Brand Industry Market Audit

Discuss about the Standardization And Adaptation Of the International Marketing.

The report is prepared to discuss about the marketing and management considering the second hand car dealership in Australia named Car City. It is a popular second hand car dealership company located in 591 Carlisle Ave, Minchinbury NSW 2770 in Australia. The topic revolves around the concepts of marketing and how it can help in business flourishing and influence the decisions that will be made to sustain in business. The market audit will help in identifying the industry within which the company operates along with the present and past industry. The market analysis is done with the use of PESTLE framework while the marketing audit will allow for developing a SWOT analysis framework to ensure that the delivery and service systems of Car City, Australia can meet the needs and preferences of the customers. The topic will analyze the different concepts of marketing and management and its impact on the business functioning (carcity.com.au, 2018). The marketing audit will be conducted for determining the characteristics of the markets including the growth, profit, sales and distribution along with the customers in the various market segments. The market analysis is to be done with the analysis of micro and macro environment and even focus on the changes in demographic conditions, socio-cultural and political factors. The audit will include analyze the four marketing mix elements including the product, price, place and promotions while few recommendations shall be provided too for improving the marketing activities of Car City in Australia.

The automotive industry in Australia is one of the major sectors that produce vehicles to deliver mobility and independence for the families and communities all over. One of the major sources of the automotive sector management is the automobiles that are made available at the first hand and second hand dealership companies in Australia. The automotive sector also is central to the economic growth and can enhance the lives of people in Australia (Armstrong et al., 2015). The automotive sector is considered as an important industry where the raw materials including aluminum and steel are turned into high value added products and exported all over the world. This industry also employs more than 400000 people within the workplace and more than 1 million new vehicles are being sold every year. The Australian automotive industry is one of the major leaders in innovation that has invested a huge amount of money in research and development for delivering the best quality cars and at the same time, protects the environment (Akgün, Keskin & Ayar, 2014). The industry has reduced the emissions of harmful gases from the vehicles and even managed to develop future vehicles run by electric to create lesser harmful impact on the environment.

Market Analysis

The industry’s contribution to the economy of Australia is huge and so does the second hand dealership companies, which have sold used cars to many customers and fulfilled their demands and expectations. The annual turnover of the automotive industry in Australia is more than $160 billion. The needs and preferences of the customers in different market segments are different. Few of them cannot afford a new car for a high price, which makes them go for the second hand car option while other people buy the second hand vehicles for working purposes rather than for personal usage most of the times. It is because, they can get a car at lower price and it will be used for various purposes, which can draw a good level of income (Gronroos, 2016). Car City, Australia serves the customers in both Melbourne and Sydney and the wide range of second hand cars available at good condition and reasonable prices make it affordable for the customers and their purchasing behaviors are influenced too. Car City is one of the multi dealers in Australia that sells used cars and due to its convenient location at north east of Melbourne, the customers can get easy access from the Eastern Freeway and look out for the options that can be suitable for them. Sydney is the latest addition to the Car City Group and the company is dedicated to the sales of both private and fleet vehicles. The convenient location helps in providing thousands of cars to choose from and obtain the value from these used cars, thereby gain a significant and friendly car buying experience (Kotler, 2015).

The market analysis will assess the various factors including the political, economic, social, technological, legal, natural, socio-cultural and environmental factors that can affect the Australian automotive industry and create impact on the business functioning of Car City, Australia. The automotive industry is of strategic importance for the growth in economy of Australia. The most important economic factors include the growth, employment, technological aspects and level of innovation that are influenced by the automotive industry in Australia. The environmental factors are kept in mind to ensure the production and delivery of vehicles in a sustainable manner for creating as much as lesser impact on the environment. The global automotive industry is a huge industry consisting of several large brands that compete with each other to increase the market share (Reinecke, 2013). The sector has grown considerably and created enough scopes and opportunities for the growth of economy and welfare of the nation. The large size of the Australian automotive industry has enabled consideration of various forces creating an impact on the automotive industry and due to this; the sales have been affected as well. The focus is shifted towards the fuel efficiency and to create a positive impact on the environment. There was pressure regarding the control of pollution and reduction of carbon footprints to improve the fuel efficiency and sell low emission second hand cars in the market for Car City, Australia (Mariani et al., 2014).  

Political Factors

Various political factors can affect the profitability of the automotive industry and so for the second hand car company. The Government of Australia introduced various laws, rules and regulations to favor the low emission vehicles and thus it should be important for Car City to make low emission vehicles available in large numbers at the garage to attract customers. Due to the growing demands of low emission vehicles in Australia and Government support, Car City needs to make sure that the second hand cars they sell are environment friendly and create lesser pollution to the environment (Baker, 2014). The taxes are different in various countries as well, and with the Government laws and rules, there can be fluctuations. The political factors are understood by shifting the area of manufacturing to the places where the wage related rules are not much strict. The lower cost of labor could also affect the business functioning along with the import laws, which can make Car City, change the prices of the cars and influence the buying behaviors of the consumers too (Moutinho & Vargas-Sanchez, 2018).

The automotive industry was affected largely from the economic crisis. Due to the poor economic conditions, often the customers focused on buying second hand vehicles rather than purchasing new cars, which could be a boon for the second hand car company in Australia. The taxes implemented on the vehicles often contributed to the high priced cars, which created inconvenience for the automotive industry to sell cars. The sales of the second hand cars could increase for Car City and should be quite successful within the developed as well as under-developed markets (Davis¸2013). The developed market experiences higher purchasing power and the lower priced car variants are more demanding. One of the most important economic factors could be the buying power of the customers and for the second hand car companies in Australia; it could be quite beneficial as well. Customers often preferred buying vehicles at lower prices and so they could get the best quality second hand cars that were tested at Car City and then make a purchasing decision. The second hand car company offers fully tested and functional used vehicles that will be easy for the customers to purchase at a reasonable price rather than purchasing an entirely new vehicle (Keller & Kotler, 2016). With higher purchasing power, the sales would increase, furthermore contribute to the growth in economy of the automotive industry and the country as well.

Economical Factors

More than 200 families are employed at Car City complex, which is considered as a major source of income. The individuals are involved with the business operations and even contract to the Car City dealer group. The Car City dealership company has employed a huge number of people in different corners of Australia, which has created a good turnover of more than $ 2.0 billion dollars through the Eastern Regions local economy (Charter, 2017).

The social and cultural factors contribute largely to the market growth and development of the automotive industry in Australia. The car companies introduce new car models by keeping the expectations and demands of customers in mind. The customer’ buying behavior change from time to time and they often may feel the need for low priced cars. In such cases, the second hand car companies could be a better option. The age distribution in different market segments is considered as an important factor to target the consumers. The social trends also change from time to time, which can create enough scopes for the young buyers to purchase vehicles at lower cost from Car City (Kumar & Reinartz, 2018). The older models might not get obsolete and the second hand car companies like Car City could sell those cars to the customers at cheaper prices, which might even enhance the brand name, image and reputation largely. Car City maintains a relaxed and friendly purchasing environment, which creates ease for the individuals to visit the place with their families and share their experiences regarding the purchases of a second hand car. This will not only maintain stable business functioning considering the local culture, but can also benefit the organization to enhance its sales revenue (Wells, 2013).

This one is a huge factor that contributes to the functioning and efficiency within the automotive sector. Technology and innovation are important aspects that can raise the market share of the organization as well as the company will become more innovative with the implementation of newer technologies, the more profit can the company achieve, which will result in increasing the market share too. Huge investments are made for the research and development activities and for making second hand cars available at Car City that produce lesser carbon emissions and harmful gases. There are huge scopes and opportunities for the Australian automotive industry to sustain in the marketplace by bringing technological innovation due o the shifting of customers’ focus towards more fuel-efficient and high mileage vehicles. Thus, the technological factors have played a huge role in influencing the profit level and sales of Car City (Cabigiosu, Zirpoli & Camuffo, 2013). The technological implementations brought enormous changes and improvements within the Australian automotive industry and it is friendly and competitive. It has also created enough scopes and opportunities to browse the website managed by the second hand dealership companies and find out the best quality used cars offered by professional traders for the customers at value for money and competitive prices.  

Being one of the largest car-shopping complex in the southern part of Australia, it is important for Car city to deliver the products keeping in mind the safety of the environment. The company sells good quality second hand cars at value for money prices and at the same time, makes sure to check the transmission and emission level for ensuring that fewer amounts of gases are emitted and lesser environmental impact is created. The vehicles that are lower on emissions and consume less amount of fuel are provided with tax subsidies and are considered as favorable and suitable for meeting the customers’ demands and expectations, as stated by the Australian Government (Wiengarten et al., 2013). The pollutions tests are conducted and have been quite strict, because of which the vehicles have been made available at Car City only after passing through the tests. The environment friendliness is another test conducted by the second hand car company for prioritizing on the pollution control and at the same time, maintain an ecological balance in nature. 
The Government laws, rules and regulations often affect the performance and profitability of the vehicle brands made available at the second hand dealership companies. The vehicles that were being sold in the international markets had been subjected to various laws regarding product safety, passenger safety and quality too. The vehicles were made available after those pass the emission control test, which not only protects the environment but also enhances the safety level (Jackson & Ahuja, 2016). Once the safety level is improved, customers will feel more influenced to purchase the products and the sales revenue will increase as well. The environmental laws, tax laws, etc. could also influence the business functioning for Car City in the international market. The old pollution causing vehicles would be replaced with new fuel efficient and high mileage second hand vehicles that could be available at lower prices, without compromising on its quality for maintaining the safety standards of the drivers and passengers. Thus the legal factors could affect the business functioning also even create positive impacts on the way business function and comply with the laws and rules to maintain safety and quality standards (Diabat, Khodaverdi & Olfat, 2013). 

From the analysis of different market segments, it was found that the needs and preferences of the customers differ from time to time. Few people want low cost second hand vehicles while others want high mileage vehicles to fulfill their needs and requirements. Car City is a shopping hub that boosts of a huge collection of used cars that have passed through various testing phases to ensure maintaining the performance and quality standards. The four principles of marketing are product, price, place and promotions (Ruff, 2015).

Product- The products include the best quality second hand cars that can fulfill the demands of the customers in different market segments comprising of the customers easily. The company negotiates more than 200 cars every week through deliverance of sensational value and there are more than 2000 quality second hand cars from which, the customers can choose from the most suitable one. The products are offered at various locations in Australia including Melbourne and Sydney. The products of the company including BMW 323i E46, Holden Crewman Cross 8 VZ, Hyundai Tucson city, Ford Focus, Holden Barina MY10, Mitsubishi Lancer, Ford Territory, etc. are among the few. The cars are provided with necessary information such as number of kilometers driven and type of car along with the price (MINUTTI?MEZA, 2013). The company also provides servicing of cars and testing of emissions, which can help to deliver the quality second hand cars at reasonable prices considering the quality and performance of the cars too. There are different kinds of cars available including the passenger cars, SUVs, commercial and hybrid cars. The interests of customers top the list of priorities for Car City and his various researches are conducted to collect data on the expectations of customers and deliver the products accordingly to ensure high level of customer satisfaction (Lin, 2015).

Price- The prices of the second hand vehicles offered by Car City are quite competitive and value for money, which easily influences the customers to make purchases from the company. The prices at which the used cars are available at Car City are reasonable and competitive, when compared with the other second hand car dealerships in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Perth or in any other parts in Australia. There is not much costs incurred during the process of production, as the cars are used, so the selling price is also lower. The price range of cars starts from as low as $2500, which can influence the consumer buying behavior easily (Kotabe & Helsen, 2014).

Place- The places where the company has distributed its products are many. Car City is located in the massive 12-acre site north east of Melbourne, which has helped in managing the business operations easily. Sydney is the latest addition to the Car City and due to this, there are thousands of cars to choose from for the people in Australia. The website managed by the company could allow the customers to look at the different types of cars and the prices, thereby creating convenience for them to choose from. The Melbourne location is Ringwood and Sydney location is Minchinbury (Khan, 2014).

Promotions- The promotional approaches are undertaken to increase the sales for Cr City and the advertisements are managed by using radio, televisions, newspapers, yellow pages, billboards and by distributing brochures and leaflets too regarding any discount offers. The advertisements shown on televisions and few ads appear as pop ups while surfing internet websites, clicking on which, the customers would be directed to the company website The involvement of social media can further enhance the brand name and image, attract more customers and influence their buying behaviors too. The cash back offers and additional discounts during certain occasions act as good promotional strategies to gain the trust of customers and make them inclined towards the company products (Jain, 2013).

Figure: SWOT analysis (Jain, 2013)

• It is recommended to improve the marketing and promotional activities for reaching more customers and ensure generating more sales revenue in business
• The involvement of social media is recommended for engaging more customers and enhance brand image through word of mouth promotions
• Car City is recommended to deliver environment friendly and low emissions vehicles for creating lesser impact on the environment and positively influence consumer behaviors
• The second hand car company must bring some collection of new used cars that can attract the customers easily and influence them to make purchases.

Conclusion

The customers wanted good quality cars at reasonable prices and so the second hand car dealership companies like Car City had managed to make a mark within the industry. The automotive industry created huge scopes for the second hand car dealership companies to manage selling of cars, play a major role in improving the economic growth, furthermore foster innovation, and bolster the economic growth. The report provided brief explanation about the market conditions through the use of market audit, which helped in understanding the market scenarios and the customers who were associated with the company. The analysis of market was done to analyze the internal and external environment considering the political, economic, social, cultural, legal and environmental factors contributing to the business. The marketing mix helped to assess the various principles of marketing including the product, price, place and promotion. Lastly, few recommendations were provided to improve the business functioning and derive a good conclusion in the end.

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