anjalicutek
Anjali Khurana
The Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F) is an American multinational corporation based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford, Lincoln, and Mercury brands, Ford also owns a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK. Ford's former UK subsidiaries Jaguar and Land Rover were sold to Tata Motors of India in March 2008. In 2010 Ford sold Volvo to Geely Automobile.[5] Ford will discontinue the Mercury brand at the end of 2010.
Ford introduced methods for large-scale manufacturing of cars and large-scale management of an industrial workforce using elaborately engineered manufacturing sequences typified by moving assembly lines. Henry Ford's methods came to be known around the world as Fordism by 1914.
Ford is currently the second largest automaker in the U.S. and the fourth-largest in the world based on number of vehicles sold annually, directly behind Volkswagen Group.[6] In 2007, Ford fell from second to third in US annual vehicle sales for the first time in 56 years, behind only General Motors and Toyota. However, Ford occasionally outsells Toyota in shorter periods (most recently, during the summer months of 2009). By the end of 2009, Ford was the third largest automaker in Europe (behind Volkswagen and PSA Peugeot Citroën).[7] Ford is the eighth-ranked overall American-based company in the 2010 Fortune 500 list, based on global revenues in 2009 of $118.3 billion.[8] In 2008, Ford produced 5.532 million automobiles[9] and employed about 213,000 employees at around 90 plants and facilities worldwide. During the automotive crisis, Ford's worldwide unit volume dropped to 4.817 million in 2009. Despite the adverse conditions, Ford ended 2009 with a net profit of $2.7 billion.[10] Starting in 2007, Ford received more initial quality survey awards from J. D. Power and Associates than any other automaker. Five of Ford's vehicles ranked at the top of their categories[11] and fourteen vehicles ranked in the top three.
Promoting Quality
# The Ford Marketing Department could not have been happier with the April 2009 survey findings from the U.S. Global Quality Research System (GQRS). The report, published quarterly, is tabulated by the RDA Group located in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. After years of trailing Honda in quality ratings, the new survey ranked Ford vehicles higher than Honda in initial quality. (Quality was defined by the study as number of "things gone wrong" in the first three months after the car left the dealer's lot.) Ford beat out Honda and tied Toyota in this category. Ford Taurus, Ranger and Mustang received quality ratings at the top of the field. In addition to the overall ratings, the new F-150, Taurus, Fusion, Milan and Edge recorded only one problem for each vehicle in the first three months. This news was immediately turned into consumer radio, television and Internet advertisements.
Consumer Satisfaction and Endorsements
# The GQRS report also found that consumer satisfaction with Ford products improved in the first quarter of 2009. The percentage of improvement was only 2 percent, but it pushed the total satisfaction rate up to 79 percent, tied with Honda and Toyota for top ranking. The Mustang was a standout, topping the list in the sports car category. Newspaper business sections and Internet news links touted the new satisfaction ratings.
While the European branch of the company offers national marketing campaigns, U.S. advertising focuses on regional and topic strategies, according to a study by IBM Corp. Ford opened 2009 with a huge advertising push for the new F-10 pickup truck and with a sweepstakes featuring top-rated country music star Toby Keith. Ford marketing executives targeted country music fans citing their data mining reports that more than 60 percent of individuals purchasing F-10 trucks listen to the musical genre. The slogan "Built Ford Tough" was the theme of the new sweepstakes that concluded March 30, 2009. Fans of both Keith and the F-10 were offered a chance to bring a group of friends to one concert that included a private tour bus and backstage passes to the show. More than 40,000 fans registered in the first week. Additional endorsements are expected to follow throughout the year.
Outreach and Ford Advantage Plan
# Ford's marketing strategy also includes introducing company executives in an attempt to create a bond with the corporations and consumers. Social media efforts, including CEOs who post (and answer) Twitter posts, have expanded exponentially in 2009. By far the largest effort to connect with consumers is the new Ford Advantage Plan that was introduced in March 2009. Following the lead of GM and Hyundai, Ford addresses the global recession and the affect on the car-buying public. The new plan offers $700 of monthly payments, for one year, to anyone losing their job or being laid off after purchasing a new 2009 vehicle. Ford is also planning a new dealer-oriented charity outreach to be introduced in April 2009.
Ford introduced methods for large-scale manufacturing of cars and large-scale management of an industrial workforce using elaborately engineered manufacturing sequences typified by moving assembly lines. Henry Ford's methods came to be known around the world as Fordism by 1914.
Ford is currently the second largest automaker in the U.S. and the fourth-largest in the world based on number of vehicles sold annually, directly behind Volkswagen Group.[6] In 2007, Ford fell from second to third in US annual vehicle sales for the first time in 56 years, behind only General Motors and Toyota. However, Ford occasionally outsells Toyota in shorter periods (most recently, during the summer months of 2009). By the end of 2009, Ford was the third largest automaker in Europe (behind Volkswagen and PSA Peugeot Citroën).[7] Ford is the eighth-ranked overall American-based company in the 2010 Fortune 500 list, based on global revenues in 2009 of $118.3 billion.[8] In 2008, Ford produced 5.532 million automobiles[9] and employed about 213,000 employees at around 90 plants and facilities worldwide. During the automotive crisis, Ford's worldwide unit volume dropped to 4.817 million in 2009. Despite the adverse conditions, Ford ended 2009 with a net profit of $2.7 billion.[10] Starting in 2007, Ford received more initial quality survey awards from J. D. Power and Associates than any other automaker. Five of Ford's vehicles ranked at the top of their categories[11] and fourteen vehicles ranked in the top three.
Promoting Quality
# The Ford Marketing Department could not have been happier with the April 2009 survey findings from the U.S. Global Quality Research System (GQRS). The report, published quarterly, is tabulated by the RDA Group located in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. After years of trailing Honda in quality ratings, the new survey ranked Ford vehicles higher than Honda in initial quality. (Quality was defined by the study as number of "things gone wrong" in the first three months after the car left the dealer's lot.) Ford beat out Honda and tied Toyota in this category. Ford Taurus, Ranger and Mustang received quality ratings at the top of the field. In addition to the overall ratings, the new F-150, Taurus, Fusion, Milan and Edge recorded only one problem for each vehicle in the first three months. This news was immediately turned into consumer radio, television and Internet advertisements.
Consumer Satisfaction and Endorsements
# The GQRS report also found that consumer satisfaction with Ford products improved in the first quarter of 2009. The percentage of improvement was only 2 percent, but it pushed the total satisfaction rate up to 79 percent, tied with Honda and Toyota for top ranking. The Mustang was a standout, topping the list in the sports car category. Newspaper business sections and Internet news links touted the new satisfaction ratings.
While the European branch of the company offers national marketing campaigns, U.S. advertising focuses on regional and topic strategies, according to a study by IBM Corp. Ford opened 2009 with a huge advertising push for the new F-10 pickup truck and with a sweepstakes featuring top-rated country music star Toby Keith. Ford marketing executives targeted country music fans citing their data mining reports that more than 60 percent of individuals purchasing F-10 trucks listen to the musical genre. The slogan "Built Ford Tough" was the theme of the new sweepstakes that concluded March 30, 2009. Fans of both Keith and the F-10 were offered a chance to bring a group of friends to one concert that included a private tour bus and backstage passes to the show. More than 40,000 fans registered in the first week. Additional endorsements are expected to follow throughout the year.
Outreach and Ford Advantage Plan
# Ford's marketing strategy also includes introducing company executives in an attempt to create a bond with the corporations and consumers. Social media efforts, including CEOs who post (and answer) Twitter posts, have expanded exponentially in 2009. By far the largest effort to connect with consumers is the new Ford Advantage Plan that was introduced in March 2009. Following the lead of GM and Hyundai, Ford addresses the global recession and the affect on the car-buying public. The new plan offers $700 of monthly payments, for one year, to anyone losing their job or being laid off after purchasing a new 2009 vehicle. Ford is also planning a new dealer-oriented charity outreach to be introduced in April 2009.