Marketing Strategy Nissan Leaf †Free Samples to Students

Question: Discuss about the Marketing Strategy for Nissan Leaf. Answer: Introduction Nissan Leaf is a creative and innovative initiative by Nissan. There are competitors for this car so the marketing director needs to identify them and accordingly, promote this car. Nissan Leaf is different in terms of looks and performance so the organization can promote the same. Nissan leaf was well aware of the competition in the open market as the competitors are also planning to launch electric vehicle. BMW, Opel, Volkswagen, Mitsubishi, Peugeot, Citroen, Chevrolet, Mercedes Benz, Tesla Motors and Hybrids were few of the car manufacturers who were also planning to launch electric vehicle. The vehicle manufacturers were planning to manufacture small cars, for individual use (Jorge 2016). Nissan leaf wanted to differ and hence, they were planning to launch a big family car and at the same time, the cost of the car was also well taken care, unlike other car manufacturers (Kidron 2013). Charging of electric vehicles would be one of the biggest challenges that the users would face. The car manufacturer will also have to ensure that fuel stations are put in place so that the users can charge their vehicle on the way rather than charging the car at home, before they start with their journey. Secondly, Nissan wasnt a German company, but Germans prefer to buy German products only so in this situation, the team was scared if the driver would buy green car, which is not German made. Finally, electric vehicles may sound scary to many users as the drivers have never used it in the past and also the customers may feel that they would be stranded in the road if the battery dies (Juani 2014). Internal Market Analysis The CEO Carlos Ghosn believed that Zero Carbon emission is the future of cars because of the raising awareness on climate change and at the same time, the oil prices are also increasing drastically. The CEO believed that electric vehicle would be the future and Nissan Leaf would get the benefit of first mover in the market. The organization believed that by 2020, at least 10% of the car market would consist of electric vehicle and hence, they invested the companys complete R D budget in inventing the electric vehicle (Lin 2014). Nissan Leaf would be sedan with 5-seater. It would also possess electric motor with 80 Kilowatt power and it would offer 110 horsepower. The power would be drawn from Lithium-ion battery. The battery was very inexpensive and the cost of the battery was equivalent to half of the cost of the complete vehicle. The car was capable enough to speed up to 160 km/hr. Charging the battery would be simple as one can use 110 volt, 220 volt, or 440 volt source. The car would also have a special battery that can charge the car up to 80% in just 30 minutes (Kunle 2013). Electric vehicle naturally doesnt emit any sound but Nissan Leaf had artificial noise creator fitted in it so that people can be aware of the car coming up and this was safety feature considering the pedestrians (Katou 2015). Target Market The marketing director was very clear on the segments that would show interest in the car and hence, he wanted the team to concentrate on those segments only. In all the segments, Nissan Leaf would be bought by customers who are concerned about the environment and also customers who are willing to explore new technologies available in the market. Few of the segments that would be targeted for Nissan Leaf are as follows: - The first target market would be individuals who are buying car for their personal use. There would be customers who are more concerned about the environment and at the same time, these customers will explore all the possible features before they make a decision to buy the car (Lin 2014). Women would be targeted to sell Nissan Leaf. Women would be more concerned about the environment and hence, they would love to drive a car that doesnt use gasoline. Apart from that, if females are looking for cars to use for short drive then this is the best possible option. Nissan Leaf would also be preferred by corporate buyer as in Germany, at least million cars are leased to corporate. These corporate buyers would use Nissan Leaf as fleet and this will allow the corporate organization to show their responsibility towards the environment (Rolim 2013). Positioning Strategy Positioning strategy of Nissan Leaf would be based on the benefits that they offer to the customers. Few of the positioning pointers that would be used by Nissan Leaf are as follows: - Green First and foremost, the vehicle would be placed as a green vehicle as it would reduce the carbon emissions. Economical Nissan Leaf is expecting subsidies from the government and the price of the car would be cheaper than that of the other cars. Apart from that, maintenance and fuel cost of Nissan Leaf would be very cheap. Convenient This car is convenient as it is better than that of the competitors. The car can also be drove at the speed of 160 Km/hr and hence, this can be used by any car lover. Easy to use The car is easy is recharge and also maintain. The car can be recharged at home. The user need not put in any special efforts to maintain or charge the car. Warranty The traditional cars offers a warranty of 23 years, while Nissan Leaf would offer a warranty of 5 years. Most of the customers would be anxious about the technology but this anxiousness would be reduced while they would be using their car under warranty (Sharma 2014). Product and Pricing strategy With regards to the product strategy, the CEO was clear that the car would be manufactured in Japan and the same would be offered to the international market as well. The organization believed that this is the need of the hour and hence, individual users may also prefer to buy this car and contribute to the environment. The cost of the battery is half of the cars cost and hence, the user may find this to be expensive than that of the other vehicles in the market. The cost of Nissan Leaf is expected to 33,315 Euros (including taxes). Over and above, the government may offer a subsidy of 5000 to the car buyers and hence, this will be beneficial. In the near future, the battery would be made available on lease so this can also be considered as a cost benefit by the buyer (Ogunyemi 2014). The organization was dependent on the dealers for the sale of car. In Germany, Nissan has access to more than 620 dealers so these dealers would promote the sales of Nissan Leaf as well. The marketing director would pay special incentives to the dealers to sell their cars in the market. To start with, the marketing would be opting for push strategy so that car lovers are aware of the existence of this car. Word of mouth communication would be the most effective mode of communication that can be used by any marketer. The marketing team will also have to ensure that they create maximum visibility of the product so that the customers are aware of the new product available in the market. To increase the visibility of the car, Magazine, TV, newspaper, online and billboard advertisements would be used by Nissan Leaf (Saini 2013). Utilization of marketing budget Mode Cost (in Lakhs - Euros) Billboard Advertisements 2.0 Magazines 3.0 Television advertisements 13.0 Newspapers 3.0 Online (Email Marketing, SEO marketing and website) 4.0 Total 25.0 Conclusion Nissan leaf will have to promote the car appropriately so that they can reach out to the customers. Also they will have to ensure that the customers are motivated to buy Green car, rather than being concerned about the origin of the car. 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