Your task is to put yourself in the place of a marketing analyst, and critically assess the marketing mix of ONE product offering from a firm. Choose one of the brands from the list below. The...

Marketing
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Table of contents
Introduction    3
Target Market of Toyota Prius    3
Positioning strategy of Toyota Prius    4
Marketing Mix    5
Product    5
Price    6
Promotion    6
Place    6
Competition    7
Recommendations    7
Conclusion    8
References    10
Introduction
This report mainly explores the marketing mix of Toyota Prius, which is offered by the Toyota Company. The four dimensions of the marketing mix: product, place, promotion, and price are explored. The report also explores how well the company has designed Toyota Prius to ensure that the needs and expectations of the target market are met effectively. In addition, it explores the target market of Toyota Prius and the positioning of the product. The report goes further to give a number of recommendations that can be implemented by the firm in order to improve customer value.
Target Market of Toyota Prius
According to Zeithaml, Bitner & Gremler (2013), a target market refers to the group of consumers in the market that firms directs their marketing efforts. A good marketing strategy ought to spell out the markets which are targeted by the firm. Previous research indicate that all businesses ought to have a clear definition of the markets they target (Kotler & Keller (2006).
Toyota Prius belongs to the lower or the medium passenger car segment. The market for Toyota Prius can be grouped into two major categories: Consumer buyers (Private buyers) and Business buyers (B2B). Business buyers consist of customers who are either buying the car for rental purposes or to be hired by other people or to form part of the company fleet. The costs associated with Prius makes it to appeal to several business buyers. The other target market for Toyota Prius C Hybrid is Generation Y Buyers. This include the people who are well-educated and those who are green-minded. Individuals who have just settled down and those who have just started a family are also targeted by the sellers of the product. A number of people have indicated that about 60% of Generation Y drivers always prefer buying hybrid cars over other kinds of vehicles. The car is targeted at generation Y because of the low costs associated with the operations of the car. The car also has a good reputation for its reliability. Its dynamic and a youthful look also makes it to appeal to the groups that have been mentioned above.
Positioning strategy of Toyota Prius
Positioning can be defined as the place occupied by a given brand in the minds of the customer. It also entails how a specific brand can be differentiated from the products or from the services provided by rivals (Blythe 2009). For the products or the brands to be positioned effectively, firms ought to ensure that they lay much focus on the distinguishing features of the brands they are providing. This entails assessing the given products, evaluating what the given product does and the how the products work. When a brand has attained a strong position in the markets, repositioning it may be very hard. According to Sair (2014), positioning strategies are beneficial because they shape the preferences of consumers. Therefore, they act as a guide for the consumers for the given brands. It is essential to evaluate and to analyze consumer behavior regarding how they perceive the brands offered to them. The right positioning strategy can help in building the correct image of the brand in the consumers’ minds.
Some of the major things which are valued by the customers regarding Prius include high technology, clean operation, affordable price, convenience design, comfort, safety and the environmental friendliness of the car. The positioning strategy of Prius is generally based on the performance of the car, as well as its environmental friendliness. In the minds of the consumers, the product is known to be environmentally friendly, affordable and very easy to service and maintain.
In comparison to the main rivals, Honda Insight and Honda Civic Hybrid, Toyota Prius beats them all in every aspect. Some of the main aspects include the overall performance of the cars, their interior, safety aspects, as well as reliability aspects. However, when it comes to the cost of owning the cars, Toyota Prius is the most expensive of the three of them. Honda Civic hybrid is positioned as a car with a superior fuel economy and with a solid performance. On the other hand, Honda Insight has been positioned as the alternative environmentally friendly car which is alternative to taking the bus.
Marketing Mix
Marketing mix is one of the marketing foundation models (Smith, 2012). Marketing mix can be defined as a set of...