Week 1

Week 1 Case Assignment - Ford

MRKT 5000 Online Course

Walt Nolen

Ford Develops a Strategy for Competitive Advantage

Case Summary:

Ford Motor Company was facing a dire situation in 2008 with declining auto sales due to the worst recession in 80 years. In fact, two of the largest automobile manufacturers in the United States declared bankruptcy as a result of poor sales combined with a bleak sales forecast for the next couple of years. However, thanks to a new strategy deemed “The Way Forward”, Ford concentrated their efforts on reducing costs and focusing on customers’ needs. This plan was a major reason Ford achieved the number one position for sales in the United States by 2011. Ford brand vehicle sales topped 2 million in the United States in 2011 (Sharma & Woodall, 2011).

Key Marketing Issues

• Corporate strategy – determines the means for utilizing resources in the areas of production, finance, research and development, human resources, and marketing to reach the organizations goals. Ford concentrated on reducing capacity, changed their pricing strategy, and focused on product innovation as part of their new strategy.

• Target market – group of customers upon whom organizations focus their marketing efforts. One target market for the Ford fusion was women.

• Market strategy – the selection of a target market and the creation of a marketing mix that will satisfy the needs of the target market. One example of this is Ford’s selecting women as the target market of the Fusion auto and attracting them to the auto via a new and different promotional campaign, the Fusion Studio.

• Marketing concept – an organization should try and provide products that satisfy customers, through a coordinated set of activities that also allows the organization to achieve its goals. One way Ford did this was by returning to clear simple pricing of its autos. This provided value for the customer because they easily...