Organizational profile
Audi is one of the most recognized and respected luxury car makers in the world. The company is formed in the year 1910 in Germany. Later in 1932 Audi was merged with auto majors DKW, Horch, and Wanderer. Audi AG is headquartered in Germany. Audi was wholly owned by the auto major Volkswagen in the year 1964 and since then Volkswagen is its parent company. The core strategy of Audi is to lead the company through better technological advancement. The company’s main product line is automobiles. But it is also involved in developing engines.
Sales performance
Audi posted record in its total sales and in sales revenue in the year 2007. “2007 was AUDI AG’s twelfth record year in a row worldwide. From January through December, 964,151 cars were handed over to customers – 6.5 percent more than in 2006 (905,188).” (AUDI AG: New sales records in all regions in 2007, 2008). The company was able to achieve this sales target by introducing its technologically superior models. The aggressive market study conducted by Audi has shown that the customers require products with high end technology and luxury features. The company’s growth rate in Germany is 7.9% from 7.6% in the previous year. Thus AUDI ranked first in terms of sales in the whole Europe.
Competitors of AUDI
Audi’s major market segment is luxury cars. The company faces stiff competition from other major players in this segment. The other major luxury car producers that compete with Audi are Mercedes Benz and BMW. Mercedes Benz is the world’s largest luxury car manufacturer. Mercedes Benz is also headquartered in Germany. The company enjoys a very good brand value in the market. Mercedes Benz had its major focus on luxury features and recently the company has started focusing more on technology. The second major competitor of Audi is BMW which is also the leading luxury car manufacturer of the world. BMW is also a German car manufacturer. BMW is known in then market for its high end technology and luxury features. BMW has two subsidiary companies Mini and Rolls Royce. It can be seen that both these companies are as good in luxury and technological features as Audi.
Audi’s marketing research
Audi has been through a continuous marketing research process which gathered them enough information for developing strategies to be successful in the market. The core findings of the research are enumerated as follows:
- Customers require high end technology: The people want a car that is more advanced in technology. A car that equips more technological features is likely to be more successful in the market.
- The customers are much concerned about safety: The customers look for a car that can protect them the most in terms of crashes and accidents. Therefore a car with better safety features will have higher customer acceptance.
- Better after sales service: A good after sales service will satisfy the customers very much. Customers aspire to receive better assistance from the company even after service.
- The customers require more luxury features: Apart from better technological feature the customers also aspire for better luxury feature. This is one of the basic requirements of the customers in this segment.
Strategies developed
The strategies developed by the company have its core focus on Customer Relationship Management (CRM). Based on the findings of the research AUDI has developed the following strategies for being successful in the market.
Reactive CRM
Reactive CRM deals with doing things in the manner that is better than the present. It involves doing things extraordinarily. As per this strategy excessive attention is being given to the customer service. The strategy aims at giving detailed information to the customers regarding the new models and the financing matters.
Proactive CRM
Proactive CRM has its core focus on campaign management. It deals with improving the customer loyalty through better customer assistance.
Selective CRM
Selective CRM strategy deals with segmenting the customers on the basis of their aspirations. This strategy focuses on maintaining more relationship with the dealers so that the relationships with the customers are also enhanced.
References
AUDI AG: New sales records in all regions in 2007. (2008). India PRWire 2007. Web.