The increased globalization requires every firm to have unique strategies to enable the companies to have a competitive advantage. This research focuses on the review of “Global Integration of Brands and New Product Development at General Motors” article. It also looks at some challenges that face the General Motor Company, as it integrates its products and services across the border. The exceptional attributes that a company needs to prioritize for its competitive advantages include a global coordination, global market awareness and competencies, and global orientation (Okpara, 2008). The study also examines methodologies employed to investigate strategic marketing. Also, it outlines approaches that can be employed to improve the marketing techniques of the GM.
General Motors (GM) firm is among the world’s leading auto producers, that manufacture car, and trucks, with renowned brands such as Chevrolet, GMC, Buick, and Cadillac. The strategy of market development is among the company’s most important strategy in international marketing. However, the approach contributes to growth in sales (Czinkota, 2013). Market development means establishing markets for a firm’s products internationally and locally in areas, which GM does not have a presence yet.
Advanced technology: The most efficient way to reach the customer in the current world is not through the use of compound and intricate websites and media sites. Instead, it is by simplifying a client’s decision making through providing what is essential for a customer to know what they want. Research shows that companies with simplified adverts, and focuses on customer’s decision-making process have an assurance to sell off up to 86%. The GM utilizes the approach of efficient advertising. The popularity of GM products is due to GM’s intuitiveness in advertisements approach. GM’s advertisement increase accessibility of its products to all clients worldwide. Although GM embraces digital marketing on the social media platforms that include Facebook and Twitter, it faces a major challenge from its competitors such as Ford Company and Toyota. It is evident that the company fails to give an opportunity for customers to display their ratings and reviews on their timeline pages. This hinders its customers to understand their needs, since the company does not provide the customer with the required information about the product, which is relevant, the decision-making process. Failure to provide the customer with transparent information hinders the customer from making an informed purchase decision.
Strategic management issues: After facing bankruptcy, the company diverted into selling sports utility vehicles, which were huge and gas guzzlers. This transition compromised the safety and economy, since GM could not orchestrate with the firm’s marketing policy (Hitt, 2015). On the contrary, its competitors such as Toyota were focusing on more productive approaches such as atmosphere and financed hybrid development.
Another challenge facing the company is that, people acknowledges Toyota as a green company. Others including GM and its brands are not considered environmentally friendly. Most of GM holdings such as Buick, Pontiac, Chevy, Saturn, and Saab lack uniform marketing strategies. Therefore, the few members of the purchasing public understand the GM’s point of sale, and where it differentiates itself from. On the contrary, its competitors such as Porsche, Mazda, Nissan, Honda, BMW, and Toyota have a distinctive brand image making their marketing strategies easier, and with less competition.
Since GM lost its track, it currently focuses on improving its marketing strategies to enable it to fit in the current globalization. International branding may be the most enthusiastically noticeable outcome of company. International branding is the aspect with which a company depicts an image to a more varied client base. The instituting of international brands is also perceived as means to conquer competitive trends, by both universal and local entrants alike, chiefly in emerging markets. For instance, Chevy is projected to be the GM worth brand all over the world. Chevrolet brand is available in approximately seventy markets globally.
Other strategies aimed to improve the GM strategic marketing include:
- Improved technology: Due to the increasingly advanced technology, standardization, and adaptation approaches allows the companies to meet the popular technology used to market its products.
- Competition: Increased competition in the fact reduces the preferences of a product. Adoption of the approaches will make the company’s products unique; thus, increasing the preference.
- Normalization of cultural tastes and preferences: homogenization of products worldwide reduces its preference and taste. Standardization and adoption approaches would increase the preference of the products.
- Marketing tools: Marketing tools used in foreign markets are advanced and differs from one market to another. Standardization and adoption approach by GM Company help the company to use the trendy tools in marketing their products.
- Cultural differences: It has been confirmed that increased cultures in foreign markets hinder the distribution of products. Adaptation helps the company to cope with such challenges and language barriers.
The above-stated approaches help GM Company to achieve its objectives through;
- Selling their product at favorable and affordable prices that meet all clients’ needs
- Helping the company to modify products that are designed differently for different regions
- Allows the company design new products, of high quality for international markets.
- Integrating all market variations into one stretchy product design and introducing an international product
- The approaches increase the credibility between the buyers and sellers as they allow the company to supply goods to that meets established standards at affordable prices. This allows the company’s vehicles to be purchased quickly, and this increases the company’s profits.
References
Hitt, M. A., Ireland, R. D., & Hoskisson, R. E. (2015). Strategic management: Competitiveness & globalization : concepts & cases. Stamford, Conn: Cengage Learning.
Janell D. Townsend, S. Tamer Cavusgil, and Marietta L. Baba Global Integration of Brands and New Product Development at General Motors https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-5885.2009.00699.x
Okpara, J. O. (2008). Globalization of business: Theories and strategies for tomorrow’s managers. London: Adonis & Abbey