As the world becomes more reliant upon technology and innovative products, the marketing industry finds itself in a vulnerable position. For the first time in marketing history, companies can no longer rely on a single marketing communication tool but must merge multiple platforms to work simultaneously. “The coordination and integration of all marketing communication tools, avenues, and sources in a company into a seamless program designed to maximize the impact on customers and other stakeholders” is known as integrated marketing communications (IMC) (Clow & Baack, 2014, p. 6). IMC allows each department within a company to speak with a uniform message to consumers. An integrated marketing plan is what sets ordinary companies apart from extraordinary companies.
Purpose and Value of IMC
Through the establishment of an IMC, a company can maintain a strong voice that it requires in order to ensure consumers hear what it has to pass through (Clow & Baack, 2014, p.18). It helps in building up the value of a particular good a company is presenting in the marketplace (Clow & Baack, 2014, p.18). It also ensures that information regarding the marketing of a product reaches as many people as possible at a given time. In establishing an IMC to a company’s product, the product becomes familiar to the consumers, and its consumption is much likely to increase over time. Various companies have realized the purpose of IMC in the introduction of a new product and have embarked on practicing it for every product they bring to the consumer market. This paper looks at Tesla Motors and the strategies it has put in place in marketing its products.
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Tesla motors
Tesla motor has over the years risen to become a leading world’s company that manufactures and distributes electric vehicle (EV). In its early stages, Tesla Motors was on the verge of shutting down due to its highly-priced merchandise. Its first electronic vehicle (Model S) was very costly, retailing at a price of $100,000 at its initial launch. However, the company did not give in on marketing its Model S product. It conducted media advertisements on almost every media channel in the states. TV stations, newspapers and online blogs were all talking about this new innovative product. It was also the talk on the social media platforms, where both Twitter and Facebook were full of positive tweets and comments respectively. The streets of major towns in the US were filled with billboards and big advertisement screens showcasing the Model S.
The company’s heads also graced various popularly watched TV channels in the states to familiarize the EV with the consumer market. They graced every single motor show and exhibition that they heard of and premiered the Model S there. The aftermath saw the Model S becoming popular in the automotive industry.
The company did not also engage in distributing methods common to giant automobile manufacturers (O’Hara, 2015). Given the nature of its product, the company did away with car dealers. Interested buyers book a car online without having to get to a dealer (O’Hara, 2015). Due to this distribution strategy, the company opened up its own stores worldwide in areas where they had potential customers. This was quite a significant step as it allowed them to interact directly with their consumers to establish customer loyalty. Again, customers were allowed to take a test drive of the car before purchasing it. This was a great deal because it made consumers confident in the product.
Moreover, Tesla Motors is also maintaining its lead over other key competitors in the EV industry. The company ensures that its products are above the rest of their competitors. An excellent instance is when the consumer market was experiencing the “range anxiety.” This is basically how long the EV can stay without being recharged. When fully charged, the Model S provides a 250 miles range drive before recharging (O’Hara, 2015). What this value as O’Hara (2015) points out is twice as much as that offered by its nearest competitor. This makes the Model S a more reliable EV than the rest.
Again, the company added to the invention by introducing superchargers (O’Hara, 2015). These are mainly connectors where their customers can recharge their EVs, especially those traveling long distances. The company offers this charging service for free, and they are located in restaurants, shopping centers, and Wi-Fi hotspot zones. The innovation of these superchargers is a part of Tesla’s Destination Charging Program. In the year 2015, Tesla had 498 stations and 2, 804 chargers (O’Hara, 2015). The installation of these superchargers boosts customer confidence in their EV as they are reassured of a recharge in case their EV powers out.
Another important aspect of Tesla is its sole concentration on manufacturing EVs only. All its other competitors build EVs as a co-brand alongside gasoline cars. This focus on the development of one product enables it to be ahead of its competitors and presents it as a trusted brand in the EV industry.
Due to these strategies adopted by Tesla as a means to exercise IMC, the Model S electric vehicle ended up trading tens of thousands of pieces. Most importantly, though, it presented Tesla as a bona fide supplier of large-scale EVs. The company earned this vast portfolio through relentless marketing strategies that saw the announcement of the Model 3 receive quite a positive response from the public earlier in this year.
To market the new model, the company organized a week-long consumer product launch. This launch had reservations at $1000 a pop. On the day of the launch, the company announced that it had 325,000 reservations for the model. This meant that the company already had $14bn in future sales that had been earned without advertisement or endorsement by any companies (O’Hara, 2015).
In conclusion, it is, therefore, evident that upon establishing an IMC, the company became a brand by itself and its goods tend to market themselves in the long run. This is because it builds up consumer confidence in the products the company offers and earns it a wide marketplace. Many people are informed of the product, and this earns the company a massive following providing an excellent platform for the company’s future products.
References
Clow, K. E., & Baack, D. E. (2014). Integrated advertising, promotion, and marketing communications (6th ed.) . Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc.
O'Hara, M. (2015). Understanding Tesla Motors’ Marketing Strategy. An Investor’s Guide to Tesla Motors. Retrieved from http://marketrealist.com/2015/09/understanding-tesla-motors-marketing-strategy/.
