huge competition that they are supposed to face within the industry that they are trying to join with. Understandably, competition is a normal part of the operations. However, knowing how tough the said implication of competition would be as the business enters the industry. Within the diagram that follows, the identification of the Car rental company giants both in UK and US shall be shown so as to make an implicative presentation as to how the competition on marketing and business expansion in the industry should be considerably viewed by the administrators of the organization.

IT could be noticed through the diagram that it is not only the functional operations of the organizations themselves count for gaining loyal customers in the car rental industry. It is obvious that the affiliates of the organization also contributes a lot on establishing the trust of the clients in coming up with deals with the organization for their rental services. This is the reason why in marketing the service to the target clients, it is also important to help the customers understand that they are offered with the best services possible basing from the high quality affiliates of the organization itself.

Being located in UK as the headquarters of the organization pays so much on the part of the progress of the business. UK companies as well as ordinary residents give so much importance in travel and leisure comfort especially during business trips, making the business much acceptable to the UK society as its primary target market. The diagram below shall show the proof to this fact.

From the diagram shown herein, it could be noticed that travel and leisure aspect of daily activities among residents and business organizations in UK receive at least 43% of activity frequency. This means that situating the headquarters of the business in that particular community would be a huge increase of market saturation of the services offered by the said car rental company.

Certainly, the area of concentration on the part of the base office of the business is rather considered of a huge asset for the organization. On the other hand, the integration of the internet systems within the operations actually increases the market approach in a rather effective way that makes the entire organization stand in a competitive status against other companies within the same industry.

Conclusion

True, internet has revolutionized the different systems within the human society. The impact of the said worldwide connection has actually made it possible for humans to reconnect with each other through a simple click of a button. Certainly, many would agree that people and their lives have been advanced towards massive progress through the said technological and communication innovations.

On the other hand, the disadvantages of the said systems actually count as important as the advantages. Most of the time, the fraudulent systems that are presented to the society actually affects an amiable number of the human population in becoming fearful with the said innovative designs prompted by the internet. It should then be noted that these fraudulent systems simply brings about problems only when people have lesser acts towards the precautions that they know they have to take into consideration whenever they are using the internet.

With the introduction of the computer technology to the human society during the 19th Century, the works or the tasks of people have been further created with ease. With the implementation of computer systems within the existing systems of completion for human tasks, the jobs of people, which can be merged with technological arrangements, were enhanced to becoming easily completed. Today, 95% of the whole population of man all around the world utilizes the computer systems for their everyday application. Even ordinary appliances are now compiled with complex operating systems based upon computer arrangements to be able to meet the best possible performance that they could render the human society. (Tanenbaum, 2006, 15)

Now, even more complex role is played by the application of operating systems in the daily dealings of people has been introduced. With the development of the communication systems such as the internet, learning from home, using top of the art facilities and technologies became possible for many students who cannot attend universities because of some unavoidable circumstances. Through the existence of the emerging technological innovation on communication and information transfer, everything became possible and available through the Internet. As of the present situation, there are still other innovations that have been affected by the developing Operating Systems. The world trade systems has become more easy for the traders since the Internet systems allow them to connect with others easily and effectively transact with their business partners abroad. (Tanenbaum, 2006, 19)

This fact certainly brings about the fact that managers of different business organizations should recognize the possibilities that put their responsibilities to the business at a certain height that requires them to adjust with the changes. These changes are considerable in line with the globalization procedures that are bound to increase the capability of business organizations to expand world wide thus giving the managers a larger scale of responsibilities that they need to face with in their profession. True, the challenge is serious, however, accomplishing victory on it would naturally bring forth progress in the world’s business industries and world economy.

References

1. Deitel, Harvey M.; Deitel, Paul; Choffnes, David (2004). Operating Systems. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/Prentice Hall. ISBN 0-13-182827-4.
2. Silberschatz, Abraham; Galvin, Peter Baer; Gagne, Greg (2004). Operating System Concepts. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 0-471-69466-5.
3. Tanenbaum, Andrew S.; Woodhull, Albert S. (2006). Operating Systems. Design and Implementation. Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Pearson/Prentice Hall. ISBN 0-13-142938-8.
4. Piazza, Peter. Filtering out problems: e-mail spam and scams often infuriate corporate computer users. A surprisingly easy and effective solution, however, is the e-mail client’s filter feature. Security Management. American Society for Industrial Security. Volume 46, Issue 9, page 36. September 1, 2002.

Some adverts appeal to our sense of humour as laughter is nearly always in favour and is pleasurable. To appeal to humour enforces the idea that if we buy the certain product we will also laugh and have fun. One advert that does this is the advert for Skoda cars. The brand name ‘Skoda’ has never been associated with quality cars, but cheap cars made not to a high standard. As the new Skoda range is now improved in quality, it is the manufacturer’s view that they deserve to be respected.

The advert shows a few men lowering a Skoda onto a platform of a car show. A man comes in wearing a suit and comments on the fact that they are lowering a Skoda(!) and that they should take it away. This man portrays an important man in the running of the event, but not important or maybe wise enough to realise that the Skoda should be there. The advert is for television and when watched is funny. This appeals to our sense of humour, but also our curiosity, as it makes us wonder if, in fact, the cars have improved.

VIRGIN MEGASTORES Adverts Another advert that appeals to our sense of humour is the advert for Virgin Megastores. This store sells music and media products. The advert, which has been televised, is of a man, around 20 years of age, stirring a saucepan of food and listening to music. The advert then cuts to show the deals that Virgin are promoting and then cuts back to the man who is still listening to music.

The music climaxes and he reacts and pretends he is playing the drum part, thereby covering himself in the food from the end of the spoons that he was using for drumsticks. A voice-over comes on to say the stores slogan ‘Whatever turns you on’. This is also funny, as it is a pun on the fact that to play music you have to ‘turn on’. The music that they are playing parallels with that you would imagine the man’s musical tastes would be. This advert would appeal to those in the teens or early 20s age groups.

Other adverts use different types of language to appeal to different types of people. People who like to think that they are helping the environment or are against scientific testing on animals will be attracted to words such as ‘proven’, ‘tested’, ‘passed’ or ‘eco-friendly’. Language like this is usually associated with products from the cosmetic industry. These words don’t mean anything. Even though it is illegal to lie or promote false information about their products, the scientific tests would be minimal and not tested on the right things. How do you know for sure what the tests are and which products have not been tested? The language, however, is very effective.

Some products are promoted as the best by the language used. If this language is used broadly enough the potential customer will eventually start to believe it. Words like ‘fabulous’ and ‘the best’ are very convincing if used a lot. Also adverts will try to flatter the potential customers. The term ‘for delicate skin like yours’ can be flattering. For a part of you to be delicate implies that you will be fair, pretty and gracious if you use the product. This is not always true, but it works.

Many adverts appeal to our human instincts and desires that need to be satisfied. The Heinz advert for some soup appeals to the human need to be warm and well fed. It showed a cold wet woman going home and eating the soup in a large comfy chair. She was warm and felt better. This would appeal to everyone. In our society, celebrities are often used to sell products. When we see a popular celebrity promoting a product we will immediately think that they obviously like it. They are so successful and popular and only want the best. We therefore think that we must have it too, as it must be good. Advertising is very big business. Vast amounts of money are invested in it to promote goods and services. If we are not to be tempted to buy goods that we do not really want or need, then it is vital that we understand the language used.

I.         Introduction: Relevant Case Facts

            The Sharpe BMW is a car dealership firm that thrives mostly like what most dealerships thrive on: car sales and services like maintenance and repairs. The firm has had a recent slump through the years which the company have analyzed to have come from the changing of the leadership in which the firm has had success. The change in the leadership supposedly lowered customer ratings and the profits and revenues of the car dealership firm.

However, recent developments made a sudden turn when the higher levels of management decided that they needed a change in the firm so that they would be able to meet the industry average and if possible, the successful averages that the company has achieved before under the leadership of the previous service manager. Bob Deshane, the service director and direct superior of Tom Dunn, submitted a proposal to the company management that would definitely bring back the time when the CSI, or the customer satisfaction index, that has been plaguing the company. It was traced to be a source of low service quality among the car dealerships in the area.

            Among the problems that need to be resolved with plan, the technicians feel that the plan was a good idea; the only setback of which is the bonus would be so meager in their terms. Adding an additional fact was the comment of their technician that he would be better off doing more warranty works since this would give him more money. The other technician, however, was optimistic about the plan. He commented that the CSI give too much detail and focuses on things that are not really necessary since those items are beyond the control of the technician. He also added that the plan also gave the workers a more than pat on the back acknowledgement that further motivates the workers.

            To add more problem to Tom Dunn’s predicament is that the work given to him detailed that his job’s charges include the objective of increasing the service department’s revenue and to increase the CSI rating of the service department. He realized then that the job given to him is not in conflict with the plan, but would involve the changing of some things that are connected to the service department. His dilemma furthers that the implementation of the plan would not be guaranteed to work and have a good effect and that everyone would be happy. To make things more complicated, he thinks of the possibility of that the plan or the implementation would have a few faults and would have a possibility that it would fail.

II.                Analysis of the Scenario

Since the problem involves the plan and the decision that would have to be considered by the manager, Tom Dunn, the first thing that we have to look at would be the case scenario and the plan’s pros and cons.

The plan has a lot of pros and cons. The positive side of the plan’s implementation would be that the workers would feel that the company appreciates the hard work and their dedication to their work. In addition to that, the company would project the image that they are recognizing the good service that their technicians are working hard to maintain. The possibility of increase in the CSI of workers may result. Another advantage of the plan is the significant monitoring of the management of the employees and their performances. This would give the company a good view on what happens when a specific technician works for a client. This plan also proves to be a good motivator of employees since it would give them an additional earning if they would get the CSI earning up, making the workers realize the true importance of the Index. Furthermore, this would encourage workers to work in a faster rate and with accuracy so that they would achieve high ratings on their CSIs.

However, just like any plan, there are drawbacks in this scenario. First of which is that although the plan recognizes the hard work of their technicians, the plan failed to recognize the fact that the bonus would not be enough to motivate workers. The idea of the bonus was good; but the idea of a small bonus would not be that attractive. Second, the plan seeks to improve the CSI of workers, then why did they not consider that one good motivator of the workers would be in a friendly competition with each other. Whoever achieves the highest rating per end of the month would be given a lump sum bonus. This would surely entice the employees more. The firm considered the satisfactory work as a target but they failed to analyze the case more effectively. The plan also seeks to change the system of the service department. With this, the manager is motivated to achieve an impact in his career.

Now, we have to consider a few theories in human behavior in order for us to achieve our desired recommendation. The plan clearly has a good idea, but the bonus for the workers would not be that much to motivate them Using Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs(Lindner, 1998), the bonus in the plan satisfies almost all the steps in the completion of the hierarchy; the only step that was not satisfied was the need for self-actualization. According to the theory of Maslow, in order for a person to be motivated completely, he would need not to find the hierarchy satisfied. The plan failed to satisfy the last step since this would lead to a thinking of workers such that they would think that their talent is only valued and appreciated in as much as the bonus is concerned. If the plan needs to increase the CSI, then the need for the motivation of the workers is high, in order for them to do their work efficiently, effectively, and more importantly, in good quality.

The dilemma of the manager is out of the question, as far as the plan is concerned. If Dunn is really concerned in the raising of the CSI ratings, as his charges are concerned, then he should find ways to make the plan work. The plan’s success would not solely depend on the perfection of the plan, but on the manager’s decision and adjustments to make the plan work. A pessimistic approach on the subject would entail nothing more than the success of the plan. If the Tom Dunn would want to make an impact on his career as the service department manager of the firm, then he should think about the basic skills that a leader has. He should be able to think and apply the adjustments needed in case the plan would have a fault. It would not be an excuse that the plan is faulty. What would look bad in his career is his being dependent on the plan, rather than relying on the plan as his guideline and the implementation being based on the objectives of the plan.

III.             Recommendation

The plan has to push through but with slight adjustments of the bonuses. Tom Dunn should make a recommendation to be submitted to the higher management that the bonus should be increased in amount to make the technicians more motivated. Although the increase in bonus would decrease the profit, what’s important is increasing the revenue, which is the cash flow they have. A greater CSI that would be generated by the motivated workers would increase the profits. Moreover, if the recommendation be approved, the final result would be that everyone would be happy; the firm enjoying the higher CSI rating and increased revenue, and the workers would be more motivated to work to have bonuses.

The success of this plan involves the adjustment capabilities of Tom Dunn. If his adjustments would be poor, then the plan would not work properly. If he has good adjustments, however, the endpoint where everyone would be happy would be fully achieved.

BIBLIOGRAPHIES

Lindner, J. R. (1998). Understanding Employee Motivation Retrieved November 25, 2006, from http://www.joe.org/joe/1998june/rb3.html

Executive Summary

Selling online can help your business reach new markets and increase your sales and revenue gains. Those who are interested in selling to other businesses, can use the Internet to find sales leads, announce calls for tender, and to offer products for sale. Searching for products and services online can save time and money by allowing to find the best prices without having to do all the legwork. You can use the Internet to find new suppliers, post buying requests or search for products and services. The benefits of effective B2B e-commerce include lower costs associated with selecting suppliers, establishing prices, ordering, and finalizing transactions. Online trading networks can also be used to support efficient information exchange between buyers and sellers.

Business description

Mission —The mission of Budget Cars will be to buy and sell a desirable mix of quality used cars, trucks, and vans, and to create a friendly atmosphere where Budget Cars will be known for being your family used car center.

Industry analysis

Immediately following World War II, there were roughly nine buyers for every new car produced. Sales personnel merely had to find out who could afford a new car. “Afford” was defined as paying cash. This condition existed until the early 1950s when supply began to discover that some new terms were creeping into the retail salesperson’s vocabulary. Words like “overallowance,” “discount,” “deal,” and “terms.” The emphasis, however, was still not on product but on price. In addition, the asking price was no longer final. There was also, if you could haggle a little, a taking price. It was possible to bargain with the dealer for the first time.

During the 1960s, other new merchandising techniques were introduced. “Sticker price,” “fleet price,” “hard sell,” “50 over invoice,” “high-powered advertising,” and “free” accessories were but a few new innovations. The buyer was becoming better educated, better able to buy—thanks to 24- and 36-month payments—but still confused and fearful of price. “Good deals” became “bad deals” after talking to friends and neighbors. Caution became the watchword when buying a car.

The advent of the 1970s brought more confusion to buyers with new procedures like leasing, 48-month payments, credit unions, rebates, and consumer advocates. However, in defense of the consumer, books on “How to Buy a Car,” “Invoice Prices U.S. Cars,” and “Used Car Buyers Guide,” were published and sold by the millions.

During the 1970s automobile salespeople became conditioned to the notion that customers were interested in only one thing—the very lowest price. The automobile showroom atmosphere didn’t change very much from the 1970s to the 1980s. Most retail salespeople saw the business of selling automobile as an “us against them” hard-sell game. Those who sold popular Japanese products became arrogant and insensitive to their customers and those who sold American vehicles continued with the approach that price, and price alone, sells vehicles.

As the 1980s came to a close, however, the winds of change began to impact the retail automobile marketplace. Today, in the mid 1990s, the business of retailing automobiles is quite different than it has ever been in the past.

In today’s marketplace, 5 out of every 6 cars sold in the United States are used. Knowing this fact and trying to organize and be able to provide as many possible offers in one place in mid 1990s many new second hand car advertising magazines came to market. The popularity of second hand cars made those magazines sold good. But with today’s technology and high internet usage just a print magazine is not enough to have for a successful company. There are more and more car selling online site, where is gathered a great amount of advertisements.

Market analysis

There are many different online car shoppers’ sites which offer their service.

CarsOnlineFree.com is a unique site exclusively established by a few students with a view to provide online car buyers and sellers with the best friendly services, and the most competitive online advertising opportunity, Free of costs. Search cars and sell cars free online, no catch! As they say: We hope potential buyers, and sellers would be greatly benefited from this site. Our rigorous effort is just to make a difference.

In addition, CarsOnlineFree.com is also offering Free Auto Dealer Memberships with a number of Exciting Features. Online visitors can search Dealer Vehicle Inventories from CarsOnlineFree.com’s search page or they can search Available Member Dealers within certain distance of their Zipcodes.

The other site which we found of car sellers is Carzone.ie. Carzone.ie is Ireland’s number one motoring website attracting over 720,000 monthly unique users, who carry out over 35 million searches a month for used cars. Carzone works with Ireland’s franchise and independent car dealers, and private sellers, to provide the biggest online showroom of used cars in the country. Over 60,000 used cars are listed on the site at any one time. Carzone’s unique search function means finding the perfect car is easy – with no specific make or model in mind required.

Marketing plan

Business model

In the most basic sense, a business model is the method of doing business by which a company can sustain itself that is, generate revenue. The business model spells-out how a company makes money by specifying where it is positioned in the value chain.

For the company Second Hand Car Mart we offer the best online business model which is combine advertising – subscription business model.

The web advertising model is an extension of the traditional media broadcast model. The broadcaster, in this case, a web site, provides content and services mixed with advertising messages in the form of banner ads. The advertising model works best when the volume of viewer traffic is highly specialized. Second Hand Car Mart Company will provide classified information for both second hand car sellers and buyers.

This will attract specialized audience of website and could be the best advertising area for car service providers, car accessories seller, car salons, cars selling companies (such as Ford, Mercedes Benz, Toyota and etc.), car loans providers. These would be the companies which would be highly advertised in the online site. Meanwhile any other advertisement could be place in the online site, such as popular online shopping sites with the best offers, news online site and etc.

In subscription online business model users are charged a periodic daily, monthly or annual fee to subscribe to a service. It is common for sites to combine free content with “premium” content. We offer combine advertising online business model with subscription. Mainly subscription model will be offer for companies which put the car sell advertisement and as an opportunity to be first in search, assure that the company’s offer will come up in the first page. Also subscription would let the car seller put as many advertisements as want during any period of time.

The free subscription would be offered for customers who are selling their own cars as an individual advertisement.

Portal – a search engine that may include varied content, in our case will be gathered information of car sellers. A high volume of user traffic makes advertising profitable and permits further diversification of site services.

Combining two business models will help Second Hand Car Mart to increase their profit. Nowadays the companies have to be creative and not to apply just one business model. We believe that those companies which can combine different models and use what suits best for them will become successful.

So we chose the business model which we are offering to apply for Second Hand Car Mart online site.

Domain name

The domain you use for a web site can have a huge impact in the way that humans and search engine spiders perceive it. Domain names were once so expensive that only those wanting to protect a brand or who could afford them owned them, now they are commonplace and if you know where to look, you could pick up a domain name for free. Now that they are much easier to obtain, it is hard to take any site that does not have it’s own domain name very seriously. Without a domain name, a company is likely to be passed off as amateurish or seen to want to cut corners to save money. The best domain names are those that people can remember, because if your visitors can remember it, they are more likely to come back.

That is why we came up with domain name: www.carmart.com.my. This domain name is available and it represents the company. We believe that this domain name is not too long, is easy to remember and make sense. Using carmart.com.my domain name will let the company to add the possibility of advertising new cars as well as second hand cars.

The second offer would be www.secondhandcar.com.my domain name. This domain name is available and could be used by company. It is more directly associated with the magazine name and will attract the existing users. But we also see few disadvantages which first domain name doesn’t have – it might be too long to remember and it narrows the company possibilities advertising new cars.

Domain name for an online business this could mean the difference between a new customer or losing one. It could also mean the difference between an one time or returning visitor. It also makes it easy for people to remember your site. In any case, if they like it, they might recommend it to a friend. This will help build traffic to website over a period of time. Because people remember website addresses based on domain names, choosing a good domain name is crucial when creating a website. Generally, short, easy-to-remember domain names are best. It is also helpful if they are easy to type and easy to say. Finally, the domain name describes the content of the site well. Domains ending with “.com” are the best, but “.net” and “.org” are also good options. Domains like “.cc,” “.name,” and “.info” are not as well indexed by search engines, so steer clear of those if you can. Choosing domain ending with “.com.my” will direct that online is based in Malaysia.

Positioning the Tata Nano – Case Memo Introduction: Tata Motors Limited (TML), a part of Tata group, a highly respected conglomerate has a product that will revolutionize the way India travels. The team was successful in delivering a car that meets the goal price of 1 lakh rupees. People welcomed it with high pre bookings and initial sales. But it has been found that the car didn’t hit the target market. The initial excitement faded away leading to drastic downfall in sales. We have analyzed the case to bring out the strengths and marketing strategies that TML can play to improve upon its sales. Strength: . At 1 lakh, price is the major strength of Nano. It has been priced between the cheapest car and a bike. 2. Fuel efficient car in the Indian market. 3. Easily accommodate a family of four. 4. Tata group is the most respected corporates in India. This gives TML an advantage as people trust the brand. 5. The compact design provides easy maneuverability in the congested city traffics. Weakness: 1. Positioning of the product as a cheap car. 2. Capacity limitation due to postponement of new factory lead to lottery based delivery. 3. Absence of enough TML dealers to cover the length and breadth of the country. . Low margin for the dealers. While TML provided 4 to 10 percent dealer margin for Nano the dealer margin was only 2 to 3 percent. Opportunities: 1. TML team views nano as an opportunity to provide a safer means of transport to a typical Indian family which rides on a motorcycle. The two wheeler segment presents itself as a great opportunity to nano to tap in. 76 % of automobile sales is in two wheeler market. 2. A large percentage of Indians lie in the middle class income range. Presently their disposable income is on the rise due to better job opportunities.

The fact that this section of people doesn’t have a car and also prefer to own one if affordable provides TML with unprecedented market opportunity. 3. Rising fuel prices will be advantageous to Nano as it is fuel efficient when compared to other cars in the same segment. 4. The new Sanand factory will help achieve the scale of operation . Threats: 1. The major threat for Nano is from the cars placed in mid-sized segment. Paying a bit more customers get a larger car with bigger engine and a longer track record. 2. Incidents of some Nanos catching fire also deterred customers from buying the car.

Although the fire was due to foreign electronic particles it did dampened the market sentiments. 3. Nano missed its target market and it was catering to a market of second car buyers. 4. The advanced versions which were well above 1 lakh were selling more than basic model. This led to critics criticize that Nano might increase the congestion in roads. 5. Political threats like Singur land problem. The SWOT analysis of Nano provided a picture of the product and the brand. We have used 4 Ps of marketing mix to further analyze the different aspects of Nano. Product:

While developing Nano the whole team had one objective to provide a low cost car without compromising on the quality of the car. TML went on with the following strategies to achieve this goal. 1. Nano was the most fuel efficient and economical car. 2. Three models are available: Nano, Nano CX and Nano LX. Nano had only the basic features without power steering, power windows etc. The other models had extra features. 3. The car was designed to accommodate more in less space. Engine was kept in rear portion to achieve this goal. 4. The suppliers were also roped into the design.

They made light weight , low cost parts designed especially for Tata Nano. 5. Nano had parts supplied from 100 suppliers. The suppliers viewed this as a new opportunity to develop their capabilities. 6. The engines for Nano were developed by TML itself. Tata nano has a 624 cc 2 engine cylinder. The car as a product achieved its stated goals. But unexpected incidents of some Nanos catching fire led to build up of negative outlook on the quality of the product. Tata did took steps to ensure the quality of the product. 1. It fitted additional safety parts in every nano. . TML had four nanos touring all over India to prove that their product is capable of withstanding all conditions. TML could have gone for safety certifications but the cost prevented it from providing basic safety measures like air bags and anti-lock brakes. Pricing: Pricing is the USP for Nano. The whole product evolved around the goal price of 1 lakh. Apart from the lower price of Nano TML also had cut dealership margins. 1. Only the basic model was priced at 1 lakh while the other variants CX and LX were priced at 157,808 and 181,438 rupees. 2.

Dealer margins for nano were between 2 to 3 percentage with a 1 percent discount off the full dealer cost if the dealer paid cash up front. 3. Although nor confirmed by TML it is believed that manufacturer margin was around 15 percent. The basic model with 1 lakh pricing failed to lure the customers while the advanced models with higher prices had more takers. Distribution: 1. Inadequacy of dealerships was bothering TML as they couldn’t reach out to the target market. 2. TML had 214 dealerships spread over 28 states in the country. 3. TML followed an unique model for pre bookings. It took leverage of other Tata group companies.

The pre booking forms were made available in Croma ,Westside stores, World of Titan and Tata Indicom exclusive stores. In addition the pre booking can be done through online or from SBI banks. 4. The land problem led to capacity limitation. The initial production was limited to 50,000 nanos. 5. A lottery system was used to allocate cars to people who had pre booked it. 6. TML had an idea to promote entrepreneurial engineers to assemble the car at a rural location where distribution was not available. But this idea was dropped due to concerns on warranty. Promotions: Promotion of nano was a major task ahead of Ratan Tata.

TML needs to adjust its marketing strategies in order to sell the volume of cars that could be produced with the new plant. The following are the ways in which the product was promoted. 1. Right from the beginning Nano was promoted heavily by advertisements. The car was advertised as cheapest car in the market. 2. TML concentrated on the price aspect alone in its campaigns. This had negative impact on the minds of customers that the car may not be on par with its qualities. TML should make sure to change the perception of customers so that they don’t view nano as low cost car but an affordable car with quality standards.

The quality standards and safety measures have to be promoted vigorously as the people expect these features when investing 1 lakh rupees. Conclusion: TML has a product that will help the millions to get a decent and safe way to travel. Unlike the second car buyers, the middle class i. e. the first time car buyers will view nano as a way to travel along with family. It leads to high expectations on safety and quality since individuals never risk the safety of their family. TML has to make sure that the product is rightly positioned as the one with necessary quality standards and high safety measures to rope in a middle class customer.