Marketing Plan for BMW Z4: Analysis, Strategies, and Objectives

This report outlines a comprehensive marketing plan for the BMW Z4, a luxury sports car. It begins with an executive summary and table of contents, followed by an introduction to the BMW Z4, highlighting its key features and target audience. The report then details the steps involved in creating a marketing plan, including identifying the target audience, setting marketing goals, and developing effective strategies and tactics. A thorough SWOT analysis is conducted, examining the car's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats, alongside a competitor analysis to understand the market landscape. The report defines the mission and sets both marketing and financial objectives. It also explores the marketing mix strategy, encompassing product, price, place, and promotion, and outlines action programs designed to achieve the stated objectives. Finally, the report discusses the implementation and control of the marketing plan, ensuring its effectiveness. The paper provides valuable insights for successfully marketing the BMW Z4 model.

Running Head: MARKETING MANAGEMENT AND DIGITAL COMMUNICATIONS 1
Marketing Management and Digital Communications
Name
Date

MARKETING MANAGEMENT AND DIGITAL COMMUNICATIONS PAGE
\* MERGEFORMAT 11
Executive Summary
One of the critical aspects required for the successful sale of any product or service by a given
company is a marketing plan. It helps businesses to make necessary preparations and take actions
that will lead to successful product marketing. This paper formulates a marketing plan for the
BMW Z4 car; one of the powerful vehicle machines on the globe. The paper discusses the steps
required to write a marketing plan, the SWOT analysis for this product and its competitor
analysis. It also explains its mission and sets both the financial and marketing objectives for the
endeavor. Further, the report discusses the marketing mix of this product, states the action
programs and discusses its implementation and control. Thus, the paper is critical in helping
Mercedes successfully market its Z4 model car.

MARKETING MANAGEMENT AND DIGITAL COMMUNICATIONS PAGE
\* MERGEFORMAT 11
Table of Contents
The BMW Z4...................................................................................................................................4
Target Audience...........................................................................................................................4
Marketing goals............................................................................................................................4
Strategies and tactics....................................................................................................................5
SWOT Analysis...............................................................................................................................5
Strengths and weaknesses............................................................................................................5
Opportunities and threats.............................................................................................................6
Competitor Analysis........................................................................................................................6
Mission............................................................................................................................................6
Marketing Objectives.......................................................................................................................7
Financial Objectives........................................................................................................................7
Marketing Mix Strategy...................................................................................................................7
Action Programs designed to achieve Marketing and Financial objectives....................................8
Implementation and control of marketing plan...............................................................................8
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................9
References......................................................................................................................................10

MARKETING MANAGEMENT AND DIGITAL COMMUNICATIONS PAGE
\* MERGEFORMAT 11
The BMW Z4
BMW Z4 is one of the BMW products designed with a stunning hardtop and elongated
hood combine. The vehicle has a powerful engine, low stance and has a seating position ahead of
the rear axle to help the person driving take every corner straightaway and fast. It is of metallic
paint combined with black Alcantara. The car is designed in a way someone can enjoy driving it
as the hardtop can open and close in 90seconds even if it is at the speed of 25 mph. Therefore
this vehicle was manufactured targeting those customers with a higher income and in love with
sporty cars (BMW Concept Z4 First Look - Motor Trend, n.d.).
Steps involved in writing a marketing plan
A marketing plan is among the critical tools for any business to run comfortably and be able to
attain what it needs. To run a successful business involves making potential customers know
what you offer as a business person and coming up with a way that shows your product is the
best to persuade them to buy (Wood, 2008). The marketing plan includes the advertising plan,
pricing strategy, sale or distribution and a business's unique selling proposition and strategy to
meet their objectives (Chase, Mackillop & Hogarth, 2013). The fooling steps are involved when
coming up with a marketing plan.

MARKETING MANAGEMENT AND DIGITAL COMMUNICATIONS PAGE
\* MERGEFORMAT 11
Target Audience
As a business person, one has to identify the target audience that is interested in buying the
product. When coming up with the target audience, one should also find ways in which their
products are unique than those of their competitors for the customers to come for them. When
identifying the target audience, an image should be created in their minds that will make them
come for the product. BMW Z4 targets customers with a higher income, and the vehicle has
powerful engines and a hardcover top that can close or open in 90 seconds even at a speed of 25
mph making it different from its competitors catching the customer's attention (BMW Z4 -
BMW USA, n.d.).
Marketing goals
Setting marketing goals entails drafting marketing objectives. The marketing goals help
determine the success and failure of the business, and for this reason, they should be (SMART)
that is specific, measurable, attainable reasonable and timely. Goals are things you want to
achieve for a period of time. The main goal of BMW Z4 is to communicate luxury that is
unmistakably unique that can help it get a good number of customers that love luxury in a short
period.
Strategies and tactics
It takes time to carry out a good research that can help one come up with right strategies
and tactics that not only help them win customers but also be ahead of their competitors
(Perreault, 2010). It involves identifying a space that is empty in the market and trying to fill it
up. It also involves the different kinds of media and different advertising tools or methods one
may use to attain their goal and also reach the customers.
A business person should take time to determine the best way to reach customers because
customers are reached in different ways. One has to also have a marketing budget to gather costs
of tactics. For example, the BMW Z4 has powerful engines that are not present in other cars and
also a hard cover that opens and closes in seconds which is a good strategy to win customers.
They advertise this vehicle using social media and websites and this way it is easy to reach to
different customers across the world and also spend less.

MARKETING MANAGEMENT AND DIGITAL COMMUNICATIONS PAGE
\* MERGEFORMAT 11
SWOT Analysis
These are the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats that are exhibited in
organizations (Kim, Hayes, Avant & Reid, 2014). These factors affect businesses internally and
externally, internal factors being strength and weaknesses while external factors being
opportunities and threats. Internal factors can easily be controlled as they may involve employee
attitude, and the resources needed in manufacturing while external factors are uncontrollable
because they are beyond what the business can do for example politics and competitors
(Sinapuelas, Wang & Bohlmann, 2015).
Strengths and weaknesses
The strengths of an organization are the positive attributes that are tangible and intangible
in an organization (Cameron, 2014). It is what makes the organization do well over their
competitors, for example, good technology and capital, while weaknesses are the internal
negative factors. These are the things that need to be improved to be able to maintain
competition, for example, poor location and lack of access to the market. For example, BMW Z4
has an excellent reputation, and it is also known as one of the best cars in the world giving it an
advantage over competitors. This car has been made luxuriously, yet some people do not like
luxury making it a weakness as they lose some customers. Weaknesses should be covered by
strengths (Mintz & Currim, 2013).
Opportunities and threats
Just like strengths, opportunities are positive factors that are external. They are attractive
external factors that can help the business expand and benefit, for example, if your business
viewed positively and growth in the market. Threats are external negative factors that cannot be
controlled and can put the business at risk (Maggon & Harish, 2015). Example of threats can be
competitors and new technology in the market that the business is unaware of. BMW Z4 is the
newest car in town that is luxurious, comfortable and has new technology that gives it a positive
view of customers, and the car faces a threat from Mercedes Benz S Coupe that is also new and
has luxurious features. Another threat is the everyday changing technology. Opportunities should
be used to deal with threats.

MARKETING MANAGEMENT AND DIGITAL COMMUNICATIONS PAGE
\* MERGEFORMAT 11
Competitor Analysis
Competitor analysis is carried out to identify competitors and their strengths and
weaknesses compared to those of your business. This way one can establish a way in which their
product is unique for them to be able to attract more customers and run ahead of their
competitors (Kumar, Sharma & Gupta, 2017). The objectives of competitors help one set their
targets well for competition. For the BMW Z4 to get ahead of competitors, they have a website
that can show a range of the product and features of the car. The car also has classical
proportions that can go through in an elongated hood that boldly defines the presence of the car.
This way the car has been able to overcome competition from other vehicle brands in the market.
Mission
A mission defines the goals of a company or brand. It shows what the company does for
the customers, employees and the owners. It also shows the culture and norms of the company
(John, Katherine & Jocz, 2012). Through the mission customers and competitors get what the
brand or business is all about. The mission of BMW Z4 is a leading provider of premium
products and premium services for individual mobility and for customers to be comfortable.
Marketing Objectives
 To increase profitand sales in six months.
 To improve communications both internally and externally.
 To get new customers in at least every two months for the six months.
Financial Objectives
 To decrease individual costs by shipping vehicles in large quantities.
 To attain more than 40% profit of the vehicles sold within four months.
 To reduce the costs of vehicles, one's the 40% is attained.
Marketing Mix Strategy

MARKETING MANAGEMENT AND DIGITAL COMMUNICATIONS PAGE
\* MERGEFORMAT 11
Marketing mix strategy uses 4P's of marketing to enhance components of the marketing
mix. The marketing mix is the way one takes a new product to the market. The meaning of 4P’s
is what it entails, price, product, promotion, and place (Blythe, 2009). The 4P’s help one to attain
a specific customer’s need or demand. The brand can use various digital media platforms to pass
their message to customers in the world (Adam, Wim & Micheline, 2011). For example,
Facebook is a good example of advertising a product.
BMW Z4 can use websites, social media platforms and other internet sites to market
itself. For example, the product can be marketed by showing different sizes, qualities, colors and
the designs it has. BMW Z4 can put different pictures of the same vehicle on their website for
people to see and have their choice. The vehicles price could be placed on different media
platforms, for example, Facebook and WhatsApp for people in different areas to know the price
and they can even make it negotiable on their pages. The place of distribution can also be
communicated on the websites.
Promotion is taking messages about your product across the target market. BMW Z4
since it has a large target audience over the whole world it can use the internet to market itself.
The brand can create a page where customers can be able to engage in conversations with them
and ask for clarification. This way they will be creating good relations and marketing the product
at the same time (Hartmann, Nair & Narayanan, 2011). Digital communication is the key to
marketing these days, and it should be used by every company (Luan & Sudhir, 2010).
Action Programs designed to achieve Marketing and Financial objectives
To attain marketing objectives, the program that has been designed is capitalizing on the
latest digital communication tools. Employees have been informed about global marketing and
digital marketing to ensure they get many customers as they can. The employees have been
trained to update websites daily to ensure no information comes out that customers are not aware
of. The BMW Z4 has also created social media platforms for quick access to customers and to
keep daily communication.

MARKETING MANAGEMENT AND DIGITAL COMMUNICATIONS PAGE
\* MERGEFORMAT 11
Another program that has been designed to achieve financial objectives is that there are
those employees that will have to move from the place within the first two months to talk to
customers and persuade them physically to buy vehicles. This way, they will be able to attain the
40% profit. A program has also been designed to ensure vehicles are shipped in large quantities
and not in order to minimize on customer expenses.
Implementation and control of marketing plan
For any business or organization to achieve its objectives, and implementation of the
marketing plan should be done effectively (Laudon & Laudon, 2010). To achieve objectives of a
brand BMW Z4 should come up with a group of managers that overlook the work done for the
brand to achieve its goals. One of the objectives of BMW Z4 is to get profit, and lower buying
price of the vehicle and these can be obtained if the management put in place facilitates
achieving these objectives. The correct attitude should be put in business to run well.
Marketing control comes in to ensure that all marketing activities carried out aim to attain
the brand's goals and objectives. It is there to monitor and evaluate how available resources and
finances are used. For BMW Z4 to attain 40% profit, there must be an evaluation that is carried
out to ensure every employee adheres to what is needed to achieve this objective.
Conclusion
Therefore, it is critical for any organization to perform an analysis of the market plan so
that goals can be attained. A SWOT analysis is carried out to know how to deal with competitors
and also know what their strength is so that they can capitalize on it. Marketing mix analysis is
also necessary because one knows the importance of carrying out promotions and designing a
product differently. All these analyses are there to help an organization achieve its objectives.

MARKETING MANAGEMENT AND DIGITAL COMMUNICATIONS PAGE
\* MERGEFORMAT 11
References
Adam, S., Wim, N. & Micheline, G. (2011). Entrepreneurship, Innovations and Economic
Development. Oxford University Press, ISBN No. 978- 92-808-3093-4
Blythe, J. (2009). Key Concepts in Marketing. London: Sage Publications. ISBN 978-1-84787-
498-6
Cameron, B. (2014). Management. Strategic Leadership Review, pp. 22-27.
Hartmann, W., Nair, H. & Narayanan, S. (2011). Identifying Casual Marketing Mix Effects
Using a Regression Discontinuity Design, Marketing Science, Vol. 30(6), pp. 1079-1097.
John, A., Katherine, E. & Jocz (2012). All Business is Local: Why Place Matters More than Ever
in a Global, Virtual World. Penguin.

MARKETING MANAGEMENT AND DIGITAL COMMUNICATIONS PAGE
\* MERGEFORMAT 11
Kim, K., Hayes, J., Avant, J. & Reid, L. (2014). Trends in Advertising Research: A Longitudinal
Analysis of Leading Advertising, Marketing, and Communication Journals, 1980 to 2010,
Journal of Advertising, Vol. 43(3), pp. 296-316.
Kumar, V., Sharma, A. & Gupta, S. (2017). Accessing the influence of the strategic marketing
research on the generating impact: Moderating roles of models, journals, and estimation
approaches, Academy of Marketing Science Journal, 45(2), 164-185.
Laudon, K., & Laudon, J. (2010). "Management Information Systems: Managing the Digital
Firm." Eleventh Edition (11 ed.). New Jersey: Prentice Hall.
Luan, Y. & Sudhir, K. (2010). Forecasting Marketing-Mix Responsiveness for the New
Products, Journal of Marketing Research, Vol. 47(3), pp. 444.
Maggon, M. & Harish, C. (2015). Revisiting The Relationship Marketing and the Customer
Relationship Management in the Leading Tourism and the Hospitality Journals: Research
Trends From 2001 to 2013, Journal of Relationship Marketing, Vol. 14(1), pp. 53-77.
Mintz, O. & Currim, I. (2013). What Drives Managerial Use of Marketing and Financial Metrics
and Does Metric Use Affect Performance of Marketing-Mix Activities? Journal of
Marketing, Vol. 77(2), pp. 17.
Perreault, W. (2010). Essentials of marketing: A marketing strategy planning approach
Chase, H., Mackillop, J. & Hogarth, L. (2013). Isolating behavioral economic indices of the
demand in relation to the nicotine dependence, Psychopharmacology, Vol. 226(2), pp.
371-80.
Sinapuelas, I., Wang, H. & Bohlmann, J. (2015). The interplay of innovation, brand, and
marketing mix variables in line extensions, Academy of Marketing Science Journal, Vol.
43(5), pp. 558-573.
Wood, M. (2008). The marketing plan handbook. Pearson Prentice Hall
BMW Concept Z4 First Look - Motor Trend. (n.d.). Retrieved from
http://www.motortrend.com/cars/bmw/z5/2018/bmw-concept-z4-first-look/
BMW Z4 - BMW USA. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.bmwusa.com/vehicles/z4.html