Understanding Customer Needs

We must keep pace with consumers’ evolving wants and needs in order to remain competitive. We monitor global market trends, shifting consumer interests, and social and political developments to identify issues that are likely to affect our consumers, our industry and our company. We rely on a global network of internal and external experts to ensure that we have a wide-ranging, comprehensive perspective on consumer trends and how they will affect consumers’ future choices about vehicles and mobility. We apply these trend analyses throughout our marketing, product development, research and design organizations to guide future product and technology developments.

Our marketing experts use an intensive research and analysis process to understand who our potential customers are, what they value and what they want in a vehicle. We define a “brand DNA” and a “target customer” for each of our main brands and products. The brand DNA and target customer profiles go beyond simple demographic information such as age, gender and income; we build complete profiles of our target customer, including information such as what they like to do, what music they listen to and where they shop. Using a fully developed, typical customer as the focus for vehicle development brings our market research data to life and keeps everyone on the product development team focused on designing a vehicle that meets customers’ needs and desires.

We develop our target customer profiles based on psychological traits and archetypes that transcend national characteristics and country-specific customer desires. This is a critical part of our drive to develop truly global vehicles that appeal to customers in multiple markets. Toward this end, we are focusing more on the emotional and psychological elements of how customers choose their vehicles as well as the traditional economic criteria of price and features. In addition to developing vehicles that deliver best-in-class features and price for value, our goal is to develop vehicles that fulfil the dreams and aspirations of each target customer group. We believe this approach not only helps us to understand our customers better, it also helps us to develop vehicles that capture the imaginations, dreams and loyalty of our customers across the globe. Of course, we are keenly aware that economic pressures can push the boundaries of brand loyalties, and we need to work to continue to build vehicles that customers can afford.

We know that we cannot predict the future. However, we can prepare for a broad range of possibilities through “futuring” exercises that help us to ensure we have robust strategies in place, whatever the future might bring. Therefore, in addition to product- and brand-specific market research, we have an office dedicated to tracking shifts in social, technological, economic, environmental and political arenas. In 2013, we again made our global customer trends research public in “Looking Further with Ford”, a report revealing insights about consumer habits and behaviors expected to shape 2014 and beyond. This trends report leverages years of research and collaboration with thought leaders from around the world. By publishing it, we hope to spur further discussion, inspire deeper insights and showcase the innovative and thoughtful side of Ford Motor Company.

“Looking Further with Ford” presents a series of micro trends that will influence the market landscape in 2014 and beyond, none of which are specific to the automotive industry. The underlying purpose of the trend work is to understand the forces affecting what is happening in social, technological, economic, environmental and political arenas as a means to better anticipate the future wants, needs and desires of consumers. This collection of trends reveals recurring themes of mindfulness; in the context of increasing pace of change, we are reevaluating our relationships with the world around us in terms of technology, the environment, and how and where we spend our time. Some examples of the trends we are seeing include the following:

• The Sustainability Blues: People are becoming increasingly aware of the importance of “going blue” as we are “going green,” and becoming more aware of sustainability challenges related to water, one of our most precious and pressured resources. In the last century, global water use per person has doubled, while global population has tripled, paving the road for serious issues with water scarcity. Today, one in seven people worldwide do not have access to quality drinking water. South America, South Africa and South East Asia are among the areas that suffer the most. Within the regions, women and children spend up to three hours a day seeking out water sources for their communities. In 2012, Ford announced a comprehensive water strategy based on an analysis of risks and opportunities throughout our value chain from environmental and social perspectives. As part of this strategy, we will reduce water-use-per-vehicle by 30 percent from 2009 to 2015.
• The Quiet Riot of Innovation: Innovation and new technologies are occurring at an ever increasing rate. The increasing pace of change is being driven in part by new tools that allow individuals to take their ideas for new products from dream to reality more effectively like open-sourcing of new technologies and self-financing mechanisms. This trend is reflected in the ever-increasing pace at which we as a company are introducing new products and technologies. We will launch 23 all-new or significantly refreshed products globally in 2014, more than doubling our global product launches in 2013. We are also taking advantage of open sourcing to develop new tools for customers. For example, in 2013, we held an open competition to develop new fuel-efficiency apps for drivers on our SYNC in-vehicle communication system through Open XC, open-source connectivity platform.
• The Old School Trend: In the face of political shifts, economic malaise and increasing pace of technological breakthroughs, some customers find themselves longing for the “good ol’ days” when things were seemingly kinder, gentler and simpler. Not surprisingly, products and experiences that evoke a sense of nostalgia or romantic view of the past do quiet well in the marketplace. For instance, when Ford revealed the 50^th anniversary of the Ford Mustang we were delighted to discover it has some 5 million Facebook fans worldwide. Even in markets where the Mustang has never been sold, people were drawn in by its rich history and heritage.
• Micro-Moments and the Myth of Multitasking: As customers continue to feel increasingly busy and information and entertainment become increasingly accessible, people are trying to make the most of every moment. Using smartphones and other devices people are engaging in “micro-moments” in which they consume bite-sized pieces of information and entertainment anytime they can in order to save up larger chunks of time later to fulfil more meaningful goals. On the other hand, the Myth of Multitasking trend reveals that only 2 percent of the population are effective multi-taskers. For the remaining 98 percent, multitasking can do more harm than good. Studies show that while working, being distracted by incoming calls and emails can lower one’s IQ by 10 points. Ford is providing technologies to help customers make the most of every moment while also helping them avoid the pitfalls of excessive multitasking. SYNC® with AppLink helps drivers make the most of their drive time by providing hands-free access to music, phones, and other information while on the road. But we are also working on ways to ensure that connections with technology while driving remain safe and that drivers can block out distracting information. For example, Ford’s MyKey® Do Not Disturb feature can be used to stop text messages and phone conversations from occurring while the driver is in motion. We are also working on a Digital Workload Estimator which will be able to block out technology when traffic conditions and health readings determine that outside interference would increase driver stress levels.
• Vying for Validation: Social media continues to have profound effects on our society. “Selfies,” or pictures taken of oneself usually using a mobile phone camera, have become so ubiquitous that the online Oxford Dictionary added it to their lexicon late last year. It is difficult to judge how accurate or authentic people’s online personas are when people worldwide readily admit that they paint a better picture of their lives on social media than it is in reality. In response to the growing importance of social media, Ford is engaging with customers through social media, giving them opportunities to share their experiences and opinions. For example, our Ford social website allows customers and Ford employees to engage in a dialogue about Ford vehicles including feedback on our products, recommendations for new products, and experiences they have had with their Ford vehicles. We also have established social media guidelines to ensure that Ford employees do “keep it real” in their discussions of the company on social media. For more information on these guidelines, please see the Governance section.