DISTRIBUTION & MARKETING PLAN-SLP WK4

Tata Motors Marketing Plan

Product Statement

Tata Motors are currently one of the leading motor vehicle manufacturers in India, dealing with the manufacture of both trucks and cars. Having started as a small company dealing in spare parts, and it has now grown to become one of the leading companies in terms of motor vehicles in the country. Apart from growing internally within the national geographic borders, the company has embarked on an international expansion strategy, which makes it a global competitor with other firms dealing with the same business of motor vehicle manufacture. These expansions are owed to the good customer relations strategy that the company has put into place and enjoyed over the years. The marketing plans of the company are produced specifically designed for each type of car which it has produced. Therefore, this marketing plan will be for Tata Nexon, one of the luxury cars manufactured by the plant and is being rolled into market for consumers, both at the National and International level. To effectively come up with one of the best marketing plans, an evaluation of the company’s internal strengths and weaknesses as well as opportunities will be analyzed.

EXTERNAL ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS

Founded as a motor vehicle manufacturing company, Tata Motors has seen tremendous growth and expansion over the years to become one of India’s leading motor vehicle manufacturers. There has been growth in Asia and expansions to various parts of Europe, and currently the Company has got over 1600 dealer outlets within the countries of its operations. Its however noteworthy that this expansion is without challenges, and the external forces such as competition and unstable demand from consumers in various parts of its operation has presented the real challenge.

Competitive Forces

Competition in the motor vehicle manufacture industry is very stiff, and in particular for the sector of luxury cars. For Tata Motors, this completion is stiff in the international arena, but very weak in the national arena. The company therefore enjoys a lot of monopoly for its vehicle in the national boundaries. However, the company’s global expansion agenda demands that it must be able to compete with other companies in the global arena. Luxury cars have flooded the markets, and only those who produce cars that are appealing to the needs of the clients are able achieve the desired market penetration. Without effective competition with the market forces at the international arena for its luxury car, these market forces still pose a real challenge to the giant motor vehicle manufacturer (Shafiulla, 2014).

Economic forces

Most companies in the manufacture of luxury cars have reduced their overall production budgets as the needs to cut on the production expenses grow. These changes are driven by factors such as the ever-fluctuating demand, as well as dynamic taste pattern of the consumers of the products. However, it’s worth noting that the constriction in budgets for most of these manufacturers has occurred in the areas of trucks. The demand for luxury and personal cars has grown over the years. Therefore, owing to this change in tastes and preferences, many companies have shifted their attention to the manufacture of the luxury cars and at least grab a glimpse of the consumer’s attention.

Political Factors

Currently, there are no political factors which may influence the operations and smooth product roll out of Tata Motors. It’s however noteworthy that political instability which is being witnessed in other parts of the world which formerly formed the key areas of product expansion have hampered its expansionist agenda to these areas of the world, thus limiting its area of operation. Stability is therefore crucial in determining whether the company will be able to expand to other areas of operation entirely depends on political stability in these areas (Kotabe, 2014).

Legal and Regulatory Forces

There is an international standard currently set for all motor vehicles to comply with set standards, which require that the manufacturer produce environmentally friendly vehicles, which meet the legal standards. Coupled to this is the requirement for safety standards, which has now been put as a test and will determine whether the vehicles manufactured will achieve market penetration.

Technological Forces

Tata Motors has adopted and integrated the use of modern technology in the manufacture of this particular car and many other cars produced at the plant. This is based on an understanding that without incorporation of modern technology into the manufacture, then consumers will not be attracted to the product. The company, which has seen its production capacity grow since 2002, has equally employed technology and the number of output has since tippled. Increased use of the technology will therefore increase the opportunity as this giant motor vehicle producer continues to assert itself into the market. All in all, the company needs to be aware of the current changes in the technology.

Sociocultural Forces

In today’s world, the way any product performs in the market entirely depends on ease of usability. The consumers have no time to be spent on learning how to operate a product over a long time, and the more complex it seems; the more likely it will not be able to attract the required number of users. This is the culture that is currently driving the world. With the adoption of computerized applications in its luxury models, the company should be able to break these sociocultural forces.

Target Markets

While focusing on quality, Tata motors are asserting itself to the market as one of the companies of choice and a leading manufacturer of affordable cars. While maintaining costs at their lowest minimum, the quality of the cars have remained affordable to the target markets that are majorly people forming the middle class in most parts of its operations. With the growth in the number of people forming part of the second class, the company is projecting to expand this target market and thus increase the sales.

Current Marketing Objectives and Performance

Currently, the company uses sales representatives for the marketing of its products. These sales agents and representative are present within the areas of operations of the company outlets and they help in the marketing of its products and use of modern methods such as media as its marketing strategy. Based on the quality of the cars produced which has continued over time, the company has had an increased annual reorder rate with more people coming back to purchase more cars from the company.

SWOT Analysis

This is an important part of this business plan, which will help in the understanding of the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats within the company as it tries to assert itself and roll out the motor vehicle.

Strengths

Some of the strengths, which the firm enjoys and will be using for its market penetration, include the fact that they manufacture quality cars with low fuel consumption and low costs. Their reputation has therefore grown in the Indian Market and it’s the largest market controller, thus the largest number of consumers. They also have a high corporate social responsibility and have expanded their business to the international arena.

Weaknesses

The return on sales of Tata motors remains relatively low when compared to other players in the market, and especially in the international arena where it intends to assert itself. Equally, the safety standards of the giant motor vehicle plant still remain low. These are issues that must be addressed by this giant motor vehicle plant.

Opportunities

Tata motors should increase its investments on luxury cars so as to reach out to the largest number of consumers and assert itself as a leader in the area. Equally, opportunities are a bound for joint ventures. Through such ventures, the company is in a position to enter into new markets for its products, especially in the international arena. The firm therefore enjoys a number of opportunities, which should be explored so as to achieve the required market penetration (Kancheva).

Threats

Even though the plant now enjoys a number of advantages, which sets it apart from its competitors, the ever riding costs of production can work against this ambition. The steel and plastic used by the manufacturing plant have continued to rise in costs, and this may weaken the ability of the company to continue manufacturing cars at lower costs. The safety of the motor vehicles, which has already been identified as an issue, can negatively impact on the sales of the company.

Marketing Strategies for the New Model

In order to achieve the desired market penetration, there must me well laid down strategies for marketing this new model of Tata Nexon. Therefore, to achieve this, strategies such as product promotion, advertising brand establishment shall be used. Advertising will be carried out through the available media and other platforms to create awareness among the consumers. Product promotion on the other hand entails giving discounts to those who buy the brand on terms as may be prescribed by the company. With these in place, the company should be able to achieve the required product penetration for this car.

Conclusion

In order to reach out to the intended consumers of the company products, a well laid down marketing plan must be put into place, such is the case with this marketing plan which analyses the internal and external business of Tata Motors as it plans to roll out its latest model of a car. The SWOT analysis help the in an analysis of the internal and external forces before the

References

Kancheva, M. Starbucks‐TATA Alliance Marketing Strategy.

Kotabe, M., & Helsen, K. (2014). Global marketing management.

Kundu, B. PRODUCT RESPONSIBILITY IN A SUSTAINABLE COMPETITIVE ENVIRONMENT-A MARKETING STRATEGY. SUSTAINABLE COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE THROUGH INTEGRATED MARKETING APPROACH, 45.

Shafiulla, B. (2014). Tata Nano to tata no-no. IUP Journal of Marketing Management, 13(1), 78.