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For a little more than a conventional gas engine, consumers will have the hooch to buy the advantage of a car that will give them more gas mileage, increased durability, cheaper fuel costs and above all, a cleaner burning alternative to gas. We introduced our new line of vehicles in a multi-stage process focusing on our target consumer profile. We looked for the younger educated consumer with enough disposable cash to afford a higher premium on a car with advanced technology. This report will detail our marketing strategy including a description of how the marketing mix plays a key role in our roll out.
We know that there are other automakers out here Wing for our business; mainly ‘vow, General Motors, and Toyota to name a few, but we have a product that can outperform what those other companies offer. Niacin’s long established industry presence combined with its expansive facilities internationally will allow us to face our competition head on. We expect to secure at least 5% of the alternative fuel automobile market within six years of our launch and even more within a decade.
Company Description America has long had a fascination for its cars and we here at Ionians know that there are few feelings of freedom that rival Jumping in an automobile and going Just about anywhere you please. As automakers, we have an increased responsibility not only to make sure our vehicles are safe and affordable, but also environmentally friendly. The Maxima has been one of our top selling cars since 1984 and since the Titan’s late debut in 2003, it has rivaled some of Detroit top trucks in sales including the Ford Fl 50. SOOT Analysts: Ionians is one of the leading automotive brands in the world.
The company has a wide geographic base. It has operations in Japan, the US, Canada, Mexico, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Middle East and Asia. Ionians is also well-versed in venue generation from these locations. The wide geographical reach of the company proves to be strong catering to different markets and their emergence. However, we are threatened by rising raw material prices, which could adversely impact operating margins as the following diagram indicates. Strengths: Strong brand name, and a wide geographic basis. The partnership with Marketing Plan for Ionians Motors By Good performance in the domestic market.
Opportunities: Acquisition of ATTLEE Strategic initiatives Increasing demand for hybrid cars Opportunities in India and China. Threats: Rising raw material prices LEVEL directive Tightening emission standards. Competition: Currently, Niacin’s biggest competitors are Volkswagen, Toyota and Honda. (look at did and diesel market) All four automakers share the same opportunity when it comes to competitive edge: to embrace the environmental expectations of society. All automakers listed above have developed and introduced hybrid vehicles and crossover sport utility vehicles, which have shown to be less harmful to the environment.
Current Market Position: According to Fortune Global 500, Ionians is ranked #7 in the industry behind its three pop competitors in the market segments of cars, trucks, sport utility vehicles and minivans (Fortune, 2013). In Japan, Ionians is ranked #2 behind only Toyota (Ionians Motor Information, 2013). Among Niacin’s strengths are a strong brand name and wide geographic base. In order to sustain its competitive edge, Ionians plans to focus on a technological strategy. Strategic Focus: It is increasingly imperative that products are designed with the environment in mind.
In two years, we also plan to launch our diesel-powered Titan. Our estimates of diesel power coupled with a new computer tuning reduces emissions by slashing engine load during acceleration. Part of our mission will be to convince drivers that diesel is a clean and efficient alternative to gas and ethanol consumption. Diesel has been considered a pollutant of noise and particulates, but with our new technology ideas, that issue will be a thing of the past. The current Maxima gets an estimated 25 miles per gallon; the diesel-powered model will increase this capacity more than 50% to almost 40 MPEG.
Our plan will demonstrate how we will introduce our diesel- powered line of vehicles to our target market, which we determine are younger environmentally conscious consumers. Careful planning, research, and marketing of our plan will be utilized to ensure successful entrance into the market. Keys to Success: Ionians Corporation recognizes the need for clean diesel fuel to a younger environmentally aware buyer. The keys to successful market and distribution of these vehicles are the promotion and advertisement, reliability, maintainability, quality, and price.
Along with strong advertising, Ionians will also focus on reliability. Extensive research and development in crash testing, product reliability, and statistical analysis of key performance components are means to attracting the target market. The warranty and service requirements of the Maxima and the Titan includes; a 3 year warranty to any local authorized Ionians Dealer, extra bells and whistles available for upgrade and security of knowing that Ionians stands behind their vehicles. Compared to Toyota, Accuracy and Honda, Ionians will demonstrate the value and quality in each vehicle produced.
In an economy that is stricken by extreme fuel prices and mortgage volatility, low price is the answer to the overall success of these vehicles. Critical Issues: During a current board meeting these were the most important inquiries: Can the Maxima and Titan be produced at the price right for this economy? How do we Are we able to present reliability and maintainability successfully? Concerns of vehicle performance. Keeping up with continued change in the environment. Manufacturing demands/distribution.
Marketing Objectives: Negating any The main objective of Niacin’s marketing plan is to introduce its Green Program 2011 with the new Maxima and Titan vehicles powered by a clean-diesel engine. With this program, Niacin’s current markets will expand by giving consumers more options to buy environmentally friendly vehicles. This plan also allows Ionians to introduce new reduces into its current market segments. Ionians is currently considering some of its proven products like the 2012 Ultimate Coupe, as well as the crossover sport utility vehicle Rogue ford diesel power capability.
Financial Objectives: Niacin’s Value-up, a midterm business plan, will help the company achieve its profitability and sustainability goals. The Value-Up plan is comprised of three commitments: To maintain the top level of operating profit margin among global automakers for each of the three years of the plan. To achieve global sales of 4. 2 million units in fiscal 2015. Target markets: We, at Ionians, acknowledge that customer’s habits do not change easily, but that change is possible. We will appeal to our key demographics, which we have broken down into the various categories.
Geographic Segmentation: The main market we will appeal to first is the United States. Here, laws pertaining to global warming and greenhouse gas emissions are becoming stricter. There are still several states where diesel cars are prohibited, but we can demonstrate that our cars can still fit into the legal requirements for cleaner burning fuel cars. Because our engines burn about 50% more efficiently than gas powered engines, even the most trending markets, such as California and Vermont will consider how our vehicles can change the impact of particulates thrown into the air.
Demographic Segmentation: Demographic segmentation is Niacin’s most important contemplation. The first aspect considered here is age. We understand that younger consumers are more sensitive to environmental issues than perhaps their grandparents. Therefore, we will focus our attention on the younger consumer who wants a vehicle that will not be as damaging on the environment. Our focus is the 25 to 42 age demographic. Because the cars include a premium, we expect that the average income of the nonuser who buys our products will make a medium to upper end salary, starting in the mid $40,000 annually.
The Titan will also appeal to this salary bracket for families and entrepreneurs. Because of the income predictions associated with these cars, we assume that the social class for the Maxima and Titan will start at the middle class and will then go up from there. The Titan’s use is not Just restricted to the rancher hauling industry loads. Traditionally, both of our vehicles have been attractions for DINKY (Double Income No Kids), but we would like to expand the consumer base to include more families and solitary survivors.
Cryptographic Segmentation: This is where our segmentation will become a little more diverse perhaps Just as much as the demographic segmentation. We have already predicted that the average driver will use the truck with more utilization to transport cargo. Both types of consumers will use the vehicles for family or DID (Do It Yourself) purposes and that is why the clean-diesel is so versatile, but it can accommodate the need for versatility. Behavioral Segmentation: One of the top questions a prospective consumer may ask is: What am I going to get out of it?
Lower fuel costs, increased traveling power, increased engine durability ND above all, a less detrimental impact on the environment are Just a few things that will benefit our car buyer. The behaviors that once motivated people to buy the more fun’ vehicle regardless of fuel or environmental ramifications will move to habits of necessity and practicality. We expect that our loyal customers will continue to seek Ionians as the brand they desire. Positioning: Ionians would like to position the diesel Maxima and Titan so that both vehicles are geared toward the environmentally conscious consumers who enjoy sportier types of cars.
Ionians will aim to have the diesels in the mid-price range. Differentiation: Ionians stands out from its competitors because of its unique partnership with Renault. The Ionians-Renault Alliance will develop the 2014 Ionians Maxima to it’s highest potential. Ionians and Renault are separate companies working independently and have separate headquarters and management, but with the recent merger agreement, we have pooled our resources and advanced our technology too place we didn’t think was possible for another half decade.
Another item that differentiates Ionians from the competition is the Ionians Green Program. Ionians announced a new environmental plan for the year 2011, known as the Ionians Green Program 2011. Niacin’s goals include improving fuel economy, reducing carbon dioxide emissions, and the development of clean energy vehicles. Ionians will also promote energy savings, reducing waste, and promote recycling. Now, we will take the successful aspects of the 2011 Green Project, and reinvent the idea of diesel performance.
Value Proposition: The promised value to the customer is that the Ionians Titan and Maxima diesel engines will get better gas mileage than those cars with standard engines and run on regular gasoline. The benefit of buying a diesel car or truck is that they burn less fuel, hey emit less carbon dioxide, and diesels generate more low-speed torque than gasoline engines, making them more efficient in stop and go styles of driving. Consumers reduce fuel consumption while taking one step to clean up the environment by reducing carbon dioxide and greenhouse gases.
Reduced fuel consumption can also be felt at the pump, where consumers will be filling up less due to better gas mileage. Product: The Ionians diesel line will include: The Ionians Maxima The Ionians Titan Product Quality: Niacin’s plan for quality is to ensure that every customer is completely satisfied with the company’s products. Our diesel line of vehicles will be designed with the quality parts are used for all our vehicles. Ionians will strive to ensure that the diesel line caters to consumer taste, but also takes great care in reducing emissions and other environmental hazards.
Price: Market share, competition, product identity and the perception of value are all factors, which we are using to determine the pricing of our new line of diesel- alternative vehicles (Kerri, Hartley, Borrowers and Rudderless, 2010). For this reason, implementing a pricing plan that reflects premiums and market penetration would be most effective. We estimate the base price of a conventional gas-powered 2008 Ionians Maxima will be $29,995 MSP. This pricing is consistent with the rate of inflation and the cost of making the car with modern technologies. The base price of a 2008 Ionians Titan will be set at $37,670 MSP.
Some manufacturers are pricing their alternative fuel vehicles about $5,000 more than the similar gas powered versions. We are going to stay competitive with this pricing schedule and will add $6,500 to our base price. The Maxima will only be sold with a six-cylinder engine at the premium added cost. We will roll out the Titan in both six and eight-cylinder models. The eight-cylinder version will carry an added premium cost above the six- cylinder model at $3,500. The premium cost of both vehicles is reflective that we are providing a unique product, which includes our diesel technology combined with increased battery performance.
We feel the increased costs will eventually drop once our diesel technology vehicle sales exhibit growth exceeding our projections. Promotion: Ionians will use promotions starting with advertising, solid public relations and point of sale. We hope that effective promotion strategies in these areas will lead to valuable word of mouth, consumer-to-consumer cross promotion. Successful marketing techniques used in the past will be used to market the new diesel vehicles. Initially, we will unveil our new line of vehicles in city tours and car shows. Advertising will be one of the most important communicators to reach intended target markets.
Outreach to these social sectors includes television, the Internet, direct mailings, press releases and print (newspapers and magazines). Aggressive advertising and pervasive public relations will include touting “new features and benefits of the Maxima” (Reciting, 1999). Place: Ionians will use a recently opened, 413,000 square foot distribution plant in Memphis, Tennessee as a distribution point for the Southeast. Another facility is in the planning stages for a Tucson, Arizona facility. Some states still have stringent standards against diesel energy cars.
Placing our products at plants outside of these strategic markets will put us in position to market in these areas more aggressively as we feel that legislation to allow passage of our vehicles is on the horizon. However, we are not blind to the emerging market of electronic intermediaries also known as subsidiaries. We will set up cyber stations, online retail hubs, at some of our newer distribution facilities across the country. Information technology is changing the way all industries conduct business and the automotive industry is not immune from necessary adaptations.
Online sales and marketing is a rapidly evolving purchasing power in the hands of the consumer. Our newest distribution plants used syntactically with cyber hubs will allow Ionians to tap into the consumer market in an unprecedented capacity. Sales Forecast: When Carols Shown took over Ionians in 1999, the company was in a troubled financially. Since then, Shown has helped build Ionians back up to an industry leader. During the fiscal year ending in March 2011, Niacin’s total revenues reached approximately $88. 8 billion which is an 11% increase over 2010 (Marketing Info, 2011).