Middle-market squeeze and market fragmentation: With so-called luxury brands (like Audi, BMW and Mercedes) moving down-market and low-cost manufacturers (like Kia) going up market, traditional mid-priced brands (like Ford and Mercury) are feeling the heat.
Nameplate choice in the U.S. almost doubled from 1994 to 2004 (from 233 to 438) and that extra competition puts pressure on prices and creates brand complexity (it's hard to gain and hold identity), As a result, the ''consumer perception of what differentiates brands will be less dependent on price.''
So Ford will ''leverage or cachet of brands (e.g. Volvo safety, Aston Martin prestige, and Ford family heritage) to differentiate Ford products from the competition.''
To help develop ''clear, consistent and distinct product offerings that build on each brand's strengths and heritage,'' the firm is going to ''co-brand with relevant products and services to enhance the identity of each Ford Motor Company brand.''
Make it Mine/Mass customization: Apparently, about half of all Millennials are willing to pay 20 percent more for a product or service customized to their specifications (only 42 percent of Gen Xers and 35 percent of Boomers feel the same), so we can expect Ford and other firms to start making it easier to customize a car.
This is a considerable departure from current thinking and will require significant changes to every aspect of the car design and buying process, so this could be the most far-reaching trend if Ford figures out how to make it work. Efforts by Volvo and other companies to get North Americans to pre-order their vehicles so they could customize them were not successful.
Youth influence: The Millennials are also quicker to make judgments about brands (for good or ill), and they are more likely to be global opinions than ever before. So Ford will be anxious to get on the good side of consumers at an early age now, by providing ''products, aftermarket services, financing options, and marketing messages that are customizable, connected and have authentic personality to fit their world.''
If the need to attract the tattoo generation to Ford products for their own sake wasn't enough, being relevant to this demographic group can have a ''halo'' effect on becoming relevant to other generations.
Nanotechnology: At the moment, the ''science of the small'' mostly has engineering and manufacturing influences on Ford, but the company is also looking at how it can help with scratch-resistant paints, cup-holders that absorb or produce heat, and control suspension and exhaust systems.
Green action: Protecting the environment is one of those ideals that almost everyone supports in principle, but few support in larger payments. Ford intends to get ever-deeper on the good side of this issue with cleaner products, ''which are otherwise equal to or more compelling than our competition.''
This the company plans to do by ''promoting the benefits to the consumer, rather than just the benefits to the environment.''
Safety and security: Ford lost its chance to stay competitive in this segment when it abandoned its plans for onboard crash notification (as made famous by OnStar) a few years ago. But it plans to ''look beyond traditional automotive safety features to provide consumers a sense of security while driving'' (whatever that means), and ''arming them with handy tips on what to do should a safety concern while driving.''
Nameplate choice in the U.S. almost doubled from 1994 to 2004 (from 233 to 438) and that extra competition puts pressure on prices and creates brand complexity (it's hard to gain and hold identity), As a result, the ''consumer perception of what differentiates brands will be less dependent on price.''
So Ford will ''leverage or cachet of brands (e.g. Volvo safety, Aston Martin prestige, and Ford family heritage) to differentiate Ford products from the competition.''
To help develop ''clear, consistent and distinct product offerings that build on each brand's strengths and heritage,'' the firm is going to ''co-brand with relevant products and services to enhance the identity of each Ford Motor Company brand.''
Make it Mine/Mass customization: Apparently, about half of all Millennials are willing to pay 20 percent more for a product or service customized to their specifications (only 42 percent of Gen Xers and 35 percent of Boomers feel the same), so we can expect Ford and other firms to start making it easier to customize a car.
This is a considerable departure from current thinking and will require significant changes to every aspect of the car design and buying process, so this could be the most far-reaching trend if Ford figures out how to make it work. Efforts by Volvo and other companies to get North Americans to pre-order their vehicles so they could customize them were not successful.
Youth influence: The Millennials are also quicker to make judgments about brands (for good or ill), and they are more likely to be global opinions than ever before. So Ford will be anxious to get on the good side of consumers at an early age now, by providing ''products, aftermarket services, financing options, and marketing messages that are customizable, connected and have authentic personality to fit their world.''
If the need to attract the tattoo generation to Ford products for their own sake wasn't enough, being relevant to this demographic group can have a ''halo'' effect on becoming relevant to other generations.
Nanotechnology: At the moment, the ''science of the small'' mostly has engineering and manufacturing influences on Ford, but the company is also looking at how it can help with scratch-resistant paints, cup-holders that absorb or produce heat, and control suspension and exhaust systems.
Green action: Protecting the environment is one of those ideals that almost everyone supports in principle, but few support in larger payments. Ford intends to get ever-deeper on the good side of this issue with cleaner products, ''which are otherwise equal to or more compelling than our competition.''
This the company plans to do by ''promoting the benefits to the consumer, rather than just the benefits to the environment.''
Safety and security: Ford lost its chance to stay competitive in this segment when it abandoned its plans for onboard crash notification (as made famous by OnStar) a few years ago. But it plans to ''look beyond traditional automotive safety features to provide consumers a sense of security while driving'' (whatever that means), and ''arming them with handy tips on what to do should a safety concern while driving.''