Mini Case Analysis on

TOYOTA

INTRODUCTION

Toyota Motor Corporation is a Japanese multinational automaker headquartered in Toyota, Aichi, Japan. Well-known for world's first mass-market hybrids. Toyota meets the needs of customers Produces 5.5 mi. vehicles per year

HISTORY • Kiichiro laid the foundations of Toyota Motor Corporation,

which was established in 1937. • Toyota began to make inroads into foreign markets in the late

1950s.

• Toyota has continued to grow in Europe's sophisticated and complex market, and in 2000 the company delivered its ten millionth car to a customer in Germany.

• Toyota is number one for customer satisfaction in the majority of European countries and has built an excellent reputation across Europe for reliability and customer service.

THE 3

RINGS

of

Evolution

of ‘The 3 Rings’

TOYOTA’s Product Differentiation

• Toyota’s uses both differentiation and low cost as generic strategies to try and gain a competitive advantage over their competitors in the automotive industry.

• Toyota is able to target such a large market because they have something for everyone.

• Toyota provides vehicles for all price ranges.

• Toyota has been very successful in differentiating on the basis of superior design and quality.

• Toyota was the first successful mass produce the hybrid car on the market.

• Toyota always stays on the offensive looking for ways to be better than their competitors.

Market Segmentation of Toyota

• Currently Toyota is focusing on two segmentations:

• Demographic Segmentation

• Psychographic Segmentation

Market planning

• Toyota has adopted three basic rudiments to develop an effective and efficient market planning and those three elements are:

• Green,

• Safety,

• And low operating cost.

Segmentation criteria Toyota uses for different products in different markets

• Toyota is using "Adjacent Segment."

• Allows a company to continuously increase its market share and grow its customers.

• Toyota is able to move from one specific car manufacturing to another, relative to large cars, such as a station wagon.

• Toyota first expands its market by introducing Sedan cars which are large and luxurious than its previous cars

Place/Distribution in Toyota’s Marketing Mix Dealerships are Toyota’s main places for distributing its products. This element of the marketing mix determines the venues where customers can access the firm’s products. The following are the main places in Toyota’s distribution strategy: • Dealerships • Retailers Toyota dealerships are where most sales transactions occur. However, some retailers like auto supply stores also sell the company’s products, such as spare parts and accessories. This part of the marketing mix shows that Toyota relies heavily on dealerships to sell its products to the target market.

Toyota’s Promotion (Promotional Mix)

Toyota’s promotion strategy covers all the tactics of marketing

communications. This element of the marketing mix pertains

to how the firm communicates with the target market. Toyota

uses the following promotion activities, arranged according to

significance:

• Personal selling

• Advertising

• Public relations

• Sales promotion

• Direct selling

Toyota’s Prices and Pricing Strategy

Toyota’s prices vary widely, depending on the product line and

the product type or model. This element of the marketing mix

identifies how the firm sets the prices of its products. Toyota

uses a combination of the following pricing strategies:

• Market-oriented pricing

• Value-based pricing

Toyota’s Products (Product Mix)

Toyota has a diverse set of products. This element of the

marketing mix identifies organizational outputs for the target

customers. The following are the product lines in Toyota’s

product mix:

• Toyota automobiles

• Lexus automobiles

• Welcab series

• Marine products

• Spare parts and accessories

• Engines

Toyota has built a huge manufacturing company that can produce millions of cars each year for a wide variety of consumers. Why was it able to grow so much bigger than any other auto manufacturer?

• They analyze what the customer want and they deliver according to their need. Toyota Company is the master of lean manufacturing and continuous improvement. Its plants can make as many as eight different models at the same time, bringing huge increases in productivity and market responsiveness.

• The Toyota Company grow so much bigger than any other auto manufacture because of the act according to preference of the customer market segment: Toyota Company produce large range of subcompacts to luxury and sports vehicles to SUVs, trucks, minivans, and buses. They segment their product according to need of customer.

Has Toyota done the right thing by manufacturing a car brand for everyone? Why or why not?

• I think Toyota Company has done the right thing by manufacturing a car brand for everyone. They manufacture a really great range of exciting new cars which will open people’s eyes and minds. They analyze what a customer need and develop the same feature automobile in the comparable price. They divide their market segment. In the market there are different people with different perception, someone may view automobile as only transportation mean someone may take as self-pride.

Submitted by: Ayush Choudhary, VIT University, Vellore During the 4 week marketing internship conducted by Prof Sameer Mathur, IIM Lucknow