Abstract
Three main issues have to be analyzed when defining a marketing strategy in the time of digital transformation. The first one is the consumers’ desires, which are increasing to such an extent that they might be described as “unreasonable expectations”. If consumers want a quote for a built-to-order car, they expect fast responses even for the most personalised, specific requests. On-board instruments have been improved: voice-activated functions, artificial intelligence, and augmented reality. The problem lies in understanding, during the design stage, which technology actually brings value for the client. The second issue to analyze is the competitive environment. The digital revolution redefines the competition between companies and the relationships between companies in various ways, and competition occurs less within individual industries and more between different industries (Google, Apple, Amazon, Uber, Lyft, Didi). Moreover, some companies compete among themselves in certain areas, but are partners in others (co-opetition). The third issue deals with understanding how digital marketing fits into the company’s business model and how and what changes are needed in the processes. Big data must be managed; the nature of competitive advantages can change; new value propositions have to be offered; and the need of new organizational structures and culture increases. Under the pressure of the digital transformation, established carmakers must make broad adjustments to marketing strategies. They must defend “old” business segments and open new ones. The key questions are: How is selling mobility services different to selling vehicles? and “A new machine will change the world again”?
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Notes
- 1.
“Select”. The client does not acquire possession of a specific vehicle, but rather the right to use, one after the other, up to three types of second-hand but recently built vehicles: a convertible for the summer, a spacious car for specific needs, and a sedan for long trips. “Shared Fleet”. It is offered to companies that have vehicle fleets for employees. Through a booking portal, employees can use the company car for private trips outside of working hours. Vehicle usage thereby increases and the company offers employees a mobility alternative.
- 2.
According to Porter, the most significant effect of the internet concerns buyers’ bargaining power. Increased buyer power is important both for B2Cs and for B2Bs. B2Cs have a greater capacity to compare prices and assess products before buying. For B2Bs, the effect is even more pronounced, both in terms of the force of direct contacts and online auctions. The overall effect is driving down prices, especially for high volume-low price products.
- 3.
Rogers (2016) distinguishes between symmetric competition and asymmetric competition. Symmetric competitors offer clients similar value propositions. For example, BMW, Daimler, and other manufacturers have different brands, address different drivers, but their private vehicle ownership or leasing offers have similar characteristics. Symmetric competitors create value for the client with the same business model. They can be volume or premium manufacturers, small- or large-sized, but they all have supply chains, production plants, and dealership networks.
Asymmetric competitors are very different. They offer similar value propositions to clients (i.e., mobility), but their business models are different. For a manufacturer like BMW, Rogers observes, an asymmetric competitor could be a ride-sharing service like Uber, because customers buy fewer cars since Uber satisfies their transport requirements.
- 4.
“We have to increase speed in our innovation and become very customer-centric from the beginning” said Robert Bosch, CFO of Straub. “It’s not just about buying startups, but having cooperation”, said Straub. “We co-develop, we have R&D contracts, and often we are mentors.” We look at everything from ideation to scaling of the business. Teams are encouraged to experiment with ideas and not be afraid to fail or pivot. We want them to learn how to fail early and do it with very little money. Bosch is also turning outward—partnering with startups, established companies and universities through hackathons and accelerators to develop new products and tap into emerging technologies. Source: “Bosch fosters a startup culture”, Automotive News, 31 July 2018.
- 5.
“We have to talk about a new structure of partners and suppliers,” said Sajjad Khan, vice president for digital vehicle and mobility at Daimler. “Nowadays, we have to handle agile startups, small software-driven companies or even individuals with innovative ideas.” “Daimler looks to startups, small suppliers for innovative ideas”. Source: Automotive News, 3 January 2017.
- 6.
“PSA exec outlines risks and rewards from leap into mobility services”. Global Monthly, September 2017.
References
Beer M, Nohria N (2000) Cracking the code of change. HBR’s 10 must reads on change. 78(3):133–141
Chaffey D, Chadwick E (2016) Digital marketing. Strategy, implementation and practice. Pearson
Dodson I (2016) The art of digital marketing. Wiley
Foster R (1986) Innovation: the attacker’s advantage. McKinsey & Co.
Foster R, Kaplan S (2011) Creative destruction: why companies that are built to last underperform the market - and how to successfully transform them. Crown Business
Jansson J, Andervin M (2018) Leading digital transformation. DigJourney Publishing
Kotler P, Kartayama H, Setiawan I (2017) Marketing 4.0. Moving from traditional to digital. Wiley
Leal-Millán A, Roldán JL, Leal-Rodríguez AL, Ortega-Gutiérrez J (2016) IT and relationship learning in networks as drivers of green innovation and customer capital: evidence from the automobile sector. Journal of Knowledge Management 20(3):444–464
McGrath RG (2013) The end of competitive advantage. Harvard Business School Press
Porter ME (2001) Strategy and the internet. Harvard Bus Rev 62–78
Porter ME, Heppelmann JE (2014) How smart, connected products are transforming competition. Harvard Bus Rev 92(11):64–88
Perkin N, Abraham P (2017) Building the agile business through digital transformation. Kogan Page Publishers
Rogers DL (2016) The digital transformation playbook. Columbia Business School
Ryan D (2015) Understanding digital marketing: marketing strategies for engaging the digital generation. Kogan Page
Simoudis E (2017) The big data opportunity in our driverless future. Corporate Innovators
Trout J (2008) Differentiate or die. Survival in our era of killer competition. Wiley
Venkatraman V (2017) The digital matrix. New rules for business transformation through technology. LifeThree Media
Winkelhake U (2017) The digital transformation of the automotive industry. Springer
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2019 Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Candelo, E. (2019). Towards the 2030s: Unusual Times Call for Unusual Strategies. In: Marketing Innovations in the Automotive Industry . International Series in Advanced Management Studies. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-15999-3_19
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-15999-3_19
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-15998-6
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-15999-3
eBook Packages: Business and ManagementBusiness and Management (R0)