Ch. 7 - Business Marketing (The Last Post)

Audi has not always been a a profitable company like it is today. During the early 1960's Audi had to form an alliance with Volkwagen due to poor profitability because the world was moving on to 4 stroke engines and Audi was manufacturing cars with 2 stroke engines. Volkwagen provided the 4 stroke engines to Audi cars at that time but eventually stopped. Audi had to find way to save itself so it came up with the Audi 100 which was a huge success and proved to be the resurrection of the Audi Brand.

Now that Audi is at the peak of its success it is partnering up with different companies to further improve its profitability and Brand recognition although everyone in the world can spot an Audi in the traffic. Audi recently partnered up with NXP to further innovate its automobiles. It is basically focused on enhancing the time and speed of its hybrid cars. Other than that Audi is also seen shimmering at different sports events especially the Olympics. Audi has made its business throughout the entire world and is well recognized for the brand that it is. No doubt about it the cars are extremely luxurious and well built. So if you have an Audi than you know that the money was well spent.

Ch. 8 - Segmenting and Targeting Markets

Audi has a specific standard when it comes to building cars and the company makes sure that each and every vehicle is the same when it comes out of the factory, but different steering placement maybe required across different parts of the world, but overall the mechanics are the same. Furthermore Audi basically uses Geographic and Demographic segmentation to dissect it's target market. Under geographic segmentation people living in crowded cities are more likely to buy hatchback but most prefer not to. But keeping such aspects of the market in mind Audi has introduced different innovative ideas. A person living in New York or Lahore, Pakistan (my native country) faces a major issues while driving, which is traffic jams. Audi has provided it's customers that face such issues in their daily lives with Traffic Jam Assist. It acts as an auto pilot when you're caught up in heavy traffic and informs you to take control when the road clears.
Another major concern for all drivers and car owners in the world is parking. Audi has also eased this aspect of driving for the driver by introducing park assist, that let's you park the car easily.

Audi's demographic segmentation shows that the company is more focused towards the younger generation and in the class factor the upper class. So this provides Audi with the incentive to make its cars more and more luxurious and give them a sporty look at the same time. The LED lights represent modernization and appeal to young people as savvy and classy to the people who have taste. Along with all other German brands Audi also falls in the luxurious category in automobiles so it is kind of a responsibility for them to not only provide a car that has the best mechanics but also the perfect interior.

Ch. 11 - Developing and Managing Products

When Audi came up with it's first ever high end muscle car it was basically trying to compete with Lambourghini, by providing the same amount of power and according to the company better control. The customers that were loyal to the company were thrilled when Audi introduced R8 to the public in 2007. After the success of the coupe Audi decided to provide it's customers with a convertible version of the car to attract the customers who prefer convertibles. Since than Audi R8 has been the very popular among the young generation and every year Audi brings some changes in the interior and and the exterior of the car making it more and more desirable to the customers that crave it.

Like all other companies and products Audi did launch prototype of the Audi R8 to a specific group of people. They were to test it out and during one of these tests one of the cars' engine blew up which spread fear amongst the people but to Audi's advantage nobody knew about the car back than so they were able to cover up the story.

Audi has always been trying to appeal to the younger generation in the market and it has succeeded to some extent and the people at Audi are still trying their nest to make cars that will attract the younger generation who have the car purchasing ability towards them.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             

Ch. 12 - Services and Nonprofit Organization Marketing

Audi makes sure that it's customers get the services that the company promises them. Which includes both before and after the purchase. They make sure that each and every make of the car that comes out of the factories is same in almost every part of the world depending on local driving specifications. For example a standard specified Audi Q7 Quattro in the United Kingdom is the same as in Pakistan, although the market in Pakistan for luxury cars such as BMW, Meredes and Audi is very low. But for the customers who do not want the standard model have h ability to customize the car to their own standards. Audi is also coming up with an app that will let it customers (for now) customize their Audi R8, but the options are available online for extended features.

When you buy an Audi you're not only buying a car but you are building a long term relationship with the company, of trust and reliability. The cars are very reliable when it comes to performance because they have undergone a great amount of tests that prove their reliability on the road. They have formed an era of trust between them and the customers and some of the customers that are loyal to the brand will stay loyal to it.

Ch. 10 - Product Concepts

Audi has been making modern automobiles for the entire world for over a decade now. Each and every model has some kind of change or  new piece of technology in it that sets it apart from the previous one and encourages it's buyer to buy it, although there might not be a major change in the exterior of the cars for a the past couple of years except for the LED head lamps but there have been many changes in the interior, and by interior I mean the mechanics and the luxury. Audi has a vast variety of products to choose from. From Coupes to Convertibles to SUVs and better yet it also offers the same products in the first two categories. For example Audi introduced the R8 as a coupe but over the years and demand and competition it launched the R8 Spyder, which is a convertible version of the sports car. Other than that a lot of potential Audi models like A5, RS5 and the TT Roadster also come with a convertible roof tops.

Audi has rapidly earned it's rightful name in the international market and is striving towards progress.Among other competitor brands like BMW and Mercedes, it has also formed it's roots in the international market. It is fairly popular in the Asian market. Following is a report from 2012 that shows that Audi has sold over 90,000 cars in China where in Germany it's below 58,000.

If you pay good money for an automobile like Audi it is sure to last you long, durability in cars now a days is not that great but Audi still gives it's customer the same durability. In my country Pakistan we had a saying that a Japanese car can last a generation, which was true to some extent but extremely exaggerated, anyhow that saying shifted from Japan to German cars, Audi in particular. The new space frame that Audi has introduced in R8 has proved to be the strongest car frame in the market. In the event of an accident the car gets less damaged than the others, hence proves to be durable in the long run. The company provides certified services to it's customers that ensures that the cars are upto the company standards and keep running smoothly and efficiently. 

                     

Ch. 17 - Personal Selling and Sales Management

When it comes to Personal Selling Audi doesn't have to put much effort into it. A company of such stature already has achieved the goal of satisfying its's customers, to some extent though. Audi operates as a dealership and most of the communication between the company and the consumer is done at the dealerships.It is within the power of the dealerships to provide their customers with different deals or discounts to keep them coming back in the future. When it comes to asking the public for their opinion on how to make the company's products better suffice to say that Audi doesn't turn a blind eye. There are people at the official dealerships that do ask for the consumers suggestions but whether they are implemented or not is not sure. The way the company gathers it's information about what the ultimate consumer wants is basically done by what they lack in the previous model or what the competitor brands are making. There are also several reviews on the internet regarding a specific model of Audi from the general public but on third party websites. Audi seems like it knows what direction it is heading but in order to achieve the ultimate consumer satisfaction it needs to consider taking the views of the general public. Given the size of the company the best way to achieve this goal would be to allow the consumers to post on the official site of the company about what changes or enhancements the company needs to make. Not only will it help Audi in expanding it's already gigantic market but will also create a gateway for the consumers to interact with the company which will in turn create a relationship of trust.

Ch. 16 - Advertising, Public Relations and Sales Promotion

I haven't seen may Audi billboards or repeating television commercials but i still see many people buying them and driving them. So how does Audi attract people towards buying it's cars? It's not that people just happen to know about a new model or a certain decrease in price in the existing model or leasing information. Media and internet are the main source of information nowadays and people expect to find everything off of it. The times when people actually went in a showroom to look at a car and find out it's pricing and leasing information are long behind us. Now the only two reasons they make the trip to the showroom is whether to finally buy the car or for a test drive, which you still cannot do on the internet that's why (maybe one day).

So the question still remains how does Audi attract it's customer? We are drawn towards products by their advertisements and how they are represented to us on a screen or on a piece of paper. It's basically a window to that product that eventually forces us to buy it. Audi's target market like all other luxury brands is the upper class that has the affordability to buy it. Like it's cars it keeps it's commercials simple attractive and elegant, because elegance is a magnet that pulls the people that has class and Audi is a classy car in it's own respective field. The Audi commercial i came across seemed like a really decent one. The idea was unique and very different from your regular everyday car commercial.

Now apart from being all classic and elegant Audi is also famous for it's drive and it's control over the vehicles. For those customers who prefer Audi for it's technical aspects rather than luxury. Audi came up with a commercial that features Jason Stathm who plays a role as a transporter in the movie Transporter which also features Audi as his pick up and drop car. It shows the difference between Audi's competitors BMW and Mercedes. In the commercial they elaborate about the progress made over the years showing the two competitor cars and in the end the 2009 Audi A6.