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Introduction and summary of the case
This case study is related to a reputed car manufacturer Tomoko. The case is associated with the Marketing Manager of the company, Mr. Clive Smith. The company is in the planning process of launching its new model by the year 2010. He is faced with the problem of preparing a marketing plan for the new model. The new car is to be named ‘Econocar’ by the company. Tomoko is a Europe-based car manufacturer.
The launch of the new model is different from the usual because the new car is fully based on pollution control standards. The product is supposed to portray economy and low emission as its primary features. “Whilst vehicle engine technology is improving all the time; there are some vehicles that emit excessive pollution due to a variety of factors.” (Vehicle pollution. 2006). So the major issue in front of Clive is to develop better battery technology.
The present battery technology is not sufficient for the company to launch the Econocar by 2010. Another major issue is that the Japanese competitor Gomoco has come up with the idea of the launch of their model, which would be a competitor for Econocar. The model was named by Gomoco as a Green car. This announcement by Gomoco made Clive think deeply. He was confused whether Gomoco had this technology in the beginning or are they going to develop the technology.
Tomoko is still in the thought process of developing such a technology. It is at this time that he comes to know from one of his colleagues Sandeep that the research and development facility of Gomoco is based in India, and Sandeep’s cousin work there. Sandeep said that his cousin is going to leave the job for personal reasons. This instance makes Clive think of a solution, and this case study addresses two key problems based on that. The major motive behind all those is to develop a marketing plan for Econocar. The two key problems of the case study are explained to find the solution.
Clive’s response to Sandeep
In this case, Clive is in a critical situation. He was in the planning stage for the company’s Ecocnocar. He, along with other marketing teams, was confused with the decision of Gomoco. Now Clive is aware of the fact that Sandeep’s cousin Veejay is employed in Gomoco’s R&D plant in India. Clive has a good opportunity to rest in this instance as Veejay is trying to leave Gomoco. When Veejay leaves Gomoco and joins Tomoco, Clive can find proper solutions for the problems the company is facing at present. Veejay will probably be highly aware of the battery system that Gomoco is developing for their Green car. This will help Tomoco to adopt the techniques that Gomoco has adopted. Therefore, by this way, Tomoko will be able to launch the car at the earliest.
Here one possible decision to be taken by Clive is to pay money to Veejay in order to collect information regarding the technology used by Gomoco for their proposed Green car. This decision can badly affect the reputation of the company to a certain extend. It can take the form of bribing a person. As Toronto is one of the best companies in the world, the practice of bribing a person is quite unacceptable. But at the same time, the company can gather very useful resources from Veejay. Therefore Clive should adopt better methods to get Veejay’s knowledge and expertise in battery development. It is clear from the case that Gomoco is a major competitor of Tomoko. In such a case, in order to compete with the Green car of Gomoco, Clive should motivate his team to develop an equally competent Econocar.
So, in this case, one possible solution in front of Clive is to hire Veejay for Tomoko. A usual payment to retrieve valuable information is bribing, and this might badly affect the reputation of the company. Clive should say Sandeep to contact his cousin. He should then arrange for a personal talk with Veejay. During this talk, Clive should make clear to Veejay the reason for asking him to join Tomoko. But it should be noted that Gomoco’s R&D facility is located in India, and Tomoko does not have any such facility back in India. And also another crucial problem is that Veejay is not ready to leave India for the job, and he is planning to start a consultancy individually.
Through the consultancy, he would like to provide his further knowledge for Gomoco’s Green car. Therefore this is the best time for Tomoko to hire Veejay’s expertise. Veejay should be employed by Tomoko on a temporary basis. He should be employed in the company for a fixed period of time, that is, till the company gathers enough information regarding the production of batteries. Veejay should be offered very good remuneration for the information that he provides for the production of Battery for Econocar. The remuneration should be reasonable. But there is a hindrance in this method. Veejay is not ready to go outside the country to join any company.
Therefore it is not possible for Tomoko to employ him in their R&D facility in Europe. Moreover, Tomoko doesn’t have any such facility in India. Therefore, it is difficult for the company to employ him. But it is clear from the case that Veejay is ready to work in India as a consultant. This will make things easier to a certain extend. The company should become a client of Veejay and should offer a better remuneration package for the consultancy work Veejay would render for Tomoko. The next step the company should take is to send the specialized engineers of Tomoco’s R&D arm to India. The engineers will discuss the idea of battery development with Veejay so that they can apply it in Tomoco’s Europe plant. So these are the possible solutions for key problem 1 of the case.
A marketing plan for the launch of the Econocar
The second problem or the requirement of the case is to draft a marketing plan for the proposed Econocar. Econocar is a battery-powered car to be launched by Tomoko by the year 2010. The model will feature a battery-powered engine in order to comply with the pollution standards. The marketing plan for the company can be as follows.
According to the study conducted by Frost and Sullivan, it is found that that the battery market for powering cars will reach a record high by the year 2007. In the present scenario, almost all the nations are striving hard to minimize the adverse effect of harmful emissions. At this stage, it is highly important for all automobile companies to develop an alternative technology for fuel-powered engines. Battery powered engines gain importance at this stage.
Tomoco’s Econocar has to comply with all the emission standards laid down by the statute. The announcement from Gomoco says that they will launch their Green car by 2009. This is a threat to Econocar as Econocar is about to be launched in 2010. In order to overcome this first threat Tomoco should speed up the research and development process. Since the concept of Econocar was introduced in the last month’s Paris Motor Show the general public is awaiting for its launch as early as possible.
At this time since Gomoco has introduced their concept in the Tokyo Motor Show and announced its launch by the year 2009 there are high chances for the company to capture the prospective market of Econocar. So at present Tomoco should hire Veejay as early as possible for gathering the idea of developing the Battery technology. Only when a solution is found for this it can proceed with the production of the car. From Veejay necessary information regarding the features that Gomoco is going to equip in Green car should be learned and Tomoco should develop equally competent features on Econocar. The price factor is should be considered by the company.
The price limit within which Gomoco is going to launch Green car should be considered by Tomoco. The expected price of Econocar should not exceed the expected prices of Green car because the customers mostly prefer economic car. The advertisement campaign of the company should be the next factor to be considered by the company.
The company should plan its advertisement for Econocar to be done in two stages or at two different times. The advertisement of the car should be introduced some days before the actual introduction of the model in the market. An advertisement before introduction of the model will help to generate curiosity in the minds of the prospective customers. When this curiosity is being developed in the minds of the people there will be wider acceptability for the model when it is actually launched.
The advertisement at this stage must not portray the features of the product. Instead it should just introduce the model. The theme of the advertisement should be such that a battery charged new model car will be introduced soon in the market by Tomoco. The specifications are not to be shown in the advertisement.
The second stage of the advertisement is the time when the model is actually launched in the market. The advertisements in this stage should explain the features of the model in detail. The advertisement should convey the reason why the Econocar will be advantageous compared to competing models in the market. The theme of the advertisement is not to arouse the curiosity of people but to educate the people about the model so that they buy it. The next basic thing to be noted by Tomoco is that it should make sufficient availability of accessories and spare parts in the market.
Works cited
Vehicle pollution. Exhaust Watch – vehicle emissions. Westminster City Council. 2006. Web.
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