Introduction
The development of technology enables people to choose better options for their lives. Apart from this contemporary people can afford taking care of nature. These two factors contribute to the development of the green motor car market. Green motor cars buyers can benefit from saving money on fuel, and creating a popular image of an environmentally friendly person. In fact, the overall market is developing quite rapidly, but there are certain segments which can be of special interest for green car companies.
The target market segment
According to The New York Times, the United States green car market is developing rapidly and is supported by the federal government (Anderson and Anderson, 2010). However, it can be more beneficial to focus on young buyers (about 20-30 years old). First of all, young people do not have much money, especially to spend it on gas.
Reputedly, such cars are a bit more expansive than their fuel counterparts (about $2,000 -4,000), but the federal government can provide a tax credit (Wald, 2010). Apart from this being an environmentally friendly person is the latest trend especially in Los Angeles where “anyone who is anyone has” such car (Matheson, 2008, p.153). It goes without saying that young people are more subjected to the influence of such fashionable trends.
Marketing information system
Admittedly, to control the development of the company it is essential to follow all the changes taking place on the market. A marketing information system is one of the best tools to control the market. To make the system effective it is necessary to take into account all the important data.
Since it has been decided to target at young buyers it is helpful to use the following information. First of all, the system should contain the entire information from the internal sources (sales, production, profits, delays, etc.) and external sources (Pride et al., 2009). The external sources include data from statistic websites (governmental and non-governmental) on the market (car production, sales, import, export, etc.), scientific innovations and social life.
For example, such statistic data can reveal the number of young people on the targeted territory, the welfare of young people, marital status. Of course, it is essential to take into account several years (maybe, decades) since today, schoolchildren are potential car buyers in several years. Apart from this, the system should monitor public opinion, i.e., newspapers, magazines, press relies on, etc.
Response to changes
The marketing information system mentioned above has quite precise and comprehensive information to enable the company to respond to changes. Of course, the most valuable for this purpose is the set of external data. Thus, statistical data on population can help to predict the number of potential buyers every year.
The data revealing public opinion will enable to take into account the latest trends in the society (for instance, the popularity of environmentally friendly products) which can help to predict the demand. The data concerning scientific innovations can enable to find out what technology is likely to be popular.
Conclusion
It is necessary to point out that the most promising segment for green motorcars is the US market, young buyers in particular. To achieve good results it is essential to use the comprehensive marketing information system containing internal data (sales, production, etc.) and external data (statistics on market development, social life, and scientific innovations).
Reference List
Anderson, C. D., Anderson, J. (2010). Electric and Hybrid Cars: A History. Jefferson, NC: McFarland.
Matheson, C. (2008). Green Chic: Saving the Earth in Style. Naperville, IL: Sourcebooks, Inc.
Pride, W. M., Hughes, R. J., Kapoor, J. R. (2009). Business. Mason, OH: Cengage Learning.
Wald, M. L. (2010). Nissan Will Sell 500,000 Electric Cars a Year by 2013, Says Chief. The New York Times. Web.