Outline and discuss the product map of one luxury car brand mentioned in the marketing highlight
The main idea of the product map is to create a map where the competing products are mentioned in the relation to key characteristics (Vashisht 2005, p. 103). Having considered the prices and the quality of the cars, it can be concluded that Mitsubishi is a Japanese brand of high quality with a relatively middle range of prices.
Which brand strategy has your selected company adopted to compete effectively on the market?
The main strategy Mitsubishi has chosen is a product mix directed at differentiating the car’s names in different countries (Kotler, Adam, Denize & Armstrong 2009). A product mix is defined as a “set of all product lines and items that a particular seller offers for sale” (Kotler & Armstrong 2010, p. 258). Considering a case study, it can be identified, that Mitsubishi tries to be acceptable in the cultural and language-related to different countries, so, its 4 x 4 model is called Pajero in Australia. Trying to meet the demands of the United Kingdom, another name was chosen, Shogun. The United States knows this model as Montero. Being one line of a product, different countries are offered various names that create a kind of confusion. Trying to make the car names easier for pronunciation and more cultivated, with simple and familiar sounds for the citizens, the luxury car brands have also tried to adjust the cars to the countries they are going to be distributed. Mitsubishi is threatened to make confusion in the name of the problem for customers. Having been distracted from understanding whether the car they are looking for is exactly the one they try to consider (the country difference is meant), customers may refuse from buying the product and reduce the income the company gets.
Do the product mix decisions of the top marques, such as those mentioned in the highlight, seem to differ? If so, how?
The product mix decisions are used not only by the Mitsubishi brand but also by other top marques, like Jaguar, BMW, Audi, Mercedes-Benz, etc. The main reason to change the names is to try to adjust the cars to the environment in the cars are going to be sold. The presence of some specific attributes in the same car line may be explained than in one case, the car is going to be used in a hot environment while another one will be mostly driven in rainy and foggy weather. The economical situation in the country should be taken into account as well. The economical and political environment and the market demand are deeply researched before deciding to deliver the cars to the country. If the country is in a bad economical situation, the car manufactures may remove some functions from the car to make it less luxurious, but still comfortable and of high quality. Moreover, the above-mentioned factors, like cultural significance and language peculiarities remain highly important for product mix decisions luxury car manufactures have to make. The competition also plays a vital role as when a car brand has to combat another one in the specific local car market, the differences may be very appropriate and names change may just help the company understand the main idea of the product-mix decision.
Reference List
Kotler, P & Armstrong, G 2010, Principles of marketing, Pearson Education, Oxford.
Kotler, P, Adam, S, Denize, S & Armstrong, G 2009, Principles of marketing, Pearson Education Australia, Frenchs Forest, NSW.
Vashisht, K 2005, A Practical Approach to Marketing Management, Atlantic Publishers & Dist, Ahmedabad.