Toyota Prius Marketing Strategy

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Introduction

To make a profit in any business one have to use efficient marketing strategies to ensure that they can outdo their competitors while not compromising on the quality of products they produce. Toyota was first developed in Japan in 1937 and later in the UK in 1965, it was later in the 80’s that it emerged in the production of cars where it has become globally known for its better production hence has been recognized as a selling brand. Toyota Prius is the latest Toyota model and has new designs leading to it being recognized as the famous hybrid car. The discussion below will focus on analyzing the marketing strategies by the company for the Toyota Prius, competition, legal, political, environmental, economic, technological and sociocultural will form out basis.

First will analyze the competitive environment of the Toyota car. To facilitate that the model will be able to compete with other brands the production produces a design that most people claimed that it carries a particular message with it. This car has gained a competitive advantage of all its competitors in their industries by ensuring that despite how the market is the product quality remains the same, this has been the reason that Toyota remains a competitive brand after over 50 years in the industry. Second is the pricing, while the initial price of the car has turned out to be a bit expensive it is maintainable in that its fuel consumption is great and its design is one that stands out. Lastly is the distinction with other products while other car brands are still developing great cars that focus on one that is environmental friendly had appealed to many buyers who want to feel comfortable while not damaging the surroundings (Afzal Ansari et al., 2019).

Secondly, the strategy in terms of economic factors where both the local and global economy play a role in the customer’s decisions in regards to purchasing and especially for the brand which tends to target people of high class. Just like in every other market, the people purchase increases during a boom and decrease during a recession and the inflation rate, exchange rates play a big part in how much revenue is generated for the brand. The brand had gone to the international level hence the different exchange rates are bound to play a big role n the economy and the varying labor laws in different countries determine the profitability level of the brand. The unstable inflation rates in India have affected the company since the state is one of Prius’ big markets and hence economic factors while in most cases are beyond the brands reach it is up to them to put measures in place in the event they occur so as not to incur losses.

In addition, political factors play a big role in the market of cars where countries that lack global relations make it impossible to market the products and make it available to consumers in such countries. Also, the countries that often have political unrest register low sales this is because for any business to run efficiently and make a profit it has to operate in a work-friendly environment. The different labor laws across different states also play a big role since where there are many labor protests they are hardly any work that is done hence affecting the revenues of the brand. For any business to operate in any country it has to adhere to the set legal and regulatory requirements. Unfortunately, in some countries these requirements fetch very high costs which discourage brands to set up shop in such states, also some states have very strict labor laws that may lead to the brand hardly making any profit while trying to adhere to such measures. In most cases, such practices have discouraged such brands from setting shop in such states making it expensive for consumers to access their products which eventually affects the brand’s market base.

Moreover, today most people are geared towards finding innovative ways to perform functions that have existed from the past. In regards to technological factors, it is up to the brand to ensure that they used innovative ways not only in the design but also in the car’s efficiency to address various problems that affect the automobile industries. In addition, with the advancement in technology, it has made it easier and faster to reach a wide customer base and make prompt responses to queries. Unfortunately, it is also a con that this technology can be prone to hacking which can impact the cars hence it is the brand’s role to ensure that it put measures in place to avoid this from happening (Madoh et al., 2019).

Lastly, on the socio-cultural factors, the culture and social factors play a very important part in the preference and sale of products. Currently, people have become aware of the causes of environmental degradation and why it is important to protect our planet, this is an opportunity for the brand since it produces eco-friendly cars that are geared to ensure that such results are minimal. In addition, the brand shifting to hybrid cars is a response to the continuous lifestyle changes by people, it can dwell on this to ensure that the cars not only suit the consumers’ needs but also are changing just like the times. Another social factor is aging, this has a big effect on the number of cars to be sold and the brand design should ensure that their cars can be used by people across different ages (Paul, 2018). Lastly, the brand should ensure that the design of its cars is satisfactory to the consumers’ change of attitudes and behaviors and as their goal is to make a profit the product should also meet the consumers’ expectations.

In conclusion, the success of any company just like Toyota is dependent not only on how great the products are but also the marketing strategy put in place to ensure the consumers who are the biggest players can access the products. While the Toyota Prius has to have already succeeded in winning in some areas caution is essential especially in regards to technology which the more advanced it is the easier it is prone to interference.

References

Afzal Ansari, A., Waqas Ameer, M., & Tabbassum, L. (2019). Strategies of Green Marketing as tool of Competitive Advantage [Ebook] (7th ed., pp. 257-265). Pakistan Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences. Retrieved 1 March 2020, from http://file:///C:/Users/HP/AppData/Local/Packages/Microsoft.MicrosoftEdge_8wekyb3d8bbwe/TempState/Downloads/25-Article%20Text-80-1-10-20200102%20(1).pdf.

Madoh, A., Alenazi, J., Alkhamees, L., & Panwar, A. (2019). Case Study on Market Mix Strategies of Toyota Motor Corporation. Asia Pacific Journal Of Management And Education, 2(3), 70-78. https://doi.org/10.32535/apjme.v2i3.630Paul, J. (2018). Toward a ‘masstige’ theory and strategy for marketing. European J. Of International Management, 12(5/6), 722. https://doi.org/10.1504/ejim.2018.094466