Chapter 7 : Business Marketing

Business marketing is the marketing of goods and services to induvidials and organizations for purposes other than personal consumption. Lexus is great in business marketing, if you were ever to go to a Lexus dealership along with their cars once purchased they offer great accessories and service options for your viehcal. They actually are very concered about their drivers so they offer free driving gloves for people that might have arthries, or just to feel comfortable while driving. Marketing via internet has to do with the use of internet to facilitate avtivites between organizations, this process is called Business to business electronic commerce. Lexus offereing online chat has made many consumers very happy by virtually being able to get quotes about their future vehicale, or curious quesiotions about their current car just by chatting with a representative. Lexus has made a facebook page and a twitter account to stay in touch with their customers to tell them about their upcoming promotions.

There are four major categories of business customers

:Producers - includes profit oriented individuals and organizations that use prucahsed good and services to produce other products

:Resellers - includes retail and wholesale business that buy fininshed godos and resell them for a profit

:Governments- include thousands of federal, state, and local buying units.

:Institutions - includes schools, hospitals, colleges and universities, churches, etc.

Chapter 8 :Segmenting and Target Markets

Lexus has its own market that has over 7 cars to offer and each one of them sell very well individually. A market refers to people or organizations with needs or wants and the ability and willingness to buy. When we look for a car we always have specific needs and wants from our car, for example ; we want a specific color, some may want different modified interior, some may want to add additional technology features. Thats exactly what Lexus focuses, they want to fulfil your needs and wants. Every car of theirs comes in 4 different packages, some include everything that a customer can ask for and obviously the price increases with that and some may just want the basic. The best part about Lexus is that even their most basic model of each car has many features that all other companies include only in their highest and most expensive package. A market segment is a subgroup of people or organizations sharing one or more characeristics that cuase them to have a similar product needs. Market segmentation divides into 4 different groups

:Geographic 

:Demographic
:Psychographic
:Behavioral

By having market segmentation its more easier for the seller to understand their cusotmers needs and wants. Geographic relates to countries,nations, states, regions, cities, neighbourhoods. Now that tells something to Lexus, not everyone is preffered to have a Lexus based on where their living. Demographic is about age, gender, sex, family, education, income thats lexus's biggest factor to look at. Not every car is suited for every driver. Not every car is preffered by males/females. Psycographic is about lifestyle, social class, personality. Like Mercedes Benz, BMW, Lexus doesnt have a ego issue based on whos driving their car they've made their car suited for everyone. Behavioural mostly targets user status, usage rate, benefits, occasions, loyalty and attitude. 

Not every product is designed for everybody out there sometimes only certain induviduals and sometimes nobody, this is called target market. Target marketing means that a specific prodcut has been made for specific type of people. The lexus IS250 is not made for everyone not everyone will enjoy the drive like some others do. The is250 was orignally deisnged for teens - into mid twenties, primarily because this was the first Luxury sports car that anyone had to offer back in 2006 and now its killing the charts by almost all the teens purchasing or leasing this specific model.

Chapter 11 : Developing and Managing Products

Developing and manufacturing new products very often can lead the business into two different directions it can either lead to a high revenue as well as bring the popularity of the company to an extent it has never seen or it can bring the company into the biggest lost they've ever experienced which can also cause them to file bankruptcy. Like any other automobile company Lexus releases a whole different model of their previous models cars arent re-done every year which brings excitement to many consumers to see what Lexus has to offer next to them.

The product life cycle defines the stages of the product and its results as time elapses . The picture above is the first IS250 that was originally released in 2006 which made Lexus go global to an extent that Lexus never expected to reach. Just by releasing this model their revenues went up over 36% which the highest grossing amount any automobile company had made over one specific model. Many people had a mind set that Lexus is made older ladies and gentlemen but Lexus proved them wrong by bringing out the sportiness in the most luxurious manor. Till this date the IS250 has been brought out in 3 different models and as times elapses it only gets better. Lexus tried something new this time with their 2014 model is installing the best technology package a car has seen yet. The IS250 was the first car that had built in pandora rear view camera, and a big retina display on their most basic package. This meant that the cheapest IS250 will have majority of the features that the highest package IS250 has to offer. 

Chapter 18 Social Media and Marketing

Social Media has probably ranked up sales by double for many companies out there. Social Media is something that this generation of the world relies on for many various things. We all are addicted and brain washed into constantly checking our, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Emails, Youtube videos and in the end without realizing were also looking at various advertisements related to many different companies we might have not even heard about.

Lexus has been on top of its game when it comes to promoting their vehicles on social media websites/apps. Lexus has been promoting them selves the best on "Youtube" more than any other source of social media. Majority of the videos that we play nowadays have a 20 second advertisement and noticing these ads Lexus has been giving great offers and great detail specifications on many of their models. The Lexus IS250 2014 was promoted mostly through social media. Instagram recently started their own accounted called "Clublexus" its basically a fan based account where they show/advertise their cars with great offering with many locations listed in the description below the video/picture. Facebook has had their log-in page with the cover photo of the new IS250 as well and it was kept for quite sometime. Lexus is also a proud sponser of Suits so every advertisement after suits had a comerical break it always started with  a Lexus advertisement. 

Chapter 10 - Product Concept

In this chapter they talk about the product and its starting point in creating a marketing mix. Products that are not only tangible goods can also be ideas and services. Products are Classified as a business product or a a consumer product. Lexus can be considered a consumer product. As we know Lexus is known for its Luxury and the comfort it brings to us and thats what many of us consumers look for when we want to purchase our next car. Well like any other automobile company they have several models that each has its pros and cons. As people start getting Lexus as their vehicle they continue preferring too associate them selves with Lexus only because of how comfortable and smooth their cars are. Lexus has been planning their future cars fore quite some time, many of their models have already been pre designed and built years prior to their release. By doing that Lexus is only testing out their cars to make sure they are delivering the best to the world out there.

Chapter 17 - Personal Selling and Sales management

                                   

Sales promotion is marketing communications, activities other than advertising, personal selling, and public relations. This basically is a quick way to convince and impress consumers why they should go purchase the product from their shop. What Lexus really does is that they throw in an extra 2,000 miles on a leased car, give some OEM Lexus rugs for the entire car, and if anything O% down 0apr, these are just ways to show consumers that they are ready to give a better deal if you go purchase the item from them this technique is called Consumer Sales Promotion. Lexus is really big on the "Point of purchase promotion" what Point of purchase promotion means is that the firm/company wants to advertise their products in the most effiecnt way, Lexus always advertises their products based upon the customers personal interest. In order for Lexus to compelte the sales process they need to check off their sales cycle.

Chapter 16 - Advertising Public Relations and Sales Promotion

                             

 For any product or service to be noticed in the market it needs to be advertised properly. What advertising really does is that it helps a company sell their product or service in a efficient manor to a targeted consumer. Lexus has promoted all their cars in a such effiecent manor where not every car was advertised the same way. The Lexus IS250 was promoted the most this past year mainly because the 2014 model had a whole different body and it was probably the best body kit that Lexus had to offer in the longest time. As i had mentioned in my previous blogs the IS250 is mostly targeted towards the younger generation, this model has been mostly been shown on MTV, CBS, and USA networks. Even though CBS and USA network is a very diverse channel Lexus mostly advertises during the time period of 8pm till 1am mainly because the very popular shows like Suits, White Collar, Law which mostly the young generation watches at the moment and on top of that all these shows that are mentioned earlier are proudly sponsored by Lexus

Chapter 14 - Marketing Channels And Retailing

What is a marketing channel ? 

A marketing channel is a set of practices or activies necessary to transfer ownership

of goods and to move goods from the point of prodcution to the point of consumption

Roles of the marketing channel in the marketing strategies -

:Links producers to buyers 

:Performs sales, advertising and promotion

:Influences the firms price strategy 

:Affecting product strategy through branding policies, willingness to stock

:Customizes profits, install, maintain, credit.

Lexus has managed to maintain their marketing channel very efficiently.

Lexus has been advertising the 2014 Lexus IS250 a lot more this year
than they ever had for any of their other models. They're not advertising
so much because the car is doing poorly they're infact trying to get consumers
to understand whats so great about this main model, and by that they are giving
great deals on new leases and amazing finance offers.
 Unfortunately Due to high demand Lexus hasn't been able to have a 

good stock on the 2014 model due to high demand. Due to not having that many models in stock Lexus has been giving out free equpitment for the car like 

carpets, and stearing wheel grips.

How do you make a Channel statagy decision ? 

Well to begin with in simple terms what channel stratagy decision really is,

is that its an idea of what is your customer really looking for ?

What Marketing Channel Stratagy decision consists of :

:Who are your potential customers ? 

:What do they buy
:Where do they buy
:How do they buy

:When it comes to Lexus, their customers are very diverse.

All of Lexus'es models are made of all different kinds of people.
:All of lexu'es customers try to stick with lexus and not move on to a different brand.
Many of their customers try out all the different models that Lexus has to offer
:All lexus cars can be purchased at all Lexus dealerships and many certified dealerships for used models.

When shopping for cars all dealerships offer to buy a car at a full price, you are allowed

to finance it, lease it or purchase a used one. 

Chapter 6 : Consumer Decision Making

                 What chapter six really talks about is how important it is to understand your              consumers behavior, and consumer buying decision. As a marketer the most important factor of your job consists of understanding your customer with their wants, their needs, and their desire's. Lexus does a great job in that case with almsot all the cars they have brought to the automobile industry have been a great successs. All cars have a new body, a new interior and a total different interphase every 4 years. Bringing out a totally new design with new a different interphase can only bring two results high sales or a total fail, Lexus has been taking this risk of totally advancing their product to something un-imaginable and its always been a success. Why i state its a risk is because if their car goes a fail it can really hurt their sales due to bad purchase behavior. With the Lexus IS250 2014 lexus has been noticed in a way they have never been before. The exterior body has revolutionized lexus for the most sporty luxury car ever made yet. The two pictures below are the 2 different models IS250 _2013 and IS250_2014 and you can see how different both these models are. 

IS250 - 2013

IS250 - 2014

Developing A Global Vision

             Like every other automobile company their intended goal is to top their sales in their own manufactured country but many other various countries. Lexus being a Japanese model it has reached out to over 70 countries around the world with over 2300 different dealerships Ever since the launch of their model IS250 they have 36% increase in sales which means that they will be opening new stores as times passes by. Last year Lexus has sold over 404,000 cars all around the world. Even though Lexus is a Japanese brand, Australia and America show the highest revenues from all their markets. Lexus has helped many countries economy by many job opportunities based on how many dealership locations they have opened up. Lexus was orignally only manufactured in Japan but now they have multiple operational locations in Brussells, Belgium and Torrance, California.

Chapter 4: The Marketing Environment

         Many people have a mind set that Lexus is one of the most expensive cars out there, to a certain extent I agree with this statement but upto a certain point I completely disagree mainly because Lexus has many different models. The Lexus IS250 is the cheapest car that Lexus has to offer. The MSRP for the IS250 is for $34,000 starting. Many people always question why would I go spend over $34,000 when I can simply pay $25,000 for a Toyota Camery, what people need to understand is that even with the lowest class that Lexus has to offer you are getting the same Luxury bases that all the models carry out. What I love the best about Lexus is that their target market is so diverse. Every model they have is suited for every kind of person. The IS250 is mostly made for young drivers, the ES350 is made for families, The RX350 is made for families with kids, and the famous LS460 is the most upscale vehicle that Lexus has to offer. Lexus will never differentiate their customers based upon what they can afford or how they look like and trying to see if they can be able to afford the car, but instead they see whats best suited for their which is a great thing.

Chapter 3. Ethics and Social Responsibility

When owning a firm or corporation the biggest step to success is to have a good set of morals and having a positive ethical background. The code of ethics is a guideline to help marketing managers and other employees make better decisions. 

Lexus's Code of ethics consists of, 

:Any walk in is a potential customer treat them all the same. 

:To perform the highest quality service and repair at a fair price.

:To care about each customer and treat them the way I would want my family to be treated.

:To Recommend the services and repairs that are necessary to keep our customer's vehicles in safe working order and maintain the vehicle's value.

:To use only original equipment parts or products which equal or exceed those recommended by the vehicle's manufacturer.

:To service and repair the vehicle in the same day, if possible, and to keep the customer informed of any and all changes including completion times.

:To make the customer's vehicle servicing experience as convenient as possible.

:To ensure that my entire staff conducts themselves in a professional manner and understands that our customers are the most important part of the business.

:To always conduct ourselves with honesty and integrity.

Looking at their code of conduct it clearly shows that Lexus has a high set of standards that they want to portray to their customers. Being a company that is considered in the "high-end" their code of conducts doesn't really amuse me I dont feel that they are going out of their way to treat the customers with royalty. 

Chapter 2 : Strategic Planning for Competitive Advantage

In chapter 2 they explain what a SWOT analysis is, and what it really means is that it allows the firms to identify their competitive advantage. Competitive advantage is a set of unique features of a company and its products that are perceived by the target market as significant and superor to those of the competition. SWOT is abbreviated for, strength, weekness, opportunities and target. The three types of competitive advantage there are, are (Cost, product/service differnitiation and niche. The facts listed beow is an analysis of the vehicle Lexus IS250

Strengths

:Extremely prestigious in theluxury segment

:Stylish and dynamic design which reduces modernized drag providing swift drive

:Continuous innovation to achieve maximum power from minimum fuel consumption 

:Strong appearance in racing events which builds good customer connection and high profile networks

Weaknesses

:Limited distribution and service network and spare part avaibility 

:Tough competition means limited market share

Opportunity

:Accommodating and expanding automobile market

:Acquire newer customers by increasing market penetration

Threats

:Percived as a costly brand which can lead to limited exposure to potential customers

:Competition from other big automobile giants 

Competition

:BMW

:Infiniti

:Mercedes Benz

:Audi

Lexus has been living up to their mission statement which was to ensure quality and comforbility with the sleekest design. The Lexus IS250 was initally launched out in 2006. During 2006 competition had begun, the Lexus IS250 was ranked the highest selling car in the automobile industry during that time. Their biggest competitor was BMW with the 3'series. The BMW 328i was the second top selling vehicle after the Lexus IS250. The advantage that Lexus had over BMW was their life long guarantee and their history with their cars. BMW were known to break down after 70 thousand miles where as the LExus had extended life whtere it almost lasted over 150 thousand miles.

The 5 p's
Product : Lexus IS250

Place : Worldwide dealerships all around the world. 

Promotion : Lexus has been offering at home service if their cars have broken down - this was very new and vert successful service thy were offering which no company in 2006 was offering. 

Pricing - The Lexus IS250 has been known to be an expnsive car, but then again you pay for what you get, which is quality service, phenomenal drive, sleek design, one of the most long lasting car in the Luxury genre.