MERCEDES BENZ- AN OVERVIEW OF BRAND
POSITIONING
Mercedes-Benz is a German automobile
manufacturer, a multinational division of the German manufacturer Daimler AG.
The brand is used for luxury automobiles, buses, coaches, and trucks. The
headquarters of Mercedes-Benz is in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany.
Continuing to provide
the comfort, performance, and safety consumers have come to expect from the
brand, while also offering dramatic styling and innovative new features, it's
no wonder Mercedes-Benz's models continue to captivate.
CURRENT POSITIONING-
Mercedes-Benz targets the market via
Demographic,Socioeconomic and Psychographic segementations.
1. Under Demographics, it looks to target
30-50 years old
with more than 20 “Classes” and young city dwellers(25-40
years old) thanks to some restyled and modern cars (B, A, GLA-Classes).
2. Socioeconomic- Upper
class: can afford the most high end cars (S, SL, CLS-Classes, etc.)Upper middle
class: can afford bottom of the range and midrange models (A, B, SLK-Classes,
etc.)
3. Psychographic-
Succeeder: confidence, stability, strong goal orientation, material comfort;
car choice based on prestige, status symbol, quality.
Current
competitors, POD's and POP's-
The brand currently competes with the likes of
BMW,Audi, Volvo, Ford etc. across global markets.
The competitive frame of references is the market in which a
company, a brand competes. As BMW,Audi,Ford and Mercedes-Benz compete in the
same premium cars market, they have the same competitive frame of references. That
being said, in order to differentiate, they had to define a brand positioning
strategy by identifying the Points of Parity (POPs) and the Points of
Difference (PODs).
In
order to legitimately compete in the high-end cars market, Mercedez Benz must
have associations in common with
their competitors (POPs).
Indeed, to compete between each other and against other premium brands,
Mercedes has to maintain a reputation for the quality of their cars: high
quality build, finishing, design, motorization, etc. Plus they have to be
associated with performance and efficiency; that is why these German giants
take part in prestigious motorsport competitions: Mercedes is currently
involved in Formula One through its racing team Mercedes AMG; BMW is involved
in multiple motorsport competitions such as “Le Mans 24 Hours” and “Dakar
Rally”.
However,
brands needs to develop distinctive attributes
or benefits (PODs),
so as to attract customers and have a competitive advantage over
competitors.Indeed, Mercedes-Benz embodies elegance and precision better than
anybody: the sleek, long lines and the radiator grill integrated into the front
of its cars are some of its brand-defining features that seduce consumers. The
“C-Class” is a perfect example. Safety innovation is another Mercedes’ Point of
Difference: the carmaker pioneered a system able to detect imminent crash
called “Pre-Safe” in 2002, and won a Safety Award in 2007 for 50 years of
automobile safety innovation.
RESULTS OF CURRENT POSITIONING STRATEGY-
Demand
for the flagship luxury S-Class
line has surged 60 percent, and its E-Class
models, CLA-Class Coupe, and GLA-Class
SUV shook up the entry-level luxury market by attracting younger
consumers. The timeless appeal of the Mercedes brand, currently summed up by
its tagline "The best or nothing," is seductive the world over and
appeals to drivers of all ages.
Sales rose 9.5 percent in the U.S. (Mercedes-Benz's largest
market), demand has been revived in Europe, and the brand is closing in on
competitors in China. (Statistics as of 2014).
IMPROVING THE POSITIONING
As previously noted, Mercedes has been on the
receiving end of quite a bit of success with its current brand positioning
strategy. Some would say that the way it has upheld its identity as well as
continue to adapt to modern trends is simply perfect. So how to improve on perfection?
Perhaps a straddling strategy is in order(trying
to satisfy multiple frames of reference) to further heighten its dominance in
the market and differentiate itself from its competitors. Mercedes has mainly
put their money on providing their target market with the feeling of sleekness,
luxury and elegance. It has however delved a bit into safety innovations as
well. However one aspect it has yet to put emphasis on is the 'racer's
intuition'. This is when potential customers look forward to associate their
vehicles with performance, speed and
handling excellence. The irony is that Mercedes takes part in the Formula One
racing series (the biggest automotive competition in the world) but yet does
not correlate such racing attributes with their other product lines. If
Mercedes did decide to enter this segment, they could advertise their new
performance line based on their recent successes in the Formula One series and
capture the youth market aka potential customers driven by the prospect of
adventure (associating high speed with adrenaline rush).
One
major drawback of undertaking such a step would be the diversification of
resources from its original line of products. However, a reputed as well as
rich company such as Daimler should not have much trouble funding a new product
line.
Indeed, continued innovation is also one mantra of Mercedes, and the
brand also owes much of its recent success to continual innovation and its
commitment to debuting new products and services. (Mercedes-Benz plans to roll
out 30 new models by 2020.) Would be interesting to see how many or if any are
advertised as performance driven vehicles.
Another setback could come from the fans of the brands who associate the
brand with safety. Pushing from a mindset of safety, all the way to adrenaline
charged adventure are certainly two ends of the spectrum.
