Comprehensive The Marketing Mix of Ford – With Detailed 4Ps

About Ford

Ford Motor Company founded by Henry Ford in the year 1903 is headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan. Ford also has joint ventures in China, Thailand, Taiwan, Russia and Turkey. It deals with vehicles used for commercial and private purposes. They are the 5th largest automobile company in the world and have markets across six continents. The company is listed with the New York Stock Exchange which is controlled by the Ford family. 

Ford used the method of assembly lines to introduce large scale manufacturing and management of a huge workforce. His methods were later known as Fordism around the world.

Now let us delve deeper into the marketing mix strategies adopted by Ford which led the company to currently be in a successful position around the globe.

Marketing Mix of Ford

Marketing Mix can be defined as the set of tools required to influence customers through a combination of factors namely Product, Price, Place and Promotion. The marketing mix of Ford  have been broken down into 4 different sections for a deep and better understanding of the strategies adopted by the company  

1. Ford Product Strategy :

Ford has a huge crowd of customers with various requirements. Thus they have a well-defined product strategy and a variety of product lines designed to fulfil the demands and cater to all the sections of society. 

Their main products are:-

• SUV’s
• Cars
• Crossovers 
• Trucks
• Vans
• Performance Vehicles
• Hybrids & EVs
• Vehicle Accessories 

Ford also included another wide range of vehicles like Jaguar, Landrover, Volvo, Mazda, Aston Martin and Mercury and currently continues to sell under the brand Lincoln. All the Ford products are manufactured keeping in mind suitable local driving conditions. Their automotive parts are also sold under the brand name Motorcraft. They also provide the service of vehicle leasing to their corporate customers.

2. Ford Pricing Strategy :

Ford implemented a pricing strategy that suits the best for the different sections of society. Their product prices vary from section to section. The two main pricing strategies that they have implemented are:-

1. Market-Oriented Pricing – This includes pricing the products by keeping in mind the competitors, demand, customer preferences, and other factors. 
2. Premium Pricing Strategy – This type of pricing is used for their luxury line of vehicles in which the price is set on a slightly higher-end than their normal market pricing due to the differences in their features and services.

Their decent and reasonable prices along with the feature of low fuel consumption have made them the most desired and preferred amongst the low-income group.

3. Ford Distribution Strategy :

Ford has a wide set up of manufacturing plants among different parts of the world which make distribution easier. Their main distribution channels include dealership, auto parts and motor credit companies. 

• They have dealerships with various stores and have their showrooms spread across different areas, making buying easier for customers.
• The automotive parts and components of the vehicles are available in different third party stores and also on their Ford Parts website. 
• They have Motor Credit company companies through which customers can get easy access to financial services. If not, they also have their personnel at their dealership stores to help customers with the same.

They set up a manufacturing plant in Chennai on a 350-acre land. The initial investment went up to 1700 crores and they manufacture around 200,000 vehicles per annum. They also have another plant in Gujarat which can produce around 240,000 cars in a year. The main motive of setting up these plants in India was to meet their domestic and export needs so that original selling prices don’t shoot up. This also led to making it very convenient for the customers and thus led to the addition of a lot of loyal customers to the ford company.

4. Ford Promotion Strategy

Due to the high competition in the automobile market, ford adopts strategies that help them promote their products through all possible platforms. They use various promotional methods like advertising, sales promotion, personal selling, public relations and sponsorships.

Ford uses advertising as its main promotional method. They use various visual and print media sources like Television ads, Magazines, Newspapers, Billboards, and online channels. They have sales personnel in their dealership branches to persuade customers through the method of personal selling to be a part of their family. They use the method of sales promotion as a technique to keep the loyal customers and acquire more potential customers which are done by giving discounts, special offers etc.

They reach out to their audience and believe in not only promoting their product but promoting their brand as a whole by sponsoring huge events and celebrities. They have become associated with football by sponsoring the UEFA Champions League and tapped a huge football fan crowd. They also partnered with the World Rally driver Ken Block in which they supplied him with a Ford Fiesta S2000 which led to the promotion of the brand through social media and other videos over the internet.

They have a Ford Britain’s Trust which provides grants and incentives to fund local education and other not for profit projects. They have also kept in mind their responsibility towards the environment and the society and have been the first car manufacturer company to receive an IS014040 certification which is an international environmental standard and is all a part of their corporate social responsibility projects.

The company aims to create a positive image and gain more potential customers by not only providing them benefits but also by realising their responsibilities towards society.

Conclusion 

Ford Motor Company has conquered and stood out amongst its competitors in the market through its various policies and strategies. They have kept in mind the desires of their customers and designed products accordingly. They have also come up with pricing strategies that let every section of the society access their products and expand their distribution all over the world for easy access. And to top it all they have also used promotional strategies that not only help them gain a position in the market but also let the audience connect to them. It is all the carefully analysed strategies that helped them gain the position of one of the largest automaker companies in the world.

This was the end to the case study of the 4Ps of the Marketing Mix of Ford Motor Company. Hope you enjoyed reading this blog. If you are further interested to know more about digital marketing then you can watch our free online masterclass or take up a 3-month digital marketing course with certification.

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