week 14. Segmenting and Targeting markets..

According to the text book the term market means different things to different people . Therefore a company promotes a product or advertises a product but not everybody would be interested in that product. Taking it the Market: which is people organizations with needs or wants and the ability and willingness to buy.

 For Example: Bmw night vision-optional feature Not everybody would be interested.
The Bmw 5 Series Security has an optional feature of the night vision, which makes it possible to detect any animals, persons or hindrance at the distance of about 300m from the car using the thermal camera and send it to the central control display, hence the driver can be alerted by this feature. The bmw continue to surprise the millions of car enthusiasts around the world with the launch of it conceptual cars.

BMW is renowned for its sporty, sophisticated & luxury image which has been built up since the 1970's with many motor sport victories ranging from Touring Car to Formula 1. BMW Group's worldwide mission statement is: "To be the most successful premium manufacturer in the industry."To examine BMW we must first look at the marketing mix. A company's marketing mix is made up of four main points these are Price, Product, Promotion and Place. Through these points we can examine the specifics of a company to gain an insight into their segmentation, targeting and positioning. The products produced by BMW are prestigious, high performance, technologically advanced automobiles.

week 13. Developing and Managing Products

According to our Marketing Text Book when it comes to "The Importance of New Products" New products are important to sustain growth, increase revenues and profits, and replace obsolete items."


BMW has announced more production details of the all-new, all electric compact car codenamed the 'Megacity', which will go on sale as early as 2013 under a new sub-brand from the German luxury car maker. Developed by its ‘project i’ skunkworks and aimed, as the name suggests, primarily at urban dwellers in US and European cities with more than 10 million people, BMW's first dedicated electric vehicle will be manufactured at the Leipzig factory in Germany, alongside the 1 Series small-car and upcoming X1 compact SUV. Reports had speculated the Megacity could be sold as either a Mini or an '0 Series' BMW.
BMW is approaching the electrification of the automobile through what it calls Project i. And although its cars  including the battery powered Mini E and the Concept ActiveE, which is an electric version of the BMW 1 Series Coupe the company introduced in Detroit this week  have made a splash, Project i has generally flown under the radar. But, even in stealth mode (there isn’t even a Web site) yet, the research initiative could be influential on BMW’s future products.

     Future Models - BMW 2013 Megacity

week 12; Customer Relationship Management (CRM)

What's your strategy when you're one of the top automobile companies in the world?

When it comes to BMW, it means using CRM to strengthen communication with your dealer and make it as easy as possible for potential customers to get all the buyer information they need.

We all may wonder how does this great car manufacturing company, which calls itself the "ultimate driving machine"  is able to satisfy its loyal customers?

Bmw wants to keep it as simple as it gets!!!!!!

BMW  is trying to keep it simple as it uses customer-relationship management systems to supercharge dealership parts and service sales.

'Bmw wants to move auto parts, not come up with new programs that complicate the world,” says Grant Paullo, the German auto importer's manager-aftersales marketing and communications.

He cites three objectives for leveraging data to increase revenue and build brand loyalty:

• Transition dealership customers from the showroom to the service department.
• Strengthen customer relations. “But what we see as strengthening the relationship, and what the customer sees, sometimes differ,” Paullo says.
• Reconnect with ex-customers. that's where BMW has  had the biggest success in taking back customers,BMW has spent a lot of time on it. Therefore Grant Paullo also says "Sometimes we've lost customers because of a bad experience, sometimes not."

 As a result  BMW is using company information and data from dealers that they are comfortable with, to better target customers and enhance promotions.

Making the deal and satisfying the customer, also informing the customer with the information and benefits of the product he's buying. (CRM)  

week 11. Integrated Marketing communication

As we might o ready know from experience or how seen Few goods or services can survive in the marketplace without effective promotion.

 Therefore, through promotion which is an element of integrated marketing communication, the company or product reminds potential buyers to influence an opinion or elicit a response according to the definition of "promotion" in "MKTG student edition" book that im reading in my Marketing Class.

Bmw the logo says it all!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Bmw's Integrated marketing Communication.

when the “Ultimate Driving Machine” became the ultimate interactive marketing campaign through BMW Films. Traditionally, BMW had always supported the release of a new vehicle with an advertising campaign designed to reinforce the brand promise of delivering the world’s most exciting luxury cars. But in 2000, BMW had a window of opportunity when it could do something purely for the sake of branding sans release of a new vehicle to deliver a unique message in an increasingly crowded luxury performance car market. 



Never before (or since) had an automotive company taken such a strong stance to drive consumers to the Web, and the results are compelling. More than 10 million films have been viewed from BMWFilms.com. Nearly 2 million people registered on the site, with 60% of those registrants opting to receive more information via e-mail. An astonishing 94% of registrants recommended films to others, seeding the viral campaign, and more than 40,000 people voluntarily responded to a survey. Visiting the site now, one is able to enter a contest to win the M5 used in “The Star,” the short film that was directed by Guy Ritchie starring Madonna.

Who wouldn't love to drive one of theses????

week 10: Product Concepts

BMW presents the concept of a new 4 door coupe. The BMW Concept Gran Coupé is finally here with a unique one of a kind design expertise of the German premium automobile manufacturer.

With an exclusive Design Night on the evening of the first press day at Auto China in Beijing, BMW provides an in-depth insight into its design philosophy and development strategy. The program of the BMW Design Night is modular in structure and presents extensive background information on the premium automobile manufacturer’s innovative design culture. In addition to highlighting the long versions of the BMW 5 Series developed specially for the Chinese market, the main focus is on an elegant 4-door vehicle with striking dynamic proportions: the BMW Concept Gran Coupe.

The concept study on display symbolizes the outstanding design expertise of BMW. The BMW Concept Gran Coupé concentrates the fundamental values of the brand. Its body design authentically captures a sense of superior dynamic performance and high-quality elegance. The shaping style, which follows a coherent pattern down to the last detail, convincingly visualises BMW’s philosophy as an automobile manufacturer. As with the Concept CS 2007, BMW once again sets new benchmarks in the design of 4-door coupes with a distinctive sporty character.

week.9 Sales promotion and personal selling

Sales promotions are obviously created to generate more sales among the regular customers and also attract more and new customers. This is manifested in the form of products in the middle or low prices, or take two and pay one, or simply as in a few concerts where you don't pay much to see more than one artist at a time.

 

 For example, BMW of Tulsa lets out their promotions with a bang, with an offer of limited time offer as you could see above.
Plus BMW of Tulsa also, promotes their service quoting that
"All The Information You Need is Right there at BMW of Tulsa, to Visit their  Friendly, Professional Staff Who Will Exceed Your Expectations for Personal Service. Please Contact Us if You Have Any Special Requests or Would Like Any Extra Help Finding The Automobile You Want. Thank You for Shopping at BMW of Tulsa in Tulsa of Tulsa County, Oklahoma. We Look Forward to Servicing All Your Automotive Needs." Leaving costumers with no chance but to go. 

Who could say no to sales and good service?????

week 8. Advertising and Public Relations

Advertising: From my point of view BMW"s manufactures their cars as an advertisement because, When you see a BMW driving down the road, you don't just go "Meh". No, you stop what you're doing and you watch it pass on by. You watch the sunlight glisten off the blue and white logo, you stare into your reflection on the paint, you try to catch a glimpse of the person driving it and then you try to imagine yourself in the seat. When BMW cars pass by, it's like making eye contact with a very beautiful woman for the briefest of moments. BMW and its competition is one of BMW's ways to market its buyers and to show off the best they have to officer. From BMW"s films to its Billboards and catalogs BMW shows that their cars with their labels "The Ultimate Driving Machine".  

Saving the envirment while advertising in Japan BMW" The Ultimate Driving Machine"

Public relations: BMW AUTOMOBILES CO. Does not just try to sell cars, they win the people over first, which then leads to their cars being sold. But what way is better then satisfying the people and community with cleaner air. Also, by winning the people thats what adversities their cars.  BMW decided in 2007 to expand its use of recycled landfill methane gas to power its paint shop, becoming the first automotive plant in the world with a "green-powered" paint shop. BMW's PR goal was to receive worldwide exposure for this, while their communication objective was to have their environmental stewardship story told and not have it diluted by stories about its vehicles.