The Ram Truck: Marketing Strategy
Week 5: The Marketing Mix
BUS 235: Introduction to Marketing
Introduction There are many products and services available in the market today. The automobile market is no different. There are many brands, styles, and price ranges when it comes to vehicles. One specific area of the automobile market are trucks, more specifically is the Ram truck. Dodge Ram has been around since 1981. Truck sales have hit an all time high since 2007 proving that fuel prices are not affecting sales as much (Ross, J. 2013). The big three, Ford, Chevy, and Ram continue to fight each other in the truck selling business and have cut-throat marketing to try to be the best and on top of truck sales. Ram has gotten rid of the Dodge name and goes exclusively by Ram in an effort to get away from being associated with Dodge cars. This marketing strategy of separating Dodge cars and vans from Ram trucks was seen as risky at the time but has proven to be a successful strategy. Since the separation in 2009, Ram has had forty months of successful sales growth that is ahead of all other truck brands (Williams, M. 2013).
Product
Ram currently sells a mid-size pick-up and the full-size Ram 1500, 2500, and 3500. Customers can choose from different colors, chassis, gas or diesel, and also a dually option. This year, Ram is third in sales behind the Ford F-series and Chevy Silverado with 234,642 units sold (Ross, J. 2013). Everyone has a different opinion and preference of what truck they like and want to purchase. Consumers who do their research look at sites like www.autotrader.com, www.consumerreport.com, and www.motortrend.com to see what other consumers buy and why. These websites will also tell them the Truck of the year and ratings for each truck. Ram is known for two things; the Hemi engine which is known for horsepower, and also the Cummins diesel engines which is a big name to people who are familiar with diesels. Hemi and Cummins
BUS 235: Introduction to Marketing
Introduction There are many products and services available in the market today. The automobile market is no different. There are many brands, styles, and price ranges when it comes to vehicles. One specific area of the automobile market are trucks, more specifically is the Ram truck. Dodge Ram has been around since 1981. Truck sales have hit an all time high since 2007 proving that fuel prices are not affecting sales as much (Ross, J. 2013). The big three, Ford, Chevy, and Ram continue to fight each other in the truck selling business and have cut-throat marketing to try to be the best and on top of truck sales. Ram has gotten rid of the Dodge name and goes exclusively by Ram in an effort to get away from being associated with Dodge cars. This marketing strategy of separating Dodge cars and vans from Ram trucks was seen as risky at the time but has proven to be a successful strategy. Since the separation in 2009, Ram has had forty months of successful sales growth that is ahead of all other truck brands (Williams, M. 2013).
Product
Ram currently sells a mid-size pick-up and the full-size Ram 1500, 2500, and 3500. Customers can choose from different colors, chassis, gas or diesel, and also a dually option. This year, Ram is third in sales behind the Ford F-series and Chevy Silverado with 234,642 units sold (Ross, J. 2013). Everyone has a different opinion and preference of what truck they like and want to purchase. Consumers who do their research look at sites like www.autotrader.com, www.consumerreport.com, and www.motortrend.com to see what other consumers buy and why. These websites will also tell them the Truck of the year and ratings for each truck. Ram is known for two things; the Hemi engine which is known for horsepower, and also the Cummins diesel engines which is a big name to people who are familiar with diesels. Hemi and Cummins
References: Hernandez, M. (2013). Big brands target Hispanic consumers. USA Today Hispanic Living Magazine. Retrieved from www.usatoday.com . Kerin, R.A., Hartley, S.W., Berkowitz, E.N., Rudelius, W. (2011). Marketing (10th ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill. Ross, J. (2013). Pickup sales hit 2m units for first time since 2007. USA Today. Retrieved from www.autoblog.com. Williams, M. (2013). After dodge-Ram split, Chrysler trucks have surged. Newsday. Retrieved from www.newsday.com.