A Study On Lincoln’s Marketing Strategies In China

This paper presents an in-depth analysis of Lincoln,a representative luxury car brand with significant sales growth,and the marketing strategies it has implemented.This paper takes the performance of luxury car brands in China and Lincoln’s sales situation in China as the realistic data,the relevant marketing theories at home and abroad as the theoretical guidance,and the history and current situation of Lincoln brand development and the tortuous development path in China as the entry point,so as to conduct a systematic study of Lincoln’s marketing strategies in China.Since Lincoln entered China again in 2014,its performance in the Chinese luxury car market has been remarkable,successively using "low-key luxury" and "youthful luxury" as its marketing foothold,and continuously achieving sales breakthroughs,ranking among the Chinese luxury car market and enter the mainstream.In this paper,we abstract the essence from the phenomenon,reflect on the process and method from the result,and use marketing theory to study and analyze its marketing strategy.First of all,this paper analyzes the marketing environment of Lincoln Motor in China into four aspects:political environment,economic environment,socio-cultural environment,and technological environment,using PEST analysis model.We mainly analyze the following key points in Lincoln’s marketing environment in China:tariff policies,government policies,Chinese and American trade ties,exchange rate situation,GDP data,car sales data,basic conditions such as population size and quality,technological innovation and technological barriers,etc.For the current situation of Lincoln’s marketing in China,the analysis is mainly based on STP theory and 4P theory.Under the guidance of STP theory,Lincoln’s market segmentation plan,target market selection and market positioning are analyzed.Under the guidance of 4P theory,Lincoln’s product strategy,price strategy,channel strategy,and promotion strategy based on its real marketing situation are analyzed.Among them,the product strategy analysis is based on product differentiation strategy,product localization strategy and product portfolio strategy;the price strategy analysis is mainly based on product portfolio differential pricing strategy and penetration pricing strategy;the channel strategy is mainly based on Lincoln Center,dealership service skills competition and experiential marketing.Then,based on the above analysis,it is summarized and returned to the two important starting points of this thesis:how Lincoln stands out with its marketing strategies and what are the shortcomings of Lincoln’s marketing strategies,to review Lincoln’s marketing strategy in China and point out its successes and shortcomings.This paper points out its successes in product quality,service posture,product layout and experiential marketing,which are ahead of the luxury car industry,and boldly puts forward its shortcomings in terms of brand influence,distribution of Lincoln centers,consumer group coverage and comprehensive marketing strategy based on its current development status.On the basis of this,the following are the effective suggestions for Lincoln in the fierce market competition:strengthen the brand strategy;implement the product development strategy;strengthen the localization strategy;carry out a more comprehensive marketing strategy to help it grasp the market opportunities more precisely and choose the best combination of marketing strategies to promote the further improvement and development of the Lincoln brand in China,so as to enter the first tier of luxury car brands in China as soon as possible.At the same time,as one of the representatives who entered the Chinese luxury car market later,the summary of Lincoln’s successful experience will provide some reference significance for other luxury brands in China,and will also provide some reference value for the national car brands facing fierce market competition.Whether in terms of products,or in terms of marketing,and the combination of local culture,each brand should establish and hold on to its own characteristics and advantages,so as not to be eliminated in the fierce market competition,and gradually move towards the head gradient.Likewise,Lincoln’s own defects and problems are common to other car brands,so the marketing strategies proposed in this paper will also be beneficial to other car brands in the industry.As a pivotal heavy industry,the stable development of automobiles will also play a vital role in the social and economic progress of the country.