CASE 1
SULLIVAN FORD AUTO WORLD
OVERVIEW
The owner of a Ford car dealership dies unexpectedly. His 28-year-old daughter, a health care manager with an MBA degree, temporarily takes command. She is shocked to find that the once-thriving dealership is losing money and realizes that she must choose between selling the business at an unfavorable price, or working to turn it around. She suspects that improving the performance of the service department will be the key to saving the business.
STUDY QUESTIONS
1. How does marketing cars differ from marketing services for those same vehicles?
2. Compare and contrast the sales and service departments at Auto World.
3. From a consumer perspective, what
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For example an oil change service can’t be returned or even stored. Car “B” owner can’t utilize the conditioning service for the suspension provided to car “A” who is owned by a different customer and car “A” owner can’t return this service to the service center or resell it.
A car service represents an experience that can start from an online service appointment and ends up in the quality of the car service provided by skilled workers, along the reception of customers, the facility (garage), time of service, etc. This experience helps building reputation.
A marketer should consider the characteristics of services in order to successfully market a service in an altered approach from marketing products. Also people, process, convenience and physical evidence are integral elements of service marketing.
2.
|Sales Department |Service Department |
|Considered as Front-End |Considered as Back-End |
|Extensive marketing and advertising |Generally no robust marketing and advertising for the service |
| |department (low level promotions , e.g. campaign for free filter |
7. Describe the four elements of the marketing mix. What roles does each element play in delivering value to customers?
Q1. Does Ford have too much cash? Why did Ford choose to accumulate so much cash? And why
The last six variables are in the ‘subjective’ category. These different attitudes are directly related to different types of Chevrolet customers because cognition, feelings, and ‘response dispositions’ of customers are organized into a set of ‘patterned emotional reactions'. This may be due to differences described as demographic, geographic, psychographic, or lifestyle. Therefore, behavior moves from personal buyer to different buyers in a given society.Other luxury product like automobile marketers, manufacturers, companies, dealers also need to focus on ‘who buys’ or ‘type of customers’ to segment their cars. A discussion of the segmentation of the consumers and the luxury automobiles
O’Reilly Automotive is one of the largest specialty retailers of automotive aftermarket parts, tools, supplies, equipment and accessories in the US. The company sells its products to both do-it-yourself (“DIY”) and professional service provider customers, or do-it-for-me (“DIFM”) (O 'Reilly Automotive, Inc. , 2015).
3. (TCO H) Marketers recognize that the marketing of services is different than the marketing of a product because of the different characteristics that distinguish them from physical products. How do marketers communicate the value of services to consumers? How do they make these intangible services appear tangible to the consumer? What are some marketing strategies that might be employed with services to
Identify consumer priorities, needs and preferences. In what ways do they impact the marketing mix.
Q1. Identify three key characteristics of the marketing concept. A. Marketing is very important and a key concpet in creating a succesful business. "Marketing is the management process responsible for identifying, anticipating and satisfying customer requirements profitabily". The marketing concept states that success is achieved by identifying needs and wants of the target market satisfying them better than competitors.
Car dealerships provides service before during and after sales they do this because it is important to know if a customer will come back. Before a purchase is made they allow the customers to take the car for a test run so they get a feel of how it drives. They identify the customers and treat them effectively providing them with information they need about the product. During the purchase they also help customers find the perfect car and help them with documents that needs to be filled in for the car. One of the main things they offer is insurance on the spot, once everything is finish they let them know that it was a good choice and tell them enjoy their new car. After the purchase is made they offer delivery Audi dealers offer the customer service on the car whenever it is due, and stays in touch with the customer to make sure their happy with the car.
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
The marketing concept rests on four pillars: target market, customer needs, integrated marketing and profitability.
To be successful in business, "a consumer does not buy a whole of physical components of the product but it is usefulness, function, satisfaction of consumer's needs, solving the problem, etc" (Dubrouski, , p.1). "That is why the product is a whole of tangible and intangible components which means satisfaction of consumer's needs and desires, solving the problem"(Dubrouski, p.1). Companies and managers must learn to utilize marketing research, as well as, strategy skills to fulfill customers' satisfaction. Management has to focus on exclusive marketing challenges presented by the new era of the 21st century. Management has to be able to utilize inventive, dominant, and cost effective marketing techniques that will support the future success of the organization. Companies must meet,"the increasing importance of services as part of a product (offer, offering package) which cannot be neglected" (Dubrouski, p.1). Exploring the purpose of market research, as well as, evaluating the importance of such research, facilitates managers in realizing the importance of marketing to an organization's success and to be globally competitive.
Faced with an overwhelmingly complex situation, Alan Mulally has been brought in as Ford Motor Company's new president and CEO. As diverse global dynamics confront the company and competitive pressures continue to build, he has the challenging task of improving Ford's brand image and returning the company to profitability. Mulally has invited your consulting firm to advise his management team on restoring the company's reputation and viability. Assigned to the project, you have been asked to evaluate Ford's situation and prepare a report with the following content:
Qns: Discuss the 4 major characteristics of services and the marketing strategies available for the service organization.
In general terms, marketing is all related to the places of buying and selling of goods and services to satisfy customers’ needs. Nowadays marketing is the most important issues for success of every business marketing is the activity, set of institution, and process for creating, communicating, delivering, and
This case details the position of Carol Sullivan-Diaz, the 28-year-old daughter of Walter Sullivan who died at the age of 56. Walter had bought a Ford dealership in 1983 that eventually grew into what is now Sullivan Ford Auto World. The business sells cars but also services them. Carol is disappointed by current turnover in car sales and sees that the service revenues are below average for this size of dealership. Carol’s now has to decide what way to tackle the future. She can sell the business but will probably only return a value below what it might be worth if profitable or she can look at the operation and see if she can turn it around herself. While she has a bachelor’s degree in economics, an MBA degree and a