Marketing Management And Digital Communication For Ducati Motors

Marketing Management and Digital Communication: Ducati Motors

SWOT

Discuss about the Marketing Management and Digital Communication for Ducati Motors.

The concept of marketing management has been considered as the supporting approach which facilitates the activities and the functionalities which comprises of the distribution of goods and services. On the basis of the conducted research by “Philip Kotler” marketing management is the analysis which involves planning, implementing and controlling of programmers and which are designed and developed so as to bring the desired exchanges with the segmented audience (Hollensen, 2015). The key purpose of all these activities is the attainment and accomplishment of organizational goals. Moreover, the concept of marketing management has been also concerned with the operations which are executed for managing the available resources. These resources are utilized by the business corporation in developing the marketing strategies and plans. These tactics are implemented so as to attain the organizational goals and objectives. The below executed summary has been analyzed from the concept of marketing management, which is carried out for Ducati Motors which is an Italian multinational corporation and is involved in designing and manufacturing motorcycles. The report comprises of the factors which are considered as relevant for the concept of marketing management.

SWOT analysis is a tool that is used to analyze the external and internal factors, which may impact an organization positively or adversely (Sheth & Sisodia, 2015). It includes four major dimensions, such as; strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. The SWOT analysis for Ducati Scrambler is stated below;

Strengths

• Ducati has a strong brand name and presence in Italian market. It is operating its business operations with unique, exclusive and genuine product portfolio.
• The engineering and production team at Ducati is competent and highly skilled that is including several unique features in its superbikes.
• Utilization of advanced and innovative technology is the biggest strength of Ducati. The organization conducts research and development to know about emerging technology in market. After this market research, it redefines the allocation of resources in order to cope with emerging technologies in industry (Foxall, 2014).

Weaknesses

• One of the major weaknesses of Ducati Scrambler is its higher prices. The bikes of this brand are very expensive, which cannot be afforded by each income level people (Dekker et al., 2013).
• Furthermore, this organization is unable to enhance its presence on online and social media.
• The supply chain system of company is very poor and there is less availability of working capital. It is affecting its market coverage and share in Italian industry. Thus, the firm is not able to diversify its product segment.

Opportunities

• Ducati may have various opportunities by introducing Ducati Scrambler. The growing markets all over the world offer a potential for Ducati’s expansion; like the female segment (Meffert, 2013).
• However, the company is installing new and innovative technologies in its products; now it can upgrade the existing features in the bikes by using latest technology.
• Enhanced online and social media presence can provides many opportunities to Ducati, like; it can lengthen the sales points for organization and strengthen its customer base.
• In addition, it can use different resources to acquire the working capital.

Threats

• The increased competition in the industry is the major threat for Ducati. There are many players, which are emerging with the similar bikes.
• Competitors are using new technologies, which are cheaper than technology used by Ducati (Kleinaltenkamp, Plinke & Geiger, 2016).
• Pricing policy of Ducati can pose threat on company, because at such higher prices of bikes, people in the country may prefer to buy cars.

As mentioned above, Ducati Scrambler is facing intense competition from some leading players in the industry (Baker & Saren, 2016). There are so many players in the respective industry, which have significant market coverage through its product offerings. The major players are, such as; Yamaha VMAX, Yamaha R1, Bajaj Kawasaki Ninja, Suzuki Hayabusa etc. One of the biggest competitors is Yamaha XSR700 that is the best featured bike of Yamaha group and based on retro-modern roadster. This bike looks better than Ducati’s bike and has unique features, like; single round headlamp, LED tail lamp, lower vents, tidy tail, side panels, dual-textured seats etc. Thus, the company is confronting immense competition from this firm. By considering this competitive industry, Ducati is attempting to enhance its products with modern technologies (Peñaloza, Toulouse & Visconti, 2013).

The mission statement of the Ducati Scrambler is “to manufacture the bikes with the commitment to providing maximum safety to the people, who drive and go on the Ducati bikes”. The organization considers that riding a bike is one of the most exciting ways to enjoy the road trips, so it aims to provide safety measures in its superbikes (Pasquier & Villeneuve, 2017). It is undertaking an initiative that is aimed at bikers, young people and drivers and it is committing to promote better practices, which must be followed when they are driving their bikes.

Competitor Analysis

However, Luxatic is promoting the Ducati Scrambler bikes effectively, but still company needs to set some marketing objectives to increase its presence in market (Gustavo, 2013). The marketing objectives of the company for next six months are given below;

• To build an organization that provides the customers with the unique products and proving the reliable Italian performance for the population assisting the idea of defiance, freedom etc.
• To increase its customer database by 5%
• Expand the business operations all over the world and enhance its online presence

Moreover, the financial objectives of Ducati Scrambler are stated below;

• As Ducati is introducing its new superbike with unique features, so the company will aim to develop sustainability of its products in target segment (Stacey & Wilson, 2014).
• The company will make efforts to increase its revenues by 5% in first six months and 10% in next six month of product launch.
• The third financial objective of Ducati is to increase its market share by a significant percentage over its major competitors.

Marketing mix is a marketing tool that includes major strategies, which are created and implemented by an organization to promote its new products in the industry (Stacey & Wilson, 2014). The marketing mix for Ducati Scrambler is discussed below;

Ducati is a private organization of Italian origin, which is offering the products with exclusive features and manufacturing the bikes by considering the expectations of customers and trends in market. Ducati Scrambler is more than a bike that provides joy, self-expression and freedom to drivers. There are so many unique features, which are installed in these bikes for riding safely. The company is taking various concrete initiatives to fulfill the needs and expectations of customers and bike lovers (Baker, 2014). In addition, Ducati offers variety of lifestyle products, which contains the logo of Ducati brand.

Ducati is a global brand, which is evaluating various factors before developing its pricing policy. It believes in providing premium and qualitative products by adopting a value added pricing policy (Bejou & Palmer, 2013). The prices of Ducati Scrambler are higher than other players in the industry, but quality and uniqueness of its products attract sport bikers and bike lovers to purchase its products.

Ducati is serving all over the world and bikes are available in many countries. To develop the best distribution channels, the organization has come in strategic alliances with well-established players and dealership schemes. In addition, it has opened its outlets in various cities to increase the availability of Ducati Scrambler.

Ducati has a strong brand image in Italy and other neighbor countries. In the promotion of Ducati Scrambler, the firm believes in describing the value of its brand, so it has initiated its promotional activities with the advertisements and commercials, which proliferate its bikes to maximum benefits (Ryan, 2016). In addition, Ducati has tied with famous celebrities as brand ambassadors. It has sponsored various sports events, like; Manufacturer World Championship.

To bring its new bikes to the market, Ducati will create a marketing communication plan, which will include all the marketing and communication strategies of the company. The organization will increase its presence by using social media networking sites, like; Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Youtube etc. It will be more effective for the company, as people are actively using internet. They will post the pictures of its products along with their specifications on Facebook and Twitter pages. Moreover, Ducati will introduce a promotional campaign for its Ducati Scrambler bike.  It will invest a huge amount on promotional and advertising activities. In the emerging markets, Ducati will circulate its weekly circulars (Ryan, 2016). These activities will assist the organization in attract more customers towards its products.

Mission

For implementing this marketing plan, Ducati Scrambler will develop its specific mission and vision for the products. In order to achieve a considerable market share, the entity will take some specific actions for executing this plan and marketing strategies. It will take many actions to attain its marketing objectives. The following table demonstrates all the actions and processes for the execution of marketing plan.

Activity	Starting date	End Date	Manager	Concerned Department
Forming a new vision and mission for Ducati Scrambler	1/3/2018	–	Board of directors and senior managers	Top Management
Setting the objectives and discussion with other levels of management	4/3/2018	–	Senior managers	Advertising and Marketing Department
Formulations of marketing strategies	1/4/2018	–	Marketing managers	Marketing
Implementation of strategies	1/6/2018	–	Senior executives	Marketing
Implementation of plan	1/8/2018	–	Managers and senior executives	Marketing and finance departments

In order to implement this plan, the company will follow above action plan table and utilize different resources, like; financial resources, human resources and marketing resources. This systematic plan will assist the company’s management in implementing the marketing plan effectively and successfully.

For effective implementation of plan, Ducati will collect the resources and man power, which are needed for the Ducati Scrambler and communicate this marketing plan to the management team and employees. It will assist the employees in understanding the processes and systems under this plan. Ducati will spend a considerable amount on implementation of plan. The company will set some standards and controls for measuring its effectiveness in marketing processes. In controlling and monitoring process, senior management team will oversee all the processes and actions during implementation. Marketing and finance team will be responsible for controlling the expenses and convey about needed modifications in promotional plan. The plan will be reviewed by an expert team on a regular basis. In addition, management team will evaluate the results by looking at the predetermined marketing and financial objectives of Ducati. In control process, management will make a comparison between expected and actual growth of the company. There will be a contingency plan, which will be processed in emergency situations. Thus, implementation and control process will aid Ducati Scrambler in achieving the desired objectives and results from this marketing plan.

Conclusion

In the limelight of the above executed analysis it has been concluded that marketing management is the activity which is conducted by Ducati Motors so as to facilitate the operations which are involved in promoting and making distribution of the products and services to the ultimate consumers. The report comprises of the marketing strategies and objectives which are required to be implemented and attained for accomplishing the pre-determined targets and goals. Moreover, the further analysis has been focused on the marketing mix which is conducted so as to promote the products and services. The last part of the report consists of the action plan in which presentation of the implementation of all the tactics is done.

References

Baker, M. J. (2014). Marketing strategy and management. Palgrave Macmillan.

Baker, M. J., & Saren, M. (Eds.). (2016). Marketing theory: a student text. Sage.

Bejou, D., & Palmer, A. (2013). The future of relationship marketing. Routledge.

Dekker, R., Fleischmann, M., Inderfurth, K., & van Wassenhove, L. N. (Eds.). (2013). Reverse logistics: quantitative models for closed-loop supply chains. Springer Science & Business Media.

Foxall, G. (2014). Strategic Marketing Management (RLE Marketing) (Vol. 3). Routledge.

Gustavo, N. (2013). Marketing management trends in tourism and hospitality industry: Facing the 21st century environment. International Journal of Marketing Studies, 5(3), 13.

Hollensen, S. (2015). Marketing management: A relationship approach. Pearson Education.

Kleinaltenkamp, M., Plinke, W., & Geiger, I. (2016). Business Relationship Management and Marketing. Springer-Verlag Berlin An.

Meffert, H. (2013). Marketing-Management: Analyse—Strategie—Implementierung. Springer-Verlag.

Pasquier, M., & Villeneuve, J. P. (2017). Marketing management and communications in the public sector. Routledge.

Peñaloza, L., Toulouse, N., & Visconti, L. M. (Eds.). (2013). Marketing management: A cultural perspective. Routledge.

Ryan, D. (2016). Understanding digital marketing: marketing strategies for engaging the digital generation. Kogan Page Publishers.

Ryan, D. (2016). Understanding digital marketing: marketing strategies for engaging the digital generation. Kogan Page Publishers.

Sheth, J. N., & Sisodia, R. S. (2015). Does marketing need reform?: Fresh perspectives on the future. Routledge.

Stacey, N., & Wilson, A. (2014). Industrial Marketing Research (RLE Marketing): Management and Technique. Routledge.

Stacey, N., & Wilson, A. (2014). Industrial Marketing Research (RLE Marketing): Management and Technique. Routledge.