[et_pb_section admin_label=”section”][et_pb_row admin_label=”row”][et_pb_column type=”2_3″][et_pb_video admin_label=”Video” src=”https:\/\/youtu.be\/iZP0LfEsrDI” \/][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_3″][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row admin_label=”Row”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text” background_layout=”light” text_orientation=”left” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid”]<\/p>\n
Press Play>> now for Ken\u2019s welcome message for June 2009, or go to http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=iZP0LfEsrDI now.<\/p>\n
So the impossible finally happened. Not only did Chrysler bite the dust last month, but now General Motors\u2014the symbol of American industry\u2014files for Chapter 11 protection. How could this happen??<\/p>\n
Well, the media is full of reasons and the auto execs are full of excuses and the UAW is quick to blame. However, let\u2019s stop blaming the mistakes of the past on what\u2019s happening today. Sure some of the cars they produced in the 70\u2019s and 80\u2019s made you wonder what they were thinking (or not thinking!). But frankly, I believe that many of these companies\u2019 autos stack up quite favorably with all the imports (even if most are made in Tennessee and Ohio). The Malibu\u2019s, the Jeeps, the Sebrings, the Envoy\u2019s are pretty comparable to the Camry\u2019s, Accords, and the Altima\u2019s according to Consumer Reports Auto buying guide. So what\u2019s the problem?<\/p>\n
I know I am biased, but I believe it all comes down to the lack of solid branding and marketing by the Big 3 year after year. They have been so entrenched in their thinking and so biased in their execution\u2014especially in media\u2014that most of the buying public really has no preference or relationship (positive, that is) with these companies or their brands anymore. I challenge you to give me what brands like, Cobalt, Legend, G6, Enclave, Traverse, MKZ, or Caliber stand for\u2014or even who makes them.
\nThe car companies have gotten so enthralled with \u201cdealer incentives\u201d, \u201c$ off factory invoice\u201d, and \u201cemployee pricing\u201d that they forgot that the consumer wants to know why they should consider the car in the first place. I look at how Lexus and Hyundai put themselves on the map and wonder why didn\u2019t the \u201cBig 3\u201d just try to emulate what they were doing? I see some cars on the road with model names that I never heard of until I\u2019m sitting in my dentist\u2019s office and pick up some obscure lifestyle magazine and see a big four-color ad featuring this unknown model.<\/p>\n
The re-introduction of the Ford Thunderbird a few years ago was heralded as a marketing success so they did what any other ignorant business leader would do\u2014they stopped marketing it! Not long after, the model was discontinued due to \u201clack of consumer demand\u201d. Consumers have so many choices; a brand can\u2019t hide and expect the demand to suddenly appear. The companies\u2014and their ad agencies\u2014have been criticized consistently for their lack of creativity and marketing innovation. Yet, they keep doing so much more of the same things; I have to question their motivation.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s all about leadership. Lee Iaccoca in his new book, \u201cWhere Have All The Leaders Gone?\u201d asks: \u201cName me an industry leader who is thinking creatively about how we can restore our competitive edge in manufacturing. Who would have believed that there could ever be a time when \u2018The Big Three\u2019 referred to Japanese car companies? How did this happen, and more important, what are we going to do about it?\u201d<\/p>\n
So now the government, the unions, and an Italian car company that failed in the US a long time ago are taking over. I hope they do their homework and maybe read what Peter Drucker said a long time ago: \u201cBecause the purpose of a business enterprise is to make a profit, a company has two\u2014and only these two\u2014functions\u2014Innovation and Marketing. Innovation and Marketing produce results. All the rest are just expenses.\u201d<\/p>\n
It\u2019s time for the car companies to look at what Wal-Mart, Costco, Apple, and
\nSouthwest Airlines have done in marketing to the same customers who would buy their cars. What\u2019s branding got to do with it?? Everything.<\/p>\n
[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
[et_pb_section admin_label=”section”][et_pb_row admin_label=”row”][et_pb_column type=”2_3″][et_pb_video admin_label=”Video” src=”https:\/\/youtu.be\/iZP0LfEsrDI” \/][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_3″][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row admin_label=”Row”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text” background_layout=”light” text_orientation=”left” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid”] Press Play>> now for Ken\u2019s welcome message for June 2009, or go to http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=iZP0LfEsrDI now. So the impossible finally happened. Not only did Chrysler bite the dust last month, but now General Motors\u2014the symbol of American industry\u2014files for Chapter […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-453","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kenbanks.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/453","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kenbanks.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kenbanks.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kenbanks.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kenbanks.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=453"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.kenbanks.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/453\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":454,"href":"https:\/\/www.kenbanks.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/453\/revisions\/454"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kenbanks.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=453"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kenbanks.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=453"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kenbanks.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=453"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}