Marketing Management: Target Market and Strategies for Honda CR-V 2018

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of the target market for the Honda CR-V 2018, focusing on consumer behavior and effective marketing strategies. It identifies the primary target market as families and young couples and examines the role of pricing and advertisement campaigns in attracting customers. The report explores the application of the marketing mix, including product, price, promotion, and place, to position the CR-V as a versatile and desirable SUV. It also emphasizes the importance of digital and social media marketing, including personalized content and engagement marketing, to enhance customer relationships and drive sales. The report recommends a focus on brand personalization and robust online marketing, leveraging social media platforms to reach the target audience and highlight the CR-V's features and benefits. The conclusion underscores the significance of understanding the target market in relation to Honda's overall market segmentation and the CR-V's potential for sales growth.

Running Head: MARKETING MANAGEMENT
Topic- Identification of target market and strategies for Honda CR-V 2018
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The report provides a glimpse of the identified target market for Honda CR-V 2018 in recent
times. The marketing mixes are considered for the SUV car and primary target market is
emphasized here. Strategies for attracting a wider consumer base is mentioned in the
recommended section so that right target market is identified and robust advertisement
campaigns is conducted to support its overall sales growth in coming years. All possible aspects
of consumer purchasing behaviour are considered and discussed to provide a clear understanding
of the market for company strategic management level.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION.......................................................................................................................................4
IDENTIFICATION OF TARGET MARKET AND STRATEGIES...........................................................5
TARGET MARKET................................................................................................................................5
PRICING.................................................................................................................................................5
ADVERTISEMENT CAMPAIGNS BASED ON CONSUMER BUYING BEHAVIOUR....................6
MESSAGE AND SLOGAN....................................................................................................................7
RECOMMENDATION...............................................................................................................................8
CONCLUSION...........................................................................................................................................9
REFERENCES..........................................................................................................................................10
APPENDIX...............................................................................................................................................12

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INTRODUCTION
The report is based on identification of target market for Honda CR-V 2018 and
development of strategies to attract customers for purchasing the newly launched product.
Various aspects of target marketing are to be analyzed here thereafter recommended strategies
will be discussed at the end. Honda is a global brand name which is having large market share of
both passenger cars and SUVs (Honda 2019). A market analysis study is done before the launch
of the product to identify the segments that are of greatest business potential. Though selection of
the right target market is a very crucial and difficult decision on the part of the marketer but
extensive customer research eases the decision-making process and help in gaining a deep
insight of consumer’s needs and wants, purchasing habits and, behavioral patterns and media
usage for purchasing. All four marketing mixes are mentioned in regard to target market for new
Honda CR-V 2018 in the next section of the report.

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IDENTIFICATION OF TARGET MARKET AND STRATEGIES
The all new Honda CR-V 2018 is a special collection of SUV Cars by Honda that
provides a fine balance in between sophistication and subtlety (Carsales 2018). The increased
spacious feature of the car makes it one of the most perfect family cars of the year. The price is
reasonable though it has not made any remarkable progress to stand out of the busy class of
SUVs (Goauto 2019). The market for car sale in Australia is pretty flat but sales and market
growth of Honda this year is double-digited (Goauto 2019). It is a matter of pride that the sales
are booming for the company and this is all because of its new version CR-V and Civic (Goauto
2019).
TARGET MARKET
Basically, the target market for Honda CR-V is the family class who are luxurious on one
hand are supposed to afford high prices for their prized possession (Social IMC 2019). In this
regard, versatility driven positioning will help in better customer targeting. The best customer
driving strategy is thus linking the multi-faceted car to the multi-faceted man (Carsales 2018). In
broader terms the target markets are young people and young couples who are ready or are yet to
be ready to start their families. This is the best market as it has high life-time value and Honda
has targeted to be their family partner for long terms. Especially modern Moms are to be targeted
who are multi-taskers like the brand-new CR-V car. CR-V is thus, the best alternative for this
young generation and their growing families (Carsales 2018).

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PRICING
The pricing ranges in between $26, 000 TO $47,000 as per differentiation in models
(CarsGuide 2019). So, average price is coming around $34,990 which is quite economical for a
high-class luxury SUV.
ADVERTISEMENT CAMPAIGNS BASED ON CONSUMER BUYING BEHAVIOUR
As a part of brand marketing Honda has now targeted ‘life stages’ as its new campaign
for advertisement. Because lifestyle advertisement sells. It is to be noted that customer
satisfaction is a direct outcome of service quality provided by the product (Carsales 2018). In this
regard, the new SUV has focused on affective response of customers and has influenced their
behavioral intensions to a great extent (Social IMC 2019). Another campaign of ‘One Life Many
Lives’ links the new CR-V to high profile individuals having multi-dimensional lives (Social
IMC 2019). This advertisement campaign repositions the new Honda CR-V as one of the most
promising urban SUV.
In order to promote successful ad-campaigns all new tools and techniques of digital
media, print media and other outdoor media need to be involved (Aghdaie and Alimardani 2015).
Increased communication engagement with targeted customers will add to the bottom-line and
sales figures of the car (Social IMC 2019). Though this is a commercial vehicle but it is built on
a powerful insight and is quite different from all other commercials in the market. The increased
popularity of the car among target customers is its cross-over nature in between a sedan and a
fully blown SUV car (Carsales 2018).
Also, engagement marketing by the help of social media like Pinterest will help in
attracting target audiences in the most promising manner (Weinstein 2013). Creation of awesome
content, going viral and supporting full-on entertainment to target market will help in

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strengthening the relationship among end customers (Social IMC 2019). Personalized content
will increase customer cohesion but too much empathy attachment will decrease customer
attachment and confusion will increase in their buying behaviour. So, content should be touchy
but should be light.
MESSAGE AND SLOGAN
The slogan of the new Honda car is ‘Live Up’ having main USP of design, sturdiness and
reliability (Social IMC 2019). The STP of the new Honda CR-V 2018 is provided below.
S-Segment Premium SVU segment
T-Target Upper middle-class executives
P-Positioning Stylish and Sporty SUV car
Its popularity as a global brand has been immense and it also provides good after sales
service to end customers. It is assumed that if advertisement is increased more then its target
base will grow. Its two main competitors are Tucson and Terracan which are responsible for stiff
and intense market competition for SUV cars. The uplifted 2018 version has a better balance of
outside look and improved interiors (Wu, Liao and Chatwuthikrai 2014). This version has also
improved safety features and have upgraded infotainment technological support. It is to be noted
that this CR-V almost offers all features of a German luxury brand car but is priced
comparatively lower (Landau, Karna and Sailer 2016). Also, though CR-V is in same segment
like Toyota Fortuner or Ford Endeavour but its customer set are different altogether- it is for
those people who prefer premium, urban and luxury SUVs at large. The Turbo engine in Diesel

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provides better fuel efficiency and increased power support which is ideal for holidaying,
travelling and long-distance travels.
RECOMMENDATION
Thus, based on the discussion of target market the following recommendations are
provided to increase customer attraction and convincing them which will result in their increased
purchasing power.
First, focus on brand personalization need to be increased that will help in increase
customer interaction as a result. Honda CR-V already has some loyal customer base and this
version will try to engage those already existing customers as well along with target market of
the young generation couples and families (Social IMC 2019).
Second, it needs to do robust online marketing by the help of social media support like
Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest. Present day people are more socially engaged through online
media and Honda marketing team need to focus on this strategy to attract more customers by the
help of mass marketing (Social IMC 2019).
Customers can be drawn by providing them details of the features and new add-ons and
also the pricing strategy of the new version. Some specified new features are instrument cluster,
increased safety and Chrome beltline (Goauto 2019). Since, it is meant for family purpose
enhanced safety will be one major advantage in attracting targeted customers profoundly.
Moreover, its 7-seater capacity is perfect for accommodating family, friends and surprise
visits of some distant relatives (Goauto 2019). The back space is quite large for accommodating
luggage for short trips and surprise holiday plans. It is also children friendly as it provides smart
locks and child-lock facilities as well.

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Honda cars sale for 10 years timeline is provided in appendix and it clearly shows the
increased trend of SUV car sales, though the trend has sluggish nature in recent times. But in
overall market of sales consideration of Passenger and SUV cars SUV cars are ahead of
passenger cars (Goauto 2019). And it is positively assumed that this new Honda CR-V 2018 will
help increase the sales growth trend to a different level in the coming years.
CONCLUSION
Thus, to conclude it could be said that Honda CR-V target market is though differentiated
but is one important aspect of overall market segmentation of Honda cars. As per the age,
location, income and lifestyle the target customers for Honda CR-V 2018 are young generation,
urban people, medium to high income group individuals and people having a lavish lifestyle that
is the people who have crossed the mark of ‘what to do in life? and has focused on ‘what to do
best in life?’.

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REFERENCES
Aghdaie, M.H. and Alimardani, M., 2015. Target market selection based on market segment
evaluation: a multiple attribute decision making approach. International Journal of Operational
Research, 24(3), pp.262-278.
Carsales 2018. Honda CR-V 2018 Review. [online] www.carsales.com.au. Available at:
https://www.carsales.com.au/editorial/details/honda-cr-v-2018-review-110344/?
&tracking=dsa&gclid=CjwKCAjwwtTmBRBqEiwA-
b6c_xcns8E_JSKkVOUb2trmWSZaVUJ_j4cHjDy8nDD7maDPxxO1IG1cWxoC0q8QAvD_Bw
E [Accessed 10 May 2019].
CarsGuide 2019. Honda CR-V 2018 Price & Specs | CarsGuide. [online] CarsGuide. Available
at: https://www.carsguide.com.au/honda/cr-v/price/2018 [Accessed 10 May 2019].
Goauto 2019. Honda Australia sales to remain steady in 2018. [online] premium.goauto.com.au.
Available at: https://premium.goauto.com.au/honda-australia-sales-remain-steady-2018/
[Accessed 10 May 2019].
Goauto 2019. Honda CR-V sets new Aus sales benchmark. [online] premium.goauto.com.au.
Available at: https://premium.goauto.com.au/honda-cr-v-sets-new-aus-sales-benchmark/
[Accessed 10 May 2019].
Honda (2019). Home | Honda Australia. [online] Honda Australia. Available at:
https://www.honda.com.au/ [Accessed 11 May 2019].

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Landau, C., Karna, A. and Sailer, M., 2016. Business model adaptation for emerging markets: a
case study of a G erman automobile manufacturer in I ndia. R&D Management, 46(3), pp.480-
503.
Social IMC 2019. Engagement Marketing - Honda CR-V PInterest PIntermission Program.
[online] Social IMC. Available at: http://www.socialimc.com/social-strategies/strategy-1-
engagement/honda-pintermission-program/ [Accessed 10 May 2019].
Weinstein, A., 2013. Handbook of market segmentation: Strategic targeting for business and
technology firms. Routledge.
Wu, W.Y., Liao, Y.K. and Chatwuthikrai, A., 2014. Applying conjoint analysis to evaluate
consumer preferences toward subcompact cars. Expert Systems with Applications, 41(6),
pp.2782-2792.

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APPENDIX
(Goauto 2019)