BACKGROUND ANALYSIS:
Charles Hughes, president and CEO of Land Rover North America, Inc., needs to determine how to best position the new Land Rover Discovery in the US market. The main items that need to be taken into consideration are the role of Discovery vs. other models in the Land Rover line, the strength's and weaknesses of Land Rover, and strong competition from Japan who were the most well known brand in the U.S. 4x4 leisure market.
The history of the Land Rover Brand is an important factor to look into when determining how the Discovery vehicle should be positioned in North America. The Land Rover was first developed in England as the first 4WD utility vehicle built for the outdoors. The car was not luxorious but the actual functional utility is what gave the Land Rover its strong image in Third World countries where this was extremely valuable. In response to the change in needs of its customers The Range Rover was built. This vehicle was developed as having the strength and toughness of the Land Rover but had the look of luxury and comfort in which the original Land Rover vehicle did not have. With the launch of these two products The Land Rover Brand gained a vast amount of customers that became loyal to the corporate brand's main core values which were "individualism, adventure, and freedom."
At the July Association of the United States Army (AUSA) Conference, LTG Ostrowski, the Army Acquisition Executive Lead, conveyed the Army’s need for future network solutions. It was also shared in the FY16 Presidential Budget that the Army has several budget requests for Communications systems and upgrades totally over $1.2B (Keller, J. , 2015). This is an opportunity for the Comms BU to expand its customer base in the U.S. Army market place. Northrop Grumman was ranked in the Top 5 of Aerospace and Defense Companies in Forbes America’s Best Employers list (2017). They were ranked over larger companies such as Boeing, Lockheed Martin and Raytheon. Their commitment to their employees, diversity, their customer and even the environment drives their culture. Northrop Grumman’s competitive advantage is leveraging the technology already developed and tested for the services (Air Force and Navy). Their experience with the Army is via services work where our people have gained the expertise to be the right people for working with the Missile Defense Agency. After analyzing both the internal and external environment of Northrop, their competitors and the analysis of their financial position, Northrop has developed a sustainable competitive advantage. They have done this through the use of product differentiation. The value they receive, the knowledge they gain and patents they own by acquiring other companies expands their portfolio to offer products and services not comparable to their competitors. Their respective strategic position establishes a value to their customers that is differentiated amongst their competitors, allowing them to offer a higher premium for their products and
Taming the wildest of these bucking broncos is not for the faint of heart as certain iterations of these freaks of nature pack more than the combined power of 500 of their animal name sakes. With such ridiculous levels of performance, clearly geared at a small percentage of owners capable of controlling such ferocity, Ford and Chevy are left with the daunting task of developing a marketing strategy that attracts a larger consumer base capable of profiting from an otherwise niche product. The strategies employed by both manufacturers encompass many similar aspects both of which ultimately convey a similar...
The automobile industry is one that has constant vicissitudes. Burns Auto Corporation is not exempt from these unexpected changes or shifts in that industry. Many factors drive the automobile market fuel prices, the economy, and family sizes are just a few. This paper will take an in depth look at the current situation at Burns Auto; including the situation, problem definition, end state goals.
LRNA needs to determine a positioning strategy for the Discovery and itself in North America to entice its two distinct target markets. LRNA is aware that it has two distinct target markets whose purchasing decisions are impacted by various drivers but also knows that factors such as quality, safety, reliability, comfort, off-road capability and aesthetics overlap. When compared with other SUVs or SUV alternatives, we believe the following differences should be highlighted to develop a distinctive niche for the Discovery and Land Rover brand in the target audience’s mind. The Discovery and Land Rover brand should be positioned as luxury car alternatives with rich histories and superb off-road capabilities designed for the crème-de-la-crème of consumers: affluent, intelligent, practical, unique, full of character, and seeking to empower themselves through adventure and exploration during their driving experiences. The Discovery and Land Rover brand should, in effect, convey the following message: you are what you drive.
They have taken America by storm. Defined as “rugged automotive vehicles similar to a station wagon but built on a light truck chassis” (Gurlanik 723), Sport Utility Vehicles (SUVs) have taken over the roads. The automobile industry is full of them and nearly every automaker has its own version of the vehicle. Drivers like the roominess, the comfort and the status they provide and SUVs are springing up across suburbs and cities like mushrooms (Davidson 1). Americans are in love with the luxuries involved with SUVs: the 4x4 capabilities, being able to sit higher on the road and the sense of control.
In recent years many manufacturing companies have exceeded the technology for residential, agriculture, construction, landscaping, forestry and engines, yet John Deere is still one of the best products that people use everyday. Questions come up whether the company’s products are proven, simple, more efficient, and integrated machines that are capable of developing engines. Some of the merchandises are strong-featured to survive the extreme vibration, temperatures, and duty cycles found in off-highway conditions. This paper will demonstrate Economic Environment, Socio-cultural Environment, Global Environment, Competitive Environment, Governmental Environment, and Technological Environment of John Deere Corporation (Leslie, 2014).
GM should continue to use its technological advantages to create innovative automobiles, but do so cautiously. GM should follow the direction of today’s environmentally conscious consumers who want less expensive, economical automobiles. GM should primarily utilize a cooperative game-theory approach in its sales and marketing strategies in order to stay in sync with the current automotive industry needs.
The world of technology is ever changing and advancing. With the automotive industry in play technology is constantly surpassing what is available today with what can be done for tomorrow. Technology and the automotive industry go hand in hand with constant improvement to components of cars. Due to technology advancement there is competition within the car industry, especially between American car companies and European car companies. European car companies provide their buyers with innovative variety and revolutionary luxuries. European car technology is superior to American car technology due to their safety, entertainment, and luxury features.
Ford Motor Company current mission statement is “committed to provide personal mobility for people around the world”. With that in mind their vision is to become the world’s leading Consumer Company for automotive products and services. By improving everything they do, the company provide superior returns to their shareholders (Vision, Mission, Values).
So the discussion on internal and external analysis clearly defines that where the competitive advantage of Ford Motors is and where it is lacking. People who have durability as their first priority will go for Ford but they lack in some of their strategies which the management should consider and work on it. We also came to know that Ford is an innovative company from the very first and also serves local demands with the help of related and supporting industry. But in some points they have taken wrong decisions which compel them to sell some of their brands to others. The good news is they are doing hard job to maintain their performance regarding their star and cash cow products to remain in the competition.
This report is divided into two parts. In the first part, the Honda-Rover case is discussed in terms of their capacity and incentive to deliver in the alliance, what they wanted from each other, and what was the outcome of the alliance and why it brought limited benefit to Honda and Rover. In the second part, the reasons are presented to show why Tata might do better than Honda by establishing its engineering expertise in UK.
The business world is becoming more and more heated up as a result of the ever increasing levels of competition. Each and every industry is witnessing an alarming rate in the number of competitors that exist within it. This is further fueled by the increasing world population, which brings about the speculations that the future of the market is rather bright. It is interesting as to how many things are nowadays done based on speculations and future expectations. In the turmoil of it all, marketing has been established as a very effective tool used by various firms to gain competitive advantage over others. As such, each organization has been able to develop its own marketing strategy based on the various things that affect the industry and the nature of business undertaken. Theories and practical research are two major items that form the basis of development of marketing strategies. Rolls-Royce is one of the many organizations that have been in big business for a long time. As such, the company has been able to identify major areas of strength and weakness when it comes to marketing.
2. What were the critical marketing decisions that helped Tesla stand out among other companies and become the lead innovator in its
Ford’s production plants rely on very high-tech computers and automated assembly. It takes a significant financial investment and time to reconfigure a production plant after a vehicle model is setup for assembly. Ford has made this mistake in the past and surprisingly hasn’t learned the valuable lesson as evidence from the hybrid revolution their missing out on today. Between 1927 and 1928, Ford set in motion their “1928 Plan” of establishing worldwide operations. Unfortunately, the strategic plan didn’t account for economic factors in Europe driving the demand for smaller vehicles. Henry Ford established plants in Europe for the larger North American model A. Their market share in 1929 was 5.7% in England and 7.2% in France (Dassbach, 1988). Economic changes can wreak havoc on a corporation’s bottom line and profitability as well as their brand.
Ford’s business level is the integrated cost leadership/ differentiation strategy; this involves engaging in primary and support activities that allow the company to simultaneously pursue low cost and differentiation. This strategy is flexible and enables Ford to use technology to control the production of variety of products in moderate, flexible qualities and with a minimum manual interaction, whose goal is to eliminate cost verse product variety. Cost leadership is a strong strategy, but it can be undermined by the frequent changes in technology, the imitation of cost advantage and lost of focus on consumers. Ford’s differentiation strategy focuses on developing a unique product that consumers are willing to pay and the combination of these two strategies enables Ford to stay on its core competencies.