Marketing Essentials Report: Marketing Mix of Luxury Cars

This report delves into the marketing strategies employed by Aston Martin, a manufacturer of luxury sports cars, with a focus on customer satisfaction, market research, and brand equity. It outlines the key roles and responsibilities of the marketing function within the company, including customer satisfaction, market research, setting marketing strategies, brand equity, and identification of the target market. The report also examines the interrelation of the marketing department with other departments such as human resources, finance, and information technology. Furthermore, it provides a comparative analysis of the marketing mix of Aston Martin and Bentley, highlighting differences in product offerings, pricing strategies, distribution channels, and promotional activities. The comparison includes the product, price, place and promotion of the two companies.

Marketing Essentials

INTRODUCTION
Marketing essential is the tool of the business organisation in which needs of the
customers is identified by making effective relation with them. This is helpful for the
business in fulfilling customer’s needs by making robust strategies and earn high profits. In
the current business scenario the major requirement of a business is to appreciate value of
customer relation and their opinion as this is advantageous for getting long term
sustainability. In order to get high edge on marketing practices innovative marketing
strategies are required to be formulated by the company by which business growth and
sustainability can be achieved. This report is prepared with the major purpose to understand
marketing concepts and marketing mix on the background of Aston Martin. Aston Martin is
manufacturer of luxurious sports car and was established in the year 1913. The company is
headquartered in London, UK. This report undertakes various short term and long term
objectives along with outline to achieve the same. (Armstron and et. al., 2018)
TASK 1
Key roles and responsibilities of the marketing function.
Marketing section is having numerous roles and responsibilities which are directly or
indirectly related to promotional activities and decisions. Marketing department is laced with
the major role of enhancing customer base by launching new and attracting strategies of
promotion and marketing. On the same side Aston Martin’s department of marketing is
highly emphasised on subsisting their roles and responsibilities in prominent manner. They
are making effective strategies in order to make friendly relationship with their clients and
through which obtaining high customer satisfaction. These functions are playing essential
role in success of Aston Martin as these functions are directly associated with fulfilling needs
of customer. Major and essential roles played by marketing functions in Aston Martin are
explained as under:
Customer satisfaction: This is one of the prominent roles of marketing department in
order to satisfy their customers by providing them ample quality and required featured
product offerings. By this high market edge can be attained by business due to which
customer base can be enhanced. In the context of Aston Martin they have a policy in their
company that they collect feedbacks from their customer on regular basis by which customers

can be directly communicated by them. This helps them to modify their products according to
needs and demands of customers. Similarly they continue try to ask their customer about their
experience of driving Aston Martin cars. This interaction helped the company in upgrading
their products as per needs of customer by which they are able to face robust competition in
appropriate manner. (Blakeman, 2018)
Market research: One of the key activities played by marketing department is
Market Research, which has to be done in order to understand market needs, and market
attributes. This may help business to identify and make market strategies alterations and
enlarge their customer base. With context of Aston Martin, then regularly continue doing
market studies and research to analyze to new technologies, innovations and needs of
customers evolving with time and accordingly modify their offerings to market and take edge
over their competitors.
Setting marketing strategy: Marketing department of every business organization
also plays this role and under this, they have to formulate the relevant market strategy to
achieve targeted goals. They take marketing research results as assistance and base to come
up with strategy to fulfill marketing goals with available resources and budgets. Aston Martin
has an experienced unit of marketing department, which conducts the marketing research in
relevant areas and formulate strategies based upon that to achieve their market goals, which is
to expand their customer base, having technological and innovational edge over their
competitors and being the leader in sports motor segment. Marketing strategy also includes
promotional decisions like discounts, sponsorships, and various other offers to reach mass
number of audience and increase sale of their offerings. (Camilleri, 2018)
Brand equity: It is important for every business to maintain their brand value and
goodwill. Marketing department of organization holds the responsibility to develop brand
image and brand parity or say goodwill of the organization. This can be achieved and
developed by maintaining needs and satisfaction level of their customers. Once organization
is able to get the customers satisfied this will lead to enhancement to their brand image and
value in marketplace. With context of Aston Martin, a dedicated team of marketing
department constantly works towards developing a positive brand image by satisfying
customer needs and enhancing their experience.
Identification of target market: Another key role played by marketing department
of every organization is to identify their targeted customers to whom they should intend to

offer their products to maintain high sale, profit volume, and maintain their brand value. To
decide the target market they should first carry out market research and evaluate various
market diversifications and choose the one having the pros and which cover up all the visions
of the organization. Since with context of Aston Martin their target group of customers are
Sports or adventure loving related customers so they have to potentially identify those
customers and they take their suggestions and needs in consideration while designing their
offerings. This practice will help them to make sure that their projects cover the general and
specific needs of their potential customers that would set them highlighting out of their
competitors.
Managing marketing budget: Every project carried on by any organization have
their own allocated budgets assigned to them. Similar to this there is some total budget
decided and allocated for marketing activities by marketing department. This would help
them to utilize all the available resources with full efficiency and make sure that costs of
marketing activities are under control. There are multiple factors considered by marketing
department while formulating marketing budget. With context of Astin Martin they have
proper process of budget Planning, control etc.to make sure majority of resources are
dedicated towards their target customer i.e. sports segment and also make sure that cost are
allocated to sports sponsorships in such a manner that most can be taken out of it.
Marketing as a business function: In business marketing plays essential role of
research and packaging. This is helpful for business as well as customer to identifying needs
and satisfying the same within business offerings. In the context of Aston Martin marketing
department executes role of selling their sports car in the market and collecting feedback
from user in order to inculcate any modifications. Further marketing department is liable to
stimulate awareness about distinctiveness and qualities of cars manufactured by the company.
Similarly Aston martin is required to perform ample amount of market research in order to
sustain their position within marketplace. The major relationship with market research with
business objectives is that new entry within market can be decided along with target customer
and market as well. On the other hand market research is directly associated with structure of
Aston martin as the company is having high focus on market research along with this they
have separate department for this which is highly effective and responsible in order to assist
the business in their expansion within new market places.
Roles and responsibilities of marketing relate to the wider organisational context.
In today’s world of business, everything has to be interrelated somehow with other.
Similarly, marketing department of Aston Martin is being integrated and interrelated with
various other departments of the organization. This interrelation will help organization in

carrying on their business activities smoothly and in efficient and effective manner. This
relation of marketing department of Aston Martin with other departments of organization has
been described below -
Marketing and human resource department: Since marketing activities need to be
carried on by some person and that person is hired and identified by Human resources
department of organisation according to the needs of marketing department. HR Department
has to collect all the attributes to be required in the candidate and then identify the motivated
and eligible person who can fulfil the job level and met expectations setup by marketing
department (Crisp and Turner, 2020). So with their interrelation in Aston Martin needs can be
directly shared by marketing department to HR department and then HR can quickly gather
all the relevant information and fill up the requisition request as per the needs of marketing
department.
Marketing and finance department: Finance is known to be blood of every business
and business department. Marketing department has to have amount of fund assigned and
allocated to them to carry of their activities and finance department allocates that fund.
Similarly, for Aston Martin too their Finance department arranges the adequate amount of
monetary funds to Marketing department. The Interrelation between these two departments in
Aston Martin will pass on the fund requirement request from marketing to finance in formal
manner and finance can then analyse, evaluate their eligibility, and arrange adequate amount
of funds to marketing department to carry on their operation activities smoothly.
Marketing and information technology department: It is responsibility of IT
department of Aston Martin to accomplish and maintain IT equipment’s, software and
machineries for whole organization. It is responsibility of IT department to manage the
inventory and adopt the latest trending know-how for organizational processes. They have to
make sure that all IT related equipment and machineries are well maintained and all
software’s are up to date. On the other hand, marketing department carries on research on
trending and emerging technologies, products and innovations. Therefore, interrelation of
these two departments in Aston Martin will help both departments such that Marketing
department can carry on their research and then they can share the survey report along with
IT department, which can analyse the survey and make the required changes and updating in
existing technology being used by organization. (Zook and Smith, 2016)

TASK 2
Comparison of marketing mix of two different companies of same sector
Marketing mix is a strategic tool by which various implementations of several
methods can be done by businesses in order to attract customer by persuading them. By this a
brand can position their product in more effective manner within marketplace. This is the
strategy which is adopted by businesses in order to inculcate marketing activities within
market and decide about various aspects such as pricing strategy of the product and
promotional channels used to promote the same. Here comparisons of marketing mix of
Aston Martin along with Bentley. This explanation is elaborated as under:
Basis Aston Martin Bentley
Product Aston Martin is having their
business in luxurious sports
cars and grand tourers. The
company deals in rendering
high class satisfaction by
giving luxury in their cars.
This is made for elite class of
people. The top variant of the
car is DB11 which is yielding
the highest revenue to them.
The company is dealing in
two major products which is
their distinct identity.
Bentley is manufacturing
luxury cars and SUV’s as
their major products. It is a
subsidiary of Volkswagen
Group. In 2019 their
Continental GT was their top
selling car in which 54% hike
was seen in a year. The
company is having two major
products in which they are
having high market share.
(Gorlevskaya, 2016)
Price Aston Martin is having cars
of a single car segment which
is sports cars and for this
they are having premium
pricing for them. As they are
having luxurious products as
their core so they do not face
rivalry competition due to
The company is keeping their
pricing strategy as affordable
pricing. As they have two
products in their overall
product portfolio so they
separate pricing strategy for
both. On the other side cars
of Bentley are of high quality

which they have high prices
to their products. Being a
market leader they hold high
power to change and fix their
prices in their own manner.
and standards due to which
company is highly focused
on quality rather than pricing
strategy. Similarly for each
and every additional luxury
feature they have add on
pricing so customer can
customise their cars
according to their comforts
and needs.
Place Aston Martin is
headquartered in London,
UK. The company is having
their presence across 160
locations covering 53
countries. Aston Martin is
having robust infrastructure
through which they have
established themselves as a
market leader. They have a
very strong sales network by
which they maintain their
global position in a very
prominent manner.
Bentley is having global
presence in the world. It is a
renowned luxurious car
manufacturer. They have
their operations in more than
15 countries by which they
become global leader and
continue to enhance their
operations in many more
countries within their market
expansion.
Promotion Aston Martin is known to be
market leader so they
maintain unique marketing
strategy in which they focus
on a particular market
segment. These strategies are
used by the company in order
to position their brand within
The company pays their high
focus on meeting their
customer’s needs and for this
they have a very efficient
research tem which is
working in order to know
about best method of market
promotion. So within

market. They use innovative
slogans for their product
which attract their class of
people towards their product
offerings. Their
advertisements are highly
transparent and full of
innovations by which they
are able to capture more
customers form their market
segment.
(Grădinaru, Toma and
Marinescu, 2016). Within
this context the major
objective of the company is
to provide high technology
based vehicle to their
customer and achieve high
level customer satisfaction as
well. On the other hand
Aston martin is having
highly effective promotional
team in which they perform
their promotional campaign
in considerable manner.
promotional tools the
company uses personal
selling method in which
customer interaction can be
executed in prominent
manner. This method of
promotion is giving them
high edge on market image
and sustainability.
People Aston Martin is having
approximately 563.1K
employees within their global
business. The company is
highly attentive on training
their employees regarding
enhancement of their skills of
customer treatment. They
The company is having more
than 4000 employees around
the globe. They are working
for the company and in return
better career opportunities
are given by the company to
their employees. This is the
reason that they have

organises development
sessions on regular basis so
that to enhance skills of their
workforce and take benefit of
the same in customer
enhancement and boosting
overall sales. The company
treats their customer as
priority and they have values
to satisfy their customer by
meeting their needs so for
this they provide high
training to their employees
by which they are able to
meet their core objectives.
efficient employees and least
labour turnover.
Process Aston Martin is highly
focused on satisfying their
customers and meeting their
expectation level. For this
they have very gentle
customer support team and
store hospitality policies. On
the other hand the company
is having strict rules on
dealership and they do not
provide them any
interventions right due to
which the company is
keeping sole control over
their business. This is the
major reason that company is
having effective control over
Bentley is keeping their
customer on priority basis on
the other side they do not
want to lose their market
control so for this they are
not giving franchise of their
production. This is making
their distinct identity within
market.

market.
Physical evidence Sports cars of Aston Martin
are designed in order to give
luxury to their products.
They are known for luxury in
their cars by which company
is renowned.
Bentley’s logo itself says
about luxurious and distinct
identity. Their logo
represents high technology
and customer fulfilment.
Marketing planning process: This is the process which is used to achieve marketing
objectives in appropriate manner. This includes four steps which are briefly summarised
below:
Analysis: Within this stage business situation are analysed by Aston Martin in order to
initiate marketing planning process.
Planning: This stage includes planning things and preparing action plan to provide footstep
over achievement or marketing objectives.
Implementation: Within this stage all the action plan and planned strategies are implemented
by Aston Martin so as to achieve marketing objectives.
Control: This is the stage under which effectiveness of plans are checked using indices in
order to calculate overall results.
TASK 3
Basic marketing plan
Marketing plan is defined as the document which is prepared by marketing
department in order to regularise marketing activities and business processes by which any
new expansion can take place in more effective way. When businesses are willing to tap into
a new market or planning to expand their business then marketing plan is prepared in which
detailed elaboration of strategies are performed (Hisrich and Ramadani, 2017). This is called
as a blueprint of area in which strategies are going to be implemented within marketplace.
The marketing manager of Aston Martin has prepared marketing plan for their market
expansion in which they have included various aspects. These aspects are elaborated as
under:

Company overview
Aston Martin is a luxurious sports car manufacture and offers powerful performance in their
cars. The company is having major range as sports car by which they have distinct identity in
the marketplace around the world. The company was founded in the year of 1913 in London,
UK. They have just launched their latest model named Aston Martin DB11, which has added
immense revenues in their sales of year 2019. The company is having their high presence in
British market so they have high market coverage in that marketplace.
Situational analysis
SWOT ANALYSIS
Strengths
 The company is having robust brand image within marketplace along with
strong legacy and brand equity.
 A car designed by Aston Martin is high in technology, comfort and interior
due to which they are having distinct market image and position.
 Aston Martin comprises of effective team of research and development which
is working as backbone of the company and they are able to modify their cars
as accordance with customer needs.
 The company is having strong presence in the sports car market within global
level.
 Aston Martin is highly focused on branding and promoting their product with
the help of effective promotional tools.
Weaknesses
 The company is having less market penetration strategy due to which they
have lesser market coverage.
 Due to high market competition they are not able to emerge as a new
featured car and this is the major reason by which they are losing their
market share.
 The spare parts of Aston Martin are relatively expensive and less in
availability which gives another views to buyer about their purchasing
decision of Aston Martin

 The company is highly reliant on British market for their profit
accumulation. (Kolb, 2016)
Opportunities
 Honda is focused to manufacture SUV cars and tap into that market
segment.
 The worldwide existence of Aston Martin is growing by passing of
each day which is creating utmost opportunity for them to cultivate in
the inclusive market.
 Aston Martin is presenting eco-friendly cars which is a CSR
undertaking and aids them to get more customers from another market
segments.
 As in current market demand of SUV is high as families consider
having comfortable rides. So this is rendering high opportunities to
them.
Threats
 Due to high government policies and hike in fuel prices this is
affecting their revenue in negative manner.
 In the current time amid to COVID-19 the overall world is dealing
with this and Aston Martin has stopped their production. Due to this
they are occurring high losses because of high fixed cost. (Resnick and
et. al., 2016)
 The company is having so many challengers such as Bentley etc.
 Due to high innovation and frugal engineering by rivals this is creating
threat for Aston Martin to survive within marketplace.
Objectives: Aston Martin has decided to have SMART objectives for their new
venture of manufacturing SUV cars which are elaborated as under:
Specific: The Company is having major objective to augment their market by entering
into fresh marketplace division and capturing 10% of total market share in SUV car sector.

Measurable: In order to measure their performance the company is using
benchmarking and KPI by which they can have control on their objectives. (Liao and et. al.,
2017)
Assignable: For this the company has made a separate infrastructure and employed
workforces specifically for this new venture in new market segment.
Realistic: Aston Martin is planning to enrich their market and their sales by this
venture of SUV manufacturing.
Time bound: Honda has estimated that within the time of 3 years they are willing to
achieve their overall objectives.
Strategies
Segmentation: SUV’s are used by those people who love to be in comfort so Aston
Martin is focusing on those people.
Targeting: The Company is giving demo to those people for their SUV’s so as to
make them cognizant about advanced feature of Aston Martin SUV’s.
Positioning: Aston Martin is an automobile manufacturer of sports cars and SUV’s so
they are going to advertise their Cars on their website so as to position their product in new
market segment.
Budget allocation: The Company has passed budget of € 52959500 for this project so
as to get accomplishment of this venture in the marketplace.
Marketing mix:
Product: The Company is planning to enter into new market of SUV cars by which
they can enhance their product offerings and market share as well.
Price: As the SUV cars are high cost so the pricing strategy adopted by Aston Martin
will be premium pricing approach.
Place: Aston Martin is willing to sell their product through direct orders by customer
within their stores only and online booking. (Moorman and Day, 2016)

Promotion: Aston Martin is willing to do direct marketing for their new SUV cars as
they needs to perform demo as well. (McDonald and Wilson, 2016)
Cost allocation
Cost: Cost for the production of new product is discussed below:
Particulars Amount (€)
Marketing 15887850
Workforce 5295950
Equipment 21183800
Raw materials 10591900
Evaluation and control: With the major purpose to enhance efficiency and
effectiveness of new market segment, Aston Martin is utilising benchmarking and KPI. These
approaches are helpful for them in order to measure effectiveness and success percentage.
This includes comparing their performance with other rivals so as to determine their market
position. With the help of sales analysis tool of evaluation performance over sales is being
measured in which sales data of past period is gathered and then it is compared with new
sales record in order to analyse effectiveness of marketing plan.
CONCLUSION
From the above detailed report it can be concluded that in a business marketing
activities plays an important role in order to make the business offering market success.
These activities are helpful in enhancing market capture by product offerings and then
product can be appropriately positioned in the marketplace. One of the major roles of this
department is to recognise customer needs and then alter their product offerings so as to
satisfy needs of their customer in more effective manner. Departmental interrelationship are
helpful in order to provide ease to customer in satisfy their needs and demands in effective
manner. With the help of marketing plan, marketing activities can be executed in more
effective manner.

REFERENCES
Books and journals