Toyota's Hybrid Marketing Approach: Consumer Behavior and STP Strategy

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of Toyota's hybrid marketing strategy, focusing on its sustainable mobility initiatives, stakeholder responsibility, and consumer behavior. It evaluates Toyota's commitment to environmental sustainability through innovations like the hybrid synergy engine in the Prius. The report examines the company's responsible operations, including profit and societal responsibilities, and its efforts to reduce carbon footprints and promote eco-consciousness. Furthermore, it delves into the influence of consumer behavior on Toyota's marketing approach, target market segmentation, and the hybrid marketing mix employed by the company to achieve its sustainable goals. The analysis highlights Toyota's strategic partnerships and stakeholder engagement as key factors in its success in the global market.

Running head: HYBRID MARKETING
Hybrid Marketing
Name of the Student
Name of the University
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Executive Summary
Toyota has been operating favourably in the market with the help of sustainable innovations in
the market that they are operating in. The company has developed hybrid synergy engines which
helps in mitigating the adverse environmental outcomes. The latter is evident in the Toyota Pruis,
the consumer behaviour of which has been put to the test in the following paper. Furthermore,
the company has been able to gain effectiveness in strategic partnerships and stakeholder
responsibility. The aim of the paper is to help in the development of an idea regarding the
sustainable mobility initiative of the company, along with hybrid marketing mix and the STP
strategy that has been taken up by the company.

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Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................3
Responsible operations....................................................................................................................3
Stakeholder responsibility...........................................................................................................4
Profit responsibility.....................................................................................................................4
Societal responsibility..................................................................................................................5
Sustainable mobility....................................................................................................................5
Innovation and eco consciousness...............................................................................................6
Influence of Consumer behaviour...................................................................................................7
Target Market and Segmentation.....................................................................................................9
Hybrid Marketing Strategy............................................................................................................10
Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................12
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................13

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Introduction
Toyota has been subject to various acclaims for the favourable array of operations that
they have been carrying out while operating in the global market environment. The company has
been recognised as one of the most successful companies that have been performing effectively
(Toyota.com). The main credit of the success of the company goes the effective relations that the
company have been successful to develop in the countries that they are operating in. The
company has been catering to the innovations in the market that they are operating in and as a
result of the same they have been subject to appreciation from the part of the consumers of the
community across the global market. The aim of the paper would be to critically evaluate the
performance of the company. The paper will enumerate the corporate social responsibility that is
being carried out by the company, the evaluation of the sustainability model of the company,
evaluation of the target segment of the company and the measures that is to be taken by the
company in order to mitigate the issues that are being faced by the company. The aim of the
report would be to cater to the needs of sustainability of the company and the marketing
techniques that would be responsible for the successful implementation of the hybrid marketing
plan of the company.
Responsible operations
Toyota have been operating in the market with the help of the responsibilities that they
cater to. All the actions of the company are taken in order to showcase responsibility from the
part of the company (Simão, L. and Lisboa 2017). The company has been successful in catering
to the needs of the diverse groups of stakeholders of the company. Through their operations, the
company has been able to carry out activities that result in responsibility in generating revenue

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for sustaining the long terms goals of the company and the social responsibilities of the
company. The company have been effectively using the pull strategy in order to satiate the needs
of the customers as well as the demands of the stakeholders of the company. A pull strategy that
is used by companies to attract the customers and other stakeholders towards the direction of the
company. It is a strategy that is carried out by the company so that the customers move towards
the direction of the company. The aim of the company is to add value to the all the
aforementioned groups of internal and external stakeholders of the company. Following is the
explanation of the following sections;
Stakeholder responsibility
The company has been able to successfully identify the diverse groups of stakeholders of
the company (Foley, Bernstein and Wiek 2016). The company is spread across various countries
and has been subject to development of various stakeholder groups. The internal and external
stakeholders of the company including the partners and the community as a whole have been
recognised as the key stakeholders of the company as a result of which the company has been
able to pay due attention and responsibility towards them (Castro and Aguilera 2015). The
attention that the company pays to its stakeholders it evident from the nature of operations of the
company and the motives that has been taken to fulfil the needs of the stakeholders of the
company.
Profit responsibility
The aim of the company is not just to cater to the needs of the stakeholders of the
company through community services and sustainable orientation towards the environment
(Asgary and Li 2016). Even if the latter forms the prime nature if operations of the company, the
company can only sustain itself if they are able to generate considerable amount of revenue if

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they are able to generate considerable amount of revenue in the industry that they are operating
in. The company have been successful in diversification of the management of the resources
through which they have been successful in identify options through which they can generate
revenue. The company has been able to incorporate innovation in the operation and thus, have
been able to generate considerable amount of revenue along with the fact that they have been
able to align the operations towards environmental sustainability. Thus, the responsibility of
generation of profits are is the reason behind the success of the company in generating
considerable amount of revenue in the markets across the globe that they have been operating in.
Societal responsibility
Not only have the company been able to generate considerable amount of revenue in the
market that they are operating in, they have been able to align their operations with the needs of
the society or the community that the company is a part of (Gupta 2014). Toyota has organised
programs that are characterised by affiliation towards the needs of the community. The company
has organised various societal programs such as education for the protection of the environment,
literacy and education programs along with the development of programs for the support of
various communities (Ito 2014). The company has been catering to the issues such education,
protection of the environment and the issues such as providing the issue of providing
employment to the communities.
Sustainable mobility
Sustainable mobility are nature of operations of a company that are carried out in order to
satisfy the needs of the stakeholders of the company and ensuring the sustainability of the
environment (Stolten et al. 2014). It is an aspect of the operations of a company were they ensure
that the needs of the company while catering to the fact that the natural and environmental

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resources are being conserved by the company (Piecyk et al. 2015). Sustainable marketing is a
type of causal marketing or societal marketing. The latter is a style of marketing that is
characterised by the nature of operations of an organisation that is carried out in to justify the
cause or the rationale behind the marketing tactic that is being carried out by the company (Zeriti
et al. 2014). Causal marketing is necessary to propel the operations of the company to higher
levels. This concepts is not only concerned with the motive of generation of profit for the
company, it involves catering to the needs of the company in terms of justification of the
goodwill needs of the company.
Innovation and eco consciousness
The main scope of operation of Toyota is concerned with sustainable marketing. The
operations of the company which involves every functional department of the company are
perfectly aligned towards the aim of protection of the environment and the aim of contribution to
the overall effectiveness of operations of the company in terms of gaining a sustainable
advantage in their operations. The company has carried out intensive innovation as a result of
which they have been able to incorporate technology in their vehicles that allows the latter to
reduce the emissions and carbon footprints (Zeng, Phan and Matsui 2015). As a result of the
same they have been successful in implementing a plan that has the objective of elimination of
carbon footprints from the operations by the year 2050. The company has incorporated
innovative ideas and technology and ideas as a result of which they have been able to develop
hybrid vehicles that use lesser amount of fuel to run and the company has started the production
of vehicles that can run by just electricity. At Toyota the innovation and eco consciousness go
hand in hand as a result of which the operations and sustainability are incorporated into one
aspect. The order variants of the vehicles including all the miniature and the loose parts of the

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vehicles are scrapped, which is followed by recycling of the products. The scrapped metal is then
used for the production of new peripherals that are used in the new vehicles.
Thus, it can be said that the company has been able to gain a competitive advantage in
their nature of operations as a result of the correct and appropriate aims for the protection of the
environment, reduced dependency on non-renewable resources and by innovation that has helped
the company in highlighting their affiliation towards the needs of the environment which resulted
in the increasing amount of affiliation that they have been subject to from the part of the
consumers of the community.
Influence of Consumer behaviour
The modern nature of operations of each and every organisations incorporates the use of
certain forms of technology have some impacts on the environment or the other (Goudie 2018).
As a result there has been high level of interest that the latter has been generating. Since, this
issue is being highlighted by various companies and thus, the consumers if the community have
been able to gain knowledge regarding the same. Thus, the consumers of the community are
constantly being educated about the adverse implications of the environment. Thus, the
consumers are expected to be aware of the adverse environmental implications as a result of
which they are being able to develop effectiveness in understanding and identification of
methods that help in removal of the issues that their operations can face while catering to the
needs of the consumers of the community (Zhang, Wang and You 2015). It has been found that
the consumers aim to carry out purchase behaviours in order to gain the maximum amount of
utility from the purchase that they make. Hence, it is the role of the companies to understand the
behaviour of each and every consumer group (Green and Peloza 2014). It should be recognised
that consumers in a community exude behaviours according to the segment that they belong to.

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Hence, it is crucial to analyse the behaviour of the consumers before carrying out any decision in
the market that they are operating in. Toyota have been able to carry out the same with the help
of market surveys that are carried out by the company on an intrinsic level. The company have
been successfully employing field sales agents to identify the needs and perception of the
consumer community which has been the reason behind the success that the company is subject
to.
The Toyota Pruis is a compact midrange sedan that is offered by the company
(Toyota.com 2019). The car has been offered in the market at a midrange price which is
necessary for the survival of a company in a metropolitan area such as Kuala Lumpur. The
consumers who have been targeted by the company by the products are assumed to a little price
sensitive, not to a great extent however, they are likely to have 3 to 4 members in their family.
Following is the assumed profile of the people who can be targeted by the company in order to
sell the Pruis;
Price: RM 36,000 – RM 55,000
Income bracket: High to Mid
Average income: RM 70,000 +
Age group: 27-40
Family size: 3-5
Behaviour: Enjoys family trips. Loves to go on vacations, Travels to workplace or business on
car, Environment conscious.

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The considerations that the come into play while the consumers of Malaysia aim to
purchase the said vehicle is the price of the product and the value that they are able to derive
from the products once they make the purchase. Consumers tend to invest extra time to make the
purchase decision once they aim to purchase a product that is deemed to be pricey. Similar is the
case when they are looking to purchase a vehicle which involves considerable amount of
investment. While making such decisions, the consumers are influenced by the peers and the
aggressive promotion and marketing strategies that are employed by various companies in the
highly competitive industry. One of the biggest USPs of the Pruis has been recognised as the
Hybrid Synergy drive facility that the car provides. The latter is a functionality through which
the car reduces the emissions that are given out by the vehicle by combining petrol and
electricity. This is one of the many steps that the company has been able to make to promote
their sustainable initiatives.
Target Market and Segmentation
The hybrid synergy mechanism that is offered in the Pruis, aims to position it as product
that allows the company communicate the motive of eco-friendly services that are offered by the
company (Szeluga, Kumanek and Trzebicka 2015). The hybrid mechanism of the car helps in
portraying an image that helps portraying the aim of the company in terms of the sustainable
initiatives of the company. There are various segments that the company could have targeted
while catering to the operations of the company. A company segments its consumers on the basis
of geographical location, demographics, psychographic and behavioural characteristics (Birjandi,
Hamid and Birjandi 2013). The Pruis has been developed with the target segment made on the
basis of demographics and behaviour. The demographic group that has been identified is the
people who are between the age of 27 to 40 and those who are employed in private sectors in

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positions such as retail, sales and others. Furthermore, the aim of the segment is to cater to the
needs of the consumers of the market who are educated about the needs for the protection of the
environment. Thus the segmentation that the company has carried out has resulted in the
successful targeting that the company has been able to carry out in the market.
After segmentation and targeting, the company aims to carry out successful
implementation of strategies that will help the company in highlighting their initiatives in both
the short and the long run. The company has effectively marketed their positioning strategy by
establishing that the hybrid synergy drive in the Pruis. The aim of the company is to
communicate the fact that by using the vehicles, the consumers will be able to contribute to
harmony between themselves, the environment and the vehicle with the help of the vehicle and
the tagline which goes like “harmony between man, nature and machine”. Apart from the
individual consumer who value the same, the aim of the company is to communicate the
initiatives by strategic partnerships with different organisations. Various national parks in the
United States such as Yellowstone NP, Great Smoky Mountains, the Grand Canyon and other
have formed partnerships with Toyota. The company announced that they were providing help in
the form of hybrid vehicles worth $5 million in the national parks. The eco-friendly nature of the
vehicles and the comfort the riders are subject to would help in contributing to environmental
sustainability and would also help in increasing the satisfaction that the consumers wold receive
from their experiences in the parks. This strategic decision made by the company not only helps
in the aforementioned factor, but also help in the communicating the aims of the company along
with increase in the visibility of the company. Thus, it can be said that strategic segmentation,
targeting and positioning are fields that the company has been successful in incorporating.

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Hybrid Marketing Strategy
The aim of the company is to communicate the ultimate motive of the company through
effective marketing strategies. There are various steps in the process of evaluation of the
marketing planning to be employed by the company. Before starting the process few of the steps
needs to be assured. The company needs to assure their own identity, establish the goals of the
company in the long run, the strategy that the company can apply in order to reach the goal that
the company aims to achieve, and evaluation of the key performance indicators that will assure
that the objective of the company has been successfully implemented. The phases of planning of
the marketing strategy are divided into three steps namely; goal setting, Situation analysis,
Strategy formulation and implementation or allocation of resources (Baker 2014).
Goal setting: With the introduction of the hybrid vehicles, convey they aim of communication of
the fact that the company aims to deliver value to the consumers of the community through
activities aligned towards the sustainable development of the environment. The vehicles that are
offered by the company puts the company in a favourable position to gain appreciation from the
consumers of the community and can assure that the company will be able gain favourable
nature of returns while they are operating in the industry.
Situation analysis: The strength of the company lies in the effective promotional strategies, the
strategic placement and the lean supply chain of the company that they have been able to
maintain through the help of favourable relationship management with the suppliers of the
company. The threats to the operations of the company are posed by other companies who
operate in the automobile industry that is deemed to be highly competitive in nature.
Furthermore, the fact should be noted that the external environment of the company suggests that

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innovation is appreciated by both the external and the internal stakeholders of the company along
with considerable amount of support for eco-friendly initiatives.
Strategy formulation: The strategy that has been taken up by the company is to contribute to the
value proposition in the consumer community and by the use of strategic partnerships and
catering to the needs of the organisation and various other institutions. The main strategy that has
been taken up by the company is to motivate the revenue of the company by contributing to
sustainable initiatives and by providing products and services to the organisation through which
they derive value.
Thus the company has been able gain effectiveness in the operations that they carry out in
the market that they are a part of. As a result of the initiatives that they have taken up in the
community, they have been able to increase the awareness of the company and have able to
develop favourable relations with the consumers of the community.
Conclusion
Toyota has been able to gain favourable returns and awareness in the market that they are
operating in with the help of initiatives that they have been successful in taking up. The company
has effectively promoted sustainable mobility with the help hybrid vehicles. The company has
been successful in studying the purchasing behaviour of the consumers as a result of which they
have been subject to favourable outcomes. The sustainable marketing strategies along with the
strategic partnerships and the value proposition of the company has been responsible for the
success that the company has been subject to. It can be recommended that the company should
incorporate luxury pricing along with development of the product line to gain increased amount
of revenue.

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