MARUTI SUZUKI SWIFT

INTRODUCTION
The print advertisement considered for study is the ad of Maruti Suzuki swift, the biggest car manufacturer in India especially dominating the small car sector which was cited in The Hindu, Jun 20th, Chennai Edition.

WHAT DOES THE ADVERTISEMENT SPEAK FOR?

1. A Thank you note to the existing customers/owners of swift across the country for making the car a successful one. 2. It also contains an image of the Swift car in the form of names of customers which is represented in a much clustered fashion. 3. It talks about the number of people owning swift (Swift Family) and the spirit of the owners. 4. It announces to the customers who have booked the car about the increase in production capacity (Investment & New technology implementation) and informing that they will be getting their car shortly. 5. The advertisement also addresses prospective new customers saying, they will not have to wait longer for car delivery if they book one. 6. It also calls for a test drive and speaks about the pleasure the product will give. 7. It features the mileage given by petrol and diesel versions of the car. 8. It provides a toll free number for the customer to know more about the car. 9. It has an image of the logo of swift which has a tag line You are the Fuel 10. It also has an image of the logo of Maruti Suzuki which has a tag line Way of life 11. It also advices its customers to drive safely with images asking not to use mobile phones while driving.

NATURE OF ADVERTISEMENT Customer Centric Advertisement

Customer centric approach creates a positive consumer experience at the point of sale and post-sale. This approach can add value to a company by enabling it to differentiate itself from competitors who do not offer the same experience.

TYPE OF MARKET
It is identified the stated automobile industry advertisement caters to the consumer market. Individuals are the buyers of the car. It is an expansible type of market, as marketing efforts have an effect on sales.

NATURE OF DEMAND
Here according to the scenario, lot of people are interested in buying Swift Car. But the production capacity is low, which is a typical characteristic nature of Over Full Demand. The company is not trying to de-market. Instead it tries to improve on its resources and spread wings further. It tries to convert the over full Demand to Full demand by improving on its technology and production capacity and cater to all the possible customers who have an interest buying the product and also tries to attract new customers.

MARKET ORIENTATION OF THE COMPANY

Maruti Suzuki is oriented towards the product concept. It has a wide range of customers already and it focusses on making the customers buy or spread positive values about the product/company. So it improves and modifies the product to deliver a quality car that will suit the needs of the customer.

UNIQUE SELLING PROPOSITION

USP generally answers to the question why should I buy from you? Through this ad maruti Suzuki conveys to the users the product advantage of the mileage which is 18.6km per litre for petrol and 22.9km per litre for diesel cars which answers to the first part of the question why the customer should buy? The advertisement also mentions it has 7,50,000 satisfied users already which is the reason the customer should buy a car (Swift) from maruti Suzuki.

MARKETING MIX
Product Maruti Suzuki swift provides a Product differentiation where it gives a mileage competitive to other companies selling similar product. This could be one of the many attributes of the product which is visible from the advertisement. Price The advertisement does not clearly reveal the type of pricing adopted Place The sale of the product will be through distribution channels / dealers, though not explicitly mentioned in the advertisement. Promotion The promotion of the product is through mass media (newspaper).

IDEA SOLD
The idea which is sold here is comfortable and economic travel.

ADDRESSING POST BUYING BEHAVIOUR OF CUSTOMERS

In the advertisement the existing customers are re assured that they have made the right purchase of buying Swift by telling they belong to a family of 7,50,000 spirited customers. Also the image representation of the names of the customers in the form of swift car creates a feeling of belongingness for the customer. This will help in creation of brand through word of mouth and pulls new customers to enter the existing large family.

MARKET SEGMENT & TARGET

The advertisement reaches a large number of people though the target sector is the category of people who has the ability/paying capacity to afford a car. Mostly it is meant for the educated segment of people backed by a self-paying capacity or the eligibility to take a loan. Since the car is not a luxury or a big car it is generally meant to target middle or upper middle class of people who would not just be worried about the initial investment but also the maintenance cost. Since the ad speaks about fuel efficiency it is segmented according to the economic status of people.

EMOTIONS
It gives a feeling of satisfaction to the existing customers when they see the advertisement and also a feeling of pride when they see the tag line for swift which says you are the fuel. The mention about non-usage of mobile phones while driving expresses a sense of care. The advertisement also gives a feeling of relief to customers who have already booked the car and have been waiting for months for the delivery of car by announcing about the hike in production capacity.

CONCLUSION
The advertisement of maruti Suzuki Swift addresses both existing and new customers. It is a product type of marketing targeting on the middle and upper middle class of the economic segment with a nature of over full demand being converted to full demand and whose USP is fuel efficient car. It also expresses various emotions like belongingness, pride, care, satisfaction and relief.

References for theoretical understanding Marketing management by Philip Kotler