Marketing Mix Of Tata Steel and 4Ps (Updated 2023)

The Marketing mix of Tata Steel analyses the 4Ps of Tata Steel, including the Product, Price, Place, and Promotions. Tata Iron and Steel Company Limited, or TISCO, is called Tata Steel Limited. It is a publicly traded company of Indian origins.  Tata Steel was founded in 1907 by its founder, Jamshedji Tata, and is a subsidiary of its parent company, Tata Group. According to Brand Finance, it was ranked seventh as the most valuable brand in India in 2013. Tata Steel has expanded its operations via associates, subsidiaries, and ventures. It faces competition from the following.

• SAIL
• POSCO
• Arcelor Mittal
• Essar Steel Ltd
• JSW Steel

About Tata Steel

• Type: Steel Public Limited Company
• Industry: Steel
• Founded: 25 August 1907, Jamshedpur, India
• Founder: Jamsetji Tata
• Headquarters: Mumbai, India
• Area served: Worldwide
• Key people: T. V. Narendran, CEO, and Natarajan Chandrasekaran, Chairman
• Number of employees: Over 65,000

Tata Steel Product Strategy

Tata Steel is ranked 10th in the world steel industry and 2nd in India as the largest steel producer in 2015, with 25.3 million tonnes and 9.7 million tonnes of crude steel capacity annually. Beyond standard sheet forms, Tata Steel caters to diverse segments with specialized offerings, exemplifying its focus on value creation. TATA Steel’s product mix includes specialized high-strength steel for automobiles, contributing to the industry’s push for lightweight and fuel-efficient vehicles.

The new Product Mix of Tata Steel in 2023 is as follows (Source).

1. Flat Products: These include hot rolled coils, cold rolled coils, coated products, tinplate, and precision tubes. They are used in various sectors like automotive, construction, and packaging.
2. Long Products: This category includes rebars, wire rods, and structural products. They are essential in construction, infrastructure, and general engineering.
3. Wire Products: This range covers wire rods and wires, catering to various industries like automotive, construction, and power.
4. Plates: Used in heavy engineering, shipbuilding, and other heavy-duty applications.
5. Semi-Finished Products: These include billets, blooms, and slabs, which are intermediate products used in further steel processing.
6. Bearings: Tata Steel also manufactures bearings, which are critical components in automotive and industrial applications.
7. Ferro Alloys and Minerals: This includes chromite and manganese ores and ferro-chrome/ferro-manganese products, which are essential in steel production.
8. Agricultural Equipment: Offering products like farming implements and equipment.
9. Tubes: The company produces a range of tubes for diverse automotive, construction, and engineering applications.
10. Other Services and Products: These include consulting, technology transfer, and other steel-related services.

Tata Steel Place Strategy

Tata Steel is a multinational company with a worldwide commercial presence in fifty countries.  It has its headquarters in Mumbai, Maharashtra, and its marketing headquarters in Kolkata, West Bengal. Tata Steel has manufacturing facilities in twenty-six countries in international markets like India, UAE, France, Malaysia, Vietnam, United Kingdom, Canada, Thailand, Singapore, Netherlands, China and Australia. Its largest manufacturing plant is established at Jamshedpur in Jharkhand, and a few others at Joda in Orissa, Tarapur in Maharashtra, Indore and Pithampur in Madhya Pradesh, and Kharagpur in West Bengal.

It has a subsidiary in New York and strips product service centers in Norway, Finland, and Sweden.  Tata Steel has a solid and widespread distribution network with a capable workforce of nearly 80,500 employees, service centers, in-country sales offices, direct supply channels, stockyards, consignment agents, and external processing agents.

Here’s Tata Steel’s target marketplace strategy.

1. Global Manufacturing Presence: Tata Steel has a significant global footprint, with manufacturing operations across India, Europe, and Southeast Asia. This strategic placement allows the company to serve significant markets efficiently and reduces transportation costs.
2. Strategic Partnerships and Acquisitions: The company has pursued strategic partnerships and acquisitions, such as the acquisition of Corus Group, to enhance its presence in Europe and gain access to new markets.
3. Supply Chain Optimization: Tata Steel optimizes its supply chain by strategically placing distribution centers and warehouses. This approach ensures timely delivery and reduces logistical challenges in serving global customers.
4. Local Market Adaptation: In each region in which it operates, Tata Steel adapts to local market conditions, customizing its product offerings and business strategies to meet regional demands and comply with local regulations.
5. Sustainable and Community-Centric Approach: Tata Steel emphasizes sustainable operations and community engagement, particularly in mining locations. This approach ensures environmental compliance and fosters good relationships with local communities, aiding smooth operations and market penetration.

Tata Steel Pricing Strategy

At the end of the fiscal year 2015-16, the estimated revenues of Tata Steel were 117,151 crore rupees, and its total assets were 163,250 crore rupees. Tata Steels’ pricing policy hugely depends on the firm’s communication, distribution, and product policies, and factors that have a direct impact on its strategies are its production cost, competition, demand, and government regulations. Tata Steel believes a perfect pricing policy combines survival strategies, growth, and long-run profits. It has adopted a Market Penetration Strategy and has captured a more significant market share by maintaining reasonable and affordable product rates. It has kept the prices of products manufactured much lower than its competitors and discouraged competition from rival companies. In global markets, Tata Steel leverages a dynamic pricing strategy to remain competitive while ensuring fair value for customers.

Here’s the Tata Steel’s pricing strategy:

1. Value-Based Pricing: Tata Steel often employs a value-based pricing strategy, where the prices are set based on the perceived value of their products to the customer. This approach is particularly evident in their specialized and high-grade steel products, which offer unique benefits such as higher durability or specialized applications in industries like automotive and construction.
2. Competitive Pricing: Tata Steel adopts a competitive pricing strategy in markets with intense competition. This means they set their prices in line with or slightly below their competitors, ensuring they remain attractive to price-sensitive customers while maintaining a balance between market share and profitability.
3. Dynamic Pricing: The company leverages dynamic pricing models, especially for commodities subject to market fluctuations. Prices of raw materials and finished products are adjusted in response to changes in global steel prices, raw material costs, and demand-supply dynamics.
4. Geographical Pricing: Tata Steel employs geographical pricing to understand the economic disparities across different regions. This strategy involves varying the price of their products in different geographical areas, considering factors like local market conditions, transportation costs, and competitive landscapes.
5. Segmented Pricing Strategy: Tata Steel also uses segmented pricing, where different product versions are priced differently based on features and customization. This is particularly relevant in markets where they offer a range of products from bare steel to high-end specialized products, catering to segments like automotive, construction, and heavy industries.

In summary, Tata Steel’s pricing strategy is a sophisticated blend of understanding market dynamics, competitive landscapes, and customer value perception. They skillfully adjust their pricing mechanisms to align with market conditions, customer needs, competitive advantage, and business objectives, demonstrating their insight in navigating the complex global steel market.

Tata Steel Promotion Strategy

Tata Steel has set a global benchmark for corporate citizenship and value creation. Tata Steel’s advertising strategy transcends traditional media, utilizing targeted digital campaigns across social media platforms to reach a broader audience in global markets. It has adopted numerous marketing strategies and campaigns to increase and retain its brand visibility. Ad campaigns have been launched via newspapers, radio, magazines, television, billboards, Twitter, Facebook, its website, and blogs. Tata Steel has always focused on responsible resource management and environmental practices. It has set up energy-efficient operations and tries to use recycled products most. The company has been associated with several sporting activities at National and State levels. It has opened sports centers that have world-class facilities, like Tata Athletics Team, Tata Archery Team Academy, and Tata Football Academy.

Tata Steel has been the recipient of numerous awards and acquisitions in recognition of its works, including 2015 World’s Most Ethical Company, Best Performing Integrated Steel Plant in 2010-11, MAKE Award in the year 2012, “Best of All,” Rajiv Gandhi National Quality Award in the year 1996 and Deming Application Prize in the year 2008.

Some Recent Video ads and Print ads for Tata Steel are:

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