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May 16, 2005
Is GM listening yet?
In the first four months of 2005, it was bad news for General Motors: U.S. sales fell 4.9 percent, and market share dropped 1.7 points, to 25.6 percent.
To respond, GM says it will increase advertising spending 10% in 2005. That's $280 million more on top of the $2.8 billion (yes, billion) that GM spent last year on advertising.
GM's Tom Kowaleski says:
"[We will] boost advertising spending in markets where we are currently underperforming and our market share is less than what we feel it should be...because our voice hasn't been loud enough."
Oh, another advertising-solves-everything strategy. If you buy into the idea that the congregation is smarter than the preacher, there are plenty of customer ideas in response to vice chairman Bob Lutz's blog post about the company's new game plan.
* Reduce the number of makes/models
* Develop a hybrid model
* Increase fuel efficiency for all models
* Improve quality
* Extend warranties
* Help dealers to improve their customer service
* Hire better car designers
* Introduce Saturn-like no-haggle pricing on more models
It's not about being louder. It's about listening.
Other blogs that reference Is GM listening yet?:
» Motivation for Innovation from Dana VanDen Heuvel
Kevin states an interesting case on Innovation, based on his recent read of this article. I'm with him on the Wal- Mart and logistics example. It ties nicely to the corollary of Starbucks being in the 'real estate' business and innovating the hell out ... [Read More]
GM is the United Airlines of the automotive world. They keep failing and can't figure out why.
Mark LaNeve did a great job in turning the Cadillac brand around, but wheh he tried to appy the same techniques to the Buick and Pontiac brands, it fell flat. What's the lesson here? That each of those GM brands are their own entity. There's not one cure-all. And advertising sure isn't getting it done.
GM needs to get new ads. Outside of Hummer, their ads are stale (although not as bad as Ford's!).
They definitely have too many models. Their stragety of having a Pontiac with a Chevy equivalent, etc. may have been a good one years ago but now it's just over-saturating the market.
They need to look at what companies like Honda and Toyota (to name a couple) are doing. Make cars that are fun, dependable and fuel efficient. Make their cars accesible for the kids who want to "pimp them out", lol :) You don't see a whole lot of souped-up Cavaliers out there, do ya?
I would edit your list of suggestions to the following:
* Reduce the number of makes/models
* Improve quality (innovate)
* Develop a hybrid model
* Improve quality (innovate)
* Increase fuel efficiency for all models
* Improve quality (innovate)
* Extend warranties
* Improve quality (innovate)
* Help dealers to improve their customer service
* Improve quality (innovate)
* Hire better car designers
* Innovate, innovate, innovate, innovate, innovate, innovate. (Improve quality)
GM has shown such a lack of innovative thinking that you begin to wonder if they're dead from the neck up. My mentality as I shop for a car? Why buy an American automobile that will get 100k - 150k miles, when I can buy an import for a pennance more and get 200k-300k miles and all the features I want?
I like GM ;( Professional grade.
It seems that the smaller toyota cars are very attractive to american consumers lately.
The GMC ad's claiming "Professional Grade" are an insult to our intelligence. It is much like the Jeep "Trail Rated". There is no underwriter for these "distinctions", it is nonsense created by the manufacturer and we aren't fooled.
