As an established company, JCB has a strong marketing mix that has helped to promote them to where they are today. JCBs marketing mix is made from a combination of a good range of quality products, fair pricing, good promotion and vast product placement; each area comprising of one or more sub-elements, that may overlap into another section of the mix. Product – Quality
To see JCBs ability in producing good quality products, clients need only look at their history and achievements – JCB is the largest manufacture of backhoe loaders inEurope which has been in manufacture for over 51 years, which in itself is testamentto the quality and success of their product. Also focusing on JCBs attitude towardsquality rather than quantity is their website which states they do not aim to be thelargest manufacturer of commercial/industrial, agricultural and material handlingequipment, but the best.
Marketing in this way by aiming to be the best would influentprospective clients, helping to increase sales and therefore increase the size of thecompany. Advertising an aim of wanting to be the largest manufacture would have noimpact on sales, as this aim would be an achievement of the company, and notperceived as any benefit to prospective clients. Product – Range Another element of the marketing mix is the product range.
After developing a bestseller, the 3C backhoe loader, JCB knew it would need more than one successfulproduct to sustain its growth, and so JCBs product range has grown from just one to between nine and thirteen product types, with130 to 160 different models. This is anindication of how committed JCB are to new development, which has lead to the widedepth of products we now see today. So not only do JCB promote quality, but have a good range of products for clients to choose from. This also shows how forward looking the company is, by looking for gaps in the market place and listening to whatcustomers need.
JCB have recently announced in a network newsletter that planshave begun to produce their own diesel engines at a 160,000 sq ft plant inDerbyshire, UK ± another development in the JCB range Pr oduct ± Brand As mentioned earlier, JCB have a strong brand name that is recognised globally, andbeing a well-established company gives JCB an advantage. This brand will giveprospective clients confidence in the product, and could make the difference in aprospective client choosing a JCB over a competitors.
A strong brand identity hasimmeasurable value to a company, as it is not an asset that can be brought or sold,and building a strong brand takes time and hard work. To build and make use of thestrong JCB brand, the company have diversified into a number of markets, including: InsuranceTrainingFinanceOrganic FoodClothingToysDIY Tools Product ± Ser vice To aid clients in purchasing and running JCB products, JCB have setup other companies to support their main business. One support company, JCB Finance Ltd,provides finance for the purchase of new JCB¶s.
Another support company, JCBInsurance Ltd, provides insurance policies catered to the type of businesses likely touse JCB equipment, such as rental or construction companies. Another company,JCB Training Ltd, provides training on the operation of JCB machinery. Althoughthese companies were setup to support JCB¶s main business activities, they alsofunction independently, for example JCB Finance Ltd will provide finance tocompanies in general, providing the funds are not used to buy products incompetition to JCB. JCB Insurance Ltd also provides insurance to the public, motor insurance for example.
These companies are also an example of how JCB havediversified into finance, insurance and training markets. Price ± Value For a product to sell it must be priced competitively, but with the strength of thepound being so high in some countries this can sometimes prove difficult. In order for JCB to be competitive while at the same time remaining profitable, JCB haveinvested in manufacturing and assembly plants abroad. This enables JCB to sourceparts in local countries at local prices and removes restrictions that may normally bein place by import/export regulations.
This is one reason why JCB opened a newmanufacturing plant in Georgia USA in 2000, to enable them to take a bigger shareof the US market. Promotion± Public relations JCB work hard on their public relations and do a number of things to constantlyimprove their image with the public . JCB landscape and conserve many acres of land at their World and US HeadQuarters helping the all types of wildlife and making the company veryenvironmentally friendly. JCB have recently donated space to the US Air force museum at their UShead quarters, which will attract a lot of visitors to the vicinity of the JCB plant.
In the past four years JCB have donated at least: ?50,000 to the NSPCC. ?12,000 to comic relief A ?35,000 3CX backhoe loader to an Elephant Sanctuary in SriLanka. In 2002 diverted delivery of a 22 ton excavator to help repair flooddefences following major flooding in the Czech Republic. In 2001 loaned a ?35,000 3CX to clear more than 1,000 tonnes of waste in Bellingshausen, and trained five volunteer operators atfacilities in Derbyshire. JCB are donating ?1,000,000 worth of equipment to aid the clear upoperation in Asia following the tsunami disaster.
This equipment isbeing supplied by JCB India and other dealers in the affected regions Pr omotion±Exhibitions In the early days Joseph Bamford would demonstrate the agility of their backhoeloader by making it perform at exhibitions to astonished crowds, these shows arenow performed by a team of backhoe loaders and operators, who are now known asthe µDancing Diggers¶. The dancing diggers performed at Desert Inn in Las Vegas in1999 where their performance was broadcast live on local television.
Due to the highinterest, they performed again in Las Vegas at Conexpo 2002, a ConstructionExhibition, where they performed on stage every hour. Place ± Locations With JCB having manufacturing plants on four continents and 542 registered dealerswith 930 locations worldwide, JCB is able to sell its products to over 150 countries. JCB registered dealers can be supported by JCB sales that are located in the UK, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, France, Germany, India, Italy, Netherlands, Spain & USA.
Due to the extent of JCB’s distribution network, the company is able to spread therisk of economic downturn in any one country, and by having manufacturing plantson different continents allows JCB to compete better in target markets where thepound is high, which lead to the development of JCB’s manufacturing plant inGeorgia, USA opening in 2000. This $100,000 investment was due to JCB’s desire totake a greater share in the large US market.
In my opinion it is not JCB’s intension tomove manufacturing abroad as JCB currently export 70% of its UK production,furthermore JCB’s plants abroad are mainly for the production of their core product -the backhoe loader, rather than their entire range. It is for these reasons I believeJCB will only manufacture within local markets when they see a need to increasetheir share in such markets, such as USA, as manufacturing locally allows JCB to bemore competitive by sourcing parts at local prices and evading duty and importrestrictions.
Setting up manufacturing plants abroad is also expensive, so JCB areonly likely to do if they see a long term return on their investment in a particular market. The current target markets are USA, Europe & the developing world. Place – Transport Due to the size and weight of JCB¶s machinery, Joseph Bamford found it difficult totransport their equipment for demonstrations to prospective buyers across the UKand Europe. For this reason JCB brought a company jet & helicopter, branded withthe company logo, so that prospective clients could be flown to and from JCB¶s WorldHead Quarters is the shortest possible time
Market Segmentation JCB target three market segments, they are agricultural, commercial/industrial &ground care. JCB target a combination of their 9 to 13 product groups to each of thethree segments, of which some products overlap, with ground care having thesmallest number of product groups. This is because the requirements of ground carecompanies are not as large as those of agricultural & commercial businesses; theydo not have a requirement for large excavating equipment
