Marketing Strategies:- Ford Case Sudy

INTRODUCTION

Marketing strategies varies from one market to another and from one product to another. For example the marketing strategy of Daewoo is different from Ford. The main marketing strategy of Daewoo was how to break onto the relatively mature USA market in order to become a meaningful player in a short period of time, while ford's problem was basically an internally focused one, indicating how IT influenced the organization design and global marketing strategy.

Company Profile:

Ford Motor Company is an American multinational corporation and the world's third largest automaker based on worldwide vehicle sales.

In 1903, Ford proclaiming, "I will build a car for the great multitude." In October 1908, he did so, offering the Model T for $950. In the Model T's nineteen years of production, its price dipped as low as $280. Nearly 15,500,000 were sold in the United States alone. Ford Company the world's second-largest car company was started by Henry ford in 1903.Ford motor company is a worldwide leader in automotive and financial products and services. Ford mission is to improve their products and services to meet all the expectations of their customers and this will allow them to prosper their business and to provide a return to their stockholders.

Based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit, the automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated in June 16, 1903. Ford now encompasses many global brands, including Lincoln and Mercury of the US, Jaguar and Land Rover of the UK, and Volvo of Sweden. Ford also owns a one-third controlling interest in Mazda.

Ford introduced methods for large-scale manufacturing of cars and large-scale management of an industrial workforce, especially elaborately engineered manufacturing sequences typified by moving assembly lines . Henry Ford's combination of highly efficient factories, highly paid workers, and low prices revolutionized manufacturing and came to be known around the world as Fordism by 1914.

(www.ford.com)

Ford in the United States of America:

For 2007, Ford is the third-ranked automaker in USA sales after General Motors and Toyota. Ford was also the seventh-ranked American-based company in the 2007 Fortune 500 list, based on global revenues of $160.1 billion. In 2006, Ford produced about 6.6 million automobiles, and employed about 283,000 employees at about 100 plants and facilities worldwide. In 2007, Ford had more quality awards from J.D Power than any other automaker.

Ford incorporated the Ford Motor Company in 1903The Model T heralds the beginning of the Motor Age; the car evolved from luxury item for the well-to-do to essential transportation for the ordinary man.

(www.ford.com)

(http://in.ibtimes.com/articles/20080108/tata-motors-ford-jaguar-land-rover.htm)

Ford in India:

Ford came to India in 1998 with its Ford Escort model, which was later replaced by locally produced Ford Ikon in 2001. It has since added Fusion, Fiesta, Mondeo and Endeavour to its product line. Ford sales in 2007 in India grew by 33 percent, thanks to the continued success of ford fiesta and the all-new Endeavour. Ford sold 116,159 vehicles last year and its market share grew 0.6 percent over 2007.

Ford competes in India against a number of global and local automakers. Along with GM, Toyota, Tata, Hyundai, Honda, Mitsubishi and Fiat all have a presence in India. There are several Indian automakers, the largest being Maruti, which operates a joint venture with Japan's Suzuki.

The investment, which takes Ford's commitments in India to more than $875 million, comes on the heels of similar moves in Thailand and China, the other markets the U.S. car maker has identified as key to its regional growth strategy. Ford, which last week named India's top vehicle maker, Tata Motors Ltd, as the preferred bidder for its luxury Jaguar and Land Rover brands, will double its capacity in India to 200,000 vehicles a year by 2010, the company said. Ford India posted a 45 per cent fiscal growth for the period April 2006-March 2007.

(1. International Business Times, India- Tuesday 22nd January 2008, http://in.ibtimes.com/articles/20080108/tata-motors-ford-jaguar-land-rover.htm)

(2. http://www.exchange4media.com/Brandspeak/brandspeak.asp?brand_id=104 )

FORD'S MAIN MARKETING OBJECTIVES INCLUDES-

1) Quality- they put the quality of their products first and foremost. Without a quality product, people will have no desire to waste their money or jeopardize their safety.

2) Customer Care- If you don't take care of the Customer, someone else will.

3) Constant Improvement- If the Ford Motor Company allowed them to remain stagnant in their environment, their competition would eventually have a huge advantage over them, because they would have newer and better product lines to offer.

4) Employee Involvement- Ford wants each and every employee to be involved in their company. The happier the employee, the better he works. It is all about feeling that they are part of the Ford Team. They also want their employees to think like consumers and not like employees of a car company. Once they start thinking like a consumer, they can cater more to the needs of their actual consumers because they will know what the consumers want.

5) They consider dealers and suppliers to be their partners- without the dealers and suppliers Ford would not be able to manufacture the things they need alone and therefore would not be able to produce as many vehicles as there would be a demand for or even be able to distribute them all to people.

INDIA ford motors operating general marketing objectives as profitable growth and focusing on the right brand, product and distribution strategy, which will also give them a respectable market share. Ford India posted a 45 percent fiscal growth for the period April 2006-March 2007 Endeavour has maintained a significant share and has been comfortably leading the premium SUV category. With the New Endeavour, the response has been outstanding and they are gearing to match their supplies to the demand. Since the New Endeavour launch,