If you sold a car every time someone said, “GM’s got to stop doing business the same old way,” you’d still be working for the largest car company in the world. The funny thing is those people never offer up an example of what that new way of doing business should be.
I’ll try to be an exception.
I’d like to see people walk into your showrooms (before I add the “and” that would be the objective in and of itself) and see three competing brands: Let’s go with the Honda Accord, Toyota Camry and Chevy Malibu.
Advertising should be created to ask prospective car buyers to “Compare the three best values in the automotive industry to see which is best for you – in one stop.” While we’re at it, let’s offer test-drives for all three, too. Want to compare? Come on down. We’ll save you time, gas and money before you buy anything.
Follow-up angle: Remove the badging on the Malibu and take it around the country as a “concept” car. Record what people think. This is going to sell for less than its gas mileage – mid 20s, “What do you think?” Who makes it? Surprise, its General Motors and we make the best car pound for pound dollar for dollar with a great dealer network coast to coast to back it up.
Then make more ads out of the commentary.
Let’s invite everyone to contrast and compare these vehicles on-line, too. Consumers, industry experts, bloggers – all those people who have been telling you what to do for years. Let’s have a web 2.0 smack-down. Go to PoundForPoundDollarForDollar.com to join in.
The whole point: Push Chevy into a competitive set with Honda and Toyota, a smarter, tighter competitive set than it might be in right now.
It’s time to get America talking about your car and not your car company.
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Pound for pound?
Chevy’s handling capabilities are described in nautical terms. Should they go there?
Chevy talk value? Like Corvair? Vega? Citation? We’re not hitting their high-value brand assets here are we?
Redefine the competitive set?
The Japanese cars built their brands on some pretty boring attributes — few options, few colors, low price, it will get you to work cheap.
That’s not Chevy. That’s Henry Ford. Ford is vapid transit. Ford could do that campaign because that is their brand. In fact Ford is doing something like that for their Ford Focus.
Last time Chevy asked people to create their own commercials, people created insults instead. They are hated.
Chevy was good times, summer vacations, weekends at the beach, Beach Boys, Jan & Dean, Bruce Springsteen, America. People never lost interest in that. It’s just Chevy quit delivering on the promise. Chevy is Lucy with the football. The customer is Charlie Brown.
Chevy can’t invite the customer to kick the ball one more time. They need to go Lee Iacocca or Richard Teerlink. Make a bold promise and prove they can deliver on it. “Taste my Schlitz” and the Pepsi Challenge won’t cut it.
You want me in the showroom?
Guarantee if I buy that product that I won’t ever be late to work, miss a weekend at the beach, or a summer vacation because my car broke down. Promise me the car will be there for me. And if it won’t that vast dealer network will be.
It looks like a month after your post, GM has taken your advice. Your post was presecient. Now we have Whitacre saying “Put us to the test. Put us up against anyone and may the best car win.” Don’t think he is the best or most convincing spokesperson but you hit the nail on the head!