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Mix Marketing Plan Essay The mix marketing plan below is for the 2009 Mitsubishi Outlander compact all wheel drive (AWD) priced under $40,000. This market plan below describes the target market and objectives that are necessary to capture the target market. Furthermore, the plan offers recommendations and some of them methods necessary to promote the Mistubishi Outlander and create awareness of its release on to the market in 2009. Also in the mix market plan is situational analysis that is broken down into four parts. The first part is the current product which describes the brand and core product which in this case is the Mistubishi Outlander. The second part discusses the factors that will affect the price of the Outlander such as competition and demand. The third aspect talks about the current distribution and method in which to distribute the Outlander. This part also talks about the intensity of distribution and the intermediaries used to distribute the Outlander and the factors that influence the distribution such as storage and transport of the Outlanders from point of manufacture to the point of sale. The fourth situational analysis aspect is the promotional theme and the elements integrated in the promotion mix. The theme is that of cross between an all wheel drive and a sports utility vehicles that is both excellent as urban cruiser as well as an off road medium sized vehicle. The recommended target market for the Outlander is mainly the medium sized family that enjoys occasional family trips out of urban localities. The age group of the consumer interested in purchasing the Mistubishi outlander will range between 25 to the 50 years of age. This demographic will most likely reside in the upper middle class suburbs of Perth. The main aim of this mix marketing plan is to make consumers familiarise themselves with the Outlander, promote the outlander to all intermediaries through workshops and seminars. Increase volume of promotional content of the Outlander through media channels such as online advertising, email promotions, radio and television advertisements. The customers are made of the Mistubishi Diamond Advantage. Situational Analysis Current Product: The Mistubishi outlander is a cross over all wheel drive (AWD) from the product line of the Mitsubishi Motor Company. The Outlander is a shopping type of consumer product that is in its Introduction stage. It is a compact AWD that can be driven in urban areas as well as off road. However, the Outlander does not have Electronic Stability control system (ESP) but does come with an expandable row making it a seven seater and a bisected rear door for easy accesses to the rear cabin space. The ESP can always be added on to the future cars by adopting the system that is used in other Mitsubishi models. Current Pricing: The current influences on the price of the Outlander include demand, competition and other external factors such as economic situation and good value pricing (Kotler et al.2007, 350). The Mistubishi Outlander is in the monopolistic market as they are many sellers offering alternatives (Pierre and Toulemonde 2009, 1347) .AWDs such as the Toyota Rav Four and Nissan Extrail. The pricing objective of the Outlander is based on the price of competitor’s model of SUVs and the mix of models of the Outlander offered by Mistubishi under $40000. Current Distribution: The outlander is distributed indirectly from the factory through intermediaries such as the dealerships. Intermediaries provide a link between the manufacturer and consumer (Ansari, Mela and Neslin 2008, 60).The dealers include organisations that specialise in Mistubishi vehicle sales and services. Distribution of the outlander is selective for easier negotiations and one tone customer interaction. Some of the factors that may affect distribution include transport and Storage of the Mistubishi outlanders from the point of manufacture to the point of sale. Current Promotion: The main objective is to get the consumers familiarise themselves with the new Mitsubishi Outlander. The theme is that of a sports utility vehicles that is both excellent as urban cruiser as well as an off road medium sized vehicle. Advertising, direct Marketing sales promotions are some of the methods used to show to the customer the sporting side as well as its ability to use as urban vehicle through events such as the Dakar Rally. Recommended Target Market The recommended target market for the Outlander is mainly the medium sized family that enjoys occasional family trips out of urban localities. The age group of the consumer interested in purchasing the Mistubishi outlander will range between 25 to the 50 years of age. The consumer will most likely come from middle class urban setting and enjoys showing off the off-road capabilities of their car while being a comfortable and stylish car to drive around town. This target market has the most potential because the outlander is an urban sports vehicle that has an extra row of seats to accommodate a total of 7 passengers as compared to its rivals on the market within the same price range. The outlander also comes with a lot more standard features as compared to its rivals on the market. Some off the unique features include interchangeable all wheel drive that can be selected at any driving speed. The outlander also has a compact third row seat that does not compromise boot space and is still accommodate two extra passengers. Recommended Marketing Objective:’ In order to keep the Mitsubishi Outlander ahead of the other brand of cross over AWDs on the market, some short term marketing strategies will have to be put in place. These include : Making the consumers familiarise themselves with the Outlander, promote the outlander to all intermediaries through workshops and seminars. Increase volume of promotional content of the Outlander through media channels such as online advertising, email promotions, radio and television advertisements. Another approach would be to promote the Outlander through competitions, sponsorships of sporting activities and discounted sales to the first few customers. Boost the appeal of the outlander by offering membership to outlander car club through the Mitsubishi Diamond Advantage as part of a package deal for the purchase of an Outlander which is a 10 year 160 000 km drive train warranty and the 5 year unlimited 130 000 km warrant plus roadside assistance. Product recommendations Since the product at hand is a motor vehicle, the product packaging will not be required however all other aspects of the product such as branding extensions will be taken into consideration. The product at focus is the Outlander which comes from the product mix of Mitsubishi motor company; it only has one product lines with a narrow width. Therefore, only the depth of the product mix can be explored to give the consumer a variety to pick from the range of Outlanders available. The Mitsubishi Outlander is offered in three models namely the LS, XLS and the optional XLS Luxury pack. The Three models offered come with different options and at a varied price range depending on the added extras. However, the base model still has a starting base price of $31,990 that is fixed depending on whether the customer chooses to add extras to the vehicle. The base model of the outlander is the Ls which comes with 2.4 litre 4 cylinder MIVEC engine, driver and passenger side airbags. The LS models also comes with All Wheel Control 4WD (AWC), air condition, cruise control, Keyless entry, power windows, a steering wheel with audio controls, Stability and traction control. The XLS model has added on features that the LS does not have such as: Continuously variable automatic transmission (CVT), INVECS Smart Logic and 6 steps Sports Mode, Paddle gear shifts, Smart Key, Bluetooth voice activated phone connectivity, chrome grill surround, 18† alloy Wheels, Reverse parking sensors, Adaptive Front Lighting system, High intensity Discharge Head Lamps (HID), Fog Lamps and Privacy Glass. The third model of the outlanders is the optional XLS Luxury pack. This model has additional feature to the XLS model. These key features include 18† 7 spoke wheels, chrome exterior highlights, electric sunroof, Rockford Fosgate premium sound system with 9 speakers, Rear entertainment system, Mitsubishi Multi Communication system (MMCS) including satellite navigation and reverse camera, automatic dusk sensing head lamps, automatic rain sensing wipers, leather seats facings, power driver seat and heated front seat. Pricing recommendations The pricing recommendations for the Mitsubishi Outlander will include the product line price, product bundle pricing and optional –product pricing. The product line price in this situation is considered because the product line width is narrow and limited to the Outlander models namely the LS, XLS and The Optional XLS model. Therefore, the pricing of the models will also be affected by what model is being sold through the intermediaries to the consumer. The purpose is to insure profit maximisation of the base model LS by mass distribution to the companies and leasing companies. With the LS having least of the features, making it the level entry model of the Outlander models. The second thing that is considered when it comes to product line pricing is the optional product line pricing. This will help increase the Mitsubishi profits from the sale optional accessories that can be added to the features of the Outlander’s base model the LS. Some of the features intended for the target market include, 18† alloy wheels, reverse parking sensors, High intensity Discharge Head Lamps (HID), Fog Lamps and Privacy Glass, electric sunroof, chrome exterior highlights, Rockford Fosgate premium sound system with 9 speakers and rear entertainment system. The perceived value of the extras is reasonable priced as all extras added on to the Outlander models come with a 5 year 130000 km warranty. The last recommendation for product line price is product bundle pricing, where the Outlander models are sold as bundles. This can be achieved when either selling the Outlanders with just the basic features at a much lower price as compared to the base models. The target market is leasing companies, private and government organisations in bulk. Furthermore, pricing adjustments can be made to increase sales such as discounts on bulk buys and end of financial year sales and further discounts for early or cash payments. The Outlander is not new to the car market, therefore the new product pricing strategy that is recommended is the market –penetrating pricing strategy to attract a large number of buyers and share market as it’s a medium quality and medium price product. Distribution recommendations The recommend method of distribution channel is using indirect channel through intermediaries such as agents, retailers and wholesalers. The intermediaries act as the third party link between the Mitsubishi and the consumers. The involvement of intermediaries allows the Mitsubishi to reach geographical dispersed groups and avoid direct investment. The Mitsubishi car company does not have to have a direct involvement with credit facilities or have local knowledge of customers. Furthermore, Mitsubishi can earn a greater return by investing in their main business rather than in direct marketing. The intermediary can deal directly with the customers at a more efficient and effective level often provide a supplier or manufacturer more returns than the manufacture can achieve on their own. This due to the amounts of contacts they have in the industry, experience, specialisation and scale of operation. Therefore, the channel of distribution is the retailer channel. That is from the manufacturer to the retailer then the consumer. The retailers sell the Outlander directly to the customers by so doing making the level of distribution intensity selective. This enables Mitsubishi deal directly with a few selected dealers that sale and provided services of goods manufactured by the Mitsubishi motor company. Channel conflict is minimised by dealing directly with intermediaries who are responsible for delivery and sale of the Outlanders. By doing so the conflict most likely to arise is between the Mitsubishi and the exclusive distributors. Promotion recommendations Before any promotional recommendations can be made in terms of promotions for the Mitsubishi Outlander, a number of things have to be considered. The major decision that has to be made includes objective setting, advertisement budget, advertising strategy and evaluation. When it comes to setting the budget, the product life cycle (PLC) has to be taken into consideration. From the introduction of the new Outlander where light advertising and pre introduction publicity to heavy advertising and awareness. This is the growth stage where brand loyalty and personal selling are greatly enforced. The maturity stage involves the decrease in sales promotion personal selling and the decline stage is where advertisements and promotions reduce with limited sales. These stages will determine the over head for the budget. The other promotional recommendation is the public relations mix and media selection through which to do the advertising. The media strategy includes selecting the media format. For example the newspaper has mass audience following and is good for targeting a specific audience via quick distribution. Magazines are mainly for segmented audience however, the information is intensive and highly visual. Television combines both sight and sound however most ads are ignored and only good when trying to build brand awareness and if there are adequate financial resources for the advertisement. However, radio has immediate delivery and good for stimulate impulse purchasing, cheap to advertise but does not have a visual impact. Last, there is outdoor advertising at the car dealership on the lawns where there is great traffic flow. Sales promotion is also another way to attract new customers to the Mistubishi Outlander. This also helps retain loyal Outlander customers and also regain past purchasers who have no longer purchase Mistubishi Outlander. This can be achieved through cash – back offers, competitions, premium offers offering more test drives of the Outlander models. Promotions can also be done through personal selling and interpersonal communication with target consumer groups. This involves two way communications between sales people and individual customers. The sales people are the link between the Mistubishi motor company and the customers and vice-versa. Another method that can be used is direct communication using electronic network tools and technologies via the internet. Telemarketing, telesales other forms of direct marketing that can be used to promote the sale of the Outlander. Other unconventional methods of promotions that can be used are: viral marketing by passing on information to others creating exponential growth in the messages response. Viral communications incurs very little expenses however there is limited control over receipt of the messages. The forms of passing information and advertising that are becoming popular blogs. Blogging is one method of creating hype for a product with no costs and also be able to facilitate communication between organisations and their stakeholders. Endorsements by celebrities via paid verbal testimonials or physical association with a brand. The upside is that advertising air time is practically free and the public is often not informed whether the celebrity is renumerated by the company. Conclusion. The above mix marketing plan is designed for the 2009 Mitsubishi Outlander all wheel drive AWDs. The mix market plan describes the target audience and recommends ways in which to capture the intended market. The plan has further recommendation on how to create awareness for the 2009 Outlander and methods of price, distribution and promotion. The mix market plan also has situational analysis that breaks down the recommended mix marketing strategy into four aspects that current product, current pricing, current distribution and the current promotion. The mix market plan also explains the chosen theme that is a cross between an all wheel drive and sports utility vehicle that is also excellent as an urban cruiser. Furthermore, there is emphasis on the outlander’s unique features for vehicles whose base price is under $40,000.