Marketing Plan To Launch The Nissan LEAF In Germany - Free Sample

Question: Describe about the Marketing Plan to launch the Nissan LEAF in Germany? Answer: Introduction This report focuses on developing a marketing plan for the launch of Nissan Leaf which is an electric car manufactured by Nissan in the German car market. Environmental Analysis Porters Five Forces Model Threat of new entrants: Low to Medium, Setting of a car manufacturing unit involve high investment and legal formalities thus there are comparatively less new entrants to this sector. Bargaining power of Buyers: High, Germans showed high loyalty to cars made in Germany. There were various options available to buyers. Bargaining Power of Suppliers: Low to Medium, Suppliers were willing to associate with a company like Nissan. Threat of Substitutes: High, Tough competition faced from Hybrid cars that have a good control over European market. Degree of Rivalry: Medium to High, Nissan faced competition from Toyota, Volkswagen and Honda, BMW, Opel, Mitsubishi, Chevrolet, Mercedes Benz, Tesla Motors, who were focused on development of hybrid cars. SWOT Analysis SWOT Analysis help identifying internal factors that help an organisation take advantage of external factors effecting them(Blythe, 2013). Strengths Weaknesses Nissan Leaf was the worlds first electric car It was the most affordable, family car with high environmental friendly features like zero carbon emissions. It was big in size and was fit for family usage. Development of infrastructure for charging the cars was a big problem. Opportunities Threats High growth opportunities predicted for electric car. Germany is Europes largest car market thus LEAFs launch in Germany would provide the company a firm foundation. Rising oil prices and growing demand for environmental friendly products. Germanys Government provided good support to low or zero emissions vehicles Hybrid cars have been able to capture only 1-2 % of car market. Lithium Battery to be used of LEAF was too expensive. High competition faced from Hybrid cars. Competition from big brand likes Toyota, BMW, Honda and Volkswagen. Germans showed high loyalty towards German cars. Marketing Strategy Target Segment Segmentation is the process of dividing and then subdividing a large homogeneous market into small segments that are clearly identifiable and have similar needs, wants and features (Baines, et al., 2013). The four main marketing segmentation strategies are; behavioural, demographic, psychographic and geographical differences(Blunt, 2014). Demographic and geographical segmentation based on age, gender, income level and preferred locations would be best suited for Nissan LEAF owing to the loyalty shown by Germans to Germany made cars. Targeting is the process of selecting the most suited segment from the various options available(Blythe, 2013). As LEAF is an eco-friendly vehicle it should target functionalists as they prefer sensible and flue efficient transportation, attention seekers as they are innovators and make 31% of new car buyers. Nissan should target middle and high income groups as LEAF will be an affordable family car. Initially Nissan should target cities like Munich, Stuttgart, Berlin and Frankfurt as they have comparatively high population and good median household income. Positioning Positioning strategy enables a brand create a unique perception in the minds of its buyers which is distinct from its competitors (Brady, 2010). Depending on the chosen target segment Nissan LEAF should be positioned as a Green, economical car with great looks that enabled a savings of 2,000 Euros. Marketing Mix Product Nissan LEAF is the first fully electric car to be launched in Germany. It is a family car that has a design similar to a regular car instead of having a futuristic design. It is highly environmental friendly and creates almost negligible noise and pollution. Pricing As pricing affects all the other elements of marketing mix it is referred to as the most important element (Kotler, 2008). As the price of the car plus battery makes the product quite expensive Nissan in no one can offer cost advantage to its customers and so must use value based pricing strategy focusing more on the values added with the product. Placement Distribution channels refer to the chain of intermediate bodies through which a product move before it is available to end customers (Ferrell Hartline, 2012). As the marketing budget is already limited Nissan should focus on pull strategy by emphasizing on the features of LEAF. Push strategy is not suitable in this case as increasing compensation to distributor will greatly impact promotion strategies. Promotion As the marketing budget for Nissan is limited digital, internet based promotion would be more effective than traditional media. For the launch of Nissan LEAF which a radical innovation it should focus more on social media, digital marketing, public relations and sales promotions. All these promotional strategies will help creating product awareness among the selected target segment of new buyers. References Baines, P., Fill, C. Page, K., (2013) Essentials of Marketing. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Blunt, L., (2014) Types of Marketing channels. [Online] Available at: https://smallbusiness.chron.com/types-marketing-channels-21627.html [Accessed 2014]. Blythe, J., (2013) Principles and Practice of Marketing. London: Sage. Brady, D. L., (2010) Essentials of International Marketing. New York: M.E. Sharpe. Ferrell, O. C. Hartline, M., (2012) Marketing strategy. New York: Cengage Learning. Kotler, P., (2008) Principles of Marketing. New Delhi: Pearson Education India.