Marketing Strategy of General Electric: A Case Study

Updated on: Jun 16, 2023
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My name is Aditya Shastri and I have written this case study with the help of my students from IIDE's online digital marketing courses in India.

Practical assignments, case studies & simulations from Harvard Business Review helped the students from this course present this analysis.

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General Electric Company famously known as (GE) is one of the oldest power suppliers located in New York. It operates mainly in the following four sectors aviation, power, healthcare, and renewable energy. Today general electric has several subsidiaries like GE Additive, GE Aviation, GE Healthcare, GE Renewable Sources, GE Power, etc that work across the globe. Below we have covered some key important points about the marketing strategy of General Electric, its marketing mix, competitors analysis, etc.

Before we dive into the marketing strategies of GE, let us learn more about General Electric Company.

About General Electric

marketing strategy of General electric- GE logo

General Electric was founded by Thomas Edison’s company and Thomson-Houston Electric company along with J.P. Morgan its financier in 1882. It is said that GE introduced electricity and home electrical appliances to America. It has been working for more than 125 years and has created technologies that have helped improve the lives of many people.

A few of their notable innovations include the electrical grid in 1882, the first hydro-electrical power plant in 1920, the first gas turbine for producing electricity in 1939, a wind turbine in 2002, the industrial internet in 2018, etc. One of the most interesting facts is that almost 1/ 3 of the world’s electricity is generated by General Electric. They are working on creating strategies and goals that align with the UN’s sustainable development goals.

General Electric’s Competitors analysis

General Electric is a huge brand that has quite a few competitors in the market. Let us read about them too.

1. Siemens

marketing strategy of General electric-siemens

Siemens is a German-based industrial manufacturing company that was founded in 1847. This famous European conglomerate has various branches abroad. 

They provide products and services in sectors such as power, automation, buildings, railways, and water treatment systems. The company has around 4 lakh employees globally and has built a strong brand image. 

This company has many joint ventures and tie-ups with companies abroad. They have strong advertising and marketing approach that increases their brand name. They also have good financial status and hence are a top competitor of GE.

2. 3M

marketing strategy of General electric-3m

3M is an American Minnesota, Mining and Manufacturing company that was founded in 1902 having its head office in Minnesota, USA. They are known for producing electrical materials, fire protection, laminates, etc.

3M has been providing quality products and carries out thorough research on its products and services. They are also diversified and carry on business across 120 countries. Along with quality products and a brand name, 3M also has sound financial positions.

3. Hitachi 

marketing strategy of General electric-hitachi

Hitachi is a well-known Japanese company that has its headquarters in Tokyo, Japan.

Hitachi provides services in various sectors like digital media, telecommunications, construction and machinery, social infrastructure, etc. Hitachi also has a strong brand presence and had been featured in Forbes as the most popular brand. 

The company is present in many parts of America, Asia, Europe, and the Middle East. It also maintains a strong financial position with over 9.2 trillion in revenue. Hitachi is also working on building a strong relationship with its customers and shareholders.

 

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Now that we saw a few competitors of General Electric we know that it has to continually work hard and stay updated with the latest trends. It is very much crucial for GE to have a strong marketing strategy. Further in the blog, we will now have a detailed study of the marketing strategy of General Electric along with its marketing mix and marketing campaigns.

General Electric’s Marketing Mix

Marketing Mix is a set of techniques or actions a company uses to promote its brand or service in the market. The four important P’s in General Electric’s marketing mix include product, price, promotion, and place. Let us look at the four important P’s of General Electric Company below.

Products that General Electric offers

marketing strategy of General electric-product

General Electric has a presence in various sectors, it provides products and services for aviation, power, healthcare, renewable energy, kitchen appliances, etc.

In the field of healthcare, it provides equipment that monitors patients, in technology it provides jet engines, locomotives, air crafts, etc. Provides Renewable energy generators like gas turbines, water purification, and wind turbines, and also has a part that carries on drilling of oil and gas from the sea.

Price of its Products

As we just saw that GE has various products and services, it cannot follow a single pricing policy. The price of its services and products differ based on the industry. It has always been providing premium quality products or services hence it follows a premium pricing policy. GE recently tried to provide consumer goods such as household or kitchen appliances at a budgeted price to increase its sales.

Places General Electric operates in

General Electric has been providing its services in more than 160 countries across the world. Having its headquarters in Boston, it has conducted research and development in around 18 countries. It entered Indian markets in the 20th century supplying power equipment and later tied up with other corporations to make gas turbines in the country.

marketing strategy of General electric-office

Promotion Strategies Used by General Electric

General Electric is a huge multinational corporation having a strong brand presence globally. It has worked hard to promote its products through different and innovative marketing techniques. It has successfully launched ad campaigns and used digital mediums to market its brand. It has also used innovative email- marketing techniques to catch the attention of its customers.

Now that we have an idea about GE’s marketing mix, let’s move on to the Marketing strategy of General Electric.

General Electric’s Marketing Strategy

marketing strategy of General electric-tagline

The marketing strategy of General Electric plays a vital role in its success, they have to plan every strategy well in advance and make sure to beat the competition in the market. General Electric has done well in this segment. Let us read about each marketing strategy of General Electric below.

1. Being Unique

General Electric has always been working towards trying new products and entering new sectors. For the past few years, they have actively diversified their business which helped them gain experience and customer trust in various sectors.

2. Strong Digital Presence

General Electric’s main goal was to actively create awareness and knowledge about science and technology through their social media channels. Therefore they began by launching their filter on Snapchat (travel geo filter)  and created a buzz around it. They also used different platforms like Facebook, Youtube, Twitter, and Instagram to engage with their audience. They also came up with many fun campaigns and asked people to be a part of them this is an important marketing strategy of General Electric.

3. Tie-ups and Acquisitions

General Electric used the strategy of partnering with local companies in different countries and providing its services. In India, GE tied up with Bharat Heavy Electrical Ltd (BHEL) to manufacture gas turbines, and today is working on many other projects like hydroelectricity, wind turbines,  providing engines and locomotives, etc.

Given below are a few marketing campaigns launched by the company. These have played a crucial role in the marketing strategy of General Electric. 

General Electric’s Digital Marketing Campaigns

Digital marketing is a booming sector, and in the past few years have helped many companies gain publicity and engage with their customers. General Electric has used digital marketing to launch some wonderful campaigns. Here are a few successful campaigns by them

1. Instagram walks

marketing strategy of General electric-GE instagram page

General Electric started a campaign in 2013 called  #instawalks where they called out many influencers and fans of GE to capture and share their experience on the facilities given by General Electric. The fans could click pictures on their walk-around and share them on Instagram.

2. GE’s Unimpossible mission

General Electric came up with some unexpected missions which caught many eyes, one of them was the Snowball’s Chance in hell Campaign where they designed equipment in which they placed a snowball and then dropped it into a vessel that contained burning fire, after taking out the equipment to check the weather the snowball had melted they found that it was just the same while putting it in. This was done to prove that GE can do anything even the impossible missions. This gained many views and likes on Youtube and social media.

‘A Snowball’s Chance in Hell’ Unimpossible Missions GE

3. What my mom does at GE

General Electric came up with another amazing advertisement that portrayed the childlike imagination about what its mother did at work. The advertisement began with children speaking about how they thought their mom built planes like birds that fly in the air, built trains that loved the trees, built underwater fans that are powered by the moon, etc, beautifully ending it with their tag line “Imagination at Work”.

Childlike Imagination What My Mom Does at GE

Hence, General Electric has created a strong presence online and continues to keep up with the latest trends in the market.

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Conclusion

General Electric has been successful for so many decades in providing the best quality of products in sectors like aviation, power, electricity, railways, infrastructures, etc. Even after having strong competition in the market, they have survived by earning customers’ trust. General Electric has some of the best research and development teams that ensure maintaining the quality of the brand.

General Electric has also mastered its digital marketing strategies by coming up with unique campaigns and having a strong brand presence online and this was a successful marketing strategy of General Electric.

If you loved reading this blog on the Marketing strategy of General Electric do check out our IIDE Knowledge Portal for such more fascinating case studies. Thank you for reading, do let us know if you found this blog on the Marketing strategy of General Electric helpful in the comments below.

 

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Aditya Shastri

Lead Trainer & Head of Learning & Development at IIDE

Leads the Learning & Development segment at IIDE. He is a Content Marketing Expert and has trained 6000+ students and working professionals on various topics of Digital Marketing. He has been a guest speaker at prominent colleges in India including IIMs......[Read full bio]

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