LSBM101: Marketing Principles and Practices Report on Ford Motors

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of Ford Motors' marketing principles and practices. It begins with an introduction to marketing management, defining its role in planning, pricing, and promoting products. The report then explores key marketing concepts such as production orientation, product orientation, sales orientation, societal marketing orientation, and market orientation, illustrating how Ford Motors applies these concepts in its strategies. The analysis includes specific examples, such as Ford's shift to production orientation in 1913, its use of product orientation for high-end products like the Ford Endeavour, and its initiatives in societal marketing with the electric Ford Mustang Mach-E. The report concludes with recommendations, suggesting that Ford Motors further embrace societal orientation to enhance its brand reputation. The report utilizes academic sources to support its arguments and provides a clear understanding of Ford's marketing approaches.

Marketing principles
and practices

Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................3
Main Body.......................................................................................................................................3
Key marketing concepts..............................................................................................................3
Conclusion and recommendations...................................................................................................5
References........................................................................................................................................6

Introduction
Marketing management is the process of planning and executing the idea of pricing, distributing
and promoting the product at right place on right time. Marketing is a wide concept which helps
to identify the needs and demand of customers at market place (Arora and Sanni, 2019). Ford
Motors is the company which is founded by Henry Ford in the year 1903. It is headquartered in
Dearborn, Michigan, US. They are dealing in serving automobiles, luxury vehicles, commercial
vehicles, automotive parts and SUVs. Their famous services are automotive finance, vehicle
leasing and vehicle service. Most of the time Ford Motors uses market-oriented pricing strategy
which states that price should be set according to affordability of customers and which further
help in gaining competitors advantage. They set the prices of their vehicle according to market
conditions. They use this pricing strategy for their most of the products like sedans and trucks.
Main Body
Key marketing concepts
Marketing is a wide area which describe how customers react to company’s change in strategy,
how consumer behave in launching new product and many other things. The main aim of
marketing concept is to earn profit by satisfying customer’s needs and wants. Some of the main
marketing concepts are explained below-
Production orientation- Here, the main objective of company is to produce mass
production (Na, Kang and Jeong, 2019). The main reason behind mass production is to lowering
total production cost which further helps in setting product price low. Hence, customers get more
attracted toward low price products. In context of Ford Motors, in 1913 they change their
manufacturing process and converted into production orientation approach where they
manufacture cars and trucks in bulks to reduce the cost of raw material and other costs.
Product orientation- Here, companies try to lead the market with their product quality
which they have increases by product orientation approach. This orientation may results in
increasing the price of product because in increasing the quality of product, company have to put
some extra cost in use. Therefore, indirectly prices will also be increased. This marketing
concept is made for those customers who are willing to pay any amount to increase their standard
of living (Javeda, Ullahb and Nawazc, 2021).. In context of Ford motors, they use product
orientation in some segments of customers. Their product like Ford Endeavour is an expensive

SUV which represent quality over quantity. Here, Ford targeted a small segment of customers
who have high income and they are more focused to develop their life standards.
Sales orientation- Here, companies uses various resources to push the sales volume of
company upward (Adams, Freitas and Fontana, 2019). The main focus of company is to increase
the overall sales. In sales orientation company more focus on promotional activities and did not
listen to customer’s needs and wants. Here, company earn profit margin by increasing sales of
their products and the products quality is ignored. Sometimes to enhance the sale, companies fall
prices with quality and offer the product without awe to customers about the quality degradation
and they just show that they have reduced the prices. This concept is little bit unpopular in
today’s world because today customers are more focused on quality. In context of Ford Motors,
they did not use this orientation because they are working under automobile industry where
quality matters a lot. They are well reputed and famous company that they do not require to fall
their quality to increase their sale. Due to their brand name customer’s first choice is to purchase
these cars which are manufactured by Ford.
Societal Marketing Orientation- This is the concept where companies focus on
improving environment issues with manufacturing and selling their products. It is the same as
CSR concept where companies contribute to do something better for the society. Here also
companies need to provide benefit to environment (Medrano, Cornejo-Cañamares and Olarte-
Pascual, 2020). Today customers respect companies who are concern to provide benefit to
society and environment. In context of Ford Motors, they are introducing a car which is fully
electric. It will work on electricity basis without petrol. Ford Mustang Mach-E SUV is the car
which runs on electricity. This shows that company is focused to save their environment with
hazardous effect of petrol. The societal marketing orientation is little bit unpopular in Ford
Motors right now but it has scope in future.
Market orientation- This is the marketing concept where companies look at the market
and their targeted audience first then any other thing. Companies believe that overall success of
company is depending on customer. Hence they fulfil customer’s needs and wants. Here,
companies conduct production and sales activity after considering how the way which provide
more benefit to customers. They work according to customers demand. Their main aim is to
fulfil customer need because customers are the only ones who help the company to reach at the
top by purchasing their products (Iyer and et. al 2019). Here companies can gain customer

loyalty by fulfilling their needs and wants. The only disadvantage of this orientation is that
sometimes companies have to raise the cost to fulfil customer’s wants and they lack behind in
adopting new and innovative ideas by them self. In context of Ford Motors, they are market
oriented but not fully their functions and other activities takes place after considering both
customers’ needs and wants as well as organisational need and wants.
Conclusion and recommendations
From the above information it is concluded that marketing concepts are important to
identify for which aim the company is working at its priority. It is clear that Ford Motors are
using production orientation and also product orientation in some segments of customers. For
production orientation they reduce the price by manufacturing mass production of cars and
trucks. They target high class people for their product orientation where they provide good
quality in high prices. It is recommended for Ford Motors to use societal oriented concept also as
soon as possible because today most of the customers attracted toward good working company
who is also focused to improve standard of society. They can use this strategy that after
manufacturing a car completely they can plant a tree in the happiness of manufacturing a
product. This strategy is not expensive and also attractive for their buyers. They can enhance the
reputation of their company by doing the same.

References
Books and Journals
Adams, P., Freitas, I.M.B. and Fontana, R., 2019. Strategic orientation, innovation performance
and the moderating influence of marketing management. Journal of Business
Research. 97. pp.129-140.
Arora, A.S. and Sanni, S.A., 2019. Ten years of ‘social media marketing’research in the Journal
of Promotion Management: Research synthesis, emerging themes, and new
directions. Journal of Promotion Management. 25(4). pp.476-499.
Iyer, P. and et. al., 2019. Market orientation, positioning strategy and brand
performance. Industrial Marketing Management. 81. pp.16-29.
Javeda, A., Ullahb, R. and Nawazc, A., 2021. Social Networks, Market Orientation,
Entrepreneurial Orientation and Sustainable Enterprise Development: Study of SMEs in
Developing Economy. Social Networks. 15(3).
Medrano, N., Cornejo-Cañamares, M. and Olarte-Pascual, C., 2020. The impact of marketing
innovation on companies’ environmental orientation. Journal of Business & Industrial
Marketing.
Na, Y.K., Kang, S. and Jeong, H.Y., 2019. The effect of market orientation on performance of
sharing economy business: Focusing on marketing innovation and sustainable
competitive advantage. Sustainability. 11(3). p.729.