Cooperation project "Increasing reach through target group-specific and internationally applicable marketing content" with Wacker Neuson Group in our Master Marketing Management.

The Wacker Neuson Group is an international network of companies with around 6,000 employees. In fiscal 2021, the Group achieved revenue of EUR 1.87 billion. As a leading manufacturer of light and compact equipment, the Group offers customers worldwide a broad portfolio of products, a wide range of support and value-add services and a highly professional spare parts service. The Wacker Neuson Group is the partner of choice across a broad spectrum of industries, serving in particular customers in the construction, gardening and landscaping, agricultural, municipal, recycling, rail transport and manufacturing industries. The product brands Wacker Neuson, Kramer and Weidemann belong to the Group Wacker Neuson. Energy efficiency, alternative drive technologies, driver assistance systems and smart digital networking of products and services are vital in creating customer value. Global customer centricity plays a central role. The company's own production sites in Germany, Austria, the USA, China and Serbia and a worldwide network of sales locations and dealer partners contribute to this. The international marketing team ensures a well-equipped toolbox. Digital products such as the new concept of the app are part of this and are intended to increase customer benefits for users in the various country markets.

The task for our master's students was to develop an international communication strategy to increase the reach of the customer-focused app, adapted to the target groups ("listening to the customer tick"). The different user groups and personas, the country and market differences, and the specific industry and use cases had to be taken into account. In line with the motto "strategy follows analysis," our student teams worked step by step on the data-based fundamentals of international markets, target groups, personas and customer journeys before finally moving on to the development of suitable communication & engagement strategies.

Through this cooperation project, our students were able to gain valuable insights into the world of International Marketing Management in a complex B2B environment. Based on the understanding of the use cases of the customers of Wacker Neuson our students developed fresh and innovative ideas to force the engagement of the target customers with the App. I would like to express our sincere thanks to Ms. Sonja Walleitner and Ms. Anna-Teresa Tesch from Wacker Neuson, who designed this project together with me, provided a valuable database for our analysis and coached our students with me throughout the project. And last but not least, many thanks go to our students for their commitment.

Prof. Dr. Werner M. Thieme