Targeting Strategy of Toyota Motor Corporation-Samples for Students

Question: What targeting strategy is your Car Manufacturer using? Explain your reasoning. Answer: Toyota Motor Corporation is one of the leading car manufacture in Canada and across the world. Canadians are showing great demand for vehicles as time goes on (Mathieson, 2010). In order to meet its marketing objectives, the company has segmented the Canadian market according to various characteristics of the consumer. The purpose of market segmentation is to split the general market needs into smaller defined groups. In this country, it has segmented its market according to life style and social class. In Canadian market, Toyota has segmented its passer cars based on four major categories namely fuel efficient car, luxurious car, high performance car and high tech-environmentally friendly (Bose, 2012). Based on these segments, the company is able to serve every consumer to satisfaction irrespective of their differences in terms of needs and preferences. The luxurious cars are bought by high class and people who like being associated with expensive things. Some of the luxury cars comprise of Lexus, 4runner and Sequoia. Such vehicles are also commonly used for transporting VIPs (pauwels, 2015). One of the characteristics which define cars under this category is that they are expensive and costly to maintain. Most of vehicles under this category are big or designed with unique features which define high class. Under this category, are also purchased by families with between 4-5 members and those who have high levels of income. The fuel efficient cars are sold to mid-low level income category with family of between 2 to 5 members. Some of the cars under this segmentation comprise of Camry, Prius, Yaris sedan, corolla, Yaris Hatchback, and among others. Under this category, the company provides the consumers with broad range of prices. One of the reasons which made Toyota to use this type of segmentation is because cars are expensive and costly to maintain depending on their model. The other segment which this company has in Canada is high performance cars (pauwels, 2015). Cars under this category are bout by people who need unique features. Example of vehicle under this category comprise of those which can perform better in tough terrains and sport cars. Some of the models which can operate better in tough terrains comprise of four wheel drive vehicles like Hilux, 4runner among others. Sport cars comprise of Toyota Atlis sports model, Fortuner among others. People who purchase cars under this category are those who like sports, adventure and those who travel in areas associated with tough terrain, dense pools and other features where other type of vehicles cant operate. As environmental pollution has become a major concern in Canada. There are people who feel they should always play a roles in ensuring pollution is minimized. As a result of this, Toyota Canada has innovated various types of vehicles which meet these demand (Bose, 2012). Under its major segments, it has high-tech environmentally friendly vehicles which are characterised with less carbon emission. Cars under this category also have other unique characteristics like air filtration systems, emission sensors, LED lights, inflatable real safety belts, and Lighter weight among others. People who purchase vehicles under this category are those who want to drive but consider. The four segmentations considers families of between 2 to 5 members and individuals who like to experience driving their own vehicles (Mathieson, 2010). These segments are meant to serve consumers of various needs and levels of income. They are also meant to solve different needs which consumers have. For example, high performance category serve consumers who experience challenges of tough terrain and those who like sports, luxury serves those who like luxury products, high-tech environmentally vehicles serve those who like to preserve environment and finally fuel efficient serve low-middle level income consumers who like incurring less costs. Company: Toyota Segment Primary Need Addressed Key demographic variables Key Psychographic variables Key Behavioral variables Brand example Luxurious Luxury needs Families comprising of 2-7 members Lifestyle: family- related activities, VIP activities like carrying senior government officials. Key characteristics: expensive, powerful engines and high fuel consumption Toyota Lexus Fuel efficient cars Economic friendly needs Families comprising 2-7 members Life style: Adventures Fuel efficient and less maintained costs Camry, Prius V, and 86, Yaris sedan, corolla High performance Tough terrain, dense pools and Sporting needs Families comprising of 2-7 members and languages Life styles: travelling off road and in areas with tough terrain and slippery roads. Key characteristics; high performance features like powerful engines, four wheel drive and high speed. Fortuner, Hilux and Toyota atlas sport model High-tech environmentally friendly vehicles Environmental conservation Families comprising of 2-7 members Life styles: people who like driving but mind preserving environment Key characteristics: less carbon emission sensors, lighter weight, LED lights, hybrid engines, air filtration systems Toyoyta Prius two eco Targeting According to Luther (2013), targeting is defined as the process of evaluating the selected market segments to determine their effectiveness so as to choose one or more to enter. For example, in terms of social class, the company has decided to enter into two segments in the Canadian market namely luxury and low-middle class category. According to Donald (2015), there are three targeting strategies which a company can use: undifferentiating, differentiating and concentrated. Toyota cannot use undifferentiating in Canada because the company is not willing to convey same message to very person. The company can only prosper by using either differentiated or concentration targeting technique. Based on these targeting strategies, the company target each consumer with its own marketing mix in order to meet the desires of each consumer. Comparing the two, Toyota mostly uses concentration, also known as niche targeting strategy. The major reason why it has chosen to use this targeting strategy in this country is because it enables it to serve a well-defined group of consumers. For different products, the company uses consideration differentiation strategy. Toyota offers different products of different value and for different market segments (Irina, 2013). For example in the sport utility vehicle class alone, it has developed a variety of vehicles which meet the needs of consumers who belong to this category in Canada. Some of these vehicles comprise of 4runner, sequoia, and land cruiser among others. Each of this vehicles is tailored to different price ranges in order to accommodate people with different buying preferences. References Bose, T. K. (2012). Market Segmentation and Customer Focus Strategies and Their Contribution towards Effective Value Chain Management. International Journal of Marketing Studies, 4(), 201-223 Donald, B. (2015). Essentials of International Marketing. London: Routledge. Irina, P. (2013). Product Innovation Strategies on Emerging Markets: Bringing Theory and Practice Together. European Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies, 5(2), 58-90. Luther, W. (2011). The Marketing Plan: How to Prepare and Implement It. New York: AMACOM. Mathieson, R. (2010). The On-Demand Brand: 10 Rules for Digital Marketing Success in an Anytime, Everywhere World. New York: AMACOM. Pauwels, K. (2014). Its not the Size of the DataIt's How You Use It: Smarter Marketing with Analytics and Dashboards. New York: American Management Associations.