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There are many products and services available In the market today. The automobile market is no different. There are many brands, styles, and price ranges when it comes to vehicles. One specific area of the automobile market are trucks, more specifically is the Ram truck. Dodge Ram has been around since 1981. Truck sales have hit an all time high since 2007 proving that fuel prices are not affecting sales as much (Ross, J. 2013).
The big three, Ford, Chevy, and Ram continue to fight ach other in the truck selling business and have cut-throat marketing to try to be the best and on top of truck sales. Ram has gotten rid of the Dodge name and goes exclusively by Ram In an effort to get away from being associated with Dodge cars. This marketing strategy of separating Dodge cars and vans from Ram trucks was seen as risky at the time but has proven to be a successful strategy. Since the separation in 2009, Ram has had forty months of successful sales growth that is ahead of all other truck brands (Williams, M. 013). Product Ram currently sells a mid-size pick-up and the full-size Ram 1500, 2500, and 3500. Customers can choose from different colors, chassis, gas or diesel, and also a dually option. This year, Ram is third In sales behind the Ford F-series and Chevy Silverado with 234,642 units sold (Ross, J. 2013). Everyone has a different opinion and preference of what truck they Ilke and want to purchase. consumers who do their research look at sites like wuw. autotrader. com, www. consumerreport. com, and www. motortrend. com to see what other consumers buy and why.
These websites will also tell them the Truck of the year and ratings for each truck. Ram is known for two things; the Hemi engine which is known for horsepower, and iesels. Hemi and Cummins engines are only in Ram pickups which gives them an advantage over other truck makers because people are familiar with these engine types and they are reliable and long lasting. People choose and use products in this category based on lots of different things. The areas that affect people’s purchases in this area are price, body style preference, engine type, comfort, design, and financing.
There are a lot things that come into play when purchasing a truck. Some people are stuck in their ways and only by one brand that they have always driven. Others, esearch and go on test drives and try to find the best deals. When Dodge and Chrysler were bought by Fiat, they decided to drop the Dodge name and go strictly with Ram in 2009 (Williams, M. 2013). After this acquisition, the company decided to focus on what they determine to be real truck customers versus those who are casual truck buyers and don’t really use their truck but drive it for the image.
According to President Fred Diaz, the wanted to bring a distinction between Dodge cars that are supposed to be young, cool, hip, and energetic whereas the Ram truck is supposed to be built tough for real truck users. Ram and Dodge, used problem recognition to separate themselves from each other in order to up sales. They were able to perceive what their customers wanted, and it triggered their decision to separate in order to increase sales (Kerin, R. A. , Hartley, S. W. , Berkowitz, E. N. , Rudeltus, W. 2011). price Ram’s warranties are a basic 3 year or 36,000, and a powertrain warranty of 5 year or 100,000 miles.
Chevrolet trucks warranty is the same. While Ford’s warranty is not as good with the same basic warranty and only a 5 year or 60,000 mile warranty on the Powertrain. According to www. otortrend. com, the MSRP for a base 2013 Ford F-1 50 is $24,070, two wheel drive bottom of the line 6 cylinder up to $54,000 for the loaded +150. The MSRP for a 2013 Ford +350 $30,800 to $58,000 for the loaded edition. The MSRP for a 2013 Ram 1500 base model between $23,485 and $37,500 depending on options. The MSRP for a 2013 Ram 3500 is between $42,000 and $58,000.
The pricing between Ford and Ram are comparable in many areas from base models to the cream of the crop biggest trucks. The biggest difference in pricing is for the base model of the Ford F-350 and Ram 3500. Ford is able to offer heir base price for over $10,000 less then Ram’s. So in this area, Ford is more profitable and sells more of these options. Ram is competitively priced with the other truck sellers and offers similar incentives throughout the year. Like every vehicle, Ram customers are able to customize their truck and pick the options that they want.
Depending on the options chosen this can change the price. A base model with cloth and no power options is going to be less than the same model with leather, power options, sunroof, etc. Customers know that they are paying for the extra options that they want. Place Rams are only produced in North America, with three plants; Warren, Michigan, Canada, and Mexico. Dodge trucks are sold at dealerships and wholesale lots brand new as well as online on websites such as Ebay, Autotrader, and numerous other sites around North America.
Used Ram trucks are sold in the same places as well as advantage. They can market their trucks on websites that might reach someone 3,000 miles away and then arrange for shipment. There are some dealerships that offer free transfers to the local dealership of the consumer. Truck dealerships do research when it comes to placing dealerships and where to arket their products online. Ram, like every other truck dealer, generally places their dealerships close to their rivals. There are many places in America where there are “automobile alleys” where all you see are dealerships.
This marketing strategy makes it easy for customers to shop, test drive vehicles, and maybe see a brand or style that they might not of otherwise seen. Ram trucks are marketed to the working truck so they are also placed in areas where construction workers, farmers, and workers who haul or tow will be more apt to see them. Promotion The image for Ram is tough, rugged, and reliable. During the Super Bowl in February, Ram aired a commercial where they targeted the American farmer. In general, the target audience for Ram trucks are males.
They market to the males who want a big, tough, rugged truck that looks mean and lasts. The commercial for the Super Bowl showed this ruggedness and showed the trucks running from sunrise to sundown which implied that they are hardworking and reliable Just like farmers. Ram tries to appeal to the serious truck buyer by giving them options that are important to people who are using their trucks like farmers, construction workers, auling companies, etc. They boast the fuel-economy leading V-6’s because in todays economy, the price of fuel and the mile per gallon is important to buyers.
Ram focuses on this area and markets to the consumer who is looking for a fuel efficient truck. Ram has done its research and asked its current and prospective customer base what they want and what is most important to them. Ram markets through many different avenues. Some of their advertising strategies are commercials, advertisements in weekly newspapers and flyers, online websites and blogs, and sales and markdowns. According to USA Today Hispanic Living Magazine, Ram has made a huge marketing strategy towards Latinos.
Ram launched a campaign entitled, “A Todo, Con Todo” or its 1500 series truck. They used Latino celebrities to bring in the Latino buyers and to take advantage of the increase in Latino spending that has been on the rise since early 2012 (Hernandez, M. 2013). Ram offers incentives throughout the year to bring customers in and clear out inventory. Like all automobile dealers they have their retail price and then offer incentives such as markdowns and special trade-in incentives to bring customers in. Ram also offers financing options such as low to no interest rates and also lease options.
Financing is crucial in the automobile industry and Ram does a great Job by using Chrysler Financial to help customers get the best possible rates. Conclusion In conclusion, Ram appears to be rising in the truck industry. Their sales are increasing and they are trying to be innovative, designing new products, and listening to what their customers want. Ram administrators realized that they needed to separate themselves from the cars and vans associated with the Dodge ame if they wanted to portray a tough, rugged vehicle that would stand out by name.
There will always be the “Big 3” of Ford, Chevrolet, and Ram that will compete for the truck market. As long as Ram remembers what is important to selling a truck; marketing mix of online marketing, sales and markdowns, newspaper and flyers, and commercials on tv are a great mix of different marketing strategies that reaches many consumers. Ram Just has to remember that they have to spend money to make money, so marketing strategies like Super Bowl advertisements are important to eaching a large audience all at once and standing out in a very tough field.