Critical Analysis of Marketing Approach of Toyota Motor Corporation

This report offers a critical analysis of the marketing approach employed by Toyota Motor Corporation. It begins with an introduction to marketing principles and their implementation within Toyota, highlighting the 7Ps of marketing including product, price, place, promotion, people, process, and physical evidence. The analysis delves into both traditional and modern marketing approaches used by Toyota, comparing their effectiveness and identifying gaps. The report emphasizes Toyota's customer-centric focus, diverse product offerings, and global market penetration. It also examines pricing strategies, promotional tactics, and the company's commitment to eco-friendly practices. The study concludes with an overall assessment of Toyota's marketing strategies and their impact on the company's success, emphasizing the importance of adapting to modern marketing practices for continued growth and customer satisfaction.

Critical Analysis of Marketing Approach of Toyota Motor Corporation 1
Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................2
Theoretical concept of marketing in Toyota Motor Corporation’s perspective..............................2
Implementation of principles of marketing in Toyota.................................................................2
Comparison of the marketing approaches in respect with Toyota...........................................6
Gap identified...............................................................................................................................7
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................8
References......................................................................................................................................10

Critical Analysis of Marketing Approach of Toyota Motor Corporation 2
Introduction
Marketing is a vital element of every business organisation. Over the decades, the companies
have been using diverse set of approaches of marketing in order to reach extended customer
base. Earlier the primary motive behind taking use of the marketing approaches was to increase
the sales and profit of the organisations. But in the present scenario, there are several changes
that have come into the marketing approaches of the businesses. There has been a drastic shift to
modern approach of marketing from the traditional approach of marketing. The study will have
its focus on the critical analysis of the marketing approach used in Toyota Motor Corporation
(Nkomo, 2013). The company has a strong market share and successful global business
operations. There is a significant role of the marketing approaches in the vigorous development
of Toyota and its products. The study will present the implementation of the principles of
marketing in Toyota as a theoretical concept of marketing. The paper will highlight the two key
approaches of marketing i.e. traditional marketing and the modern marketing. While taking use
of traditional approach there were several drawbacks and loopholes left for the success of the
company. The paper will show the importance of modern marketing approach in order to reduce
the identified gaps between the markets and the consumers in the traditional marketing approach.
Both the approaches have their positive as well as the darker sides for the companies but in
present business scenario, there is high significance of using the modern marketing approach for
continuous growth. The paper will conclude with an overall analysis gain from the study of the
critical analysis of the marketing approach of Toyota.
Theoretical concept of marketing in Toyota Motor Corporation’s perspective
Implementation of principles of marketing in Toyota
Marketing is considered as one of the most significant approaches for any business organisation.
In the modern marketing, the principles of marketing or the marketing mix is a general concept.
In various contexts, the marketing principles can be regarded as the 7Ps of marketing. It can be
explained as a set of factors or the tools which are used for satisfying the consumer needs. in
respect with Toyota Motor Corporation, there are particularly seven principles of marketing
which are used for ensuring that the customers of Toyota are satisfied (Lovelock, 2011). The

Critical Analysis of Marketing Approach of Toyota Motor Corporation 3
marketing principles will comprise of variables i.e. physical evidence, product, process, price,
promotion, people and place (Kotler, 2015). The study aims to discuss these seven principles in
respect with Toyota:
Product
There are a number of products offered by Toyota in the global markets. There are vehicles such
as Avensis, RAV4, Corolla, Lexus and Land Cruiser which are sold by Toyota in the various
international markets which offer high brand recognition to the company. The company is
efficient enough to produce automotive which are fuel efficient. Toyota is recognized as one of
the major competitor in the global automotive industry. Toyota takes use of innovative
technology and this has made the organisation because as one of the most favored organisations
of the customers which always offer products which can meet the expectations of the customers
(Gummesson, 2017).
One of the major factors of the Toyota’s service marketing is its products which must satisfy the
customers and their demands. The huge growth and success of the services and products of
Toyota is the result of high rate of diversity and intangibility. All the products of Toyota fit the
needs of the customers, their expectations and their tasks. It is significant to consider that the car
accessories, cars and the other products of Toyota are evolving with a rapid rate in the consumer
market and thus the customers are enjoying the innovative designs with passing time, Toyota has
invested huge amounts of get quality of its products by analyzing the tastes of the customers and
developing good links with them for addressing their needs.
Price
The price setting criteria of Toyota is based upon the income of the consumers in different global
regions. there are both low priced as well as high priced and luxurious cars and other vehicles
offered by the company so that there can be targeted all set of customers irrespective of their
income and purchasing power (Baker and Saren, 2016). Such pricing strategy has offered high
competitive benefits to the company as the sales of Toyota kept on increasing and high revenues
are realized by the company in all the customer segments. However, the prices are highly
dependent upon the supply and demand only. There are few factors which determine the prices
offered by the company such as the ambience of the products, the experience offered to the

Critical Analysis of Marketing Approach of Toyota Motor Corporation 4
customers and the brand of Toyota. It is difficult to measure the tangible and the service cost of
the production of the vehicles but there are certain aspects such as the labor costs and the
overheads can be useful in determining the prices of the products (Amasaka, 2011). The price
determinations for the products of Toyota are regarded as consumer friendly. Toyota kept trying
to maintain high quality of its products in the prices offered. Toyota offers good value to its
customers in comparison with the money paid by ten for the products. The prices of the products
represent the beliefs of the marketing approach as they are represent high quality but are not
cheap and this is why the customers pay a little high for the products of Toyota (Schilling, 2010).
Place
Toyota Motors has successfully identified a number of markets and customer segments. In all
those markets, there is a high demand for the products of Toyota. As a result, the company and
its products have gained huge success and penetrated effectively in almost all the markets of
Europe, America, Africa and Asia (Ichijo and Kohlbacher, 2008). Toyota has a huge distribution
and supply network and thus its products are sold worldwide. Toyota has grown its share in
various markets and also there are salespersons which met the customers to increase the sales.
There are diverse places where the services and the products of Toyota are sold on a regular
basis. It helps the company in increasing its overall sales. The company also takes use of mail
orders, telemarketing and the online shops and also the catalogues for facilitating extended
understanding of the Toyota’s products by the customers (Khan, 2014).
Promotion
Toyota has always taken use of the advanced marketing and promotional activities. With the help
of the effective advertisements, the organisation demonstrates its commitment towards eco-
friendly manufacturing of the vehicles. The various promotional tactics which have been used by
the company shows the green and environment sustainable image of the company and thus has
supported the increased market share of the company. Promotion is the aspect by which the
companies inform the customers about the services and the products to the point at which the
products or services are sold (Lovelock, 2011). As analyzed from the promotional practices of
Toyota, the company keeps on making fewer modifications in its advertisements and marketing
of the products. All these modifications resulted into huge shift in the sales and revenues of

Critical Analysis of Marketing Approach of Toyota Motor Corporation 5
Toyota. For sustaining the promotional challenges, Toyota Motors has always used new and
effective strategies, marketing processes, advertising approaches and other innovative offerings.
Toyota also takes use of traditional or says local media such as the radio, newspaper, television
etc. for its promotions (Hoque, et al., 2013).
People
Toyota keeps practicing approaches and practices which help in empowering its workforce in
both the production as well as the service line. It helps the employees of Toyota to become more
customers friendly and attractive. As a result of this, it helped in boosting the brand image of
Toyota as well as the competence of the employees to effectively respond to the expectations of
the customers (Seklir, Nixon and Dorfman, 2016). There are mainly the front line staff and the
director who are responsible for the promotion of the brand image, the services and the products.
But it is highly essential to have adequate people for driving business growth. The management
in Toyota Motors has developed the required supportive structure which has witnessed the
success of the company and its products (Plouffe, et al., 2016). The company adopts the best
management practices and there is practiced the widely known and well recognized ‘Toyota
Company Philosophy’ which comprises of critical thinking as one of the key basis for making
organisational decisions. Thus, the management structure of the company is highly centralized
and maintains a direct association with the grass root level employees and the customers (Rother,
2009).
Process
In Toyota, there has been implemented a lean production system which help the company in
producing the just-in-time products. The effective management has resulted in declined cost of
production and the overall wastage. And all these factors have enabled the company to gain
extended market share in international markets (Amasaka, 2008).
Physical Evidence
In most of the business organisations, the interaction among the manufacturers and the customers
comes to an end when there is completion of a business deal. However, the company has always
maintained a stable dealership and also a tangible presence among both the old and the new

Critical Analysis of Marketing Approach of Toyota Motor Corporation 6
customer base. It has made the customers ensured that they will be getting the services any time
whenever they will be requiring the same. There has been increased confidence among the
customers of Toyota and its products which had resulted in increased sales and revenues for the
company (Rahmani, Najafi and Delshad, 2016).
Comparison of the marketing approaches in respect with Toyota
Toyota has always been taking use of both the traditional as well as the modern marketing
approaches in its business. The transitional marketing approach of Toyota was used to have the
major focus upon the production and manufacturing units only (Kotler, 2015). Earlier while
using traditional marketing approach, the company used to sell the products as per the
availability and thus there was high emphasis upon the distribution channels and mass
production rather than the other marketing elements (Wahab, et al., 2016). In the traditional
marketing process of Toyota, the company used to take help of the sources such as direct
telemarketing, direct mails, broadcast media and the print media. With the help of the forint
media such as the newspaper print, posters and the billboards, Toyota use to display its
advertisements and try to fetch the attention of the clients (Gummesson, 2017). There were taken
use of broadcast media where the company used to advertise and grab the attention of the
customers through advertisements on television. The traditional media was limited ad always had
a limited approach to the clients. In such a dynamic and continuously changing consumer
market, there was required to pay high attention to the customers in order to sustain in the
market. But the traditional marketing approach lacks this aspect of marketing (Rakita, Madić and
Marković, 2017).
On the other hand, the second key marketing approach being used by Toyota in the modern
marketing approach or the new marketing approach. In this type of approach Toyota kept its
focus on particularly three major aspects that comprises of profit orientation, coordination and
the customer focus. In order to have high customer focus, Toyota keeps on improving its
marketing practices (Robinson, 2017). To offer high customer satisfaction there are taken
feedbacks from the clients after few months of the sale of the vehicles. The company also
provides effective after sales services to the customers so that no such issue or customer
dissatisfaction takes place (Ziggers and Henseler, 2016). The second key aspect of the modern
marketing approach of Toyota Motors is coordination, where the company tries to have high

Critical Analysis of Marketing Approach of Toyota Motor Corporation 7
level of coordination in the demand and the supply, in the customer response and assistance and
in all the other business activities (Kotler, 2015). Toyota takes use of just-in-time production so
that there can be effective coordination among the customers’ demand for the products and the
supply for the products by the organisation. There are strategies used by the companies where the
enquiries, queries or the issues of the customers can be resolved at instant basis. For the same,
coordination has been developed where there are employees of Toyota who assist the customers
with the queries. Such kind of coordination helps the company to have increased sakes as well as
the customers to get faster resolution of their queries (Hibino, Noguchi and Plenert, 2017).
The next key aspect of the modern marketing approach of Toyota is focused is upon the profit
orientation. The marketing mix of Toyota not only has its focus on the satisfaction of the
customers but also on eth company’s profits and revenues. In such a competitive business
environment, there is a need to have appropriate marketing approaches to fetch the sales and
higher revenues. For the profit orientation and to have higher revenues, Toyota take sue of a
mixed pricing approach where the company offer its products as per the purchasing power of the
individuals of different countries (Bastos, Azevedo and Ávila, 2015). There are provided
products of all range and prices so that higher number of individuals can but the products. This is
one of the competitive pricing moves of Toyota to attract the clients and have larger customer
base. Thus the new marketing approach of Toyota help the company in having strong customer
base, higher customer satisfaction, increased revenues and excessive coordination. All such
factors not only help the company to improve its global brand image but also offer more
competitive benefits and a sustainable market share in the global automotive industry (Robinson,
2017).
Gap identified
From the critical analysis of the marketing approaches of Toyota Motor Corporation, it has been
analyzed that the company have used both the traditional as well as the modern marketing
approaches. But in the traditional and modern marketing approach there are few gaps which have
been identified. In the traditional approach of marketing there exist a gap between the marketers
and the consumers (Ziggers and Henseler, 2016). In respect with Toyota, it can be said that
earlier thee clients or the customers have to deal with a number of issues after the purchase of the
product or at the time of buying there were a number of queries which were not resolved. All

Critical Analysis of Marketing Approach of Toyota Motor Corporation 8
such things were due to the gap which was there between the marketers or the company and the
customers (Bastos, Azevedo and Ávila, 2015). It has also been identified that there were also gap
between the understanding of the potential customers and the company. There were used
traditional marketing approach and the response upon the advertisements cannot be gathered on
an appropriate manner. But in the modern marketing approach, the company used to gather or
collect the response and plan the marketing activities in accordance with that (Amasaka, 2011).
The customer focus factor of Toyota in the traditional approach of marketing was somewhere
lost as the key focus was on the production and sales only. Therefore, there obtained a gap in the
traditional and the modern approaches of marketing. As in the modern approach, the customer
becomes the center of attention for the company and all the marketing strategies, activities and
approaches are required to be in respect with ether customer and their satisfaction (Lovelock,
2011). Earlier in the traditional approach of marketing there were also gap identified in the
vision, mission, strategy of the company and the marketing approaches. But in the modern
approach of marketing there is an alignment among the strategies, vision and mission of Toyota
with that the marketing approach of the company. Once all these things are aligned with the
marketing approach, there is faster attainment of the companies goals and mission as all the
strategies are designed in a manner which can help the organisation to have better position in the
market (Ziggers and Henseler, 2016).
Conclusion
The report concludes that there marketing comprised of two significant approaches comprised of
the traditional approach of marketing and the modern approach of marketing. The companies
take effective use of both the approaches in their marketing mix but in the contemporary
business world, the businesses prefer using the modern approach of marketing. From the case of
Toyota, it has been concluded that the company is performing extremely well in the international
markets. There were used both the approaches but still there were a few gaps and issues which
were identified in the traditional approach of marketing of Toyota. After having a comparative
analysis of both the approaches in respect with Toyota business operations and products, it has
been analyzed that the more effective approach for the business is the modern approach of
marketing. From the study and the analysis, it has been evaluated that the company earlier have a

Critical Analysis of Marketing Approach of Toyota Motor Corporation 9
gap between the customers and the marketers but through the modern approach of marketing, the
company developed a direct association with the customers and had gained higher customer
focus. The report lastly concludes that the company must have improved use of the modern
marketing approach and have effective implementation of the marketing principles to achieve
higher business growth.

Critical Analysis of Marketing Approach of Toyota Motor Corporation 10
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