Marketing strategic planning

Executive summary

The marketing strategic planning provides a scope to the international business firms to manage their operations across the globe and improve the marketing tactics after gathering the market information and customer’s data for establishing their companies successfully in the market. The study provides a scope to discuss the environmental analysis for Tesla, which is a famous electric car manufacturer and recommend some suitable suggestions for the organisation to enhance their marketing activities. PESTLE and SWOT analysis are applied for external and internal environmental analysis respectively and the competitive strategies of Tesla will be discussed. Tesla is one of the leading organisations in the electric vehicle industry, but the organisation only focuses on word of mouth and referral marketing tactics. Hence, in order to full its mission, Tesla must focus on social media marketing and online website management for successful customer management and strengthening their customer’s base by promoting their sustainable electric cars across the globe.

Introduction

Marketing strategic planning is the process of promoting the organisational products and services, through which the brand visibility can be improved in the market and the organisations can target the right customers for running their business internationally (Sahaf, 2019; Chernev, 2019). The report focuses on analysing the marketing strategic planning for the electric car industry where the electric cars manufacturers focus on efficient tactics to promote their organisations in the market and fulfil their strategic objectives. The study also provides an opportunity to discuss the organisation Tesla, which is one of the leading brand in electric car industry and USA market is highly dominated by the Tesla electric cars due to its quality products and services. In the recent era of globalisation, the people around the globe are concerned about protecting the environmental resources and developing safe world by reducing greenhouse gas emission. In this regard, the individuals prefer to have electric cars rather than petrol cars so that they can contribute in developing sustainable society. The study is efficient to discuss the external and internal environmental analysis for the electric car industry and mainly for Tesla. In the second part of the study, there would be recommended marketing objectives and marketing strategic planning through which Tesla would be able to establish their brand internationally.

Organisational background

Tesla, Inc. is an American electric vehicle and clean energy manufacturer based in California. The current products that the organisation offers to their customers are such as Model S, Model 3, Model X and Model Y, which are also electric cars and there are also batter engine storage from home to grid the scale, as well as solar products and services, which are beneficial for the society in long run (Tesla, 2020a). The organisation mainly focuses on expanding their business through providing quality products and services to the customers worldwide. The organisation has been founded in the year of 2003 and the industry that the company operates is automotive, energy storage and energy production. The head quarter of the company is in the USA and it is efficient to increase their global presence in the electric car industry where the company is successful to provide innovatively deigned electric cars for the benefits of the customers and the society as a whole by creating a sustainable environment. The mission of Tesla is to accelerate the world’s transition to sustainable transport. The organisation is trying to be innovative and technologically advanced technology for managing their position and expanding the business internationally (Tesla, 2020a).

Total production output delivered to the customers in the last year of 2019 was 367500 electric vehicles, 1651 MWh batteries and 173 MW solar systems. The revenue of Tesla in the last year was US$24.578 billion and total asset was US$34.309 billion. The organisation is also efficient to manage their employees and there is strong talent pool in the organisation which is beneficial for Tesla to increase their creativity and innovation for running their brand successfully. Total numbers of employees in 2019 was 48016 (Tesla, 2020b).

Part 1: Situational analysis

1.1 External analysis of Electric car industry

External environmental analysis is effective for evaluating the market condition and gathers more in-depth knowledge and information about the market structure and operational activities (Chernev, 2019). Through PESTLE analysis, it is possible to evaluate the market condition of electric cars and understands the potential environment, where Tesla will be able to run their operations efficiently in long run.

• Political:

The political stability across the globe is one of the major factors that provide an opportunity to the organisations to manage their operations smoothly and utilise the international market for expanding the organisations successfully. The organisations are also able to manage their operations internationally where harmony and international trade through WTO agreement are beneficial for the multinational corporations like Tesla to manage their operations in the electric car industry and expand their business across the globe (Musonera and Cagle, 2019). On the other hand, new global trade agreement and the government initiatives for electric cars are also considered as advantages of the electric car manufacturer where they can manage sustainability of the business and cooperate with the government for managing their operations in a sustainable way. The federal government also offers $7500 tax credit for purchasing electric cars as well as Tesla is efficient to generate low interest loan which are beneficial for expanding their business successfully.

• Economic:

The economic growth and sustainable GDP growth are major contributing factors for the organisation to manage their operations successfully and in this regard the customers purchasing owe rarity is also increasing over the period of time which further provides a scope to Tesla for managing their global operations and securing future sustainable development (YANG and LIANG, 2017). In addition to this, decreasing the cost of battery and renewable energy costs are also other opportunities for Tesla to manage their operations and provide the quality electric vehicles to the customer for effective competitive price. On the other hand, due to recent pandemic era, there is economic instability which is considered to be a threat and it is explored that over the time, the economy around the globe will be accelerating and achieve sustainable growth.

• Social:

Most of the individuals support the idea of investing their taxes into the sustainable fuels and products by using the sustainable resources. The people around the globe are concerned about global sustainable growth and social development by contributing positively in managing green environmental footprint, which further enhances the sales volume of electric cars. This is one of the major opportunities for Tesla to manage their operational activities and strengthen the customer’s base in long run (Liu and Meng, 2017). The consumers are also updated with latest electric car products, innovative design and technological advancement and they are interested to make effective purchase decision for the products and services of Tesla. Hence, the social development, high literacy rate in the society of USA, UK and other countries, as well as increasing popularity of low carbon lifestyle, improving wealth distribution in the developing markets an increasing preferences for renewable energy resources are the major opportunities for Tesla to run their operations efficiently (Kissinger, 2019).

• Technological:

A technological factor in the electric car industry is playing a crucial role to manage their operations and improve creativity in designing the cars and technological innovation for providing latest car models with extra ordinary features. On the other hand, high rate of technological changes, increasing popularity of online marketing and mobile system as well as automation business rocs are the major innovations which will provide a scope to Tesla to run their business sustainably (Long et al., 2019). The automated business sources, ERP system and cloud computing management are effective to run the operations in systematic process. On the other hand, ecommerce business growth and the online business activities are also effective to improve the organisational activities and secure future sustainable development.

• Legal:

legal structure is mandatorily to run the business efficiently and in this regard, the expansion of international patent protection, energy consumption regulations as well as dealership sales regulating system in the USA are fruitful for the business to run their operations ethically. On the other hand, there are employment rules, with minimum wage Act, health and Safety at workplace as well as the non-discriminatory practice which are beneficial for Tesla to manage their employees around the globe and run the business in an ethical manner (Kancherla and Daim, 2018).

• Environmental:

Environmental sustainability is one of the major concerns for all the multinational corporations in the recent era of globalisation and hence, it is manufactory for all the organisations to manage sustainability in running their business ethically (Kissinger, 2019). Tesla is an electric car manufacturer company, which focuses on maintaining environmental sustainability and in this regard, expansion of the environmental programs, climate change management and raising the standard of waste disposal are major opportunities to run the business sustainably. Tesla also focuses on utilising renewable resources and reducing green house gas emission which is also sustainable practice and it further provides a scope to Tesla for securing future sustainable development.

1.2 Internal analysis of Tesla

Internal environmental analysis is also necessary to understand the firm’s capability in running their business efficiently. Through SWOT analysis, it is possible to analyse the strengths and weakness of Tesla, as well as acknowledge the future market opportunities and threat so that it would be possible to strategise the business activities sustainably (Chernev, 2018).

1.3 Analysing competitive advantage

USP or Unique Selling Proposition is the strategy that helps to identify the special features of the products and services that the organisation provides to their clients across the market (Chernev, 2018). The major USP of Tesla so the brand new cars under the electric cars industry where the latest innovative models are such as Model S, Model 3, Model X and Model Y. the organisational services are also efficient which is considered as USP to gain high competitive advantage where the company is able to manage their brand position in the market and serve the customers with 24*7 services, continuous support and cooperation with the customers. The organisation is also efficient to strengthen their employee base, where the employees and technicians are efficient to manage the organisational operations and provide latest high-tech electric cars with innovative features that would target the audiences and retain them successfully in long run (Tesla, 2020a).

As per the figure above, it has been explored that, the stock price of Tesla in increasing over the period of time in 2019 and also in the first half of 2020. Tesla is successful to manage their operations in log run and it is running their business dominantly in the USA by delivering high quality electric vehicles to the customers (Kissinger, 2019).

As per the figure above, there are other competitive firms in the plug in vehicle industry which are Volkswagen Group, BMW, Nissan and Hyundai which are also efficient to serve their customers with latest innovation and creativity,. As per the report, Tesla is on the first position which is going at a rapid rate in the first half of 2020 and Tesla is a brand leader in the plug in vehicle industry.

As per the competitive analysis, Tesla is also a leading organisation in the global electric car industry was Tesla is successful to provide the best quality and technological advanced vehicles to the customers. Hence, the organisation is efficient to gain high competitive advantage and it has the capability to expand their business internationally with their creative design and high-tech features (Kissinger, 2019).

1.4 Evaluating current marketing strategies

In the recent era of globalisation, the multinational corporations mainly focus on marketing strategic planning in order to promote their firms and launch the products and services on the market. However, Tesla goes against the recent trend of television advertisement, digital media and social media advertisement. Rather, the organisation focuses on word of mouth advertisement and referrals, where the company tries to retain their customers and manage them internationally (Tesla, 2020b). These are the major strategies of promoting the organisational products at Tesla, where word of mouth and company referrals are beneficial to retain the customers who prefer electric vehicles.

Part 2: Marketing strategic development

2.1 Market segmentation, targeting

For developing appropriate marketing strategic planning, it is mandatory for the organisation to segment and target the right customers in the market, where the purchase intension of the buyers is high. Hence, the STP analysis is good for understanding the consumer segment and targets the right customers for promoting the products successfully.

As per the STP analysis, customer segmentation is the first stage of understanding the background of the buyers. In this regard, the segmentation is conducted on the basis of geographic area, demographic, behavioural and psychographic segmentations (Mehta and Bhavani, 2018).

As per the above segmentation and targeting, the organisation mainly targets the customer with the age group of 25 to 65 years, and the upper and middle income earners, who can make the decision of purchasing the electric vehicles or other products of Tesla such as solar and energy products. The company also targets the region such as Europe, USA and Asia, to expand their business efficiently (Diamond, 2019). The organisation is also efficient to focus on positioning strategy in order to manage their operations successfully. For positioning the brand, Tesla focuses on clean energy for managing their position and maximising the customer’s loyalty and trust so that it is possible for the brand to retain the buyers and strengthen their customer’s base in long run (Bhardwaj et al., 2020). The supply chain management in the USA and dealership are the major strategies of Tesla in positioning their business.

2.2 Suggested marketing objectives and goals

The goal of Tesla is to become a leading brand in accelerating the growth of using electric vehicles across the globe. The suggested marketing objectives for Tesla are such as,

• To provide clear directions to the team members to manage the brand position in the market
• To increase the sales volume of the organisation
• To strengthen the customers base for the electric vehicles
• To maximising environmental sustainability in managing the business activities of Tesla
• To gain high competitive position within 1 year

2.3 Recommendations of marketing mix strategic planning

The marketing mix strategic planning is one of the effective ways to create good corporate image in the market (Hanlon, 2019). As Tesla is not efficient ton manage their marketing strategies, it is mandatory for the organisation to invest in the marketing planning and fulfil the above mentioned objectives to meet the strategic mission of the firm. The company has the potential to manage their position in the market and promote the organisational products successfully. as in the recent era of globalisation, there is intense competition, it is also essential for Tesla to develop their marketing tactics and manage the firm efficiently in long run with high customers retention, managing the process and service efficacy in the organisation. For creating good corporate branding and promoting the organisational products, it is necessary for Tesla to manage their position and invest more in marketing tactics. As per the marketing mix strategic planning, there are different factors through which Tesla can develop their tactics in future. The recommended marketing planning will be proposed further according to the factors under marketing mix.

• Products:

The products and services are the major factors under the marketing where the organisations must focus on managing the quality of the products and service innovation so that it is possible to strengthen their customer’s base worldwide. Tesla must focus on creativity in designing their electric vehicles as well as improve the technological features of the cars so that it is possible for Tesla to target the audiences and retain them in long run. The latest models of Tesla such as Model S, Model 3, Model X and Model Y are effective to attract the audiences and retain them successfully (Salman, 2019). The service efficiency of Tesla must be improved, through engaging the customers, the organisation needs to provide continuous support both technical and nontechnical to each buyer so that they feel valued and feel free to contact the representative of the brand.

• Price:

As per price factor, the price for the cars of Tesla is quiet high due to innovation and creativity in the electric car segment and in this regard, the company should focus on premium pricing policy in order to promote their pricing offers to the customers (Kim, 2020). The organisation needs to restructure the pricing of the car models and provide the high quality cars at competitive price where the consumers can afford them.

• Place:

Lack of supply chain management is the major issue of Tesla and for placing the brand in the market across Europe, Asia and USA, it is necessary for the firm to strengthen their supply chain in the market. Retaining the efficient suppliers and managing the dealership of the cars are mandatory for Tesla to manage their distribution network to distribute the cars across the international markets. In this regard, the use of electric cars for transferring the raw materials to the production sites as well as managing the distribution network through providing them high return on investment are the major strategy for Tesla to improve their supply chain.

• Promotion:

Promotional activities are mandatory for the organisation to promote the products and services in the electric car industry around the globe. In this context, the organisation needs to utilise digital media platform to promote their products and also utilise ecommerce activities to engage the online consumers (Kim, 2020). Tesla must focus on creating good corporate website for the business, where the customers can review the products and contact the organisational representatives successfully. Developing creative content and sharing all the information about the product ranges, prices, features of the electric cars and other necessary information are mandatory for the business to retain the audiences. Tesla also needs to focus on handling the online customers through the website where the consumer can place their orders easily and make the payment safely for getting the high quality electric cars. Apart from this, Tesla also must focus on utilising social media platform and in this regard, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and Blogs and Twitters are the major platform to engage the customers and enhance market communication. Tesla must open YouTube channel and Facebook pages to launch their products on social media and attract more customers around different social communities across the globe. This is one of the effective ways, where Tesla can expand their business through developing right and concise content and sharing the information about the products and services. The customer’s awareness can also be improved through the social media advertisement where Tesla can engage with the huge numbers of consumers around the globe and launch the latest innovative products through the social media platform.

Conclusion

As per the environmental analysis, the external environment is suitable for Tesla and also Tesla is efficient to restructure their marketing strategic planning in order to manage their operations internationally. The organisation must invest capital in the marketing strategic planning and focus on promoting the organisational electric vehicles across the globe, Tesla needs to manage the online website and ecommerce activities to engage with the customers and provide them continuous support. For retaining the targeted consumers around the Europe, Asia and USA, the company also needs to strengthen green supply chain and distribution network in order to distribute the products safely and improve market communication and enhancement with the customers. The social media promotional activities through utilising content marketing and the platform of Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram are beneficial for Tesla to launch their new products and share the authentic information about the products and services so that Tesla can fulfil the marketing objectives and become a leading brand in the global electric car industry.

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