Strategic Analysis of Mercedes Benz

This report provides a strategic analysis of Mercedes Benz, covering the international marketing environment, political environment, major policies, regulations, trade partners, exports, imports, business customs, practices, relationship with European and US countries, marketing activities, strategy, SWOT analysis and conclusion.

Running head: STRATEGIC ANALYSIS OF MERCEDES BENZ
STRATEGIC ANALYSIS OF MERCEDES BENZ
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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STRATEGIC ANALYSIS OF MERCEDES BENZ
Table of Contents
Introduction....................................................................................................................2
International Marketing Environment:...........................................................................2
Political environment.................................................................................................2
Major policies or orientations towards the international trade...................................3
Major regulations and laws........................................................................................3
Major trade partners...................................................................................................4
Major exports and imports.........................................................................................4
Business customs and practices.................................................................................5
Relationship with the European and US countries.....................................................5
Marketing based operations of the international firm:...................................................5
Marketing activities of the company..........................................................................5
Marketing strategy.....................................................................................................6
Target markets............................................................................................................6
Promotional activities.................................................................................................6
Public relations...........................................................................................................6
Sales promotions........................................................................................................7
Personal selling..........................................................................................................7
SWOT analysis...........................................................................................................7
Conclusion......................................................................................................................7
References......................................................................................................................9

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Introduction
The Federal Republic of Nigeria which is commonly known as Nigeria is a federal
republic country which is situated in West Africa. The coast of Nigeria mainly lies in the
south of Gulf of Guinea in Atlantic Ocean. The country has been home for many tribal states
and kingdoms over the millennium. The modern Nigerian states originated from the British
Colonial rule. Nigeria had become an independent country in the year 1960. A civil war had
taken place in the country in the year 1960 to the year 1970 (Mercedes-Benz. 2018). The
largest part of Nigerian population is present in the Nigeria and the country has a large
economy as well. Nigeria is thereby considered to be the most populated country in Africa
and has acquired the seventh position in the world in terms of total population. The country
also has the largest youth population after China and India. The GNP or Gross National
Product of Nigeria is 1.07 lakh crores PPP Dollars. The per capita income of the country is
more than 1994 Dollars which has helped Nigeria to acquire the 137th position in the world
(Mercedes-Benz. 2018).
International Marketing Environment:
Political environment
The political environment of Nigeria is based on the intermittent military rules in
short periods of time with elections at the various government tiers. The country also suffers
entrenched corruption between the South and North regions for different positions within the
government. The unrest that has occurred in the oil producing based regions of Nigeria has
further led to the safety concerns and instability. The fiscal regime of the country is
favourable except the oil sector. The strategic sectors of the country are neglected and
Nigeria needs policies to attract investments from other foreign countries (Bettis et al., 2016).
Nigeria has been operating under the uninterrupted civilian governments for the last fifteen

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years. The country thereby operates a system which is based on multiple political parties. The
party which is ruling currently has majority of the seats in the upper and the lower chambers
of legislative arm of Nigerian government. The country has faced changes in the government
in the era of democratic dispensation that has taken place. The term of the government which
rules in the country is of four years. The elections that are organised in the country involves
high amounts of investment. Nigeria is thereby considered as a stable country for starting
business operations except for the disturbances that have been caused by the terrorist threats
in the country (Chen, Delmas & Lieberman, 2015). The policies of the government however
need to be diversified in order to enhance the relationships with the other countries.
Major policies or orientations towards the international trade
The trade policies that are formulated by the government of Nigeria are published
every year by the Nigeria Office for Trade Negotiations Policy Report or NATPOR. The
report that has been released recently is mainly based on the ways by which the country aims
at re-negotiating the trading relationships that it has with the counterparts. The trade based
activities in the country mainly account for more than 14% of the total workforce of Nigeria.
The trade related activities are thereby based on 18% of the total GDP of the country. The
overall trade values of the country have reduced by around 7.4 billion from the year 2014 to
2015 (Daspit et al., 2017). The trade policies of the country have been able to attract many
countries to partner with Nigeria. Europe has been the major trade partner of Nigeria after
Africa. The global trade partners of Nigeria also include, the United States, Nigeria and India.
The top two partners of Nigeria based on trade activities are Belgium and China. The trade
policies of the country are thereby used by the structural transformation related to
modernization, diversification and construction of the global and the regional value chains
(Durand, Grant & Madsen, 2017).

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Major regulations and laws
The NOTAP Act is implemented by the Nigerian government for the purpose of
facilitating the flow of foreign technology into the country. This act is also based on the ways
by which the contracts are registered for transferring technology to the Nigerian partners.
This act mainly specifies the agreements that need to be registered. The CITA of Companies
Income Tax Act is mainly based on the taxes that are imposed on the companies. This tax is
chargeable at the rate of 30% of the company profits. The value added taxes are also
implemented on the organizations which operate in the country (Dyer et al., 2015). The
Labour Act is the main law that is known for governing the individual employment based
contracts of the country. The procedures and policies that are implemented on the employees
are also a part of the labour laws. The Trade Disputes Act is implemented to solve the issues
that may occur in the trade based activities that are conducted by the country. The Factories
Act and Employees’ Compensation Act are related to the ways by which the employees are
protected from the occupational hazards. The Employees’ Compensation Act on the other
hand formulates a set of categories which the employers need to consider (Gans & Ryall,
2017).
Major trade partners
The major trade partners of Nigeria are the India, China and Belgium. The United
States of America however has proved to be the largest buyer of crude oil which accounts for
40% of the total oil exports that are done by the country. The second largest trading partner of
Nigeria after the United States is the United Kingdom.
Major exports and imports
Nigeria relies much more on the imports that are made from the countries of Europe,
Asia and America. Nigeria is one of the most important oil producing country in the world.
The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation is an organization which imports petrol to

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many countries across the world. Crude oil that is produced in the country is refined and then
exported to the other major countries (Hill, Jones & Schilling, 2014).
Business customs and practices
Nigeria is a diverse country which has more than 1000 ethnic groups residing in the
country from many years. The 4 largest ethnic groups are Fulani, Igbo, Hausa and Yoruba.
The business organization which are planning to enter the country to set up their operations
need to follow many customs which like handshakes and avoiding eye contact for a long
time. The greetings are considered to be the most important part of the business interactions
that are done by the Nigerians.
Relationship with the European and US countries
Nigeria has a positive trade relationship with the US and the European countries. The
United States is considered to be largest of crude oil that is produced by Nigeria. The United
Kingdom on the other hand has become the second largest partner of Nigeria in the trade
based activities (Meyer, Neck & Meeks, 2017).
Marketing based operations of the international firm:
Marketing activities of the company
The marketing mix of Mercedes Benz is mainly based on the class to which the
company belongs and the level of products that are manufactured by the brand. The high
profile success that has been experienced by the company is a result of the hard work that
goes behind its marketing activities. Mercedes Benz is the oldest car manufacturer in the
world which is able to hold the reputation from the start of its entire operations. The
marketing mix of the company is mainly based on the advertising strategies that are
implemented by the company over the years of its operations in various countries. The

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STRATEGIC ANALYSIS OF MERCEDES BENZ
strategies have helped the company to remain a leader in the highly competitive automobile
industry (Michael, Storey & Thomas, 2017).
Marketing strategy
Mercedes Benz is an important part of Daimler which is a German automaker and has
its operations all over the world. The marketing strategy of Mercedes Benz is mainly based
on the differentiation of the brand and the high performance cars that are manufactured by the
company. The brand differentiation strategy is used by the company to maintain the position
that is has in the whole world.
Target markets
The major target market that has been selected by Mercedes Benz mainly consists of
the premium group of people who belong to the high income levels. The target customers of
the company are important as Mercedes Benz has always tried to reach a larger customer
base with the help of the strategies that are formulated by the management. The German
brand mainly aims at younger group of customers for the purpose of selling the products that
are manufactured by them (Morschett, Schramm-Klein & Zentes, 2015).
Promotional activities
The promotional activities of Mercedes Benz have always been of aggressive nature.
The promotional strategies of the company are based on the media channels like, TV, online,
print, billboards. The traditional means of advertising are not quite important for the company
as it has always given importance to the products and the technologies that are used by them.
Public relations
The public relations or PR of Mercedes has been changing under the new
management of the company which has led to the enhancement of the product based

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communications with the customers. The media also plays an important role in the PR
activities of Mercedes Benz.
Sales promotions
The sales promotions of Mercedes are based on the customers and their choices. The
special promotional policies have helped the company to take a lead in the market against the
competition (Stead & Stead, 2014).
Personal selling
The personal selling of Mercedes Benz is based on the ways by which the strategic
techniques are used to the achieve the goal of attracting the new customers. These help the
company to satisfy the needs of the customers and attract them towards the company
(Wheelen et al., 2017).
SWOT analysis
Strengths
The manufacturing facilities of
Mercedes Benz are available
worldwide.
The company aims at continuous
innovation of the products.
The organization has a strong
financial position.
Weaknesses
The after sales services are quite
expensive.
The goals of the group companies
are conflicting.
The distribution is kept exclusive
which leads to the lack of growth.
Opportunities
The company can aim at expansion
in different markets.
The demand of premium vehicles
has increased.
Threats
The competition levels from other
organizations has increased.
The fuel prices are volatile in nature
(Steinbach et al., 2017).
Conclusion
The report can be concluded by stating that the analysis has shown that the expansion
plans of Mercedes Benz in the automobile industry can prove to be a correct decision for the
company. The organization can thereby increase the revenues that can be generated with the

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help of the expansion related plans that have been made. The recent trends in the automobile
industry is also an important factor that affects the business set up based steps of Mercedes
Benz in Nigeria.

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STRATEGIC ANALYSIS OF MERCEDES BENZ
References
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