develop a marketing mix (product, price, promotion, and place) to solve the marketing problem and to achieve the objectives. Use digital marketing techniques (online, social media, and mobile) along with traditional methods.

Segmentation, Targeting & Positioning

Currently, GM segments their consumer market using demographic, psychographic, and geographic bases, focusing specifically on gender, age, level of income, marital status, and region of residence. Due to the nature of this critical juncture in GM's performance outlook, it must use trend analysis to more specifically pinpoint the profitable consumer base of the future. The EV market is a smart place to target market share because changing regulations in fuel efficiency standards are mandating legislative pushes to shift the entire automotive market toward greater fuel economy over the next five years. Additionally, the infrastructure required to support wide adoption of these vehicles, like widespread access to charging stations, have significantly improved across the country.

GM needs to understand how it can leverage and target environmentally conscious consumers who are eager to purchase electric cars and can be easily swiped from their customer base by competitors like Tesla, who specialize so deeply in this arena. GM has embraced the potential to make a name for itself in this new environmentally conscious market share, creating 20 electric models by 2023 and hoping to sell over one million electric cars per year in the US and China by 2025. GM needs to apply its typical standard - creating diversified lines of products that are suitable to the needs of many different target consumer groups - to its new line of electric vehicles. GM has historically made a name for itself by allowing customers sufficient options to choose a vehicle that meets their unique personal taste/desire but also fits within their spending range. In order to compete with companies like Tesla, boasting a range of luxury electric vehicles at increasingly affordable prices, GM has to offer a line of diverse electric products that meet the target demographic of more than just one broad, environmentally conscious, consumer group.

Though GM has made an international name for itself in over thirty countries, the target of this electric vehicle marketing strategy is to focus on the US domestic market - the area that GM has made the strongest historical impact and has the most loyal consumer base. In the face of highly volatile international markets, this allows GM to target North American buyers who already make up a core segment of the current GM buyer base. This domestic strategy helps GM avoid volatility in global markets, especially in such an uncertain period during a looming international epidemic, and streamline focus to capitalize on transformations taking place in domestic markets. Within this region, the electric market specifically offers GM market opportunity from consumers with a marked desire to shift their behaviors to be more environmentally focused. GM signed a deal with Honda in 2018 to work toward enhanced development in hydrogen cell technology and battery components. This allows GM to fuel an integrated marketing system of mutual benefit - GM getting access to Honda's electric expertise and Honda receiving access to GM's extensive battery manufacturing capabilities.

Within the domestic market, millennials provide the greatest opportunity for GM to capitalize on electric profitability. Millenials are more in tune with developments in technology than other audiences and typically meet the general income and age requirements to purchase an electric vehicle. GM's initial electric vehicle, the Bolt, is thought to offer high consumer value because of its low price point. GM can continue to build off of this already established, high-value, low-cost perception, in developing its wider range of EV offerings.

With Tesla as its most immediate competitor, GM needs to leverage the areas where it already achieves market skew to target and position themselves with the audience most likely to purchase their EV products. Unlike Tesla, which has a disproportionate amount of male purchasers, GM almost equally attracts both male and female buyers. Additionally, GM has a significantly larger market share for purchasers that are suburban and middle income while Tesla's main audience is urban and high income. GM needs to develop further EV marketing content, stressing the advanced offerings it is bringing in its EV line, to millennials of both genders who live in suburban areas and can be considered middle income. GM should capitalize on what it has done well in its EV line thus far by earning the attention of this group and enticing them with the huge range of expansions being offered through its Cadillac brand, specifically.

GM's market focus in North American will continue to serve its core market of truck and SUV buyers, who choose GM for its luxury, high-end and durable product offerings. Due to behavioral and regulatory influences, and a firm commitment by GM to transform to new efficiency standards, GM expects the majority of its Cadillac cars and SUVs to be electric by 2030. They have also stated a public goal of selling one million electric vehicles, per year, by 2025. Projecting that Cadillac will be its leading electric vehicle brand over the course of the next ten years, GM can use the segmented target market of young, suburban millennials, described above, to drive Cadillac-centric marketing campaigns to the 18-34 year olds in these regions classified as middle income. This strategy will position Cadillac to drive major expansion in their own personal EV line but also in the overarching market share for electric vehicle manufacturers.

GM's first line of electric vehicle expansion will be through multiple SUV offerings. To penetrate this market, GM needs to compete with Tesla, which sold just over 19,000 of their SUV model in 2019. Incorporating projections for steady growth and market competition, GM can target sales of 25,000 of their Cadillac Escalade series or SUV alternatives in their first year of production. Looking at sales of all of their EV offerings, GM's EV specific marketing plan can allow them to grow their sales to 15-20% of the overall domestic market by 2023. This could account for up to $2.81 billion in annual revenue for GM EVs alone.

As a result of substantial capital investments in the electric space, including joint ventures with battery and technology companies, GM is in a position to deliver new standards of electric capabilities to meet the evolving needs of middle income, suburban millennials. By offering the future EV Cadillac series alongside its existing product offerings, GM can capture an established group of buyers who are prepared for the evolution of the Cadillac brand into a new age of electric vehicles. In order to accomplish this sales volume and begin trending toward its 2025 EV goals, GM must provide the Cadillac EV series at a competitive price compared to other EV leaders, namely Tesla.

GM is producing a wide range of EV SUV offerings through its Cadillac brand and has the potential to surpass its competitor, and win a notable amount of the EV market share, by attracting mainstream buyers who want to see a line of high-performing EVs at a lower price. Though Tesla is highly popular and boasts the highest EV sales volume in the US currently, it is critical to note that Tesla has not had a profitable year since 2003. In contrast, GM predicts that its line of Cadillac electric vehicles will generate a profit shortly after they are first introduced to the market. There are few other automotive manufacturing companies that have developed a robust electronic vehicle plan that rivals or even compares to GM's strategy. GM has proven that it has done the research and provided the infrastructure needed to support this new electric extension of its core service offering.

Electric vehicle manufacturers have been growing their business lines significantly in recent years. Based on past performance, GM can reasonably expect to grow its own line by 50-60% between now and 2025. US market revenues from electric vehicles reached almost $16 billion in 2019. Tesla accounted for nearly 80% of these sales but GM is looking at an open door to penetrate this market. It is already positioned as the second performing EV producer and can be the first company to generate notable EV profits as a result of its strategic partnerships and nuanced market segment. This would enable GM to hit its target of nearly $3 billion in US revenues for electric vehicles and expect a consistent year over year growth rate looking over the next decade and beyond.