Ford Motor Company

The strong competition among rivals pursuing a similar strategy is vastly based on product differentiation and a niche market attraction, as companies are constantly working to surpass their competitors and seek to provide just what certain consumers want.

On the other hand, prices are the most insignificant buying criterion in High End, Performance and Size segments. No matter how high the prices are, customers in these segments are more preferable to high-tech product. In particular, for the High End and Size segments, ideal position occupies 43% and products’ ideal age is 29%. Furthermore, reliability is the most important consideration to customers in Performance segment. Hence, Niche Differentiation is a proper alternative for these three segments.

The amount of cash that Ford is carrying on its balance sheet is too much considering that additional money not used for the advancement of the company belongs to the owners of the firm, the shareholders. Having too much cash on its balance sheet will be a disincentive to Ford’s employees who consequently will feel not feel an urgency to perform and add value to the company. Notwithstanding the fact that the company is always on the lookout for acquisition targets even after already purchasing Jaguar Cars, Volvo Cars, and Land Rover in the past ten years, it is imperative that the company does not engage in such activities for the sole purpose of “empire

It has been held in the United Brands case that product differentiation acts as a barrier to entry. Product differentiation is the development or incorporation of properties such as pricing, style etc. that the intended buyers of a product perceive to be different from others and therefore desirable. In the instant case the product differentiation has been made by different annual fee for licence of patented product.

Globalization has affected Ford’s business strategies because they expanded operations worldwide. Ford manufactures and distributes automobiles in 200 markets on six continents and has 108 plants worldwide. This allows more free trade between the United States and Europe, Asia, Pacific, Central and South America, the Caribbean, Africa, and the Middle East (Ford Motor Company: International Operations, 2009). Ford Motor Company took the time to restructure the company. They also redesigned their product line during the recession and became innovative. Ford Motor Company has launched a global powertrain strategy that is building a network of flexible engines and transmission plants that improve quality and manufacturing efficiency. Under Ford Motor Company’s global powertrain strategy, next-generation engine plants worldwide will use a

The Ford Motor Company (FMC) was founded in Detroit in 1903 and began shortly thereafter exporting cars to European branches. Cross-border assembly started in Canada in 1904 and was later implemented in the European markets. The first European plant was established in 1911 in England, and this was followed with other lower volume assembly plants across the European continent. All the plants and branches assembled and sold the Model T, using American methods and practices. This proved to be a success in the beginning, but in the long run, “(…) this proved a costly and unsuccessful strategy in Europe’s diverse markets” (Bonin et al., p. 15). By the late 1920s most of its European subsidiaries were struggling and Ford had to change his

Ford in 2011 is on the rebound, having recovered from the darkest hours in the late 2000s. The company for the company is that many of its competitors are also rebounding, and there are significant long-run changes in the automobile industry. Ford needs to determine a strategy that will take the company through the next decade, and improve the company's competitive position. The company has four of the top fifteen best-selling cars in America, but also needs to set strategy globally, as many of the best automobile growth markets are overseas. Another strategic consideration is that CEO Alan Mulally remains in the process of changing the organizational culture at Ford, which had become stagnant and unresponsive to the changes in the industry environment.

Ford Motor Company is a public corporation that began its operations in 1903. The company designs, develops, manufactures, and services cars and trucks across six continents. Furthermore, it divides its work between two main segments – an Automotive Segment and a Financial Services Segment. The Automotive Segment is in charge of marketing its products through worldwide retailers and distributors, as well as selling them to dealers or fleet customers. This sector also provides retail customers with after-the-sale vehicle services and products, such as collision repair. The second segment, the Financial Services Segment, focuses on automotive financing products, and the offering of them to and through the global dealers of Ford’s cars and trucks. Many of these financing products include retail financing, commercial financing for the purchase or lease of vehicle fleets, and wholesale financing. Other financial service-related activities include their shares in a range of businesses, such as holding companies and real estate ventures (Gale Cengage Learning). Both segments work together in an effort to maximize shareholder value.

Customer loyalty, marketing communication, and branding are all essential elements of any marketing strategy undertaken by a company in a bid to promote its brand image with an ultimate goal of increasing their sales through continuous customer loyalty (Kottler & Keller, 2003). A brand strategy is a development plan a company puts in place for its products and services. Marketing communication, on the other hand, entails informing customers and potential customers of product and service offerings of a company with an aim of attracting and retaining them in the long run (Kottler & Keller, 2003). Lastly, customer loyalty is an outcome of always giving customers a great experience while using the company’s products and services. It basically involves a preference by customers to use the products of a company as compared to the other brands available in the market regardless of their price. This is the major goal of most businesses (Kottler & Keller, 2003). Ford is no exception. When it comes to its F-series, careful situational analysis has to be conducted if the product life cycle of this truck series is to be extended despite the fact that it has been on the market for over 35 years.

Product differentiation, a strategy proposed by Edward Chamberlin in 1933, takes account of three factors: price, quality, features. These three factors are intertwined. For example, the price of a product is solely dependent on the variety of features the product has. If a firm seeks to differentiate their product from the competitor’s product, the firm will have to include extra features or exclude common features. Fortunately enough for certain firms, the presence of these noteworthy features will create a strong brand image, which in turn will lead to the increase of loyal customers. To give an example, Tesla Motors’ Model 3 is the only battery electric vehicle which has a sporty design among the other battery electric

A company can not produce a successful product that’s welcomed by the public without listening to their customers. To avoid the failure of Edsel, Ford should have communicating more with their consumers using methods such as survey questions, data analysis, and market

Although they are able to somewhat control prices due to their product differentiations and their status as a brand name, they will make profits by lowering price. However the danger in lowering prices is that with each additional product, utility will drop for the consumer. Therefore, firms must be careful in balancing consumer demand with the projected consumer utility.

In differentiation strategies, the emphasis is on creating value through sustainable uniqueness. This can be achieved through product innovations, superior quality, or superior service, which is then sustained and leveraged through creative advertising; brand-building and strong supply chain relationships. Another requirement for a successful differentiation strategy is that customers must be willing to pay more for the uniqueness of a product or service than the firm paid to create it. A differentiation strategy will lead to higher firm performance only if buyers value the attributes that make a product or service unique enough to pay a higher price for it or if they choose to buy from that firm preferentially. If

A firm can build profits and growth through strategies of differentiating the product attributes, lowering costs to offer the lowest prices, and focus either within the segment or across the industry, (Porter, Michael E. 1980). The generic strategy that Jaguar Land Rover follows is to add differentiated value within the premium automobile segment, known as differentiated focus strategy (John L. Thompson, Frank Martin page 199, 2010). The company has been differentiating itself by launching new product lines, such as smaller cars (Range Rover “Baby” Evoque) priced attractively for first time Land Rover buyers, new models (Jaguar F type and the Land Rover Discovery Sport) to appeal to luxury buyers, and building fuel efficient engines under its environmentally sustainable

The goal of a differentiation strategy is to increase the perceived value of goods and services so that customers will pay a higher price for additional features. While the goal of a cost-leadership strategy is to reduce the firm’s cost below that of its competitors. Differentiation strategies can differentiate based on superior quality and unique features, image of prestige. A company that uses differentiation strategy can achieve a competitive advantage as long