Quick: What comes to mind when picturing a Lamborghini sports car? And, who comes to mind as the ideal customer for the Lamborghini cars? Most likely, you said the customer is a wealthy male. After all, Lamborghini uses a bull as its brand. But, consider what would have to change if the company were to refocus its efforts to attract a new customer base – females.
Lamborghini is doing just this – the company is working on a new SUV model which is due to the marketplace by 2018. It hopes the new SUV will attract women and families as primary customers. This is a big switch for Lamborghini – currently only 5% of its global buyers are female. Money isn’t the main issue for women – the issue is that women don’t think the manufacturer understands the needs of female buyers.
Women are a large and valuable percentage of the SUV market. According to J.D. Power & Associates, women buy 53% of all small SUVs, and 48% of all small premium SUVs. And, for the single woman market, sales of premium small SUVs grew by 177% from 2010 to 2015. Plus, two-thirds of female buyers report that their vehicle purchase decision is entirely their own.
So, what do women want? Well, it sure isn’t a “shrink it and pink it” answer. In order to gain female buyers, Lamborghini is going to have to show that it understands the needs of women and families. The new SUV will need to be one that women can use often, and in comfort.
Group Activities and Discussion Questions:
- Visit Lamborghini’s Web site and view several of the car models: https://www.lamborghini.com
- Ask students to describe the target market for the company.
- Also, have students develop a positioning map for Lamborghini cars.
- Now, talk to students about changing the target market.
- Divide students into teams. Have each team prepare a re-positioning map for Lamborghini to reflect a new target market of women.
- What happens to the marketing mix when the target market changes?
- Have students develop the 4Ps for the new SUV: product, price, place, and promotion.
Source: Bloomberg News
