Ford Ka Case Study

They have specific qualities they search for in cars, like affordability, quality and durability. They are vey conscious about safety and low price, and don’t have brand loyalty.

Ford motor company offers a wealth of variety to the automotive consumer. As they start their second century of business, they are now in a position to appeal to the widest range of potential customers. Each of their automotive brands has a unique personality

| Not being able to respond to consumer wants/demands quickly enough, leading to short-term revenue loss

It was a strategy to centralize the management which resulted in ignorance of local factors of the global market. As a result they lost a huge market share and suffered to remain in the competition.

(-) By being too aggressive, it counters their value of relationships and good customer service, and can tarnish their brand with a bad reputation

Automobiles over time have significantly improved over time. The design, safety, engineering and more. These all give us comfort and make us feel relaxed. These days 90%+ of the new cars come with Cruise control. That didn't come standard in the Ford Model-T, the first motor powered Car in US. The Model-T didn't have enough power to even go faster than 30 mph. These days the speed limit on the highway is 55 or more. The Mobile-T didn't come with any of the features that the cars have now. Lets see how this car changing revolution began

Consumer Demand Risks | Not being able to respond to consumer wants/demands quickly enough, leading to short-term revenue loss | Marketing Team | Consumer interests change, other companies offer newer/better product | Medium | Medium | Medium |

From its laidback body style with a narrow nose and a backwards sloping roofline to its sporty wheels, the Forte makes a bold statement to others. It appears ready to take on any of your driving demands without a single complaint from the engine compartment.

"Trust our company, love our brands and delight in our services." This is the theme of Ford's global brand strategy. Ford's approach to brand marketing is that of six distinctive vehicle brands and four distinctive service brands. Among these vehicle brands are Mercury, Lincoln, Ford, Jaguar, Aston Martin, Mazda, and soon Volvo. With several different brands under the name Ford a number of products with an overwhelming set of characteristics has been developed. These strong brand names, along with unique models within each brand assist Ford to build long-term, sustainable links to customers throughout the world. (For a listing of Ford models, see appendix.) People automatically associate certain nameplates to Ford, such as the Mustang, Thunderbird, and the ever popular Taurus. The brand characteristic of a Ford truck is "Built Ford Tough," while the characteristics of a sport utility vehicle is ,"go anywhere, do anything, practical adventure." The Jaguar XJR is another example of a unique brand of Ford. There are no others like it on the market today. The XJR is targeted at those customers who are looking for that extravagant "muscle" car. All of these sub-brands share the same global promise of the Ford Motor Company.

First, we will analyze the targeted customer and the proposition designed by each company to attract them. In this part, there is a description of each market target and how each company has taken advantage of each unique position in the industry.

Objectives |Metric |2009 |2010 |2011 |Target | |Customer Satisfaction |Global Quality Research System customer satisfaction (3 months in service), percent satisfied1 |n/a |n/a |68 |75 | |Value to Customers |Ford U.S. fleet fuel economy, combined car and truck, miles per gallon (higher mpg reflects improvement) |27.1 |26.9 |27.8 |>30 | |Quality/Safety |Percent of Nameplates Achieving IIHS Top Safety Pick by Manufacturer |n/a2 |52% - for 2011 models |75% - for 2012 models |80% for 2013 models | |

1. Target Market Selection – Who is to be serviced needs to be determined. Target heavy users, all users, or even what age and gender to focus on.

Ford strategy is serving customers in markets with a family of best in class vehicles from small, medium, and large cars, utilities and trucks. Each vehicle delivers high quality, fuel efficiency, safety, smart design and value to bring profitable

Sullivan Ford Auto World should position itself as a distributor of low-end to middle-low end models of Ford cars to capture its target market. It can sell its low-end models to Generation Y and Generation X, with both generation

“A task force concluded, the past segmentation did not fully address the emerging shift in customer needs” “(Xiameter Case Study). Dow Corning had to thus try different segmentation variables, alone and in combination to find the best way to view the market structure. (Kotler et al, 2008).