Do consumers really want a car that monitors their health data, or simply one that provides safe, reliable and cost-efficient transportation?
Ford is testing an idea that would allow drivers of its F-150 trucks to monitor blood sugar levels and even transmit that data wirelessly to family members so they’ll know if there is risk of a diabetic attack. The company is also developing seats that track heartbeat and monitor stress levels. Perhaps this data could trigger a mechanism that switches the car stereo to a more soothing type of music. Or they could have prerecorded psychiatric therapy sessions that would promote positive affirmation on the way to and from work, while also reducing incidents of road rage. It could even save marriages.
Filed under: Business Models | Tags: auto industry, customer value, public relations
More than ever before brands are built on trust, not image. Trust is an emotional state, founded not just on the products but on the integrity of companies that produce them, and the CEOs who lead them. In a consumer-driven marketplace, where public trust has been rocked by numerous incidents of corporate greed and situational ethics in a brutal economic recession, even seemingly invincible brands have become volatile.
Filed under: Customer Rules | Tags: auto industry, customer experience, worst practices
Talk about leading with your chin. A car dealership in Minneapolis is actually suing one of its customers because they made a mistake — this has to be one of the best worst practices I’ve seen in awhile.
The case in point is a woman named Tammie Townsend who leased a 2007 Chrysler Pacifica from Walser Chrysler in Hopkins, MN, then agreed to purchase the vehicle when the dealer offered a very attractive buyout price, well below blue book value. She opted to finance through the dealer and signed the contract, driving off with a pretty good deal. Or was it a steal?
While other auto manufacturers are retrenching, repositioning or re-inventing, one venerable brand is holding its ground and simply restyling. BMW of the future looks to be a lot like BMW of the past. It will be interesting to see how much share remains for the high-end brands in a contracted market where consumers have learned some hard lessons about excess and fiscal sensibility.
Consumer behavior has changed and will not be the same, even as the economy recovers—something 
business will have to adapt to as it vies for a piece of the smaller pie. It’s analogous to the consumer correction that occurred in the post-depression generation, which brought a renewed respect for the value of a dollar, for saving money, paying off the car and driving it into the ground. An aging Boomer generation, most of which has been living well over an extended period of prosperity with easy credit to buy things we really couldn’t afford — like big homes and a new car every three years — is now faced with the realities of post-recession contraction, a reduced labor force, depleted 401k plans, devalued real estate holdings and too much debt.
This contraction in spending power within the massive U.S. Boomer population will probably continue over the next 20 years or so as the bulge moves closer to retirement, with more conservative fiscal priorities: less debt and more catch-up savings, fewer extravagancies. Not only will the market be smaller for the BMWs of the world, but product life-cycles will be extended as owners keep their cars longer, with more buyers looking for used car value.
How do companies still operating in a push business model compete in a contracted pull marketplace? That’s a question people are asking Bob Lutz, Vice Chairman of the new and improved GM.
When asked what business strategy GM is going to employ now that the company has emerged from bankruptcy, Lutz said they’re going to “build cars the consumer public wants to buy.”
Now there’s a novel idea. One has to wonder why they didn’t think of that before.
The 77-year-old Lutz, who was planning to retire at the end of the year but returns to his old title with new focus and responsibilities — overseeing design, marketing and public relations — says he’s a marketing guy at heart. He has an MBA in marketing and studied consumer behavior in college. His stated intent is to turn GM into a consumer-centric company, though he hasn’t said exactly how he intends to do that, other than making cars people want to buy. Maybe he can build a distribution model that allows customers to buy cars they want the way they want.
