Segmentation and Targeting Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Segmentation and Targeting - Essay Example Specific marketing cases Ford Escort is a car brand that was revitalized in 1982, adding Ford’s blue oval insignia for the first time in history alongside a newer frame. The brand was aimed at the sports car market, with a two-seater hatch for lower rooflines (University of southern California, 2010). These body features proved unsuccessful in the sports market and once again, the Ford escort was remodeled for the youth market. The escort brand introduced in the early nineties was a much lower-slung and casual car than either the sedan or wagon. The brand reinstated the Escort GT, as the company was more focused on providing an affordable product for the youths. The Lexus target market ranges for people around the age of forty, with a strong household salary. The luxury market back in 1989 had Lexus brands sell around 25,000 cars in hope of achieving a target of 65,000 cars. With the main rivals of Lexus being brands such as Mercedes Benz, the target market of majority of its brands is well-off customers (Anurit, Newman, And Chansarkar, 2006, p. 15). The choice of target market made by Ford while manufacturing the escort brand revolves around the model of product life sequence. This choice has an impact on its advertising and pricing strategies through marketing mix (University of southern California, 2010). Since Ford Escort is a commodity model of this specific industry, its price and mode of promotion is defined by the targeted market, breaking down the promotion procedures into stages. These stages have been used by Ford to realize the standard income made the youthful market and be able to set prices for the escort model. The choice of target market affected the pricing and advertising strategies of the Lexus vehicle brands through product positioning. Unlike Ford, Lexus fixed its models right before customers who could find them affordable, instead of directly looking the customers. Lexus believed their brand would sell in terms of benefits that ca n be offered to customers through new ways. This way, Lexus could always be affiliated with luxury living, creating a standard means of living able to be felt and understood by its customers. The effects of imposition of a new target market by Ford Escort would have multi-dimensional scaling (Anurit, Newman, And Chansarkar, 2006, p. 16). Market researchers working with ford have analyzed the relationship between introduction of new market targets and consumer perception. Mature Ford escort customers will be inclined to react pessimistically to the bringing in of a new market targets since the dimension the brand has been pursuing for the past twenty years will be altered. Customers will be looking forward to luxurious models of Ford Escort for new buyers (University of southern California, 2010). Therefore, Old buyers will flee the market in search of other affordable brands. The perspective of Lexus buyers will not make a big or significant change with the introduction of a new mar ket target. The brands made by Lexus already hold a luxurious perspective amongst all car buyers worldwide. Therefore, Lexus buyers already find the cars affordable and any significant changes that may occur might be due to the quality or features of new Lexus brands. The image of Ford has been tarnished after the economic downturn began in the European market. As a result, its market