Ford Ka Case Study

Q1 1. They are reactive instead of being proactive. They didn’t analyze the market enough in order to forecast needs and consumers’ desires. 2. They create a product first and then they sought how to sell it without previous analyses. It looks like they know their segments because they launched the KA as a reaction to the Twingo (+8.9% M.S. in a year) and the market changes, so they copied it. However they do not know which target to choose and how to position their product offer on the market. In the hurry, it seems that they mixed up segmentation and targeting. The way they launched the KA is against the established modern marketing view.
Q2
Taking into account that they launched the KA to challenge the Twingo position on the small cars market, we know that they tried to satisfy the needs of the following segment: compact cars easily maneuverable but above all stylish and attractive because today’s consumers value that image more than before. They need fun when driving in a boring crowded city. They want a compact car but moreover with space inside to feel like in a big car with the same safety and reliability for a lower price.

Knowing that, Ford should now target consumers who seem to be the most profitable segment(s) and likely to buy their new model. They did several surveys and they found out two possibilities: targeting according to socio-demographic descriptions or according to psychographic descriptions. As we noticed before, consumers need more than just a small functional car, they need psychological identifications, and they need to demonstrate something through their car. According to that view, I consider that it would me more relevant to choose a target between the following attitudes: sensible classics (SC), no-nonsense neutrals (NNN), attention seekers (AS) and freedom lovers (FL).

Now let’s look at the figures. If we look at the exhibit 13 we can see that the last two groups of consumers put the KA in the top 3 pick.