MktUpD5_02
Running head: MARKETING COMMUNICATION 0
Marketing Communication for the Ford 150 Trucks
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Introduction
The project team involved with the Ford 150 trucks will apply an array of strategies in efforts to bolster the visibility and desirability of the Ford 150 trucks in the market. Some of the strategies that will be explored include advertising, sales promotion, personal selling, direct marketing and public relations (Saetang & Pathomsirikul, 2016). In all the strategies lined up for the exercise, advertising among other options will include paid for media. The team will similarly, co-opt sales promotion activities in a scheme aimed at increasing the product turnover. Promotional activities will incorporate incentives that give customers a reason to buy Ford 150 trucks over trucks from the competitors.
Market Communication
The incentives could be a mix of reduced prices, additional gifts such as expensive watches, shopping vouchers etc. Third, Sales promotion activities geared towards accelerating future sales will equally be employed with the view of making the Ford Company attain an edge over competitors. Fourth, public relations would be employed to establish and sustain the relationship with various stakeholders that include people in the supply chain.
Public relation does not only improve the reputation of the organization but also improves the reputation of the brand. Fifth, the Ford Company will employ direct marketing alongside other strategies majorly to stimulate and get responses from the client base (Saetang & Pathomsirikul, 2016). Lastly, the marketing team will employ personal selling, especially in the B2B scenario because the method works well when sales representatives seek to influence potential buyers into considering purchasing Ford 150 trucks. Sales representatives working for Ford as well as franchised dealers selling the Ford 150 trucks will be encouraged to espouse personal selling strategies to expand sales. The Ford Company could target government agencies working in remote areas with rugged terrains that have penchants for luxurious trucks. Ford could similarly approach building industries in efforts to promote and increase the sales of the Ford 150 trucks.
The Big Idea for the Marketing Communication Strategy
The big idea is a critical concept that determines whether a business can succeed or fail. It has been established that the knowledge of the consumer purchasing patterns, and company’s financial strengths alone do not entirely portend success for a business if it fails to create a big idea that makes notable impacts on the consumers (Carpenter & Nakamoto, 1996). The Ford 150’s big idea will be used to enrich its advertising by ensuring that marketing techniques employed easily grab the attention of potential buyers (Carpenter & Nakamoto, 1996). While developing the big idea for the Ford 150 trucks, the following questions will be sought; does the big idea speak to consumer needs, is the big idea relevant to the consumer, lastly, do customers believe in the big idea? A well designed ‘big idea’ should answer the questions above.
While developing the big idea for the Ford 150 trucks, the characteristics of a big idea as observed by David Ogilvy would be observed. Once successfully created, the big idea would be expected to make people gasp when they hear or see it in advertisements, it is also expected that the people would appreciate the uniqueness of the big idea. Finally, the big idea should be able to remain relevant for a long time (Carpenter & Nakamoto, 1996). The Ford 150 trucks have certain desirable features that would inform the design of its big idea. Some of the key aspects of the Ford 150 trucks that could be represented in its big idea include its reduced weight, strong frame, Eco boost engines, its unique camera system and engines that provide low-speed torque. While the big idea for the Ford 150 trucks can take varied perspectives and wording, one big idea such as ‘the strength, comfort, and luxury in the Ford 150 truck will forever remain to be priceless’ could be adopted by the company.
Marketing Communication Objectives
The marketing communication objectives will inform the basis and direction of Ford’s marketing mix. The objectives will include creating awareness, imparting knowledge, projecting an image, shaping attitudes and stimulating desires. All listed marketing communication objectives will focus on making the product stand out from the rest. With the shorter attention spans exhibited by people, the ability to hook the audience to the communication put forth by the Ford marketing and promotional teams will be highly sought. Secondly, the content conveyed to the audiences will be reviewed thoroughly to ensure that the advertisement sent to media outlets, printed on fliers and issued to prospective clients as giveaways remain as interesting as possible.
When developing marketing communication for the Ford 150 trucks, the content created will predominantly be about the consumers rather than the trucks. The strategy thereof will most likely enhance sales by stimulating desires. Other than being able to catch the attention and interest of the audience, the marketing communication will also seek to have contents that appeal to the emotional needs of the target audience. The approach thereof will be applied primarily to spark and sustain the desire for the Ford 150 trucks among the target audience.
Sales personnel depending on how they handle prospective customers can bolster or harm sales. Qualified sales personnel would, therefore, be trained periodically to ensure that they expand sales from the B2B arrangements (Papastathopoulou, & Avlonitis, 2009). In order to enhance the desirability of the Ford 150 trucks, the sales personnel in Ford owned dealership, as well as franchised dealership, would have to demonstrate some level of personality while engaging the audience. Showing personality makes an individual trustable and likable. Because showing emotions while communicating the advantages of The Ford 150 trucks over other equally competitive brands portends greater sales, the Ford sales personnel would be implored to espouse the strategy while dealing with prospective buyers. Lastly, the marketing communication strategy developed for the Ford trucks will have a clear value proposition for the end user.
Promotion Mix to be employed by Ford for the Ford 150 Trucks
Ford Company outlines various marketing communication objectives that require varied promotional approaches to yield desired outcomes. Since the key marketing communication strategies for Ford 150 includes creating awareness, imparting knowledge, projecting an image, shaping attitudes and stimulating desires, the company will apply for sales promotion especially in instances where a prospective buyer needs to be enlightened about the specifications of a product and what the specifications mean for their spending. Ford instance, a sales person may enlighten a procurement agent working for a federal agency that the Ford’s Eco boost engines improve ford’s fuel economy. In such a case, the sales person would be imparting knowledge on prospective buyers to make decisions on whether consider the Ford 150 trucks over the other options that are available in the market. Other than seeking the services of sales personnel, Ford Company could equally explore public relations to project an image of a reliable company that packages both luxury and comfort in the driving experience.
Maintaining trust and mutual understanding in a B2B arrangement between Ford and other businesses that buy the Ford 150 trucks would most likely depend on the public relation employed by Ford to keep it in tune with its customers which in this particular case could be business entities (Matei, 2014). Also, Ford could apply direct mail to target potential buyers who exhibit certain attributes. The Ford 150 trucks have been found to be overly popular in the construction and building industry. Direct emails could be sent to a list of contractors. The emails could contain information on the feedback that Ford 150 trucks have generated from users, the emails could also highlight the specifications of the Ford 250 trucks that are of great relevance in the construction realm. Advertising may similarly be explored for the Ford 150 trucks. Print media, TV adverts, and blogs could be explored in the case where advertising is explored.
Social media has changed the way consumers interact with businesses and will be explored under media advertisement for the Ford 150 trucks. Social media advertisement will enable Ford to attract new customers and stay connected with existing customers. Because most people use socials media platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, and Google Plus, the Ford Company will be a step ahead of the competition if it establishes a strong presence on Facebook, Twitter and Google Plus (Khan, Dongping, & Wahab, 2016). Ford could leverage its social media presence to build relationships with the buyers, to showcase the Ford 150 brand, to establish a loyal community and to improve customer service by acting on the feedback generated from the social media platforms (Khan, Dongping, & Wahab, 2016). Also, adverting on TV during prime time will be explored in order to expose the Ford 150 brand to a broader demographic. Airing commercials during prime time makes the Ford 150 trucks be known to the young and old professionals.
Segmenting B2B Markets
The Ford Company can explore segmenting of its B2B market to increase sales and strengthen its bottom line. The company can use market data to organize its promotional activities and sales (Papastathopoulou, & Avlonitis, 2009). If the company finds out that a department under a federal agency, out of the various engine types, prefers engines that provide the least torque, then the company would preclude Ford trucks will relatively high torque and instead focus on promoting the model with the desired engine to the identified agency (Vlasic, 2017).
Ford could use information derived from both internally generated data as well as data from external sources. The Ford Company could generate internal data regarding the Ford 150 trucks from product delivery and billing, similarly, the company could rely on information generated from marketing research as well as publications (Papastathopoulou, & Avlonitis, 2009). Internally generated data could be sought because it is cost effective and less cumbersome to analyze and interpret. Market research would also be carried out to establish the level of competition that exist out there and to determine best practices that could be co-opted in Fords operations to enhance sales.
Financial and Marketing Metrics
The Ford Company will use the balance sheet as one of the financial metrics to monitor the sales of the Ford 150 trucks. The balance sheet could reveal the company’s liquidity ratio and its potential to support future operations. The company could equally apply accounting measures such as profitability measures, liquidity, and cash flow measures to determine the progress realized in terms of the sales of Ford 150 trucks. Alternatively, market base measures that indicate the rate of change in the market value could be used to indicate growth or stagnation. Lastly, the company may use operational measures which basically are variables such as market share and changes in the tangible assets.
References
Carpenter, G. S., & Nakamoto, K. (1996). Impact of Consumer Preference Formation on Marketing Objectives and Second Mover Strategies. Journal Of Consumer Psychology (Lawrence Erlbaum Associates), 5(4), 325.
Khan, I., Dongping, H., & Wahab, A. (2016). Does culture matter in effectiveness of social media marketing strategy? An investigation of brand fan pages. Aslib Journal Of Information Management, 68(6).
Matei, Ş. (2014). The Promotional Mix In A Marketing-Oriented Winy Company. SEA: Practical Application Of Science, 2(3), 449-454.
Papastathopoulou, P., & Avlonitis, G. J. (2009). Classifying enterprises on the basis of WWW use: a behavioral approach. Internet Research, 19(3), 332-347.
Saetang, W., & Pathomsirikul, Y. (2016). Marketing Strategy Model for Building Customer Loyalty in Feed Wholesale Business. International Journal of Behavioral Science, 11(2), 109-126.
Vlasic, B. (2017). Ford Remakes F-150, the Nation’s No. 1 Vehicle. Nytimes.com. Retrieved 23 April 2017, from https://www.nytimes.com
