Strategic collaboration: a beneficial retail marketing strategy for car manufacturers and dealers

Abstract

The relationship between car manufacturers and dealers represents an individually agreed contract for selling new vehicles through the manufacturers' selected dealers. Car dealerships have been restricted by the franchise system which, by limiting them to a single brand, effectively makes them manufacturers' outlets. This eliminates competition within the showroom, despite this motor car retail marketing otherwise exhibits highly competitive characteristics. This paper aims to demonstrate that joint retail marketing collaboration works to the mutual benefits of both dealers and manufacturers by assessing the dealers' attitude towards manufacturers' marketing objectives. It found that manufacturers have a better chance of solving the distribution problems when dealership activities are thought of as one aspect of their total retail marketing mix and one that must be coordinated with other marketing factors. The findings provide for a new and better method of managing car distribution in the UK environment by combining resources.

Keywords:

• Car Marketing
• Strategic Collaboration
• Cooperative Marketing
• Retail Marketing Strategy