A Review of Ford Motor Company’s Marketing Mix
In the marketing mix, the P for product stands for a product or service an organisation provides that must be valuable and satisfy a need, want or demand that the consumer may have. Product is a key element to the marketing mix, without a product there is nothing for the company to market or sell.
Ford Motor Company was established 16th June 1903 in Detroit, Michigan and since the beginning, they have successfully manufactured a product that meets customer demands for a reasonably priced, reliable vehicle that allows automobile transport to be accessible to the masses. Ford hit a major milestone in 2012 as they built their 350 millionth car since the company was founded in 1903 (Motor Trend, 2012). Henry Ford was a pioneer and the founder of Ford Motor, revolutionising manufacturing by designing the moving assembly line in 1913 (Ford, 2020). This meant that Ford where able to keep their production costs low and offer consumers an affordable price for their Ford Model T. Ford have has a global impact since the early 19th century, opening factories in Ireland, England and France in 1917 (OSV, 2017) and by 1920, Ford was producing 50% of the cars in the US and 40% of all British ones (OSV, 2017).
Ford’s customer portfolio is vast as they offer a variety of vehicles from family cars, i.e. 7-seater Ford Galaxy, to their higher performance range, i.e. Mustang which cater to customers wanting an American muscle car. In the past twelve months, Ford launched and advertised 23 new products (Media Radar, 2020) compared to General Motors who released 5 new models (McCarthy, N.D). Within the different global markets that they operate, they offer different models to meet the different customer demands, for affordability, reliability and longevity. For example, the Ford Fiesta which was launched in 1976 by Ford Europe (OSV, 2017) was a success in Europe and the UK market. To date, there have been 8 regenerations of the Fiesta, the small hatchback has proven hugely successful with a total of 4,500,000 sold in the UK (Parkers, 2017).
In America, Ford has successfully created a product that meets the demands for a robust truck thus introducing their Ford F-Series, which includes the F-150 and F-Series Super Duty models, which chalked up its 39th consecutive year as America’s best-selling vehicle in 2020 (Gastelu, 2021). The Ford F-Series is marketed heavily towards the everyday working man showcasing its durability and ability to withstand heavy work while being a family car, as showcased in an advertisement from the 90’s which shows the truck being loaded with multiple log fencing and driving through tough terrain (Classic Car Channel, 2016).
Since 2016 they have partnered with the NFL and F-Series is the official truck for the NFL. Ford and the NFL have a similar target market with consumers sharing an interest in football and automobiles their partnership works hand in hand.
With more awareness on the environmental impact automobiles have on the world and governments imposing bans on petrol and diesel, car manufacturers are releasing their own hybrid or electric models. In 1996, General Motors released the EV1 — the first mass-produced, purpose-built modern electric car from one of the industry’s key players (Auto Express team, 2020). Ford have since released their first electric car in 2009, the Ford Focus BEV and this year they’re releasing the Mustang Mach-E, mass marketed affordable version of a Tesla Model X. The starting price for the Model X is £90,980. The Mach-E is much more affordable in comparison with the basic price starting at £41,330.
To summarise, I believe Ford achieved marketing success through designing and manufacturing sturdy, reliable & affordable vehicles that met the wants, needs and demands of customers within the automobile market. Clearly Ford understands the DNA of their customer base and know how to produce product from entry to exit price points. Continually evolving with technology and tailoring product to meet the demands from local and global markets.
References
· Auto Express team (2020) ‘History of the electric car: from the first EV to the present day’ Auto Express [online]. Available at: https://www.autoexpress.co.uk/car-news/electric-cars/101002/history-of-the-ev-from-the-first-electric-car-to-the-present-day[accessed 10 April 2021]
· Classic Car Channel (2016) ‘90’s Ford F Series Truck Commercial #1’ Youtube [online]. Available at:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6d2fmYuybaI [accessed 10 April 2021]
· Ford (2020) ‘The Henry Ford Story’ Ford.co.uk [online]. Available at: https://www.ford.co.uk/experience-ford/history-and-heritage#assemblyline [accessed 10 April 2021]
· Gastelu. G (2021) ‘Ford, Toyota top USA’s best-selling vehicles list for 2020’ in Fox Business [online]. Available at: https://www.foxbusiness.com/lifestyle/ford-toyota-usas-best-selling-vehicle-2020 [accessed 10 April 2021]
· McCarthy (N.D) ‘2020 & 2021 GM Models: What’s All New & Redesigned?’ McCarthychevybuickgmc.com [online]. Available at: https://www.mccarthychevybuickgmc.com/all-new-gm-vehicles [accessed 12 April 2021]
· Media Radar (2020) ‘Ford Advertiser Profile’ Media Radar [online]. Available at: https://advertisers.mediaradar.com/ford-advertising-profile [accessed 10 April 2021]
· Motor Trend (2012) ‘Major Milestone: Ford Assembles 350 Millionth Car Since 1903’ Motortrend.com [online]. Available at:https://www.motortrend.com/news/major-milestone-ford-assembles-350-millionth-car-since-1903-255115/ [accessed 12 April 2021]
· OSV (2017) ‘A Brief History of Ford Motor Company’ OSV.ltd.uk [online]. Available at: https://www.osv.ltd.uk/brief-history-of-ford/ [accessed 12 April 2021]
· Parkers (2017) ‘History of the Ford Fiesta 1976–2017’ Parkers.co.uk. Available at: https://www.parkers.co.uk/ford/fiesta/history-of-the-fiesta/ [accessed 12 April 2021]
Image References
Figure 1 — RM Auctions (2019) ‘1914 Ford Model T Touring’ [photograph] in rmsothebys.com. Avaliable at: https://rmsothebys.com/en/auctions/hf19/hershey/lots/r0196-1914-ford-model-t-touring/805896 [accessed 20 March 2021]
Figure 2 — Vogel Marketing Solutions LLC. (N.D) ‘1914 Model T Automobile Advertisement’ Pinterest [online]. Available at: https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/484770347397788228/ [accessed 23 March 2021]
Figure 3 — Pinewood Ford (2018) ‘ Pinewood Ford, USA Dealership’ [photograph] in pinewoodford.com. Available at: https://www.pinewoodford.com [accessed 5 April 2021]
Figure 4 — Commercials Youtube (2016) ‘The All New F-150 Official Truck Of NFL | Ford F-150 Truck — Commercial Ads | Ford Built Tough’ on Youtube [online]. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qid3h-0UuZc [accessed 5 April 2021]
Figure 5 — Ford (2020) ‘Our Truths’ in Ford Cooperate [online]. Available at: https://corporate.ford.com/about/culture.html [accessed 5 April 2021]
Figure 6 — Ford Motor (2020) ‘Ford’s Warrenties Website Page’ on Ford.co.uk [online] . Available at: https://www.ford.co.uk/owner/my-vehicle/warranties/extended-warranties [accessed 5 April 2021]
Figure 7 — AGI (N.D) ‘Using digital technology to take the Ford Trustmark Facility experience beyond expected’ on AGI.net [online]. Available at: https://www.agi.net/our-work/building-cars-and-trucks-that-are-driven-all-over-the-globe [accessed 5 April 2021)