Marketing Plan for Beadle Auto Group

Executive Summary

Beadle Auto Group started with one small dealership in 1975 and is now a large auto dealership
group of four dealerships in North Central South Dakota. Beadle Auto Group is looking to
increase their sales and increase their brand awareness, but they are struggling in their current
market in North Central South Dakota. The owners have the funds to do this, however, they
currently don’t have the marketing capabilities.

This paper proposes a plan to expand its market outside of North Central South Dakota. There
is a largely untapped market outside of South Dakota that is not yet aware of the Beadle Auto
Group. The recommended way of doing this is hiring a full-time marketing employee and largely
increase their social media presence.

Situation Analysis

Internal Environment

Review of marketing goals and objectives:

The strategy of the Beadle Auto Group is to sell and service vehicles while providing their
consumer with an enjoyable experience. Therefore, their mission could be formalized as Our
mission is to earn our customers’ loyalty by providing sales and service experiences that are of
great value and quality.

Being that Beadle Auto Group is focused on making sales, it is has a sales orientation rather
than a marketing or production orientation. To keep Beadle Auto Group running, they depend
on booking service jobs and moving cars off the lotto bring in profit. As such, Beadle Auto
Group’s business strategy could be categorized as market penetration, because they are aiming
to increase its market share in the existing market. This strategy includes the goal of attracting
existing and new customers, which is ideal in the competitive automotive industry market.

Currently, there are no formal marketing objectives in place for Beadle Auto Group, however,
they have some goals that they would like to achieve. The desire for Beadle Auto Group is to
sell their inventory as fast as possible once it hits their lot and to make a profit on these sales.
Another goal that they have is to provide a great experience for the customer. This great
experience it ought to be achieved in every department at the dealership.
Since Beadle Auto Group doesn’t have a mission statement, they can mold it based on their
goals and objectives. The recommended mission statement was curated based on the ultimate
goal of making sales while creating a wonderful experience for the customer, which in turn
could result in loyalty.

Review of current marketing strategy and performance:

The target market for Beadle Auto Group is anyone that has a driver’s license and can purchase
a vehicle. With that being said, there is a more refined target market depending on each type of
vehicle. Beadle Auto Group sells a lot of trucks, and the primary target market for these
vehicles are farmers and ranchers. Another popular vehicle that is sold at Beadle Auto Group
are SUVs, and the target market for this vehicle are individuals with children.

Beadle Auto Group has a strong brand, although they haven’t properly considered the aspects
of positioning, they do recognize that they need a bit more structure in place to reach their
goals. Beadle Auto Group has strong brand recognition in the areas that they are located. The
Beadle Auto Group logo is red and is very simple and easy to read, while still being very
recognizable. Their logo is consistent throughout their website, business cards, and
advertisements. The red color is also consistent on all of the “Beadles” plates that are on the
vehicles.

The marketing mix for the Beadle Auto Group is similar to most other car dealerships. There are
two different types of products that are offered by the Beadle Auto Group. The first and most
obvious is “shopping products,” which is the category the vehicles they offer will fall under.
Shopping products are defined as products that consumers will spend time and effort to obtain.
Consumers shop for different options to compare prices, services. fits fit well for the vehicles
they sell because buying a vehicle is a big deal for most, and most will spend a lot of time
comparing prices, features & services before purchasing. Knowing this information means that
the Beadle Auto Group needs to be able to differentiate itself from the competition through
strong brand image and promotions. The second type of products that are offered at Beadle
Auto Group is “unsought products.” Unsought products are products that consumers are
unaware of or a product that consumers do not consider purchasing until a need arises. This is
true for their repair services that Beadle Auto Group offers. Because most people don’t want to
buy these services, Beadle Auto Group needs to make sure their prices are fair and service is
efficient.

As stated before, the auto industry is a very competitive marketplace and people often shop
around for the best price before buying the product. Because of this, the pricing strategy Beadle
Auto Group uses is “Competitive Matching.” Competitive matching is “designed to match or
beat competitors’ prices. The goal is to maintain the perception of good value relative to the
competition.” With this pricing strategy, they have to find a happy medium between making a
decent profit and beating or matching the competitors' prices.

Beadle Auto Group gets its product to the end customer by direct selling the product. They do
this by using salespeople and many calls/ appointments with potential customers. Before
Beadle Auto Group even gets the product (the vehicle), there is a somewhat long process. First,
they start with raw materials, then onto suppliers, then OEM’s (Ford, GM, etc.), then to dealer
networks (Beadle Auto Group), and finally the end customer.

The promotion strategy is fairly diverse using advertising, public relations, personal selling, and
sales promotion. Beadle Auto Group does a lot of advertising in local newspapers, on the radio,
and television. These advertisements often include what they have currently in stock at Beadle
Auto Group as well as any promotions they are currently running. They don’t focus too heavily
on public relations, however, they do a lot of sponsoring. Being that Beadle Auto Group is
located in a small community many events and organizations need to be sponsored and they
help out with that. By sponsoring events or organizations, it shows that they care about the
well-being of their communities. Beadle Auto Group also does a lot of promotions to create
buyer incentives to purchase a product. These include rebates, premiums (ex: free oil change
with purchase), contests or sweepstakes, or percentage off sales. Even though these strategies
are important, Beadle Auto Group uses personal selling the most. The bulk of how they sell
their products is through salespeople directly selling to the customers. This includes
prospecting, focusing on leads, and face-to-face selling.

Which elements of the strategy are working well? Beadle Auto Group indicates that their
recognition in their local area is strong. They also indicate that sales are consistent.
Which elements of the strategy are not working well? Beadle Auto Group indicates that their
service departments’ sales are not consistent at each dealership. Some dealerships are way
outperforming others, and they would like to have a consistent service department throughout
the group.

The organization’s current performance:

When comparing Beadle Auto Group to other automotive dealerships, they are performing at a
similar rate. Beadle Auto Group is performing better than dealerships that are of similar size.
They have a higher sales volume, market share, and profitability. Their brand awareness is
much higher compared to those other dealerships. Beadle Auto Group is outperforming these
dealerships so much, that they don’t see them as their competition. This could be due to the
fact that Beadle Auto Group has multiple small dealerships scattered around the north-central
part of South Dakota, which makes their brand recognizable. This also could be due to the fact
that the Beadle Family is well known in north-central South Dakota, and have a large number of
loyal customers. The firms that Beadle Auto Group is dealing with have a much larger inventory,
more staff, and just a larger business in general. When comparing themselves to these larger
firms, Beadle Auto Group seems to not be performing as well, but this is to be expected due to
the size difference.

Review of current and anticipated organizational resources:

Beadle Auto Group has a lot of resources and capabilities for an automotive dealership. The
first dealership in Bowdle was opened in 1975 and since has had work redone on it. However,
the building has been paid off. The next dealership to open was in Faulkton. This is a small one-
office dealership with no service department, that is also paid off. The next to open are the two
dealerships in Mobridge. The Ford dealership came first, and so this one has much more paid
off than the Chevy. The Bowdle dealership and Mobridge dealerships all have service
departments. In these departments, there is a lot of machinery and tools that are essential
when servicing vehicles. All of this equipment has been paid for, however they hire out
maintenance people if a machine, like a hydraulic vehicle lift, breaks. These repairs rarely
happen, so it isn’t a huge cost of operation. Another job that Beadle Auto Group hires out is a
cleaning service. This job is worked into their daily operating costs.

Within these dealerships, many employees help keep it running. The three owners, Bob, Joe,
and Jerry, are in charge of managing all of these employees. There are many types of
employees at each dealership: salesmen, receptionists, accountants, technicians, service
managers, parts managers, finance, drivers, and gofers. All of these employees are essential to
Beadle Auto Group.

The income of this business is essential because it supports the lifestyle of the owners as well as
all of the people they employ. Therefore, they have to continue to sell vehicles and book service
jobs. It isn’t very likely that these resources will change in the next few years. However, if they
do change, it will likely be the increase in the number of people they employ. Another
possibility is the addition of another dealership to the group. If these changes do happen, it
would increase the amount of income, but it would also cost the owners a lot of money too.
The deciding factor for the owners as to whether they want to make changes or not would
depend on if the addition of more employees or a dealership would increase the net income of
the company.

Review of current and anticipated cultural and structural issues:

Beadle Auto Group has been around for a long time, and a lot of the employees and customers
have been with them since almost the very beginning. Some of these employees and customers
are even treated like they are part of the family. Because of this, the three owners feel a certain
type of devotion to them. Although there have been additions to the company like new
employees or new dealerships, the culture and the way the dealerships run always seem to stay
the same.

For the customers and employees, this consistency is part of the reason why they are loyal to
the Beadle Auto Group. However, the owners recognize that there needs to be some change in
the company to continue growing and thriving. They are also hopeful that this company will be
around when their kids can take over the business, so they are always planning for the long-
term. For the owners, these new marketing changes are ideal because they can’t seem to figure
out what needs to be done on their own. Yet, they are unsure of how their employees will take
the new changes.

As of now, there is no formal marketing employee. They have some employees that are in
charge of some of the marketing efforts, and the rest of the efforts they hire out. These changes
may become difficult for the employees that are currently dealing with marketing to handle.
Because of this, the owners are considering the hiring of a formal marketing employee so they
can better control the marketing efforts and implement the new marketing plan flawlessly
without the need for an outside company. The staff at Beadle Auto Group is very friendly, and
are very welcoming to new employees. The owners are hoping this will hole if they do end up
creating a new position and adding a new member to the team.

Summary of Internal Environment:

 The most important strengths revealed in this analysis are:
o Large staff
o Loyal customers
o Great brand awareness
o Wide variety of vehicle brands
o More than one dealership location
 The most important weaknesses are:
o Lack of formal marketing position
o Service department performance varies upon dealership

Customer Environment

Who are the current and potential customers?

The current customers of Beadle Auto Group include people from all demographics that are
located in North Central South Dakota. More specifically, the customers are usually located
around the Mobridge, Faulkton or Bowdle area. With that being said, they have customers
come from all over South Dakota, North Dakota, Minnesota, and many other states in the
Midwest. A lot of these customers enjoy American made vehicles. These customers are willing
to go out of their way to buy a vehicle from Beadle Auto Group. The customers of Beadle Auto
group come from many different financial backgrounds. The most common age of those who
purchase a vehicle is above 30 years old. Anyone younger than that often has someone co-sign.
Both males and females are purchasing vehicles. The person who decides on which vehicle to
buy is usually the one who will be driving it the most, especially in a spousal purchase situation.

The current customers don’t purchase a vehicle often, because there isn’t a need to buy a
vehicle more than every few years. The current customers purchase service from Beadle Auto
Group whenever they need it, and purchase routine checkups and oil changes every few
months. The potential customers for vehicles and services are similar to the current customer.
They are people in the north-central South Dakota area and are those in the market for a
vehicle.

What do customers do with the organization’s product?

The customers buy vehicles for two primary uses: personal and business. Many of the
customers are buying a vehicle for their own personal vehicle. This vehicle will be used for their
everyday needs, and this is the most common use of Beadle Auto Group’s vehicle. The next use
of their vehicles is for business. Many vehicles that are purchased are used on farms or used as
service vehicles. A lot of the vehicles sold are used for their sheriff’s office and local law
enforcement. These vehicles that are purchased for business reasons are usually purchased by
a business and not an individual.

How are the firm’s products connected to customer needs? What are the basic benefits
provided by the firm’s products?

The customer often needs a vehicle to get around places, especially in rural South Dakota
where this is a lack of public transportation. Needs, as to which type of vehicle, vary from
customer to customer. A mother with kids at home usually needs a vehicle with storage, has a
decent amount of seating, and has great safety features. A farmer needs a vehicle that can haul
and tow items. An older couple may need a vehicle that is good on gas mileage, has
comfortable seating, and is easily accessible. The list goes on, but what is important to note, is
that many vehicles are available that suit the needs of a wide variety of individuals. When
purchasing service, it usually is purchased if the customer needs it for their vehicle to function
properly. The benefits provided by the vehicles that are available are flexibility in travel and
independence. The benefits provided by servicing a vehicle include saving money and safety.

Where do customers purchase the organization’s products? When do customers purchase the
organization’s products?

Vehicles and services are purchased on a year-round basis. This is not a seasonal business, and
new vehicles are constantly being purchased or traded. The current customers can purchase
the vehicles at any of the four dealerships. All of the inventory is on Beadle Auto Group’s
website, as well as where the vehicle is located. If they see a vehicle they want but are unable
to drive to the dealership it’s at, one of the drivers will deliver the vehicle to the customer. The
Mobridge dealerships have the most inventory combined, so it is very easy for customers to
shop for a vehicle in Mobridge.

Why (and how) do customers select the organization’s products? Why do potential customers
not purchase the organization’s products?

Customers choose to buy vehicles from Beadle Auto Group because it is family-owned, local,
has good pricing, or has a relationship with Beadle Auto Group. The products Beadle Auto
Group sells, vehicles and service, are a commodity, they have to separate themselves from
others by having brand recognition, loyalty, and value.

Customers that don’t purchase a vehicle or service from Beadle Auto Group are either loyal to
another dealership, may not have the income to purchase a vehicle, or find a better price.
There are many other vehicle dealerships in South Dakota that have a loyal following as well,
and they may have a better price point. Also, some people may not be interested in the vehicle
brands Beadle Auto Group sells.

When do customers purchase the firm’s products?

Customers buy service when their vehicle needs a routine service, like an oil change or tire
rotation. They also buy service if their vehicle has an issue that needs to be fixed. Service is
usually only purchased if the customer requires it. Customers buy vehicles when they either
want or need a new vehicle. When there is a promotional event happening at Beadle Auto
Group, more customers tend to buy a vehicle at that time.
Customer Summary

 The most important opportunities revealed in the customer analysis are:

o There are parts of South Dakota that aren’t aware of Beadle Auto Group, so
there is a largely untapped market.
 The most important threats are:
o Customers may not notice the difference between Beadle Auto Group and its
competitors because they carry the same vehicles.

External Environment

Competition:

The overall competition in the automotive industry is increasing because the demand for
vehicles has been declining slowly over the past few years. Therefore, there is more supply than
demand.

The automotive industry is very large, but the competition that is relevant to Beadle Auto
Group can be classified into groups: vehicles, parts, and services, within the traditional brand,
product, generic, and total budget perspective.

LOCAL COMPETITION:
Vehicles: The closest competitors Beadle Auto Group has when it comes to vehicle sales are 100
miles away. These competitors are Aberdeen Chrysler Center and Steven Lust Automotive
located Aberdeen, SD and Eide Ford located in Bismarck, ND. Aberdeen Chrysler Center carries
Chrysler, Dodge, Ram, Jeep, and Fiat vehicles. Steven Lust Automotive carries Buick, Chevrolet,
and GMC vehicles. These three dealerships have similar pricing and target markets as Beadle’s
does. All three of these dealerships are in larger locations than Beadle Auto Group’s
dealerships. These three dealerships also have a larger inventory than Beadle Auto Group. With
these two factors in play, it allows them to sell more vehicles than Beadle Auto Group. The
competitors have more income than Beadle Auto Group, which allows them to invest more
heavily in their marketing efforts.

Parts: In Mobridge, there are two direct competitors for the sale of automotive parts, Carquest
Auto Parts, and NAPA Auto Parts. There are no competitors in Bowdle when it comes to the
part’s department. These two parts stores are located on Grand Crossing, which is Mobridge’s
main road that runs through the middle of town. They both offer a lot of the same parts that
Beadle Auto Group offers. However, these parts don’t come from the vehicle manufacturer
(Ford, Chevy, etc.) and are usually a house brand. These two stores have a lot more parts on
hand compared to Beadle Auto Group and can special-order parts as well.

Service: There are many competitors for automotive servicing in Mobridge because there are
many repair shops located there, however, there is little to no competition in Bowdle, SD,
where the other service department resides. The ones Beadle Auto Group competes with the
most with are Arrowhead Motors, JD Services, and Dakota Glass & Alignment. These repair
shops all have licensed mechanics and technicians under their employment. They can repair all
of the same types of vehicles that Beadle Auto Group can. These three repair shops all have
very similar pricing on service work when compared to Beadle Auto Group.

BRAND LEVEL COMPETITION:

Beadle Auto Group has a large range of brands that they sell, however, there are still a lot of
brands that they compete with. These brands include Honda, Acura, Hyundai, Kia, Nissan, and
Toyota. All of these brands are in a similar price range compared to the brands that Beadle Auto
Group sells. They also have virtually the same exact benefits as the brands Beadle Auto Group
carries. These brands aren’t carried in dealerships that are very close to Beadle Auto Group.

GENERIC LEVEL COMPETITION:

The market for transportation includes rental cars, motorcycles, bicycles, and public
transportation. Although some individuals may be set on purchasing a vehicle, so some of these
are not strong competitors.

TOTAL BUDGET:
There are a lot of different things competing with the limited financial resources of the same
customers. Some of the common budget competitors seen in Beadle Auto Group’s customers
include vacation, debt reduction, and home remodeling.

ESTIMATES OF MARKET SIZE AND GROWTH RATE:

Table 1 is an estimate of the current market conditions for Beadle Auto Group. Given the lack of
reliable data, these estimates were difficult to determine. This estimate is based on the
knowledge the owners of Beadle Auto Group have from dealing with their competitors in the
past. The table is divided into three categories of vehicles, parts, and service.

While these results aren’t completely accurate and reliable, there can still be some inferences
that can be made. The first conclusion made is that Beadle Auto Group is not selling as much
vehicle inventory as its competitors and they make less total revenue in that department as
well. The second conclusion is, there are a lot of parts sold in Mobridge, SD, to be competitive,
each company must price competitively. Lastly, there is a great need for automobile service in
Mobridge, SD, according to the large amount of service that is being sold amongst the four
repair shops shown in the table below.

Economic Growth and Stability

Generally, the economic conditions of North Central South Dakota are decent. This area’s
economy is heavily based on farming and ranching. There are many farms and ranches in this
area, and most of them are very profitable and productive. However, how profitable they are
can change very quickly depending on the prices. The other major employers in Faulkton,
Mobridge, and Bowdle are their healthcare clinics/ hospitals. These healthcare facilities employ
a lot of people from the towns and offer a wide range of paying jobs. Because there is only one
other large employer in these towns, they depend heavily on the farms and ranches, which
offers very inconsistent revenue. With this inconsistent revenue, can come inconsistent income
for Beadle Auto Group as well because farmer and ranchers affect the South Dakota economy
so greatly.

The local vehicle industry is a very large industry and consists of a lot of dealerships that have a
franchise, as well as dealerships that don’t have a franchise and can only sell used vehicles. This
industry is very competitive because it is saturated with so many car brands and dealerships.
Costs of running a dealership can be very high depending on the size. If it is a large dealership,
the dealership will have to pay for many employees, a lot of inventory, and a large property.

Because of this, the barriers to entry into the automobile industry are very high. The property
required to enter the industry is usually expensive, as well as the initial inventory needed.
Therefore, capital requirements may steer new entrants to the industry away. There are also a
lot of factors that can limit the chances of success for the operators.

There are over 1.2 million vehicles registered in South Dakota, and the population of South
Dakota is around 890,000.1 While looking at these stats, it is evident that there is a high demand
for vehicles in South Dakota. The reason for this is the lack of transportation alternatives. There
aren’t many options for public transportation in the state, so if a person wants to get from town
to town, their best option is their own personal vehicle.

Political Trends

There are a few political trends that could affect the automotive industry as a whole. These
trends are tariffs, green initiatives, and national policies. Recently, there have been higher
tariffs on steel and aluminum, which increase the price of new vehicles by 1%. 2 This, in turn,
negatively affects the sale of new vehicles and the increase in sales of used vehicles. Next,
green initiatives have been affecting the sale of vehicles, as well as how they are manufactured.
With the constant worry about the environment, some people are shying away from buying
vehicles because of the negative impact gas emissions have. It also is affecting the
manufacturing of vehicles, because they are now considering manufacturing electric vehicles.
Ford has already taken the steps of removing many of their sedans to make room for an all-
electric sedan. Lastly, national policies affect the automobile industry every day. If there is a
policy that is put in place that affects the automobile industry, all of the companies must
comply.

Legal and Regulatory Issues

The automobile industry is very regulated. With that being said, currently, there aren’t any
pending legal or regulatory issues that would affect Beadle Auto Group.

Technological Advancements

In order to stay relevant, the automotive industry is advancing technologically continuously.

Some of these advancements include becoming more fuel-efficient, self-driving, and predictive
vehicle technology. All of these features are created for the benefit of the consumer. With all of
these advancements come more possible issues, so it takes a long time for these to be
incorporated into a vehicle and sold.

Natural Environment

There are few changes to the environment that influence the organization. However, the issues
with global warming do affect this industry. There are many laws put in place as to how to
manufacture each vehicle to ensure that doesn’t emit too many bad gasses. This issue also has
influenced many companies and consumers to move to electric vehicles.

Sociocultural Trends

There haven’t been many changes in society that affect Beadle Auto Group. Therefore, they
have continued to do what they have in the past. However, if there are any changes, they are
more than willing to change with them.

External Environment Summary

 The most important opportunities revealed in this analysis are:

o high demand for vehicles
o little to no rivalry from substitute products
 The most important threats are:
o Unstable economy
 o Political trends affect vehicle sales
 The critical success factors of this industry include:
o Large amount of capital
o Ability to set themselves apart from the competition

Key Issues (SWOT Analysis)

Strengths include: (1) wide variety of brands, (2) loyal customers, (3) large staff, (4), loyal staff
(5) multiple dealership locations

These strengths differentiate Beadle Auto Group from the competition because of the strong
relationships they have with their current customers. These strengths allow Beadle Auto Group
to meet the customer’s needs with a large range of products in multiple towns in the state.

Weaknesses include: (1) lack of formal marketing position, (2), service department performance
varies upon dealership

These weaknesses prevent Beadle Auto Group from having a consistent marketing plan because
there are multiple people making marketing decisions without any formal plan in place. Also,
the varied service department performance makes it difficult for Beadle Auto Group to make
decisions for the service department as a whole. It also requires closer management by the
owners.

Opportunities include: (1) high demand for vehicles in South Dakota, (2) promote Beadle Auto
Group to more than just Central South Dakota

These opportunities are greatly related to the high demand for vehicles in South Dakota. Beadle
Auto Group can use this to their advantage and focus on promoting their company to more
parts of South Dakota.

Threats include: (1) lack of consumers’ disposable income, (2) highly regulated, (3) lots of
competition

These threats affect the amount of revenue Beadle Auto Group can take in. The lack of
consumers’ disposable income and the thick competition could result in fewer customers for
the firm. Because the automotive industry is highly regulated, some of the regulations cut into
the amount of revenue the firm can make.
Opportunity/ Threat Matrix

Strengths: Opportunities:
 Wide variety of brands  High demand for vehicles in
 Loyal customers South Dakota
 Loyal Staff  Promote Beadle Auto Group
 Large staff to more than just Central
 Multiple dealership locations South Dakota

Weaknesses: Threats:
 Lack of formal marketing  Lack of consumers’
position disposable income
 Service department  Highly regulated
performance varies upon  Lots of competition
dealership

General Strategic Directions revealed by the SWOT:

The general strategic direction revealed by the SWOT indicates customer intimacy. Customer
intimacy requires knowing the customers’ needs and understanding how to cater to them.

Developing Competitive Advantages:

The source of Beadle Auto Group’s competitive advantage is human resource advantages.
Beadle Auto Group has great management and that reflects on its employees. Their employees
are constantly given the assistance and support they need from their superiors which in turn
helps create a great organizational culture. A lot of the employees that work at Beadle Auto
Group have been there for a lot of years. A huge advantage of this is that customers get to
create relationships with these employees, which keeps these customers coming back.

Developing a Strategic Focus and Value Curve

The strategic focus that fits Beadle Auto Group is aggressiveness. Beadle Auto Group is in the
position to develop marketing strategies to aggressively take on because of the many internal
strengths they have, with many external opportunities. The main opportunity they have is to
expand its market to more than just the locals.
 Value Curve for Beadle Auto Group
6

0
Beadle Auto Group Aberdeen Chrysler Steven Lust Automotive Eide Ford

Price Customer Service Customer Loyalty Marketing

Four Actions Framework:

Reduce: Reduce turnaround time on vehicles that come onto the lot.

Create: Create a new marketing strategy that better fits Beadle Auto Group’s mission.

Raise: Raise brand awareness throughout the state, instead of just North Central South Dakota.

Eliminate: Eliminate downtime in the dealership, and come up with ways that each employee
could be productive at all times.

Marketing Goals & Objectives:

A. Marketing Goal A: Increase new and used vehicle sales.

i. Objective A1: Increase existing customer sales by 10% in one year.
ii. Objective A2: Increase customer base by 3% in one year.
B. Marketing Goal B: Increase brand awareness.
i. Objective B1: Increase presence on social media by 25% within the next three
years.
Marketing Strategy:

The automobile industry is in the mature phase of the product lifecycle, this plan proposes
increasing sales growth through a market expansion strategy. The best option for Beadle Auto
Group is to pursue customers outside of their local market while putting effort into increasing
brand awareness.

Primary Target Market

The primary target market for this plan is expanding Beadle Auto Group’s reach outside of
North Central South Dakota.

Positioning Statement: Beadle Auto Group provides unbeatable service among all other
dealerships by providing a unique and enjoyable experience for each client.

Value Proposition: Buying a vehicle has never been more enjoyable!

Product Strategy:

This organization’s product strategy will not change, because it is already a very successful
strategy. They will continue to use the “Beadle Auto Group” brand name, as well as the red and
simple logo. The brands they carry will continue to be the same, and there is no need to sell any
additional brands.

Pricing Strategy

Beadle Auto Group will continue to use a competitive matching pricing strategy. This strategy is
designed to match or beat competitors’ prices, to maintain the perception of good value
relative to the competition. With this pricing strategy, they have to find a happy medium
between making a decent profit and beating or matching the competitors' prices.

Distribution/ Supply Chain Strategy:

Beadle Auto Group will not have to change how they get their product to the end customer.
They will continue doing this by direct selling the product. They do this by using salespeople and
many calls/ appointments with potential customers.
From a broader point of view, Beadle Auto Group goes through a long process to get their
product to their customer. First, they will have to start with raw materials, then onto suppliers,
then OEM’s (Ford, GM, etc.), then to their dealerships, and finally to their end customer.

Integrated Marketing Communication (Promotion) Strategy (IMC):

The overall IMC is to promote a strong brand in the marketplace.

ADVERTISING STRATEGY:

There will be a lot of effort put into advertising because this will be one of the main ways
Beadle Auto Group gets its name out to all of South Dakota. These advertisements will include
the basic newspaper, radio and television ads. The use of social media paid ads will also be
implicated, because it is any easier way to reach their target market.

PUBLIC RELATIONS:

Although there won’t be major public relations implications, it is recommended that Beadle
Auto Group focuses on sponsorships. Being that Beadle Auto Group is located in many small
communities, there are many events and organizations that they have the opportunity to
sponsor. By doing this, it shows that Beadle Auto Group cares about the well-being of their
communities.

PERSONAL SELLING:

There won’t be any change in their personal selling implications. Beadle Auto Group already
incorporates personal selling into their everyday business routine. The bulk of how they sell
products is through salespeople directly selling to the customers. This includes prospecting,
focusing on leads, and face-to-face selling.

SALES PROMOTION:

The continuation of sales promotions will bring a lot of business into the dealerships because
these create buyer incentives to purchase a product. These include rebates, premiums (ex: free
oil change with purchase), contests or sweepstakes, or percentage-off sales.

DIGITAL AND SOCIAL MEDIA:

There will be a lot of effort put into social media since Beadle Auto Group does not have a very
strong social media presence. This will include the creation of accounts such as Instagram and
LinkedIn. The creation and usage of these accounts will assist in the increase of brand
awareness throughout South Dakota.

Projected Profit and Loss Statement:

It is anticipated that the market around North Central South Dakota will remain very stable.
However, if Beadle Auto Group expands its market to outside of this region, its numbers for
vehicles, parts, and service sales will exponentially increase in comparison to their competitor.
With the extra vehicles sold to new customers, oftentimes these customers will return to
Beadle Auto Group if they require service or parts. Table 2 illustrates the estimation of this.
Marketing Implementation:

The implementation approach that best suits Beadle Auto Group is implementation through
change. The basic premise of this approach is that they will be modified in ways that will ensure
the successful implementation of the chosen marketing strategy.

There will need to be some changes to the structure of Beadle Auto Group. The main change to
the structure will include the addition of a formal marketing position. All of the marketing work
that was previously outsourced will now be handled by this position. This will allow the Beadle
Auto Group to have more control over the marketing decisions. This will also shift any
marketing responsibilities that other employees had to one individual. The only internal
activities needed are the training of the new marketing employee.

Evaluation and Control

Formal Controls:

The formal controls can be divided into three groups: input, process, and output. The input
control is the type that must be in place before the marketing plan can be implemented. In
Beadle Auto Group’s case, they must create the marketing position and hire an employee to fill
it. This position will be proposed to be positioned in Mobridge, SD. With this new position
comes the need for financial resources to fund the new position. The process control needed is
the training of the new marketing position. The output controls are very easily accomplished.
Beadle Auto Group uses many programs to keep track of all of the books. Therefore, this plan
recommends the continuation of this process.

Informal Controls:

The informal controls can be divided into three groups: employee self-control, employee social
control, and cultural control. Beadle Auto Group has very loyal employees that are satisfied
with their jobs. Therefore, it will be fairly easy for Beadle Auto Group to implement this
marketing plan. The only issue that could arise is the acceptance of the new position that is
proposed because the employees tend to be creatures of habit. However, they all have great
relationships with each other and the owners, so there shouldn’t be much of an issue.

Implementation Schedule and Timeline:

Table 3 shows the chart for planning the activities for this plan. After adopting this plan, the
timeline will begin. This is anticipated for August of 2020.

Table 3:

Aug 2020 Sep 2020 Oct 2020 Nov 2020 Dec 2020 Jan 2021 Feb 2021 March 2021 April June July 2021 Aug 2021
2021 2021

Adopt Sell 5 Sell 5 Sell 10 Sell 5 Sell 10 Sell 10 Sell 13

Strategic services services, services, services, services, services, services,
Plan and 2 parts and 2 parts and 5 parts and 5 parts and 8 parts and 8 parts and 10
outside of outside of outside of outside of outside of outside of parts
North North North North North North outside of
Central SD Central SD Central SD Central SD Central SD Central SD North
Central SD
Product: Sell 5 Sell 15 Sell 20 Sell 30 Sell 40 Sell 50 Sell 55 Sell 65 Sell 70 Sell 75
Increase vehicles vehicles vehicles vehicles vehicles vehicles vehicles vehicles vehicles vehicles
the amount outside of outside of outside of outside of outside of outside of outside of outside of outside of outside of
of North North North North North North North North North North
inventory Central SD Central SD Central SD Central SD Central SD Central SD Central SD Central SD Central SD Central SD
to account
for new
customers
Price: Find 10 Find 10 Find 10 Find 10 Find Find 15 Find 15 Find 15 Find 15
Monitor new new new new 15vnew new new new new
prices of additional additional additional additional additional additional additional additional additional
competitors leads a leads a leads a leads a leads a leads a leads a leads a leads a
month month month month month month month month month
IMC: Create a Create Post once a Run new Post on Add 50 Run two Do a Increase
increase LinkedIn Twitter week on all social twice a people on new social Facebook follower
brand account account platforms media ad week on all each media ads and count by
awareness and platforms platform Instagram 100 this
outside of Instagram this month live stream month
North account
Central SD

Marketing Audits:

These marketing activities will be monitored by Joe Beadle. Because Joe lives in Mobridge, it
will be easier for him to monitor the new marketing position that will also be based in
Mobridge. He will be checking in on the employee at least every week and making sure that the
marketing efforts that are planned are being implemented.
If this marketing strategy does not meet expectations, each part of the marketing program can
be tweaked, whether it be the heavy use of social media or the new target market. If the
marketing plan shows little likelihood of meeting the marketing objectives, the element of
expanding to the outside of North Central South Dakota could be revised to expanding to only
Eastern South Dakota. This would allow them to still expand their market, but make the
expansion more manageable.