229144665_Marcedez Marketing Strategy

8/16/2019 229144665_Marcedez Marketing Strategy

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Mercedes’ Marketing Strategy

Introduction

Mercedes-Ben is !erha!s the "or#d’s best auto carmaker$ The %erman machine& as it is

common#y referred to& is a #eading #u'ury car that is trai#ed by the #ikes of BM( and Audi

among others$ Daim#er Ben is kno"n to be the !arent com!any of Mercedes and the name

Mercedes is the f#ag name of the c#assy automobi#es$ The first fu##y functiona# car is attributed to

Ben that "as #aunched in 1))*$ The terms Mercedes "as deri+ed from a gir# named Mercedes

after successfu##y #eading a race in cars$ It "as due to the hard economic times and inf#ation rates

that those t"o ri+a# com!anies& Daim#er and Mercedes merged and formed a Mercedes-Ben$ As

a resu#t of this merger& the com!any !roduced +arious kinds of cars that are #u'urious in nature$

The com!any no" !roduces #u'ury cars& trucks& +ans and buses and commands a #arge !resence

in the market$

Market for its #u'ury cars

The internationa# market for cars is by far too com!etiti+e "ith its de+e#o!ed markets

being too saturated to generate gro"th$ The com!any not on#y faces com!etition from %erman

and or ,uro!ean ri+a#s but a#so from orean& Indian& .a!anese& and Chinese carmakers$ (hi#e

the car market "as more stab#e than "hat "e "itness today& the e'!#osion "itnessed in the g#oba#

economic gro"th !#us the "ea#th creation in the recent decades has made the industry to "itness


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a rather a tremendous gro"th that has in !art& !rom!ted the attraction of ne" and increased

attention$

0rom an interna# !ers!ecti+e& the com!any seems to ha+e an im!ending com!etition

since com!anies aim to attain high margin segments such as #o" margin !roducts that come as a

resu#t of the high and mighty !ressure the big com!anies$ 0rom an e'terna# !oint of +ie"& there is

a remarkab#e s#o" gro"th rate that "as "itnessed !ast the /) economic crises and this is

high#y #ike#y to com!#icate the economic situation of these #u'ury carmakers$ The ad+ancements

in techno#ogy a#so seem to com!#icate and ease the !roduction of these cars in e2ua# measure$ It

he#!s to reduce the technica# differentiation of these machines as "e## as #ea+ing the identity of

the brands and their +a#ue associations under some scrutiny$

SWOT Analysis

%i+en be#o" is the S(3T Ana#ysis of Mercedes-Ben Com!any’s o+era## !erformance

and o!erating !osition in the g#oba# markets$

Strengths (eaknesses• Strong brand +a#ue from #ong heritage and

continuous 2ua#ity

• 0inancia# !osition is robust

• 45D s!ending is high& interna# inno+ation

is +isib#e and com!etiti+e

• Di+erse market !resence 6 motors!ort&

#u'ury& uti#ity

• Cost structure7 higher C3%S !er unit than

com!etitors due to #ack of g#oba##y

distributed sourcing

• Defending brand makes !rice com!etition

difficu#t or im!ossib#e

• 8ack of !artnershi!s due to interna#

2ua#ity-centric focus3!!ortunities Threats

• Increasing demand for #u'ury +ehic#es

from emerging markets

• %ood !osition to e'!#oit green mo+ements

• Many ne" com!etitors into #u'ury market7

.aguar& 9orsche& :o#+o& 8e'us

• Back#ash against car o"nershi! for


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and #o"-emissions trans!ort

• %ood !osition to de+e#o! smart +ehic#es

for com!uter-aided dri+ing

en+ironmenta# reasons

• (eak g#oba# gro"th and macroeconomic

factors

The S(3T re+ea#s that "hi#e Mercedes’ market !osition is +ery hea#thy current#y& the

market situation in automobi#es& and #u'ury automobi#es& is e+o#+ing fast$ The firm has to ada!t

to the ne" market conditions and buyer beha+iors to retain its market ho#d and !rofitab#e

enter!rise situation$

Marketing Mi'

1$ 9roduct7 The centra# as!ect of the marketing mi' for Mercedes$ The 2ua#ity and

re#iabi#ity of Mercedes cars is their strongest +a#ue !ro!osition& and the centra# idea of

the Mercedes brand$ The com!any first and foremost se##s !roduct on its o"n as the

com!etiti+e ad+antage& as can be seen "ith their motto


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$ 9ricing7 Mercedes offers !rices from ;& to ;& co+ering a "ide +ariety of

mode#s and o!tions for its "ea#thy c#iente#e$ The !ricing is in #ine "ith other #u'ury

carmakers across a## categories& making Mercedes one of the fe" #u'ury carmakers to

o!erate in e+ery segment from high-end com!act cars to su!ercars and su!er-#u'ury

+ehic#es$

The use of gra!hics to reach customers in Mercedes

The Mercedes Com!any is acti+e#y in+o#+ed in dri+ing the com!any goa#s to the ne't

#e+e#& transitioning from the automoti+e manufacturers to the net"orked mobi#e ser+ice$ The

com!any uses the conce!t of inte##igent aerodynamics automobi#e$ This conce!t is common#y

kno"n as the IAA Conce!t$ In this +ie"& digita#iation is kno"n to be a centra# strategy in a## the

s!heres of the Ben Com!any$ The technica# in+entors such as the dri+e#ine e#ectrification and

the autonomous dri+ing are some of the key feature that the com!any attem!ts to use in its 2uest

to offer the best customer e'!eriences$ A## these "ou#d not be achie+ab#e "ithout the thought of

digita#iation$

(ith !roduction& the com!any makes use of the brand that is three dimensiona# in nature$

This is the three !ointed star that it dis!#ays in each of its !roducts$ In its 2uest to reach out to

customers "ith +aried e'!ectations !#us a myriad transformation& Mercedes Ben stri+es to take

into account these factors and therefore aims to ado!t digita#iation as a means of reaching out to

them taking into account& the +aried beha+ior and communication !atterns$ By "ay of

digita#iation& Mercedes has ado!ted a digita# !rototy!e that acce#erates its !erformance$ These

cuts across such things as the introduction of i9ads for sa#es e'ecuti+es to stay connected and

a#so gro" customer base$ Besides& the use of i9ad techno#ogy comes "ith the ne" interface of

iSa#es techno#ogy& an a!!#ication that enab#es the users to ha+e a +irtua# e'!erience "ith the cars

at their dis!osa#& creating such an en+ironment of a +ariety of cars from "hich to choose their


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!referred choice$ The Mercedes Com!any a#so stri+es to reach out on customers faster through

such mo+es as ado!ting a uni2ue imitati+e that is in #ine "ith the %o to Customer strategy$

The ad+antage of the i9ad techno#ogy is that it carries the merchandise to the doorste! of

the customer and through this& they are ab#e to engage "ith the sa#es e'ecuti+es and ha+e their

!referred cars customied before making any bookings$ This he#!s the Com!any in attaining its

ob>ecti+e of e+o#+ing the young customers of the !restigious Mercedes Com!any$ A!art from the

iSa#es !#atform& Mercedes Ben cars are fitted "ith 2uite a number of fascinating and

so!histicated features that "ou#d make no customer to ha+e a second thought "hi#e !urchasing

the car$ In addition to the customer e'!eriences that come "ith the iSa#e a!!#ication& there is a

disc#aimer !rom!t that enab#es the discerning customers to +ie" the Com!any disc#aimer

financia# offers and a#so be ab#e to #ease their returns "ithout much of a hust#e$

o" does Mercedes Ben make use of beha+iora# +ariab#es to create +a#ue for

customersE

Mercedes as an ob>ecti+e com!any kno"s that in order to make it in the com!etiti+e auto

industry& and market& it needs to constant#y ada!t to the changes and trends in the market and

a#so identifying the dynamics in consumer "ants and needs$ The motor industry is such that it is


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high#y com!etiti+e and offer no other choice but car manufacturing to go a notch higher and

a!!ea#& #et a#one +enturing into the une'hausted market segments$ It is no doubt that the gro"th

for the !roduction of #u'ury cars is significant#y #o"& !rom!ting the baby boomers to rebe#

against the mighty and u!!er midd#e c#ass #ifesty#e cars$ They are in !ursuit of their ne" car

trends and images going against the !aths created by their !redecessors$ It is said that the no+ices

are #ooking for more com!act& sma##er cars that are !ractica# and this fact forces Mercedes to

undergo a substantia# metamor!hosis$

As a business !urchasing beha+ior& e+ery se##er can choose to !ursue their customer

markets& B/B markets or e+en both$ As a resu#t& one ob+ious techni2ue to start off the

segmentation !rocess is by segmenting the markets into grou! ty!es$ As far as buying beha+ior is

concerned& e+ery customer is !ushed by the fact that certain goods and ser+ices ha+e certain

uni2ue features that attracts their attention$ Conse2uent#y& e+ery com!any "i## sing#e out each

and e+ery customers’ !references and by e'tension& grou! each customer de!ending on their

segmentation base$ ,ach of these +ariab#es therefore& #ay a certain #ayer of information "hich in

itse#f is a +a#ue addition$ In essence& one 2uestion that Mercedes Com!any !onders is the

benefits that customers "ant from the com!any and ho" the customers themse#+es use !roducts

from the com!any$

The common notab#e "ays through "hich Mercedes Ben determines its buyer

beha+ior is through seeking out the benefits its customers get from their !roducts and a#so ho"

often the !roduct in 2uestion is used among the esteemed customers$ This can be summaried as

a buyer usage situation$ Another im!ortant factor that Mercedes !uts into consideration is the

fact that customers ha+e different buyer status and +aried #oya#ty to !roducts$ In +ie" of this& it

stri+es to meet e+ery customer’s demands and needs be it a nonuser& first-time user or regu#ar


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users$ Since beha+iora# segmentation c#assifies !eo!#e based on their beha+ior or their actions

based on certain !roducts& The Mercedes Com!any #ea+es nothing to chance$ Since marketing is

a## about strategies& Mercedes has done a## it takes to ensure that it e+a#uates a## its market

segments "hi#e ensuring that it ta!s its attracti+eness& thereby sett#ing on one or more of the

segments it deems fit$

Mercedes has res!onded to one of the !ressing consumer needs by introducing the A-

C#ass motor that ser+es to be the first ste! in meeting the dynamics of customer needs$ The

introduction of these brands is done in such a manner that none of its high#y regarded 2ua#ity

brands is damaged$ The changes introduced into the images are a#so considered so as not to

com!#icate their !#ans and a!!ea#s to customers$ Nonethe#ess& in order to meet e+ery customer

needs& the com!any has !ut in !#ace a +ariety of c#asses from "hich customers can choose their

!references$ 0or instance& there are B-C#asses and C-C#asses& a## from "hich +aried customer

needs can fa##$


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(orks Cited

GCor!orate istory$G Mercedes-Ben$ (eb$ 1F Dec$ /1$ A+ai#ab#e at7 htt!s7HH"""$mercedes-

ben$comHenHmercedes-benHc#assicHhistoryHcor!orate-historyH

Daim#er A% Annua# 4e!ort /1;$ Stuttgart7 Daim#er& /1;$ 9rint$ A+ai#ab#e at7

htt!s7HH"""$daim#er$comHdocumentsHin+estorsHberichteHgeschaeftsberichteHdaim#erHdaim#

er-ir-annua#financia#re!ort-/1;$!df

8i& .oe$ GInno+ati+e Marketing Strategy Brings Success to Mercedes-Ben$G The Dai#y

9ennsy#+anian 1F A!r$ /1$ (eb$ 1F Dec$ /1$ A+ai#ab#e at7

htt!7HH"""$thed!$comHartic#eH/1HHho"-mercedes-markets-itse#f

oe##er& Ste!hen$ Go" Mercedes-Ben Jses Marketing Segmentation$G Ste!hen oe##erKs

Marketing B#og$ Dec$ /1$ (eb$ 1F Dec$ /1$ A+ai#ab#e at7

htt!7HH"""$ste!henoe##er$comHho"-mercedes-ben-and-german-#u'ury-car-brands-use-

marketing-segmentationH


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229144665_Marcedez Marketing Strategy

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