Ford Motor Co

The Product Life Cycle of the Ford F Series
Q1. Explain how Ford's product/service (new car sales) is positioned in the market. Create a positioning statement for the product/service and explain its rationale
Ford’s service is positioned in the market towards capturing truck and SUV sales. While the Mustang is still in production, Ford has ended the Taurus line and is slashing focus on sedans. Focus from here out for Ford will be on SUVs, EVs and trucks. The positioning statement for Ford is thus: The auto market is transitioning away from sedans towards larger vehicles (SUVs and trucks) and towards energy-efficient vehicles such as EVs and hybrids. Ford’s farewell to the Taurus, a much-respected model for many years is emblematic of the shift in directional thinking. The Expedition, Bronco and F-150 will be the new face of the Ford Motor Co. for the years to come.
The rationale for this position is that the market has changed and the demand has moved away from sedans towards bigger and better vehicles. The sports car niche remains, which is why the Mustang is still a popular product, but the SUV market has risen and the EV market is now on the rise. Ford trucks are still among the most popular in the truck market. Ford F-Series trucks trail only Chevrolet and GMC truck sales and still outpace Dodge Ram truck sales (Luft, 2020).
Q2. Discuss techniques of building brand equity. Which brand elements would be most useful in differentiating Ford Motor CO's product/service from competitors? Explain the brand promise of the product/service
Building brand equity is important if a company is going to drive consumer sentiment (Farquhar, 1989). Since brand equity represents the commercial value that a brand possesses, it is crucial that the company pay attention to the brand and how it shapes customer perceptions. The value of the brand is all in the perception of the consumer. Thus, if the company appeals to the consumer’s interests, it will be seen as having a high level of brand equity.
Quality and cost are what matter most to consumers, so the brand elements that would be most useful in differentiating Ford’s products and services from competitors would be its devotion and commitment to quality products. The F-Series truck is widely esteemed as one of the most respectable and dependable trucks on the market. The Mustang is known for being a quality, affordable sports car. The Ford Expedition and Bronco are both long-running models that are seen as having quality. Ford should leverage its history, which is something new brands cannot do. Ford goes back a century. New manufacturers like Tesla are building on hype. Ford can show that it is the real thing with a real history to prove it. The brand promise of Ford is “Go Further” and “Feels Like Family.” It is a promise made in response to people who felt like Ford was skimping in its product quality in recent decades. Ford wants consumers to know that it is with them no matter where they are.
Q3. Explain the Fords’s market classification (leader, challenger, follower, or nicher). Select one and omit the others. If it is not the industry’s market leader, which firm is the leader? Explain its strengths and weaknesses
Ford’s market classification is that of leader; however, that classification is changing as a result of Tesla developing more demand for the once-niche market of the EV. Now Ford is acting like a follower in the EV market by producing the Mustang Mach E, which is an EV version of the Mustang. However, in terms of the truck market and SUV market, Ford is a leader. GMC and Chevrolet rival the F-Series, but the F-Series outsells each on its own.
The strengths of Ford are its ability to leverage its brand across generations. Its brand promise Feels Like Family is a strong one because Fords are automobiles that will stay in families for years. An F-Series owner probably has a dad who owned an F-Series, and his dad probably has a dad who owned an F-Series. There is generational overlap which keeps the brand strong. The weaknesses of the company are that it is not as innovative as other challengers, particularly those in the EV market. Ford will likely need to find ways to catch up here.
Q4. Explain the product’s current life cycle stage (introduction, growth, maturity or decline). Select one stage to discuss and omit the others).
Ford’s major model the F-Series is in the maturity phase of its life cycle. The F-Series is now in its 14th generation and has been in production since 1948. 1948 was its introduction year, when the product was brought to market. Its growth continued and its brand equity soared. For instance, the 12th generation of F-Series was found to be one of the longest-lasting vehicles produced (Weber, 2009). Now the product is in the maturity phase, and though the company has seen other models decline in sales like the Taurus or the Focus or even Mustang before the model was relaunched to great acclaim, the F-Series has remained in steady shape with solid sales year after year compared to other competitors. When decline does set in, Ford will have a major problem on its hands because the Ford F-Series is what makes the company so iconic in the 21st century: it is a model that has been around since the 1940s and it has special value in the eyes of many people.
Thus, the F-Series maintains the maturity stage. Maturity is when the product’s popularity is at its zenith and is neither growing nor declining. Sales have likely reached a plateau and profits are as great as they will be. The company is not likely to improve on sales nor is it likely to see a drop in demand as the brand is strong and the truck market is thriving.
Q5. Is the product classified as a convenience, shopping, specialty, or unsought good? Select one type and omit the others
The Ford F-Series product is classified as specialty since it tailors to a certain demand among consumers—the need to be able to haul materials with a machine. The specialty product classification is one in which the consumer is willing to make a special buying effort (Enis & Roering, 1980). The Ford F-Series is certainly that. A consumer must be willing either to take on a significant load of debt to purchase one or must save up for years in order to make this purchase. It is not a small decision because it is a costly product to buy.
However, as Tienhaara, Ahtiainen and Pouta (2013) point out, consumers buy specialty goods because they perceive them to have special value, and this is where Ford’s lasting brand equity comes into play. The company’s brand is one that appeals to generations of consumers because it has been around for generations and people trust it. It is literally part of families. Thus, people perceive a value in the F-Series that they do not see in other brands that they are not loyal to. A truck by Toyota or by Tesla does not have the same appeal because it has not been around for decades and decades the way the Ford brand has been around. Ford’s specialty product is special because people perceive Ford to be especially long-lasting.
References
Enis, B. M., & Roering, K. J. (1980). Product classification taxonomies: Synthesis and consumer implications. Theoretical developments in marketing, 186-189.
Farquhar, P. H. (1989). Managing brand equity. Marketing research, 1(3).
Luft, A. (2020). GM sold more. Retrieved from https://gmauthority.com/blog/2020/04/gm-sold-more-full-size-trucks-than-ford-ram-in-first-quarter-2020/
Tienhaara, A., Ahtiainen, H., & Pouta, E. (2013). Consumers as Conservers—Could Consumers’ Interest in a Specialty Product Help to Preserve Endangered Finncattle?. Agroecology and sustainable food systems, 37(9), 1017-1039.
Weber, J. (2009). Product Strategy. In Automotive Development Processes (pp. 17-28).
Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg.