MKT-315

Information to be Researched

Research Findings

Resource Citation Information

Describe the customer segments and target markets.

Segmentation is used as a tool for dividing the market into homogeneous groups. Market segmentation may be done through various customer demographics such as gender, income, age, and education. Toyota's market segmentation is based on the customers’ level of income. The company produces products for low-income earners, middle-income earners, and high-income earners. That ensures that all the market segments are satisfied effectively.

The target market indicates the market that is more profitable in a company. Toyota’s target market is the younger adults aged between 25 and 40. Most of such people are in the stage of buying a car for the first time in their life. Since Toyota charges low prices for their vehicles, such people constitute the largest market of the company.

Andaleeb, S. S. (2016). Market segmentation, targeting, and positioning. In Strategic Marketing Management in Asia. Emerald Group Publishing Limited.

Describe characteristics of the target markets that will affect product/service and pricing decisions.

The target market of a company affects the company’s pricing decisions and its products and services. One of the characteristics of the target market that should be considered includes the customer demographics. That includes the age, level of income, age, and amount of education. Toyota’s target market is the younger adults. Such people are more likely to be in the low or middle-income categories. Therefore, the pricing of the product should be low. That will make the products affordable to the target market. The target market Psychographics also determine the product pricing and the products and services that are provided by a company. That entails the people’s lifestyle choices. That had ensured that Toyota has produced vehicles that are cheaper, and they have various capacities to appeal to a person’s lifestyle. They have big cars for families and small cars for individual people who just want a means of transport. The target market’s need for a product is also considered when Toyota is coming up with the pricing strategies and innovation of its products and services

TARGET, D., MORE, M. I., & EVER, T. Defining your target market.

Describe how the company differentiates its product and positions its brand.

Toyota differentiates its products from other automakers through its pricing strategy. That is promoted by the company’s brand positioning which is the production of affordable and reliable vehicles. Toyota produces affordable vehicles for all its market segments. It serves the low income, middle income, and high-income earners with affordable products. The company also produces quality and reliable products. Toyota vehicles are well known for their fuel efficiency and the availability of their spare parts. That shows that the company has positioned its brand as affordable, reliable, and efficient. That has helped the company in its continuous growth making it the largest car manufacturer globally in terms of the number of sales and market capitalization.

Li, Z. (2018). Business Network Positioning Analysis of Toyota. American Journal of Industrial and Business Management, 8(07), 1693.

Describe a consumer buying behavior model for this company and brand.

The customer buying behavior explains the actions taken by a customer before buying a product or service. It is also the study of how the customers buy, what they buy, and when they buy. The first action that the consumers take is identifying the need to buy a product or service. The customers may buy a vehicle for personal use, official use, or family use. They may also need to buy a new vehicle or a used vehicle. After identifying the need, the customer searches for information about the vehicles. The next step is the evaluation of alternatives and lastly the purchase decision. Toyota consumers buy Toyota vehicles because of their efficiency and the availability of spare parts. Toyota customers prefer to buy new or used Toyota vehicles. However, most of them prefer to buy new Toyota vehicles and for personal use. After that, since Toyota has numerous cars with similar specifications, they identify the most suitable vehicle or the vehicle that they like the most.

Yallapragada, P., (2017), “A STUDY ON CONSUMER BUYING BEHAVIOR PATTERN FOR TOYOTA

MOTORS IN UAE”, International Journal of Marketing & Financial Management, ISSN: 2348 –3954 (online) ISSN: 2349 –2546 (print),

Volume 5,(Issue 4, Apr-2017), pp 01–21

Describe the product mix.

The product mix shows the product assortment or the set of all the products that a company offers to its customers. The product mix is explained using the product width, product depth, and product length. The product width shows the number of products in a product mix. The product length indicates the number of total products in a product mix. Lastly, the product depth shows the number of variants in a product line. Toyota offers a full line of cars. They provide family cars, sports cars, minivans, trucks, and light commercial vehicles. The company’s product mix includes various types of cars such as coupes, sedans, hybrids, vans, SUVs, and trucks. That indicates that the car manufacturer has a substantial product width. The product length of Toyota includes several models in its product line such as Corolla, Tundra, Scion, Prius, Lexus, Camry, Avalon, among others. The product depth of Toyota can be explained through the various models of the different types of cars. For instance, the Toyota Corolla has models such as Fielder, Axion, Allion, and Spacio.

CORPORATION., T. M. (n.d.). Toyota brand. Toyota Motor Corporation Official Global Website. https://global.toyota/en/mobility/toyota-brand/?padid=ag478_from_header_menu

Describe the product lines.

A product line is a group of related products that are all marketed under a single brand name that is sold by the same company. Toyota has various product lines. Toyota sells its vehicles under five brands which are Hino, Lexus, Ranz, Daihatsu, and Toyota. The company's product line includes electric vehicles, cars, buses, and pleasure boats. The vehicles that fall under the product line electric vehicles include hybrid electric vehicles, plug-in hybrids, hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles, and all-electric vehicles. The vehicles under the car's product line include SUVs and crossovers, luxury-type vehicles, and pick-up trucks.

CORPORATION., T. M. (n.d.). Mobility. Toyota Motor Corporation Official Global Website. https://global.toyota/en/mobility/?padid=ag478_from_header_menu

Describe the service processes.

Toyota has expanded globally. To increase its sales, the company implemented localization of markets. That ensures that the company has operations in all its major operating regions. That reduces the costs of operations and increases its productivity. The company has company-owned vehicle showrooms where the customers may go to purchase new vehicles. The company also trains its employees to equip them with the necessary skills and knowledge to promote the success of the company. That describes why the company provides quality services to all its customers.

Nkomo, T. (2019). Analysis of Toyota Motor Corporation.

Discuss physical evidence of service, service scape, and ambiance.

The physical evidence indicates the environment in which a service is delivered and where the firm and the customer interact and any commodities that facilitate the performance of the commodities. On the other hand, the service scape indicates the physical facility the service is produced and/or delivered. For Toyota, the physical evidence of its services includes the exterior and interior designs of its vehicles. It also includes the different features that have been fitted in the vehicles. When interacting with the customers, the physical evidence entails the billing statements and the showrooms. In this case, the service scape may be described as the showrooms where the vehicles are sold and the manufacturing plants where the vehicles are assembled. The ambiance is made up of the decor, air temperature, music, and lighting. Therefore, in this case, the specific features of a vehicle make up with the ambiance of the company.

Nkomo, T. (2019). Analysis of Toyota Motor Corporation.

Discuss the roles of company employees in service delivery.

The employees at Toyota are essential in service delivery. The company has trained its employees to promote the productivity of the company. The company has employed over 300,00 employees who work in different departments. Thus, the employees help in the assembling of the vehicles, marketing and sales of the vehicles, innovation among other roles. Teamwork and collaboration among various employees as well as training and development of employees have increased the productivity and effectiveness of the company.

Nkomo, T. (2019). Analysis of Toyota Motor Corporation.

Define the company’s pricing objectives and discuss whether the objectives are profit- or sales-oriented.

The company’s pricing objectives include the provision of affordable products to its target customers. The company also uses value-based pricing for its luxury vehicles. The company’s price objectives are sales-oriented. That is because the company charges low prices to gain a bigger market share. It operates on the economies of sales by making very little profits and a lot of sales.

Hoque, I., Faruque, M. O., Shahid, E. M., Pasha, S. H. A., & Rahman, S. O. (2013). Analysis of Toyota’s marketing strategy in the UK market. European Journal of Business and Management, 5(20), 1-7.

Provide an example of current company pricing strategies.

The company has two pricing strategies. It used market-oriented pricing strategies and value-based pricing strategies. The market-based pricing strategy entails identifying the prices of the company’s competitors. That enables them to make their products cheaper thus, making them more affordable to its target market. The company uses value-based pricing strategies for its luxury vehicles. However, they are still affordable compared to other car manufacturers’ luxury vehicles.

Hoque, I., Faruque, M. O., Shahid, E. M., Pasha, S. H. A., & Rahman, S. O. (2013). Analysis of Toyota’s marketing strategy in the UK market. European Journal of Business and Management, 5(20), 1-7.

Describe pricing tactics (discounts, etc.) that are used to drive short-term demand

The company uses several pricing tactics to increase its short-term demand. One of the pricing tactics that is used is the issuance of discounts. That enables the customers to buy the vehicles at a cheaper price thus increasing the company’s sales. The company also allows credit payments for some of its vehicles at low-interest rates. That ensures that a customer can buy a car and pay in installments. That increases the company’s short-term demand.

Hoque, I., Faruque, M. O., Shahid, E. M., Pasha, S. H. A., & Rahman, S. O. (2013). Analysis of Toyota’s marketing strategy in the UK market. European Journal of Business and Management, 5(20), 1-7.