Social, Ethical, and Legal Implications 1

Social, Ethical, and Legal Implications

Social, Ethical, and Legal Implications 2

The Toyota Motor Corporation is most commonly called simply Toyota is a Japanese auto

manufacturer founded by Kiichiro Toyoda. Toyota is one of the largest vehicle manufacturers in

the world with their factories located in six continents. Toyota Motor company’s sales and

productions make them the largest car maker in the world. Toyota also offers financial services

through their own Toyota financial services Division. The automotive industry is extremely

competitive, and Toyota has strong competition from other automakers. Toyota has always had

an advantage over the competition because of their reliability, pricing, safety, customer service,

and fair financial terms.

In 2008 Toyota was impacted by the economic troubles in the United States. Consumers

stopped spending money which effected the Toyota Motor Company greatly. Other divisions of

the Toyota Motor Company like the financial services and the global presence of the company

kept the company running during the economic slowdown. Later in 2008, Toyota recalled almost

4 million vehicles due to acceleration problems in certain Lexus vehicles and Camry Solara’s. A

global recall was issued by the Toyota Motor Company. There were 2 million cars recalled in

North America,600 thousand in Japan, and 1.2 million across Europe. While the cars were being

driven slowly, they would suddenly accelerate on its own. Due to the slow economy, the recalls

on the automobiles, and lawsuits Toyota was in debt in 2009. Toyota requested a 3-billion-dollar

loan from a Japanese bank.

The associated press released an article stating Toyota admitted to engaging in unethical
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behaviorregarding the investigation the safety of their vehicles. It was reported that Toyota

intentionally delayed their safety regulations and purposely avoided defect investigations and

inquiries by the government with safety concerns. Despite the issues the company faced, Toyota

focused on resolving the issues and making their customer safety the priority.The company

identified what caused the acceleration issues in their cars and develop a way to remedy the

issue. The Toyota Motor company was fined 16.37 million dollars by the US government

because they didn’t immediately notify the national highway safety administration about the

automobile defect. Toyota spent a large amount of money to resolve the issues in their vehicles.

Toyota is globally a leader in the automotive industry. The Toyota Motor Corporation should

conduct a detailed quality check on all vehicles in production. A detailed check can save the

company a lot money that’s associated with recalls, and allow them to remain the number one

automotive company in the world.

UNDERSTANDING TARGET MARKETS

Toyota Motor Company is the largest automotive manufacturer in the world, and the eighth

largest company in the world. Toyota is a Japanese brand founded in 1937 by Kiichiro Toyoda.

Toyota’s name is recognized globally, and well respected in the automotive industry. Currently,

there are over 170 countries where Toyota products is sold, and 28 countries that have

manufacturing companies. Toyota products include Lexus automobiles, Toyota automobiles,

Engines, Marine products, Welcab products, accessories and spare parts.

Toyota Motor Company Mission and Vision Statement

Vision Statement, “Toyota will lead the way to the future of mobility, enriching lives around the

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world with the safest and most responsible ways of moving people. Through our commitment to

quality, constant innovation and respect for the planet, we aim to exceed expectations and be

rewarded with a smile. We will meet our challenging goals by engaging the talent and passion of

people, who believe there is always a better way.” (Toyota Global Vision, 2016) Mission

Statement, “Create vehicles that are popular with consumers.” (Toyota mission for

technologies,2013)

Consumer Analysis

Toyota’s brand has expanded globally, and as the mission statement says they created vehicles

that are popular with the consumers. Toyota has a diverse group of customer that all have

different ages, races, incomes, and automobile preferences. Toyota has an automobile to meet the

specific needs and preferences of all their customers. Consumers who are on a budget can choose

from a variety of base model automobiles. Consumers who are looking for luxury vehicles have

a choice of fully loaded automobiles with all the amenities and advance technologies offered in

automobiles today. Toyota also has a large variety of hybrid, compact, electric, fuel efficient, and

eco-friendly vehicles for the environment cautious consumers. Consumers who are looking to

accommodate large families or groups of people can choose from SUV’s, Van’s, Trucks and

family size vehicles. Individuals and companies continue to purchase Toyotas because there are

products to meet all their specific needs.

Consumer Profile

Customers choose Toyota products over other manufactures because there is a wide range of

quality vehicles, and it’s a cheaper alternative to other manufacturers. Segmentation categorizes
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the consumers by their age, income, social class, ethnicity, gender, and family life cycle. The

demographic segmentation, and psychographic segmentation are the two main segmentations the

Toyota company focuses on. In the demographic segmentation, Toyota’s target is the family. The

Middle to upper-class income consumer is who Toyota targets in this segment. The Toyota

Camry, Avalon,4 Runner, and Sequoia are the main vehicles made for the consumer with the

buying power to purchase one of these vehicles. The psychographic segmentation also targets

family, but the lifestyle, social class, and personality are upper class. Toyota has the Lexus

Luxury vehicles for the upper-class consumer.



Current Threats

The Japanese exchange rate rising is a current threat to the Toyota Corporation. The international

markets are where over 48% of Toyotas revenue comes from. Foreign currencies must be

converted to Japanese yen to calculate the revenue, and sent back to Japan. Toyota’s Revenue

and profits depend on the exchange rates fluctuating. Toyota has no control over the currency

exchange rate, so the company is at risk. If the yen rates rise Toyota’s profits will decrease

significantly. This is a threat the company recognizes will be a problem for a few years. Natural

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disasters are another threat Toyota faces. Many of the manufacturing facilities and suppliers of

Toyota products are in Japan, Indonesia, China, and Thailand. Earthquakes and other

natural disasters often affect these countries. Natural disasters have a huge impact that results in

major loss for the company. If the company manufactures in those high-risk countries

the threat will remain.

While researching the Toyota Motor Corporation I gained a lot of insight. I found that Toyota

has had a demographic shift and their customers has transitioned from older baby boomers to

millennials. The older consumers have been loyal to the company for many years. The Toyota

Camry was the most popular car among them. The older customers still purchase Toyota

products. The Toyota Scion and Corolla is commonly purchased among the younger 20

something consumers. Toyotas market is more diverse now than ever before.

There are a series of stages in a new product life cycle. The stages are the new introduction,

growth, maturity, and decline. Each stage in the product life cycle is directly associated with

marketing changes and impacts the marketing strategy, and the marketing mix. The marketing

mix is product, price, distribution, and promotion. The introduction stage is the most important

because it’s when the product is launched. The launch of a new product is risky. The uncertainty

of how the market will receive the product. Characteristics of the introduction stages of the
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product life cycle are, the profits are lower, and the investments are usually high during this

phase, the company targets customers for promotions, and there is little competition. Products

are usually distributed in selective places to see how the customers receive the product during

this phase. Many times, marketers experience some failures during the introduction phase. The

growth phase is next in the product life cycle. The growth phase is important to the product

manufactures because the brand is establishing its position in the market. During the growth

phase, sales and profit margins increase. A challenge during the growth phase is sometimes

manufactures must lower prices to get the increase in sales they desire. A benefit of the growth

stage is the product has more awareness, and there is an increase in sales. The Decline stage

follows the introduction, growth and maturity stages of the product life cycle. The decline stage

happens when the market is saturated, and sales start to decline.

It is important to know how to measure and improve marketing. It is more important to know

which marketing metrics to measure to determine the effectiveness. Metrics help clarify the

number of things produced. For example, to measure sales or cost per customer operational

metrics would be useful. The cost to acquire a new customer is an important key metric to track

in marketing. To determine success or failure of the product ROI (return on investment) is the

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most important way to measure it. The ROI can be calculated by measuring how much revenue

was made from the marketing campaign, expenses related to the marketing campaign, and the

profit margin for every item sold.

A non-print media method used to market my product is local radio station advertising.

Advertising on radio stations effectively targets the market of your choice. Radio station has

different audiences depending on their listening preference. I would advertise on the most

popular stations for every genre of music. Radio messages are effective because the messages are

short, and the listeners are often multitasking. The print media method used to market my

product would be online newspapers and online magazines. Millions of people read new and

magazines online daily. Internet marketing is smart and cost effective.

Three elements of product promotion are direct marketing, public relations, and advertising

execution. Direct Marketing happens when a business reaches out to customers through different

channels such as email, phone calls, mail, flyers and personally. Direct marketing is effective for

consumers who choose to opt in different mailing list, and enjoy receiving direct mail. Public

relations are the way an organization communicates in attempt to build solid relationships with

consumers, the public, stockholders, and organizations. Public relations deals with development,

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public affairs, PR location, and investor relations. Advertising Execution is a technique or the

way advertising is presented or carried out. There are many execution techniques for advertising.

The Comparison execution can directly or indirectly compare the product against the completion.

Price and Channel Strategy

Many companies today target their customers near and far. Companies will sometimes market

directly to the customer, or they use intermediaries to do it for them. Company distribution is a

big competitive advantage for a company. Companies try to reach various markets for an

improved gross margin and larger turnover due to the rising cost. To reach those markets, there

must be proper distribution strategies in order. The three P’s of the marketing mix -Product,

Price, and Promotions are used by companies to decide the distribution strategies. However,

distribution strategies are based on the company, and the level of penetration they hope to

achieve.

Distribution strategies that can be used by companies are intensive distribution, selective

distribution, and exclusive distribution. Intensive distribution strategy is used when the company

needs to cover a lot of ground for a mass market. Selective distribution strategies are needed

when there is a limited amount of markets. Branded companies like Gucci use selective
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distribution strategies. The exclusive distribution strategy is used when a company assigns a

large region to one exclusive distributor. It is an agreement between the retailer and the supplier

to give the retailer the exclusive rights to the product from the supplier. The distribution

strategies used will depend on the different products the company has. One company could have

many product lines and each has their own individual distribution strategy.

Dynamic/Static Pricing Strategies

With Dynamic pricing, a price isn’t set; but will change depending on increases in demand,

market conditions, and the customer. Businesses that provide services such as transportation

business and airlines use this pricing strategy. Prices adjust based on the marketing and demand

conditions. Dynamic pricing is becoming more popular because many internet purchases use a

form of dynamic pricing. With static pricing, all prices are offered to customers at the same

price. Static pricing is good for consumers who don’t want to deal with a price increase and

appreciate a uniform price. The main disadvantage of the static pricing strategies is competitors

can match or undercut the static price.

Daily Pricing, Promotion Pricing, List Pricing

In marketing, a pricing strategy is used to identify the best price for a product. The pricing

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strategy is very important part of the marketing mix. Generating revenue for the company is the

focus of the pricing strategy. Companies use discount prices for product promotion and to

attract new customers. Discounted prices give the product added attention and the buyer might

purchase other items. The daily price is the same as the market price. The market price is the

daily price the item is being sold in the open market. Promotion pricing is lowering the price for

a short period when a new product is being launched, or as a sales incentive for

customers. The list price is the retail price suggested by the manufacturer. Supply and demand is

used to determine the list price for products. The list price is often referred to as the starting

price, and may not be the price the customer pays for the good. For examples, when a customer

is purchasing a home the list price is usually the price to start negotiations for the house.

Positioning Within Channels

Products become good products with good channel strategies. A good channel strategy

makes sure the customer knows the value and benefits of the product. A good channel strategy

also assures the customer has the support they need after they purchase product. Positioning

within channels can be issue sometimes. Marketing and sales pitches are always clear and the

customers don’t always understand your position. It’s important to clearly define your position

with consumers. The price should penetrate the channels as you enter the position in a long
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way.

Marketing Communication and Brand Strategy


Situational Analysis

The vision and mission are terms often confused due to them being used interchangeably. They

are both directly related to the purpose of the business or organization. The vision paints the Big

picture of what the organization hopes to achieve in the future. The mission is a statement

addressing how the organization plans to make the vision a reality. The mission statement is a

clear, detailed statement of exactly what the organization wants. Once the vision and mission are

in order, the strategic objectives should be set. Strategic objectives are important goals set by the

organization to secure the future. The goals can be to improve the volume, improve profits, or

become more stable business. The principles and believes of the organization that dictates their

actions and behavior is the organization’s values.

The SWOT analysis stands for Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. The primary

job of the SWOT analysis is to identify the strengths and weaknesses of an organization. The

strengths are the areas of the organization that operates smoothly and more efficiently than

others. Strengths should be considered from the customers point of view as well as the

businesses point of view. Weaknesses are the areas within the organization that need

improvement. It is just as important to know the strengths and weaknesses of your competitors as

it is your own. Collecting data and primary research are ways to learn the strength’s and

weakness of the competitors. Examples of primary research are surveys, test marketing,

questionnaires, and behavior observations. A good marketing strategy can identify the strengths

and weaknesses of the competitors.

Market segmentation has been done in marketing for many years. It is when potential customers

are divided into segments or groups based on their characteristics. The main goal is to create a

marketing mix that is conducive to the customer’s expectations in the targeted segment. There

isn’t plenty of companies that are large enough to satisfy the needs of the entire market. Most

markets demand need to be divided into segments, and the company that can handle the demand.

There are four market segmentation strategies, and they are based on demographic,

psychographic, behavioral, and geographical differences.


Product, Place/Distribution, Promotion, and Price Strategies

Regardless the type of business, the brand image should be displayed front and center. The

brand image is the color, logo, and infographic style that represents the business. In order to

create the brand image, there should be a solid foundation. The brand image requires serious

creative thoughts. In order to create the brand image, the target audience must be identified first.

The business goals should also be identified. It can sometimes be difficult to maintain the brand

image once it’s been created. Consistency is the key to maintaining brand image. The brand
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image is how the customers see your brand. Customers pay attention to the style, value, and

reputation of the brand. The brand image is not always easy to control because it’s based off the

opinion of the consumers. The brand should stand out and easily be identified when next to the

competition.

A media strategy is a strategy or action plan that helps the organization reach out to their target

audience. The demographic being targeting must be identified when creating the media strategy

for it to be successful. A solid marketing budget should be determined in the media strategy. A

solid budget will help avoid wasting thousands of dollars on unnecessary things. There are many

different types of media strategies. To implement any of the strategies the target audience must

be identified, clear goals and objectives must be set, and they should be measurable and

obtainable. Media strategy can completely change a business.

Executive Summary

Toyota has one of the top marketing programs in the automotive industry. They have used

various marketing strategies to maintain their position a leader in the manufacturing industry. To

remain number one, a marketing brand a plan must be made to monitor and control marketing.

The first step is keeping thorough records of all marketing initiatives such as cost, media used,

return on sales, sales generated, and the responses. The marketing initiatives can be confusing.
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It’s important to understand external factors like the economy may affect the results. Feedback is

one of the easiest ways to track marketing efforts. Since the recalls a few years ago, Toyota has

marketed themselves with quality and safety, and had great success with that marketing program.

For many years, Toyota, has made the great cars and products. The Lexus is Toyotas luxury

vehicle. The Lexus is known for comfort, safety, and luxury. Since the late 90’s JD Power and

associates have ranked Lexus “ The Best Overall Car” in four consumer reports seventeen times.

Toyota has something for everyone and stands by the quality automobiles they market.

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Wrendon, N. (Yea2003r, May 13).Advantages of Dynamic Pricing. DMN NEWS.Retrieved from http://www.dmnews.com/digital-marketing/advantages-of-dynamic-pricing/article/80877/

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Kotler, P.T. & Keller, K.L. (2016). Marketing management (15th ed). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/Prentice Hall.

Blunt, L.  (n.d.).  Houston Chronicle.  Types of Marketing Channels.  Retrieved on January 15, 2017 from http://smallbusiness.chron.com/types-marketing-channels-21627.html

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Lake, L. (2016). Thebalance.com. Retrieved from https://www.thebalance.com/what-is-a-media- strategy-and-how-do- you-create-your-own-2295517

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Ervin & Smith (2013).  Brand Message Strategy.  Ervin and Smith.com.  Retrieved on January 23rd, 2017 from http://ervinandsmith.com/blog/branding/message-strategy-quick-steps-to-finding-a-relevant-idea-you-can-own/

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