Assignment FORD E-MQI 61

NATIONAL ECONOMICS UNIVERSITY

MANAGEMENT OF QUALITY AND INNOVATION

ASSIGNMENT
MARKETING MANAGEMENT
FORD VIETNAM MARKETING REPORT

MEMBERS:
Nguyễn Hồng Anh – 11190263
Đào Thanh Bình - 11190724
Phạm Nam Hải - 11191646
Đỗ Ngọc Khánh - 11192558
Nguyễn Khánh Linh – 11192906
Trần Hoàng Thành – 11194734
Ngô Đức Minh - 11196302

LECTURE:
Nguyễn Hữu Đăng Khoa

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Assignment FORD E-MQI 61

Ha Noi, 09/2021

Contents
I. Background of Ford; the definition and basic concepts about marketing..........................................................................3
1. Background of Ford............................................................................................................................................................3
2. Definition about marketing.................................................................................................................................................4
3. Basics concepts.....................................................................................................................................................................4
II. The key roles & responsibilities of marketing function in organizational context and in the context of
current marketing environment...................................................................................................................................6
1. Definition & classification...................................................................................................................................................6
1.1. Definition of the marketing function.........................................................................................................6
1.2. Classification...............................................................................................................................................6
2. The key roles & responsibilities of marketing function in organizational context.........................................................7
3. The key roles & responsibilities of marketing function in current marketing environment context............................8
3.1. Impact of Internal Environment - SWOT.................................................................................................8
3.2. Impact of external environment...............................................................................................................11
III. The interrelationship between marketing and other functional units................................................................................16
IV. Criticism of Ford Marketing department.............................................................................................................................19
REFERENCES.............................................................................................................................................................................. 22

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I. Background of Ford; the definition and basic concepts about marketing

1. Background of Ford

Ford Vietnam was founded in 1995 as a joint venture between Ford Motor Corporation of
Michigan (75%) and Song Cong Diesel Company (25%) with a total investment capital of about
$126 million. Ford Vietnam is delighted to be the first US firm to invest in Vietnam after
diplomatic ties between the two nations were restored. Car assembly, marketing, sales, and
customer service are all part of Ford's operations in Vietnam.

Aside from Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, there are two representative offices in Hanoi and Ho
Chi Minh City. Ford has a 14,000-vehicle-per- year assembly facility at Hai Duong (55
kilometers from Hanoi) in Ho Chi Minh City. Ford Vietnam presently employs over 700 people in
its Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City offices. More than 5,000 workers work for the system of
authorized dealers and service centers around the country, including Ho Chi Minh and the plant in
Hai Duong.

''Go Further'' - Ford car brand slogan

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2. Definition about marketing

People are becoming increasingly linked to one another as the internet and contemporary
technologies advance, and the notion of a "flat world" becomes apparent. As a result, customers
have gotten more powerful and have more options, requiring firms to adjust their sales and
marketing strategies appropriately. 
Marketing 4.0 (marketing 4.0) is a type of marketing in which firms and customers connect
both online and offline. To adapt to the digital era, organizations must modify the way they
approach consumers, evaluate requirements, promote, sell, and provide customer service, among
other things. From channel selection to pushing purchasing activities, Marketing 4.0 will be linked
to the Internet, indicating a transition from 4P to 4C. 
Philip Kotler discussed the transition from Marketing 4P to 4C in his book "Marketing 4.0:
Moving from Traditional to Digital." Product, Price, Promotion, and Place are the classic 4Ps. There
are also comparable aspects in Marketing 4C, as follows:
Co-creation: It is built on the community's expertise, experience, and requirements to
establish an information input source for companies.
Currency: A product that may be priced differently based on who the buyer is. We can see
that the cost of acquiring a new client is always more than the cost of maintaining an existing one.
As a result, the Currency Pricing Model is fascinating.
Community: After depending on the first C, Co-creation, to come up with changes and new
goods based on information from the community, we must return to our own community. Because
news is generated in response to the demands of this group, new goods will be readily accepted by
them. The first users will be drawn from this group, which will then expand to other groups. Ford
has made significant contributions to the development of the Vietnamese community and society.
Ford is one of the investors contributing the most to the budget of Hai Duong province - where Ford
has its assembly plant. Besides, Ford has held several community responsibility activities and
initiatives, such as Safe and Eco-Friendly Driving Instruction Program, Ford Scholarship,….
Conversation: Inadvertently, discussions will become a free communication channel. Customers
converse with one another and share their product experiences. People in their immediate vicinity
will hear or be introduced to such stories. It is a means of promoting the company.

3. Basics concepts
Market trends in marketing: 
The marketing trend with the changing conditions of the market has constantly been changing. The
marketing department of Ford is required to consider market trends while devising marketing
opportunities.
. 
 New Media Marketing: New media marketing focuses on promoting companies and selling
products and services using existing and upcoming internet channels, utilizing new media
components to engage potential and present customers. Display advertising, content
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marketing, and social media promotions are just a few examples of new media marketing.
Ford can invest its efforts in SEO marketing. This can enable the company to enhance its
presence through search engine optimization and engage many customers through the
internet.
 Ethical Marketing: This kind of marketing is also one of the future trends of marketing. It
can be defined as the process by which a corporation must stimulate interest in its services
and products from customers, establish a strong relationship with customers, and increase
value for all stakeholders by incorporating social and environmental factors into product
marketing. (Perreault, 2018). Ford is required to produce products that reduce their emissions
to the environment and bring them to market accordingly to keep the customers intact and
promote the overall health and wellbeing of the society.
Marketing concepts Ford should focus on:
Current marketing trends are focusing more on customers and products. Putting customers as the
center to improve products to suit customer needs is being applied by many companies in today's
competitive economic times. Therefore, Ford should focus on three marketing concepts: Societal
Marketing Concept, Marketing Concept and Product Concept.
 Product Concept: With this concept, the marketing department must do product
communication campaigns focusing on customer needs. To do this, Ford's marketing
department needed to create customer surveys about their needs for the product. Thanks to
the marketing department, Ford is able to improve the product to better suit the needs of
customers.
 Marketing Concept: To approach this concept, the marketing department needs to develop
a communication campaign to help customers access the product and change it at their
discretion. This allows customers to feel that they are the center and will be more interested
in its products. Once again, the marketing department is set high so that ford can approach
the market and customers in the best way to develop its production and sales strategy.
 Societal Marketing Concept: The marketing department will help the company implement
this concept by giving communication plans for charity programs, sponsoring trucks for
relief, sponsoring scholarships, etc. If there is no marketing department, Approaching Ford's
societal trend will become more complex. That affects their relationship with customers and
society.
Ford should focus more on these three concepts instead of the Production Concept and Selling
Concept. The reason is because Ford is a master of these two concepts. Ford is a prime example of
Production Concept and Selling Concept, so they don't need to focus too much on these two
concepts. Their job is to apply the remaining 3 concepts to improve the product to suit today's
society and customer needs.

II. The key roles & responsibilities of marketing function in organizational context and in the
context of current marketing environment.
1. Definition & classification
1.1. Definition of the marketing function.
Marketing function is a role which helps a company to identify and source potentially
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successful products for the marketplace they operate on and then promote them by differentiating
them from similar products. It is a vital part of any company. (Team, n.d.)
The key roles and functions of the marketing includes transporting things to where they are
required, storing items, and gathering market information to meet the needs of customers (Lidstone
and MacLennan, 2017).
1.2. Classification.
In a broader sense, marketing functions include determining client needs, anticipating
customer requests, and determining strategies to maximize profit (Ahmed Zebal and Goodwin,
2012). The description of the key roles and responsibilities of marketing function are as follows:
 Identifying the requirements of Customers
The marketing function is in charge of determining how customers' wants are evolving. It
focuses on discovering the customer's needs, wants, attitudes, and habits, as well as thoroughly
analyzing the data to determine what the customers are actually requesting in the marketplace.
(Balaji, 2015)
 Anticipating Customer Requirements
The marketing department is in charge of predicting customer needs. Anticipating client
expectations can give an organization a competitive edge by allowing it to meet the wants and
desires of customers first. (Bansal and Taylor, 2015)
 Satisfying customers’ needs
The marketing function's primary goal is to meet the needs of the company's customers.
Marketing must discover products that will meet the needs of customers and provide them with
good value for money. (Chaffey and Ellis-Chadwick, 2016)
 Making Profit
Marketing function is responsible to devise new and innovative ways to sell its products to
the customers. This can include providing the customers with the value added packages which can
not only provide the customers the value for money but can also increase the overall sales and profit
of organization. (Chikweche and Fletcher, 2013)

2. The key roles & responsibilities of marketing function in organizational context

Marketing entails a variety of activities and processes associated with the beginning of the
product's journey to the point of manufacturing and consumption. The marketing function in a
marketing context is concerned with connecting manufacturers and consumers.(Smith, 2016).
Therefore, in the case of Ford Motor Company in Vietnam, marketing mix (4PS) enables the firm to
reach its target customer in Viet Nam country. This marketing mix and associated strategic actions
change over time to match the firm’s markets and industry environment.
Ford Marketing Process

 Ford Motor Company’s Products (Product mix).

Products are things that are bought and sold in the market to satisfy the needs or wants or
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consumers. Products of Ford Vietnam company, which are high quality products, are highly
appreciated by customers for operation, comfort, durability, versatility, fuel economy and especially
extremely safety. The Marketing Department of Ford Vietnam has the function and responsibility to
analyze the market and needs of Vietnamese customers to design a product in line with Ford's
philosophy, ensure customer satisfaction and create add value to their lives. For example, in the
Vietnamese market, the Pickup Ranger is not used to load too heavy goods, Vietnamese people
mainly use pickup trucks for daily work, not like the Thai market where pickup trucks serve mainly
for the carriage of goods. Based on that market analysis, the Marketing department will propose to
produce Ranger cars in a direction suitable for the Vietnamese market. Ranger cars in Vietnam will
have features to support the driver at a more comfortable level, the appearance needs more care, the
engine does not need to be too powerful, but it must also be enough for the needs of customers.
 Place/Distribution in Ford’s Marketing Mix.
In delivering products from the producer to the end consumer, marketers must clearly
decide and how to distribute the product, either through intermediaries or sale dealer. This decision
can be a marketing decision to serve the final consumer who can easily buy the product, so it means
that the activity of distribution is the transportation of goods from the producer to the final consumer
as quickly as possible. Through the distribution system, Ford Vietnam has more than 41 service
centers nationwide. Ford service workshops are built according to Ford Asia Pacific standards, with
modern facilities and equipment according to global Ford standards to improve service quality and
optimize time for customers...
 Ford’s Promotion (Promotional Mix).
The company has spent a lot of money on advertising campaigns to introduce products to
consumers and through the means of television, radio, newspapers, magazines ... The Company also
had major promotional activity in addition to the Company's advertising campaign efforts. ". The
company also has other promotional activities to develop the social community, contributing to
building the Vietnamese economy through sponsorship activities for sports, providing scholarships
for excellent students of universities. such as National Economics University, Hanoi University of
Science and Technology. Sponsoring activities to organize smile surgery in Vietnam… The
Marketing Department at Ford is mainly responsible for organizing promotional events for products
such as: "Bán tải ba miền ” ...At the same time, through the “Global Care” program, Ford Vietnam
has also made the image photos of Ranger cars doing relief work are imprinted in the minds of
customers. The company has sponsored many pickup truck owners to do relief work in Ho Chi Minh
city during the recent Covid epidemic. The image of the Ford Ranger appears densely on TV, social
platforms.

 Ford’s Prices and Pricing Strategies:

Ford’s prices vary, depending on the market. This element of the marketing mix involves
the strategies used to determine appropriate prices for products, based on market and business
conditions. Ford's purpose in the market-oriented pricing approach is to set prices that are appropriate
to market conditions, considering competition, demand, consumer perception, and other aspects.
Ford uses this pricing strategy for most of its vehicles, including cars and trucks.

For example, Ford Ranger Marketing department has set extremely competitive prices for
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each version: Ranger Wildtrack: 925 million, Ranger XLT Limited: 799 million, Ranger XLS: 630
million, Ranger XL: 616 million. Looking at the price of versions, Ford Ranger customers have a lot
of choices suitable for different uses. If simply to return goods, moving the price of 616 million for
Ranger XL is extremely competitive compared to the lowest version of Toyota Hillux priced at 628
million. In the most advanced version, Ford costs more than Toyota Hillux but lower than Nissan
Navara Pro4X, which costs 945 million.

3. The key roles & responsibilities of marketing function in current marketing

environment context
3.1. Impact of Internal Environment - SWOT
a. Strengths
 Global Recognition – Ford is a well-known brand in the automobile industry and is also
recognized in the global markets because of its success in marketing and advertising. It
operates two brands under Ford Motor Company i.e. Ford and Lincoln. Its brand value is
$10.44 billion according to the 2021 report of Statista.
 Diverse Offerings – Ford caters to all kinds of demographic groups with their diversified
brands and car models. They take care of the needs and wants of their consumers by providing
them with more variety of cars and commercial vehicles. In the upcoming years, Ford Viet
Nam will have enough car in each segment.
 Huge Network of Dealers- The company is also diverse in its operations and distribution, as
they have a huge network of about 41 dealers across Viet Nam. Ford develops its cars on
standardized procedures. They also invest heavily in various fuel sources.
 Research and Development – Ford’s research and development is one of its key strengths
because the company is committed to make and develop new products. They are continuously
trying to improve the performance of their vehicles. The factors that are evaluated include
fuel, efficiency, safety, and customer satisfaction.
Ford has a strong brand image that ensures excellent products and loyalty among
consumers. This is an excellent way for Ford to expand their operations throughout the world.
According to a research public in Q& Me website in August 2021 Ford’ brand image in Viet
Nam ranked at third position with 10% behind Toyota with 22% and BMW with 12%. To
take advantage of this strength, the Marketing Department has actively built the image of Ford
in Vietnam as a versatile, powerful vehicle that fully serves the lives of Vietnamese people.
b. Weakness
 Product Recalls – Ford faced a huge loss and their brand image suffered due to the product
recalls back in May 2016. At Ford Vietnam, the Bi-Turbo engine has had many problems in
the past with oil leakage and gearbox failure. Ford Vietnam has faced many lawsuits from its
own customers. Many competitors also rely on these errors to create a bad image for Ford
Vietnam in the eyes of consumers.
 Overdependence on Trucks and SUVs – Ford’s diversified variety is disappearing quickly
as the company focuses more on trucks and SUVs.  Currently, trucks make up for more than

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half (60%) of Ford’s total number of vehicles sold in the Viet Nam market, with plans to
increase SUVs in the future. According to VAMA (Viet Nam Automobile Manufactural
Association), its car segment just has 6,2% in August and 8,6% for the whole year (vehicles
sold). Depending too much on trucks and SUVs is risky since most consumers are aware of
climate change and moving away from big gas-guzzlers. 
Ford Motor Company's weakest point is the number of facilities it has available for
manufacturing, which is less than those that Toyota has available throughout the world. Before
the engine and transmission errors in the past in Vietnam, there are still many consumers who
are afraid and switch to buy Toyota Hillux or Toyota Fortuner. The role and responsibility of
the Marketing department is to receive the comments of customers to coordinate with the
Product development department to improve the type of engine present in Vietnam. Not only
that, the Marketing department will be responsible for promoting advertising communication
for the improved Bi-Turbo engine to customers to help customers overcome their fears. The
Marketing Department also has to coordinate with the Customer Service Department to build
incentive programs for customers who have encountered faulty cars before to ensure customer
satisfaction.
c. Opportunities:
 Digital Marketing – Digital marketing is prevailing all over the world these days, so Ford has
an opportunity to work on their digital marketing skills to grow its customer and supplier
engagements.
 Improve the environment with environmentally friendly vehicles- The Ford Explorer Hybrid
has already gained ground in the energy-efficient car market due to its success. Ford can
enhance its advantage in this area by using its current resources to become a market leader for
environmentally friendly cars. Currently, in Vietnam, Ford has not distributed any Hybrid
cars, but with Ford's Hybrid cars in Europe such as Ford Escape and Ford Focus being very
successful, Ford Vietnam has a basis to decide to bring cars. That hybrid on the Vietnamese
market. The role and responsibility of the Marketing department is to survey how the market
for electric vehicles and hybrid vehicles in Vietnam is developing, especially Vinfast's models.
The Marketing Department must carefully survey and research competitors about electric
vehicles from battery structure, battery' cell to customer comments about competitors. For
example, Vinfast currently has a battery rental policy and has a warranty of up to 10 years,
from which the Marketing department will coordinate with the Product development
department and the Customer service department to come up with policies for Hybrid cars.
Ford's upcoming launch in Vietnam.
Ford Motor Company has the opportunity to develop and grow by making an increased
effort to extend its market presence, such as by expanding the number of dealerships and
creating more effective marketing (e.g. innovation to introduce new products to satisfy
environmental concerns). Ford has the ability to improve its financial position by expanding
its supply chain to meet demand and cutting production costs.
d. Threats:

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 High Competition – Ford is already facing cut-throat competition from its rival companies
like Toyota, Hyundai, Kia . Ford keeps struggling to maintain its innovative position in the
industry. Korean rivals with many options to serve the driver, Japanese rivals such as Toyota,
Nissan, and Mitsubishi can always be strong in durability, which is the number one priority for
Vietnamese people when car is a great asset. In the mid-size SUV market share, Toyota
Fortuner has always been an annoying competitor to Ford Everest, according to data from
VAMA, in August and September the number of cars sold by Fortuner surpassed Everest. In
the pickup truck segment, although still holding a dominant position, competitors such as
Toyota and Nissan are continuously bringing to Vietnamese customers the latest generation of
pickup trucks to compete for market share with Vietnam. Ford Rangers. In the CUV B
segment, Ford Ecosport really lagged behind with only 15 cars sold in August, much lower
than Kia Seltos with 832 cars.
 Market uncertainties – In the first quarter of 2020, market uncertainties globally hammered
Ford very hard, leading to a decline in sales to 516,330 total vehicles, which lower by 12.5%
compared to the same period in 2019. It has been affected more adversely than its rivals
General Motors and Fiat Chrysler. Market uncertainties also forced Ford’s German branch to
apply for a $582 million loan from the German government to cushion the impact of the
decline in sale.
 Semiconductors shortage- The global chip shortage is having a huge impact on Ford, which
delays Ford's plans to launch new models in Vietnam. For example, Ford Explorer, Ford
Escape, and Ford Territory have been expected to launch for a long time but there is no
official information so far, which makes Ford Vietnam lose market share and prestige in the
eyes of consumers.
Ford is now under danger from rivals like Hyndai, Toyota and maybe Vinfast who often
make bold and innovative marketing and product decisions. The impact of economic problems
as well as the broken supply chain in the region is seriously affecting the future plans of Ford
Vietnam. The role and responsibility of the Marketing department is very large, in order to
prevent threats to Ford, the Marketing department will have to perform all of its roles. The
Marketing Department will research the market, study the strengths and weaknesses of
competitors in each segment, then the Marketing Department will coordinate with the Product
development department to improve and develop products. In addition, the Marketing
department will coordinate with parties such as Customer Service to build reasonable
marketing plans that optimize Ford's inherent resources to bring better profits to the company.
Conclusion
The key problems to watch out for in this SWOT analysis of Ford Vietnam are a slow
rate of innovation and the number of products is limited in the Vietnamese market. Ford
Vietnam has also invested heavily in R&D and factory in Hai Duong as well as plans to
launch the new generation of Ranger, Everest, Explorer and Territory models. The role of the
Marketing department is to help Ford Vietnam understand the needs of customers, improve
products and service quality to improve the image of Ford in the minds of customers.
3.2. Impact of external environment

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There are two models to analyze the impact of external factors in marketing environment which the
roles and responsibility of Marketing department of Ford related to these factors.
3.2.1. Poster Five Force
 Competitive Rivalry: fierce competition among competitors in an industry/field.

Today, the automobile manufacturing and trading industry in Vietnam is becoming extremely
fierce. According to the Vietnam Automobile Manufacturers Association, there are currently 17
members with a total capital of up to trillions of billions. In addition, luxury car manufacturers such
as GM, Mercedes, BMW, Audi, etc. to automakers such as Nissan, Mazda, Hyundai, etc. are
competing fiercely in the launch of midsize cars and passenger cars. Moreover, car manufacturers
are trying to build themselves a bold image of their own to increase their own value.

Vietnam’s automobile industry is intensely competitive and the big players have been striving
for their share. Truong Hai Automobile JSC takes the lead with 44.6% market share. The second-
place belongs to Toyota Motor Vietnam with 18,9%, Honda Vietnam retained the third with 9,9%
and Ford took the fourth position 8,5% (“VAMA,” 2021).

 Threat of New Entrants.

The automotive industry is specific in nature with high barriers to entry. First of all, in terms of
economic scale, companies like Ford Vietnam, Toyota Vietnam, Honda Vietnam have a large scale,
invest in modern equipment, and produce products in large quantities. If you want to enter the
industry, you will have to invest approximately the same size as the above companies to be able to
compete. Second, the auto industry still needs a large amount of initial capital and the ability to
recover capital is still very slow. This is also a big barrier for new firms. At the same time, if new
firms want to enter the industry, they must invest in building their showrooms. This still requires
new firms to have a large number. And the last thing is product differentiation that emphasizes
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customer loyalty and brand awareness to well-known brands in the market. Because cars are a
luxury product, when deciding to buy, people often think very carefully, they will prioritize
products of a famous company rather than the product of some new company. For example, Vinfast
has a Lux SA 2.0 model that is somewhat competitive with Ford Everest, the Marketing department
will have to do research right from the time the model has not been officially launched to build
price scenarios. as well as equipment on new products. Not only that, but the Marketing department
also must evaluate customer feedback on new products entering the market, thereby contributing to
improving existing products as well as building reasonable marketing plans.
 Bargaining Power of Suppliers.

Suppliers play a very important role in the business, it determines the success or failure of a
business, immediately affecting the immediate benefits of the business.
Number and scale of suppliers: For automobile manufacturers and assemblers in Vietnam such
as Vinaxuki or Truong Hai auto, the number and scale of suppliers is not much, not large, almost all
production facilities. The production of components and spare parts for automobile assembly in
Vietnam is very small, the products do not meet the standards of quality and design, that's why the
majority of car manufacturers have to buy components and spare parts from foreign countries or
self-produce as Vinaxuki itself produces up to 40% of components and spare parts for genuine
assembly and domestic production, Vietnamese firms cannot afford negotiating terms in the import
contract, this has pushed up the price of automobile products and made them less competitive.
Ford exerts significant purchasing power over its parts suppliers so threat of supplier power is
not much of concerns. Ford’s supply chain model is tier based system, where it contracts with a
limited amount of suppliers who would then rely on supplies from further upstream. Ford’s major
concern are the risks to the complex and interconnected supply chain, such as failure or unexpected
bankruptcy of parts suppliers which may leads to disruption within supply chain. Therefore, One
Ford Plan tries to rigorously and actively engage their supplier partners to mitigate potential risk
with an aim of creating sustainable supply chain.
 Bargaining Power of Buyers.

In Vietnam’s automobile industry, the factors that could affect consumers’ purchasing decisions are
the design, quality, price and fuel efficiency concerns. There are various brands and models of
vehicles with similar specs offered at sound price, including imported vehicles from, for example,
Thailand, Korea, German as a result of import taxes reduction. Furthermore, nowadays consumers
are more sensitive in spending large sums of money on automobiles while there are many other
options available. Hence, the bargaining power of the buyer is moderately high. When the
bargaining power of the buyer is high, the Marketing department has to set the prices which are
competitive to the market. For example, the Ford Ranger Marketing department has set extremely
competitive prices for each version: Ranger Wildtrack: 925 million, Ranger XLT Limited: 799
million, Ranger XLS: 630 million, Ranger XL: 616 million. Looking at the price of versions, Ford
Ranger customers have a lot of choices suitable for different uses. If simply to return goods, moving
the price of 616 million for Ranger XL is extremely competitive compared to the lowest version of
Toyota Hillux priced at 628 million. In the most advanced version, Ford costs more than Toyota
Hillux but lower than Nissan Navara Pro4X, which costs 945 million.
 Threat of Substitute Products.
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In fact, today, there are not many substitutes that are considered a serious threat to the
automobile. Currently, there are a number of products that can replace cars such as motorbikes,
buses, trains, planes, boats and used cars. However, in which, motorbike is a product with a price
suitable for most people's budget, but its market is closed and tends to be saturated. Old cars are
also considered a big threat to existing cars because they are cheaper, suitable for low- or middle-
income consumers. However, if the remaining usage time is included, the use of cars does not affect
the sales of automakers. To encourage people to buy a new car instead of a used car, the role and
responsibility of the Marketing department is to communicate the benefits of buying a new car such
as bank financing, body insurance policies and special offers. especially the quality of the cars
being produced. Not only that as mentioned above, but the Marketing department also has a great
role in product development, if the product is increasingly developed and perfected, customers will
always want to own a new car rather than a outdated car

3.2.2. PESTLE
Political
In Vietnam, cars are considered a luxury item and bear a lot of taxes, besides, the
Vietnamese government is constantly changing tax policies, making it impossible for many
companies to budget in the future. future. One of the heaviest taxes is the excise tax Currently, the
excise tax on cars with 9 seats or less is calculated according to the cylinder capacity. Vehicles with
engines under 1.5L are subject to the tax rate of 35%; over 1.5-2.0 L subject to 40% tax, over 2.0-
2.5L subject to 50%, above 2.5-3.0L subject to 60%, over 3.0-4.0L subject to 90%, above 4.0-5.0L
subject to 110%, above 5.0- 6.0L bear 130% and above 6.0L bear 150%.
For petrol hybrid electric cars (Phev) and electric cars (Ev), the excise tax is 70% compared to cars
of the same type using gasoline. Soon, the Vietnamese government is considering a 50% reduction
in registration fees for domestically assembled cars.
These policies have a great impact on Marketing plans. For example, the current Ford Ranger line-
up, the company no longer offers a 3.0-liter V6 engine, but a smaller 2.0-liter engine to enjoy a
lower special consumption fee. This new engine is not as popular as the old one and the role of the
Marketing Department is to make customers have a better view of this 2.0L engine. The Marketing
Department must highlight the outstanding features of the engine. Bi-Turbo engine like more fuel
efficient. Currently, the Ford Ranger series has also been assembled domestically based on the
policy in the future, the Marketing department will have marketing programs on new prices for this
product.
Economic
In recent years, the impact of Covid-19 has led to consumers tightening their spending. This
significantly affects the number of cars consumed in the country. People's plan to buy a car will
face more difficulties, because the initial investment amount increases significantly. Therefore,
many people will hesitate to buy a car. According to VAMA (Viet Nam Automobile Manufactural
Association), this is the 5th consecutive month the market has had a decrease in retail sales, with
8,884 vehicles sold in August, the sales decline was 45% compared to July sales. With August sales
as mentioned above, this is the lowest record sales in the history of the Vietnamese automobile
market since 2015 until now.

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In order to improve sales, the Marketing Department will research and propose preferential
programs for installment loans with competitive interest rates compared to competitors or simply
discount programs directly on vehicles. Depending on the data on customer needs and competitors
that the Marketing department collects, the department will have reasonable marketing programs.
Social
According to a research public in Q& Me website in August 2021, there are 90% candidates
want to own a car. Beside that, car in the mind of Vietnamese people is success (67%), maturity
(51%) and wealth (49%). Based on these data, the Marketing department will build the image of its
cars like Ford Everest, Ford Ranger reflecting success, maturity and strength.
Another social factor could be estimated is age group and the size of a family. Vietnam is a country
with a young population and the family size is expected to decrease to 4.1 in urban areas and 3.4 in
rural areas by 2025. Based on the above data from the General Statistics Office, the Marketing
Department will conduct market analysis and research to help the board of directors decide to add
mid-size and small CUVs such as Ford Territory, Ford Escape to suit the needs of customers.
Young population with limited economy as well as small family size does not need large 7-seater
SUVs anymore.
Technological
According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade of Vietnam, Vietnam's auto industry started in
1992 and started quite late and after 30-40 years in the region, we have achieved many
achievements but there are still many limitations. regime.
Achievements: The localization rate of some domestically produced and assembled vehicle lines is
quite high due to the improved supply of domestic supporting industry products in recent years.
Domestic-made trucks, passenger cars with 10 seats or more and specialized vehicles have
achieved a high localization rate, reaching the set target to meet basically the domestic market
(trucks up to 07 hours). tons meet about 70% of demand, with an average localization rate of 55%;
passenger cars with 10 seats or more, specialized vehicles meet about 90% of demand, with the
localization rate reaching from 20% up to 50%). The quality of components production has
increased significantly with the export value of components increasing from $0.7 billion in 2010 to
$3.5 billion in 2016. However, the limitation is still there when it comes to spare parts, auto parts
currently produced in Vietnam are mainly labor-intensive parts, simple technology, low production
value.
Marketing department should be responsible for checking the proposal of applying new features on
the vehicle to know that whether it is suitable for the production capacity of the factory in Hai
Duong and the price of product. Before launching and putting into production new car lines, the
Marketing department always has trips to the factory in Hai Duong to check and monitor.
Technological features are also being developed by rival models every day, the function and duty
of the Marketing department is to study and evaluate customer attitudes about those new
technological features. For example, Ford's Blue Cruise autopilot technology is being tested and
developed in the US, the Marketing department will evaluate customer comments to see if they are
interested in the autopilot feature or are afraid of the vehicle. It is safe to have reviews to improve
the product.
Legal
Interestingly, the issue of copyright also affects the automotive industry. Certain features of a car
— from its branding to even its shape — can be protected by copyright, trademark, or patent laws.
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It’s uncommon to hear about legal showdowns in the automotive space, but they do happen. When
contributing to building a new improved image for the product or building marketing campaigns,
the Ford’s Marketing department has the duty and responsibility to ensure that the image of the
product is not entangled in copyright issues. Not only that there are many laws that affect our
Marketing campaign, instead of organizing annual activities about pickup trucks, Ford has to
comply with the Government's social distancing laws and the Marketing department has to build
new campaign, although still using the image of an Everest passing through a residential area, but
the Marketing department had to add a subject line stating that the footage was before the time of
separation.
Environmental
According to the Department of Natural Resources and Environment of Ho Chi Minh City, in
September 2019 the city's air quality is at an alarming level with a sudden increase in pollutants
(fine dust PM10, PM2.5, CO, etc.) SO2). Pollutants such as suspended dust exceeded the standard
by 50%, PM10 exceeded the standard by 25%, and PM2.5 exceeded the standard by 25%.
Currently, the situation is probably less polluted when the country is going through long periods of
social distancing, but we are facing problems such as epidemics and viruses.
Ford's Marketing Department will have good articles but campaigns to promote Ford's Bi-Turbo
engine, which is famous for its ability to save fuel and reduce environmental pollution. Not only
promoting current products, in the current polluted climate, the Marketing department can propose
to the board of directors to introduce hybrid and electric vehicles to Vietnam in the future to bring a
new image. photo company Ford cares about the environment. In another aspect of service, the
Marketing department will develop campaigns to support customers to replace the car's air
conditioner filter to give customers a feeling of peace of mind before the bad condition of the air.

III. The interrelationship between marketing and other functional units

The marketing functions are closely linked with the other functional units of business organizations.
Marketing functions require accurate description from the production department regarding the
products and services of the organization to provide a marketing plan. The operation of marketing
needs to be communicated and backed by the other departments of the company. For example, the
HR policies must be aligned with the marketing department to increase the sales, side by side the
production team must convey the information regarding the product and services to build an
accurate marketing plan for the company.

 Marketing and Finance

The Marketing Department is closely related to the Finance Department when all Marketing
campaigns or related plans must be calculated. This includes taking into consideration the profit
and cost margin of the brand, product line and product etc. For Ford's Marketing department,
before deciding to build a marketing plan, they must work with Finance to calculate the related
costs. For example, in sponsoring the organization of the Pickup Truck festival "Bán tải ba miền
", the Marketing department must be able to raise the sponsorship costs, the costs for the
technician team, ... Furthermore, the marketing department is required to be in contact with the
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finance department to know the current financial position of the business so that the campaigns
are organized at the right scale(Lisette de Vries, Sonja Gensler, & Leeflang, 2012), for example
instead of sponsoring the event outright we only send our top technical experts to the event.

 Marketing and Human Resource

At Ford Viet Nam, the Marketing Department has a great demand for recruitment, especially for the
internship position in the spring and summer when the 6-month internship program has long been a
very famous point of Ford. Such programs are both a way for Ford to promote the company's image
to the younger generation and at the same time find new talent for the company. And to ensure the
successful recruitment process, the Marketing department works closely with the HR department.
The prime function of HR department is to work for the welfare of the employees and to recruit the
right candidate for the right job in the given budget. HR also assists the marketing department in
ensuring that its workers are working in a satisfying environment and that their individual
objectives are aligned with the organization's objectives.(Lisette de Vries et al., 2012) For instance,
the HR department will help the Marketing department ensure candidates that they will be
vaccinated during their employment to enjoy the company's benefits and, above all, find the right
people for Ford's Marketing team. Moreover, in working progress, the Human Resource will have
performance feedback of employee to Marketing department to evaluate the efficiency.

 Marketing and Production Department and Operations

The production department is mainly concerned with the development of new products and related
operations. The marketing department works in collaboration with the production department and
the operations department to ensure the development of the product that can satisfy the taste buds of
the customers. Ford's Marketing Department has a small division of Product Marketing. The
Product Marketing Department will coordinate with the Product department to analyze the market,
competitor products in each segment, collect and analyze customer comments to judge the
customer's car selection trend and improve the products. Ford products. For example, in the seven-
seat SUV segment, Ford Everest is facing countless rivals such as Toyota Fortuner, Mitsubishi
Pajero Sport or fierce rivals from the CUV segment such as Santa Fe and Kia Sorento. The Product
Marketing department will analyze the strengths and weaknesses of competitors, customer
comments about Ford products and competitors, the Product Marketing department will coordinate
with experts from the Product development department to develop Sales. Talk about products,
improve current Ford Everest products according to the trends that customers want. the Marketing
department will also propose to Ford Vietnam to bring back Ford Territory or Ford Escape to
compete directly with competitors in the CUV segment. Besides, the Marketing department also
coordinates with the Operations department to ensure that all vehicle functions are synchronized
and outperformed competitors in the segment(Kaufman & Horton, 2014). In summary, the
relationship between the Marketing Department and the Production Department and Operations is
an important relationship that helps the company's products always innovate, meet the needs of
customers, orient future product lines, and bring benefits to customers. profit for the company.

 Marketing and Customer Service

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Competition between automakers to increase market share has become a very challenging task in
view of the variety of options and brands. In order to differentiate themselves from competitors,
automakers started to focus their attention on providing superior aftersales service (Chaichinarat, P.,
& T., 2018; Jain, Nikunj Kumar, Singh, & Kaushik, 2020). Information about competitors'
customer service programs such as price, warranty period... will be collected by Marketing
department and cooperated with Customer Service department to deploy customer service programs
of Ford. For example, Marketing department collects information about Isuzu D-max will give
customers a warranty period of up to 5 years, then Marketing department will coordinate with
Customer Service department to provide customers with warranty packages with time and cost.
number of kilometers competed to maintain the leading position of the Ford Ranger. As a result,
customers will feel more satisfied and build a good relationship with customers.

 Marketing and IT

Marketing department and IT department works together to ensure the attainment of the marketing
and organizations objective in the best possible manner. Its department works in collaboration with
the marketing department to ensure that, all the functions of marketing department are equipped
with recent technological advances and that all the functions are working as per the current needs of
the market. Not only that, but the Marketing department can also cooperate with the IT department
and the Customer Service department to develop apps to support car users. For example, Ford's
Marketing department is researching on Kia's Kia Link app that helps customers control cars
remotely, check vehicle parameters in real time, support appointment booking, .... Then Marketing
department will coordinate with IT and Customer Service departments to develop Ford's app.

 Marketing and Sale

The Marketing Department will collect customer opinions from the sales department through sales
consultants, thereby proposing appropriate marketing campaigns. The Sales Department at each
agent will be the ones to implement those marketing plans. For Ford in Vietnam, every year the
Marketing Department always participates in the National Sale Day to discuss with the Sales
Department and make future plans.

IV. Criticism of Ford Marketing department

The Marketing Department of Ford Vietnam has achieved many successes, but there are still
problems that the Marketing Department does not do well and is not suitable for Vietnamese
people.
 Product and Price

Ford's product line seems to be relying too much on mid-size SUVs and pickups. Other Ford
models such as Eco sport or Tourneo have very low sales and are among the top but lowest-selling
cars in the Vietnamese market. In the past, many Ford models were forced to die in Vietnam
because they were not suitable for Vietnamese consumers such as Ford Escape, Ford Fiesta, and
Ford Focus. The above products of Ford have bad design, poor equipment or have less spacious
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interior space than competitors. Ford's Marketing Department did not carefully study the market
before deciding to bring the above models to Vietnam. Looking at current Korean rivals in
Vietnam, car manufacturers like Hyundai and Kia have very good new product strategies, beautiful,
youthful and modern design, fuel economy and very satisfied users with the number of options.
extremely abundant on each model, competitive prices and diverse segments. According to VAMA
Looking at the sales of the 10 best-selling car models in September 2021, we see that there are 5
Korean models, while Ford has only one model, the Ranger, which ranks 4th with 1158 vehicles.
Another weakness in the Product aspect is that Ford's Marketing department as well as the
management are quite slow to react to market trends. While the C-sized CUV segment is a market
share with huge demand and will be the future trend, Ford Vietnam is quite slow in bringing its
CUV lines to Vietnam. Ford Escape has missed the appointment many times and now the Ford
Territory’s release date still unknown. It can be seen that good product lines with high
competitiveness are brought in very slowly. When Ford's models were launched in Vietnam, it was
also the time when many competitors from Korea had launched a new generation. It is the delay in
the launch of new products that makes customers very angry and difficult to choose a car.
Ford's discount strategies are there, but they don't seem to be as flexible as their Japanese and
Korean or Vietnamese rivals. In the first 6 months of 2021, Ford Everest took the lead in the 7-seat
body-on-frame SUV segment, but only in the last 4 months of the year Toyota Fortuner with many
outstanding and flexible incentives has regained its position number 1 from Ford.
 Handling a media crisis

At the beginning of 2020, Ford Ranger and Everest cars had an oil leak error but were not
completely overcome by the company, many customers of Ford Vietnam took to the streets to
organize a march to demand their rights.
The group of customers using Ford EcoBlue 2.0L vehicles has an error that the response text of
Ford Vietnam's customer response is general and does not have much useful information for
consumers. Ford Vietnam has not announced the cause of oil leakage and oil penetration detected
on EcoBlue 2.0L vehicles.
According to this group, car owners do not have confidence in Ford Vietnam's plan to handle oil
leakage and seepage due to unknown reasons. Ford Vietnam offers a commitment to free repair but
does not commit that customers' cars will not continue to bleed or absorb oil.
Ford Vietnam does not offer any additional warranty policy due to the above error. Since then, the
car owner is concerned that after the treatment is complete, the warranty has just expired, the oil
leakage situation occurs immediately after that, it is no longer covered by the warranty.
For the oil spill incident on Ford Everest and Ranger, the Marketing department of Ford Vietnam
gave very late and incomplete responses to customers. Ford also has moves to shift responsibility to
customers - who do not understand too much about mechanics or technology.
Through the above analysis, we see that to have a professional and effective Marketing campaign,
Ford Vietnam still needs to review and invest in marketing activities of its business as well as
innovating technology. suitable for the present and not obsolete in the future. Simultaneously,
researching and introducing new product lines and modern conveniences, it is necessary to come up
with a marketing strategy that affirms the corporate value as well as the brand value of Ford
Vietnam in the domestic market.

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CONCLUSION

In conclusion, through all the above analysis, the roles and responsibilities of the Marketing
department at Ford Vietnam have been analyzed very clearly. First, the Marketing Department has a
great role in setting the direction of the Marketing strategy for the company in the present and in the
future, without the participation of the Marketing Department, it is easy to suffer from myopia and
direct problems. causing the image and revenue of Ford Vietnam to go down. Secondly, the roles
and responsibilities of the Marketing department are very important while the Marketing
department is involved in almost every business plan. In the organizational context, the Marketing
department will have the role and task of analyzing and coordinating with other departments of the
organization in the marketing mix process, the Marketing department will be based on the internal
analysis of the company to devise reasonable strategies. and efficient. In the environmental context,
the external factors are many, based on PESTLE and Five forces analysis, the Marketing
department has the role and responsibility to develop marketing strategies and programs to adapt
and match with the needs of the market. factors in today's marketing environment. Thirdly, the
Marketing department has close links with other departments in the business. For example, when
you want to implement a Marketing plan, it will need coordination from the Finance department,
the Marketing department wants to recruit personnel, it needs the participation of the Human
Resources department and the Marketing department will do the communication for the programs.
recruitment. With the goal of product improvement and development, the Marketing department
plays an important role in helping the Product development department approach the needs of
customers, thereby improving the product to suit the Vietnamese market, directly bringing benefits
to customers. profit for the company. In the service segment, the Marketing department will help
build appropriate campaigns and customer care programs for the Customer Service department...In
Vietnam, the Marketing department has achieved certain successes when the sales of the Ford
Ranger are good. Ford Transit has always been at the top of the segment for many years, the image
of a company with many contributions to the community is also very well built. However, there are
still many shortcomings, which can be mentioned as: Marketing campaigns are not suitable for
Vietnamese people, the delay in launching new products, the way to handle the communication
crisis is not good. The Marketing Department plays a really important role in Ford Vietnam, the
Marketing Department will need to try harder, research and build appropriate marketing campaigns
that affirms the corporate value as well as the brand value of Ford Vietnam in the domestic market

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