TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction: A Personal Note on the Contrast in the Author’s Perception of BMW and Cisco
I still remember the first BMW car I saw. The year was 2001, and a BMW car in a country like Bangladesh was a true novelty. The entire neighbourhood knew that there was a BMW car in that garage. I went there with friends - a group of teenagers who skipped playing Cricket on a sunny afternoon to marvel at this luxurious vehicle. But in an era when computers had only started to replace typewriters in Bangladesh, how had a company like BMW created such a strong perception?
On the other hand, there’s Cisco – a brand I have heard of multiple times over the last ten years, yet I only knew a few details about their products until yesterday. Although it’s a global brand that’s impacting billions of lives every day, but only the relevant people know about its products. With that being said, let’s explore how these two companies have indulged in designing perceptions of their brand.
BMW: The Ultimate Driving Machine for Evolving Consumers
Obsessed with Continuous Upgrading of Product Quality:
When a company that produces airplane engines decides to produce car engines, it is natural to expect pristine engine performance.And BMW has maintained a steady focus on engine performance ever since its inception. But it’s not only about the engine, the makers of the car also focused on details like tactile sensation of the steering wheel and the quality of leather used in the car. With the progress of technology over the decades,BMW has continued to upgrade its products. Today’s BMW cars come with a lot of state-of-the-art digital upgrades, satisfying the needs of customers.
Segmenting the audience and understanding the shift in attitudes:
By segmenting its customers intelligently, the company has carefully launched a series of products, appealing to the rich, the super-rich, and the hope-to-be-rich, without sacrificing its premium quality.
They have also correctly identified the psychographic changes in different generations. Instead of trying to force models like Ford did with Edsel, they understood correctly what each generation wanted and either adjusted their advertising or introduced new models of cars; sometimes to re-sell to the current customers and sometimes to attract new customers. The table depicts some of these decisions.
Baby Boomers & Yuppies - Sporty sedans
Upper liberals - Launched the X Series
Upper Conservatives - Redesigned the 7 Series
Modern Mainstream - Introduced Lower-priced 1 Series and X1 SUV
Post-moderns - Introduced convertibles and roadsters
Leveraging the power of Storytelling:
BMW as a brand has always focused on telling compelling stories. The logo itself is a work of artistic expression. It depicts an aircraft propeller rotating in the sky, expressing motion, freedom, and the sophistication of an airplane engine. The slogan ‘Ultimate Driving Machine,’coined in 1962, strongly resonates with the strength of the product.
Building a Sense of Exclusivity with Pricing Strategy:
Because of their Premium Pricing Strategy, only successful people can afford a BMW. As a result, celebrities and top professionals have been historically associated with the brand. This has consistently boosted the brands’ credibility and created selective distortion when it comes to repair costs and post-sales servicing.
Two Recommendations:
- Create an immersive virtual reality experience - BMW can design immersive virtual reality experiences for the Apple Vision Pro’s environment. This gives two benefits:
a. Apple Vision Pro, because of it’s premium pricing, shares a very similar target group. BMW can market their product in an innovative way to the exact group they want to show it to.
b. BMW can partner with Apple to access the advanced analytics report, helping them to test out features on the VR platform and make decisions about adding or removing them. - Bring back the ‘BMW Film Series’:
While researching for this assignment, I found out about the highly successful campaign of the BMW Film Series. With a minimal budget, this series can be re-released on streaming platforms like Netflix or Prime Video. This would give BMW another opportunity to showcase their amazing cars to Gen-Zs and Gen-Alphas. A possible sequel series can also be planned but that would be a budget-heavy decision.
Cisco: Leading from the Front with Innovation and Understanding Consumer’s Needs and Wants
Providing an end-to-end solution for networking:
Cisco’s master stroke has been the ability to provide a turnkey solution for its B2B customers. They didn’t mind paying the premium price simply because Cisco offered a complete bundle and saved valuable time.
Ensuring secure connection:
Cybersecurity is a key issue in the B2B sector, andCisco ensured that they provide the most secure product, making the security impenetrable to hackers. Consequently, businesses feel safe working with Cisco.
Acquiring relevant companies and to continuously upgrade the ecosystem of services:
Cisco’s aggressive acquisition can be compared with that of Google, and like Google, they also proceed with a purpose – to create an even more useful product bundle for the customers. Cisco knows that as many as a third of its acquisitions will fail, and yet they keep investing – because it works for them.
Fostering innovation:
Cisco keeps investing in R&D to stay ahead, spending $7.551 Billion in 2023, and making its competition chase its trail. That way, they are gaining credibility and respect. When your competition is following you, you’re already perceived as a leader. They also organize a competition like Cisco Internet of Things (IoT)Grand Challenge which fosters innovation and improves their brand image.
Extremely strong search engine optimization (SEO):
When someone searches for information about Cisco, Cisco’s own website appears in the Top 10 Google search results – this indicates that their SEO is top notch. As B2B decision-making relies on research done by multiple personnel in the company, such a high level of SEO improvesCisco’s marketing efforts.
Two Recommendations:
1. Enhance Cybersecurity Offerings: With cyber threats evolving, companies are more concerned than ever about security. Cisco can capitalize on this by investing in next-gen cybersecurity solutions, including AI-driven threat detection and response systems.
2. Invest in 5G Technology: As 5G becomes the new standard for telecommunication, Cisco can grow by being at the forefront of 5G infrastructure deployment, ensuring its products and services are 5G compatible and leading in 5G R&D.
Conclusion:
In conclusion, for BMW, it matters to be known to teenagers all over the world. For Cisco, it matters to be known among the professionals. That’s why it’s no surprise that their marketing strategies are different. But the reasons behind why they are both perceived as premium brands remain the same: consistent efforts to understand the shifting needs and wants of consumers and the timely delivery of valuable solutions.
