Comparison BMW X6 Versus Its Rival Audi Q6: Essay Samples

Introduction:

In this essay I will compare the BMW company with its rival Audi Q6 on different on the basis of different business aspects like both companies marketing strategies, abilities of understanding targeted customers and so on and the end of the essay recommendation and implementation for Audi is provided.

The BMW one of the largest automobile Company in the world serving worldwide has marketing strategy revolving mostly around the internet. Most of the marketing strategy revolves around outgunning its competitors mainly Audi and Mercedes Benz.

Main Body

1. Marketing strategies of BMW and Audi:
As per the data almost 85% of its customers search internet before deciding to purchase BMW and that has led to invest a major chunk of its marketing funds in internet based marketing.
Most of these marketing strategies revolve around online advertisement; reverse marketing, public relation strategies, promotional activities, and one on one customer relations.
The net based marketing strategies helps BMW to personalize and localize the marketing strings with many interactive shows like the virtual shows based on BMW product survey.
The integrated strategy of BMW involves communication planning’s, the implementation of marketing campaigns along with collective media strategies made remarkable success in spreading the good word of the brand (Cornelissen, 2014).

Audi marketing strategy

Audi in order to delight their customer base use four strategic areas of activities that works around the brand name that are basically reviewed every now and then along with refinement and substantiation.

Audi believes in defining innovation, they believe in creating experience, live responsibility and keep shaping Audi.

2. Business orientation of BMW and Audi:

BMW generate the sales volume through intensive promotional activities which are mainly personal selling and advertising.

And for market orientation BMW knows that promotion decisions are only one of the four basic marketing mix decisions that leads to product decisions, place of promotion decision, decisions pertaining to promotions and finally pricing decisions (Payne, 2013).
Marketing is a inter functional coordination and hence Audi uses skills and resources spread all across the organization to create, communicate and deliver better and quality customer service to help customers reach their best of service (Parvatiyar, 1995).
Audi follows guidelines for management decision making. The essence of the entire marketing concept lies in basic three rules (Armstrong, 2010).

Consumer orientation

Long term strategy for profit maximisation
Integration of business activities for profit making as well as consumer satisfaction and preferences
3. BMW and Audi’s abilities to take advantage of environment
The main purpose of the environment analysis and taking advantage is mainly because it could identify as well as evaluate the future prospective of the company and the relation with external environment.
BMW target market was always been 25 to 45 years old and mostly the upper middle class and BMW played well its card of a niche market product. They always targeted professionals who hold leading positions in the corporate world.

The new opportunities of growth for German manufacturer BMW now counts on emerging broader markets.

Audi’s group is now focusing more on entry level price segment market especially the customers in BRIC emerging market of India, Brazil, Russia and China. Audi is also engaged in creating new joint venture order to increase the production capacity that needs to enter the fast growing markets.
4. BMW and Audi’s ability to understand its customers and consumers
BMW works on equality, continuity and singularity and it also works on Quality of product, technology used in product, performance of the product and product exclusivity. These are also construed as BMW brand values.

BMW engagement strategies for customers are as follows:

Changing retail experience
More informative and friendlier approach
Better operational handling
Internet marketing
Customer service at our finger tip
Automated one on one experience
Both Audi’s and BMW company’s ability to understand and handle consumers and customers are near about same, as they uses same strategies.
5. BMW and Audi’s ability to conduct market and marketing research
BMW market and marketing research objectives are mainly to outline current market strategy. This also highlights the basic idea of male dominance towards the brand (Goddard, 2004).
The BMW branding has been around for many years and these were done and carried out to distinguish BMW brand from others (Mauborgne, 1999).
7. BMW and Audi’s ability to formulate effective STP strategies

The BMW segmentation, targeting and positioning strategies revolves around the following strategies:

8. BMW and Audi’s abilities to formulate appropriate marketing mix for its product
Appropriate marketing mix is carried out by product pricing, product launch, product promotion and place of promotion (Schwager, 2007). These are done to get an insight into the segmentation, targeting and positioning of product.

BMW ability to formulate effective product strategy

BMW follows outcome driven innovation and for these things to be carried out the qualitative part of product, quantitative base of product, and analytical methods of understanding market that comprise BMW’s Outcome driven innovative process provide the insights that is needed to get a very robust and reliable innovation strategy (Mauborgne, 2005).
9. BMW and Audi’s abilities to formulate effective pricing strategy
The effective pricing strategy would be to make it available for entry level markets. The emerging market and new market segment has to be explored as the existing market is shrinking due to worldwide low consumer sales.
10. BMW and Audi’s abilities to formulate effective promotional strategy
The promotional activities are now mostly internet based as BMW has a reliable internet user base and hence all marketing strategies are now net savvy. Reverse marketing, Facebook postings, twitter marketing with likes and forwarding strategies.

The new strategy of net based marketing is working fine for not only pre sale but also after sale promotions.

11. BMW and Audi’s abilities to formulate effective distribution strategy
BMW products are now distributed in the emerging markets through better distribution network unlike earlier strategy where it was made exclusive for both Country and region based. With more visibility of the product the awareness and sale of products are also increasing.
12. BMW and Audi’s abilities for service performance
The strategy for service is going local and making available each and every spare part along with other value added service making BMW an affordable brand as sales increase with more visibility and after sale value addition (Bessant, 2001).

BMW ability to market to international markets

Penetration into international markets in comparison to Audi brand is essential as the new emerging markets will drive the next generation sales for all kinds of ultra-vehicles and brands.
BMW is al geared to enter the BRIC country emerging markets which will help in getting the right product to right age and earning bracket of people.

Implications and recommendations for Audi

The Audi brand is all geared to launch new product against BMW and the Mexican plant is ready to roll out Q5 in 2016 and this is basically to fill in every possible niche and take every lead against BMW in the world’s luxury segment (Malhotra, 2008).
Audi has been successful in breaching the gap between BMW and itself as the most sought after luxury brand. The strategy involving 4 Ps will definitely work for Audi narrow down the gap even further.

Conclusion:

In this essay comparison of both the companies is provided. There is no doubt that BMW is superior to its rival and achieve competitive advantage. But in some context Audi abilities are better than BMW.

References:

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Peck, H, Christopher, M, Clark, M, & Payne, A, (2013). Relationship Marketing. Routledge.
Styles, C, & Goddard, J, (2004). Spinning the wheel of strategic innovation.Business Strategy Review, 15(2), 63-72.
Meyer, C, &Schwager, A, (2007). Understanding customer experience.Harvard business review, 85(2), p, 116.
Kim, W. C and Mauborgne, R (2005). Blue ocean strategy: How to create uncontested market space and make competition irrelevant. Harvard Business Press.
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Malhotra, N K, (2008). Marketing research: An applied orientation, 5/e. Pearson Education India.