Introduction
The changes in the factors of production affect the production process of various commodities in the market. The production process of every product is done with a primary aim of maximizing profit in the market. There are several factors that affect the profit formation process in an organization. It is the role of the management of any business to ensure the operations of the enterprise are flexible and efficient in the organization. The management of the business consists of different departments in an organization. Every department in an organization plays a major role in the success of the company. The role of the marketing managers is very significant to the life of the products produced in the organization. Marketing managers ensure the products produced by the company are competitive in the market and preferred by the consumers (Bennett, 2014).The profit maximization process of the different products produced depends on the marketing policies set in place by the marketing managers. They ensure the consumers are well aware of the company's products in the market. The marketing manager carries out different research activities in the market that would help to determine the factors affecting the sale volumes of the products in the market. The marketing managers initiate different promotion activities that would create the product awareness to the consumers. It enables the company to cope with the high level of completion in the market.
The study is primarily aiming to highlight the products produced in the United States of America and sold in the foreign countries. United States of America is one of the largest economies in the world. They manufacture different products that are sold both locally in the United States of America economy and in the foreign countries. Different factors affect the sale of these products both locally and internationally. This study is conducted to determine these factors and help provide a better solution to the sale of the product both locally and internationally. The study compares the internal factors to the external factors that affect the sale of these products in the market. The main objective of the study is to ensure the product results to maximum profits both in the United States and in the foreign countries.
The study identifies the cars produced by the General Motors (GM) Company in the United States as the products for study. General motors are one of the leading automobile companies in the world. They produce cars of different models in the United States. These cars are sold both locally in the United States and internationally in the foreign countries. These cars receive competition both in the local market and the foreign markets (Dunning, 2014).The study is directed to find out the different factors that affect the sale and operations of the cars produced by the General motors industry in the United States of America and in the foreign markets. Cars produced by the general motors face stiff competition both locally and in the international market. As the marketing manager, the main aim of conducting the study is to help reduce the cost of production in the General Motors Company and thus ensure high-profit levels.
Thesis Statement
The government of the United States of America should ensure they provide different subsidies to the General Motors Company to ensure the cars produced by this Company in the United States of America economy compete favorably with the other firms producing same cars in the foreign market. The marketing department of the General Motors should also ensure the cost of producing these cars in the United States is low to ensure the company maximizes the profits both in the local market and in the foreign market.
The product produced by the General Motors are explained in this study using the four utilities of the customer value. The four utilities of the customer value used in this research include form, place, time and possession.
Four utilities of customer value
Customer's satisfaction is the basic concern of the marketing team and this study. The marketing team ensures the product is well accepted by the consumers by satisfying the four utilities of the consumers. This the marketing team does by the help of this research in the following procedure:
Form
The products offered to the customers by the General Motors Company are cars. The marketing team is carrying out this research study to enable General Motors to develop a specific model of cars that is of high quality and that suits the customers taste and demands in the market. The team studies the market to ensure the cars produced by the General Motors satisfy the customer needs in the markets and ensure surplus production of the same cars (Freund, 2013). The ensure the cars from the General Motors company have lower costs, have improved productivity, are easier to install and are highly competitive both in the United States of America and in the foreign market. Therefore, this study enables the marketing team to create utility by transform the needs of the consumers to qualified cars both in the local and foreign markets.
Place
The cars produced by the General Motors Company are sold both in the United States of America and the foreign market. The foreign market in this study is Mexico. The cars are produced in the United States but undergo different processes before they are exported to the Mexico motor market. This research is conducted by the marketing team to ensure the sale of the General Motors cars is very convenient to the customers both in the United States and the Mexican market. The marketing team does this to ensure the consumer's utility for the place is improved significantly in the market. Different self-service facilities have been introduced in the study that will enable the General Motors Company to improve the customer's utility in the market. The marketing team will ensure the availability of the website or forum where the customers can conveniently ask different questions about the cars and also access different models of cars from the General Motors Company (Lutsey, 2012). The website will also enable the customers to purchase different cars from the General Motors both in the United States and in the Mexican foreign market. This enables the various consumers both in the local; market and the foreign market to get answers to different questions and also identify the locations in the specific market where the General Motors cars are available for purchase.
Time
The marketing team is conducting this study to determine the exact team when the consumers need the cars from the General Motors Company. Different statistics are collected by the study to identify the exact period when the cars are most needed by the customers both in the foreign market and in the local market. This will ensure the consumers time utility is sufficiently satisfied by the company. The General motors company has ensured a sufficient and very flexible supply chain that ensures the cars are provided to the market in time. The company has ensured this by investing in different transportation facilities that ensure the convenient transportation of the cars to the consumers. The study has identified the assembling process of the vehicles as the most difficult part in the foreign market. The study has stipulated through the research conducted that this has significantly delayed the process of availing this product to the consumers. The study has therefore introduced a better way of handling the whole process. The General Motors have therefore employed more experts in the foreign market to ensure this is done in a more convenient way and the consumers access the cars in time without delay.
Possession
General Motors provide the consumers with cars that are convenient to use and that produce a high level of performance (Dunning, 2014).The research has identified different materials used in the manufacturing of the cars as a determining factor. The company has therefore ensured the use of strong metals to manufacture cars that provide the customers with high-performance levels. This has enabled the customers to own the cars with a lot of ease. The marketing team has also ensured the leasing of the cars to the various companies and consumers in the foreign and local market. This has improved the possession utility of the consumers in the market.
Products target market.
The target market for the cars produced by the General Motors varies both in the foreign market and the local market. The cars produced and sold in the United States economy, mainly targets the middle-class individuals in the economy. The cars are produced at costs that are affordable to these individuals in the local market. The cars also target the different companies located in the United States that uses vehicles to conduct various transportation activities in the economy (Freund, 2013).The market team has ensured the availability of car leasing procedure to these companies to enable them to develop a good customer relationship with these companies.
The cars are also made to target the different car wholesalers and retailers in the Mexican market. The cars are exported to the Mexican market and also targets the various assembling industries in the foreign market. The marketing team ensures these assembling industries in the Mexican market are provided with the different car spare parts from the General Motors Company. This enables this car to assemble these cars and make them more and easily available to the consumers.
Competition in both the local and foreign market
General Motors Company faces stiff competition from both the local companies producing the same products and the foreign companies. The American economy is blessed with some of the largest car manufacturing companies in the whole world. Companies such as the Ford Motors and the Chrysler Company have made the level of competition for the cars in the United States very stiff. This has made the General Motors to ensure the production of very high-quality vehicles that satisfy the customer demands in the market. The competition that cars from the General motors company faces in the foreign market is much higher. Entry into the foreign market entails different processes that are very demanding and costly in the long run. This makes the cars from the General Motors Company to experience a comparative disadvantage as compared to the comparative advantage that the local car manufacturers in Mexico enjoy. Different tariffs and other regulatory measures are charged on these cars from the General Motors before their entry into the Mexican market. Cars from Mexican companies such as the Mastretta cars are thus cheaper as compared to the cars from the General Motors(Bennett, 2014).International car producing companies such as the Toyota and Chevrolet are also available in the foreign market thus making the competition level to be very high.
The marketing team employs the use of segmentation, targeting and positioning as approaches to market the cars in the foreign market as follows:
Segmentation
The marketing team of the General Motors Company analyses the market and segmentation is done for the cars from the company. Segmentation helps the company identify the new market for the cars. This is to facilitate the selling process of the different cars from the company. The segmentation is thus done based on demographics, lifestyle, culture belief and values. The market is thus broken down on the basis of age, gender, income, education, marital status, residential areas and occupation (Lutz, 2014).Hobbies, recreation modes, culture and beliefs of the consumers is also identified in the process. The cars are therefore produced for different segmentation of the market based on these factors. The marketing team ensure the cars satisfy these needs of the customers. Segmentation, therefore, helps satisfy the customers' needs and preferences both locally and in the foreign markets thus improving the sale of the cars from General Motors Company.
Market targeting
The marketing of the General Motors company ensures the potential and the commercial attractiveness of the segments above are identified in the market (Tuman, 2013). This the study determines by using factors such as market size, difference, money, accessibility and focus on different benefits. The marketing team will ensure that the market is large enough to be segmented. To ensure the segments are large enough. The team will also ensure there are significant differences between the various segments. The team will also ensure that each segment's anticipated profits high to exceed the costs of the additional market plans. Before approving the segments, we will also ensure the segments are accessible enough to the marketing team and that the different segments have the different benefit.
Product positioning
The marketing team uses various variables to illustrate the positioning of the cars in the market. The variables used to explain the market opportunity (Dunning, 2014). The example of segmentation below shows that all the segments have different cars. If there was any segment without cars then it would represent an opportunity in the market for the General Motors cars.
Environmental factors and trends in the foreign market.
Environmentalists have argued severally on the type of fuel used by the vehicles and the harm that they bring to the environment. This has resulted in the introduction of different models of cars that use ethanol instead of gasoline. This has resulted in the reduction in the environmental pollution by these cars. Different consumers have thus preferred this car. The government in the foreign market do not allow the pollution of the environment by the emissions from vehicles. Car manufacturers such as Honda, Toyota and General Motors have therefore implemented the use of highly designed hybrid vehicles that run on electricity. This has enabled the cars from the General motors to compete well with other car manufacturers in the foreign market. This has resulted in the trend of using the electric fitted cars in the Mexican market. The consumers in the Mexican market have preferred more luxurious cars for use. These trends have resulted in the introduction of the emission-free vehicles in the market.
How to develop and execute campaign for the product
The marketing team of the General Motors would ensure the improvement of the output of the cars by conducting a promotion activities both in the United States and in the foreign market. Advertising tools such as social media, magazines and TV stations would be used to pass the message to the consumers. The team will use a marketing mix to ensure the consumers are familiar with the cars (Tuman, 2013).The marketing mix used will include the seven Ps, that is, people, product, price, promotion, place, process and the physical evidence. This will enable the campaign to increase the sale output of the cars to be effective and efficient both locally and in the foreign market.
Ethical marketing considerations in the USA and International market.
Different measures have been put in place by both the government of the United States and the Mexican government. These measures form the ethical standards required in the assembling, manufacturing and sale of the cars in the market. It is required that these companies abide by the revenue laws of the countries and must effectively respond to the tax put to them by the government (Lutz, 2014). The companies are also expected to produce vehicles that minimize environmental pollutions in the two markets. Failure to abide by these policies is considered a violation of the ethical standards and is subject to punishment.
Conclusion
The cars from General Motors Company have experienced stiff competition both locally and in the foreign markets. The General Motors Company can handle the stiff level of competition both in the United States and the foreign market by reducing the cost of production. The marketing team can ensure this is achieved by seeking for various grants from the government of United States to ensure the production cost is significantly reduced. The profit from the sale of these cars will increase enabling the company to introduce new technology in the manufacturing process. This will enable General Motors to introduce the recommended models of cars in the market as a result of the profits. This will make the cars from General Motors very cheap and competitive both in the local and foreign market.
References
Bennett, D. C., & Sharpe, K. E. (2014). Transnational corporations versus the state: The political economy of the Mexican auto industry. Princeton University Press.
Dunning, J. H. (2014). The Globalization of Business (Routledge Revivals): The Challenge of the 1990s. Routledge.
Freund, C., & Oliver, S. (2013). Gains from Harmonizing US and EU Auto Regulations under the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership.
Lutsey, N. (2012). Regulatory and technology lead-time: The case of US automobile greenhouse gas emission standards. Transport Policy, 21, 179-190.
Lutz, C. (2014). The US car colossus and the production of inequality.American Ethnologist, 41(2), 232-245.
Tuman, J. P. (2013). Reshaping the North American automobile industry: restructuring, corporatism and union democracy in Mexico. Routledge.
