Integrated Communications and Measures Plan

Integrated Communications and Measures Plan

Name:

Institution:

Integrated Communications and Measures Plan

Tesla Motors designs, manufactures, and sells electric vehicles, primarily the Model S. By the end of 2014, the company had sold more than 50, 000 vehicles. It also deals with the selling of advanced electric vehicle powertrain components, systems for stationary energy storage. The business prides itself on the fact that its cars combine functionality and luxury, and they have zero carbon emissions (Bloomberg Business, 2015). The current target markets for the vehicles are the wealthy, upper middle class, and environmental enthusiasts. This is based on how the company determines the selling price for its products as well as on the fact that the business has chosen to focus on the manufacture of electric and hybrid vehicles. The business sells its products directly to the customer through its showrooms. Customers can also buy products from the company through its website and other online retail channels.

The company has several strengths, which it can continue to utilize, especially in its promotional campaigns. Its focus on electric vehicles makes it a target for environmental enthusiasts. The company has a good safety record. This makes it appealing as some of the car companies recall their cars due to malfunctions. The company aims to make the mass production of electric vehicles a reality. One of the obstacles preventing this is the cost of manufacturing such vehicles. However, as the company continues in its innovation of different products, systems, and methods, such costs will come down. Another threat facing the company is the fact that many car companies are now developing electric and hybrid vehicles. Some of these car companies have been in the market for a long time, and they have managed to build a strong brand. Therefore, Tesla has to use different pull strategies in its promotional efforts to ensure that it attracts as many people as possible.

Promotion Mix

Push strategies focus on the channels of distribution and ensuring that the product offering is in the channel. Pull strategies, on the other hand, aims at stimulating the product demand to the users. The company can benefit from different promotional strategies. Some of the methods that the company could use include advertising, personal selling, and public relations. Advertising is an effective form of pull strategies because it will focus on the communicating the benefits of the products to the consumers. The company can concentrate on the fact that the business has chosen to manufacture a product that considers its environmental impact. Advertising has more choices and options regarding the media and channels to use. It can reach a large number of people at any given time. It also enables the marketer to be creative in delivery. Personal selling is effective in persuading the consumers. This form of promotion allows the sales person to communicate with the customers directly. This has several advantages. The customer can ask any question concerning the product for the sake of clarity, the sales person can show the client the benefits of the products, and it is easier to convince the customer using this approach. Public relations are important especially in ensuring that the company reaches a large audience in its communication campaign. It is especially effective for the business because the customers will associate the product with high-quality media channels. This enhances the company and the brand.

Product Future AIDA

The AIDA model comprises of four components or stages, which include attention, interests, desire, and action. The stages are developed because customers usually pass through the purchasing decision in three steps, which include cognitive, affective, and behavioral. The attention stage is cognitive, as people get to learn about the product. The interest and desire stages are affective, as they involve feelings. The action stage is behavioral, as it requires the customer to take explicit actions. The identified methods of promotion focus on different areas. All of them have various levels of effectiveness based on the particular stages. Advertising and public relations are most suitable for the attention and interest stages. The desire stage would benefit more from personal selling and direct and interactive marketing. Personal selling is also appropriate for the action phase.

Costs

PR costs are relatively low as compared to other forms of promotions. However, they do depend on the media and channels used. PR is cheap because it is an unpaid form of promotion. Advertising costs depend on the media used. Television adverts are more expensive than other media channels used. Other media used will include newspapers, radio, and magazines. It is not necessary to use all the media channels available. The adverts will be featured in sports magazines and televisions. The cost of adverting will also depend on the advertising agency used. American companies spend much money in advertising. For instance, companies such as General Motors and Procter & Gamble spend about $4billion annually in different promotions. Tesla can dedicate the advertisements costs based on the percentage of revenues. This will ensure that the company does not overspend. It will also ensure accountability and determine the type of advertisements that is best suited for the business. The cost for personal selling will depend on the company. If the company dedicates 10% of its revenues on promotional efforts, about 5% of that could go towards personal selling, 4% to advertising, and 1% to PR. Personal selling is effective but expensive. PR is free in most cases. However, the company can have other costs trying to convince journalists to cover their brands.

Key Performance Indicators

The company’s goal is to speed up the innovation of sustainable transport by enabling the mass-market purchase of electric cars. Therefore, the performance indicators will focus on the generated revenues of the company. The company’s income statement reports revenue of 3.7billion and a quarterly revenue growth of 24.10% (Yahoo, 2015). The company is also focused on the safety of its customers. Therefore, customer reviews and the accidents reported about the vehicle will provide another way of knowing the business’s performance. The company has a good safety record compared to other types of vehicles on the roads. The company has reported an average of one fire for every 6333cars on the road. This compares to one fire for every 1350 cars for gasoline vehicles (Musk, 2013). Measuring the responses and feedback from the customers will indicate how the company is performing based on customers’ standards.

The return on investment for the period 2013-2014 registered was at 95%. The benefits that arose from the sale of the car in comparison to the cost used in its development fetched the ROI in greater value. The proportion of revenue brought by the sale of Tesla Car was at 0.7% (Peckham, 2013). The number of units sold in the financial year implemented the customer satisfaction through exhibitions and awareness programs put in place by the company. It generated the key performance indicator according to the first principle for the business on customer inquiries. Innovation and feature development was the second highest scorer on Tesla Company’s performance indicators. According to the proportion of revenue brought by each of the units sold according to featured models, the sales increased forthwith. The Tesla Car model with enhanced features and extended options had surpassed the expected value through innovation requirements from customers. The company’s incorporation of the next generation kind with a shortened version of platform model was requisite for the increased sales. According to Peckham (2013), it delivered on the minimal environmental burden as well as the development of eco-friendly prevalence and use of the latest technology.

The sale of the company’s own vehicles through its owned showrooms and online availabilities will provide the impetus as the cost is lesser as opposed to targeting of the affluent buyers and use of high-end productions (Peckham, 2013). The pricing strategy is set to appeal to more consumers, as it is pocket-friendly with the automotive technology in place. The target is emulation of typical product life cycle with the technological availability into more competitive markets with lower points for prices. The developed drivetrain technology and battery life extension is sure to reap the dividends of the new Tesla car model. In addition, with the restrictive measures of taxes, the increase of sales is guaranteed with increased market opportunities within the United States and beyond.

References

Bloomberg Business. (2015). Tesla Motors Inc. Retrieved from http://www.bloomberg.com/research/stocks/snapshot/snapshot_article.asp?ticker=TSLA

Morning Star Financials. (2015). Tesla Motors Inc. Morningstar. Retrieved from http://financials.morningstar.com/ratios/r.html?t=TSLA

Musk, E. (2013). The mission of Tesla. Retrieved from http://www.teslamotors.com/blog/mission-tesla

Peckham, M. (2013). Lessons learnt from Tesla Motors – New York Times Dustup. Techland, 1, 1-3.

Yahoo (2015). Tesla Motors, Inc.: Key statistics. Retrieved from http://finance.yahoo.com/q/ks?s=tsla+key+statistics