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What Is Your Dealerships Product?
- Thread starter Alex Snyder
- Start date
- May 1, 2005
- 6,000
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- First Name
- Jeff
My point, if you go into it thinking that the vehicle is your product, then that becomes your product and your focus. You control your product. You make the decision.
You might be a redneck if...
...you think what you're selling is the same thing offered down the street (aka Product).
Sorry Brother Ed, yes, car is a product, but that's only part of what a consumer is looking for.
...you think what you're selling is the same thing offered down the street (aka Product).
Sorry Brother Ed, yes, car is a product, but that's only part of what a consumer is looking for.
What is the customer buying? The Product? The Smiling Sales Rep? The
Internet Cafe in Svc? The Inflatable Gorilla? NO. I think the customer
is buying... Confidence.
Consumers seek a seller that inspires Confidence. The showroom visit is all about overcoming fears:
-Do you have a history of selling good product?
-Is this Product offered at a fair price?
-Does this Product have a good history?
-Will this product get me to work?
-If this product fails, will you be there for me?
We Sell Confidence.
Internet Cafe in Svc? The Inflatable Gorilla? NO. I think the customer
is buying... Confidence.
Consumers seek a seller that inspires Confidence. The showroom visit is all about overcoming fears:
-Do you have a history of selling good product?
-Is this Product offered at a fair price?
-Does this Product have a good history?
-Will this product get me to work?
-If this product fails, will you be there for me?
We Sell Confidence.
Joe,
Maybe I'm just an old fuddy duddy, but I will always contend that the "what" is a the car. The "how" in the case of a car dealer, is by instilling confidence.
You can't take your eye off the "how" for a minute just as you can't take your eye off the "what".
The product and the process go hand in hand and one without the other is a major problem. So Joe, I'm in full agreement that the customer is looking for more than just the car, the product if you will. My concern would be that it might be easy for some to put more emphasis on "how" we sell rather than "what" we sell. In the long term, that is a recipe for failure.
Jeff mentions a number of companies. Cold Stone Creamery sells a great "what" and the "how" is spectacular. ShowBiz Pizza sold a questionable "what" combined with a spectacular "how" - they no longer exist.
I'm not suggesting that the car is the only thing thing that matters to a consumer. It's not, they have lots of choices and you had better be differentiating yourself. But in the end, it's the car they pay their money for.
Maybe I'm just an old fuddy duddy, but I will always contend that the "what" is a the car. The "how" in the case of a car dealer, is by instilling confidence.
You can't take your eye off the "how" for a minute just as you can't take your eye off the "what".
The product and the process go hand in hand and one without the other is a major problem. So Joe, I'm in full agreement that the customer is looking for more than just the car, the product if you will. My concern would be that it might be easy for some to put more emphasis on "how" we sell rather than "what" we sell. In the long term, that is a recipe for failure.
Jeff mentions a number of companies. Cold Stone Creamery sells a great "what" and the "how" is spectacular. ShowBiz Pizza sold a questionable "what" combined with a spectacular "how" - they no longer exist.
I'm not suggesting that the car is the only thing thing that matters to a consumer. It's not, they have lots of choices and you had better be differentiating yourself. But in the end, it's the car they pay their money for.
Any of you people ever been in a Starbucks? Sure you have. If your like me, it's my second home. What happens if you get a bad drink at Starbucks? I'll bet most people don't know 'cause they never had a bad drink there.
According to John Moore who wrote Tribal Knowledge...Business Wisdom Brewed From the Grounds of Starbucks Coffee, Starbucks is in the people business serving coffee.
To answer my original question, IF you got a bad drink, the Barista throws it away and makes you exactly what you want.
According to John Moore who wrote Tribal Knowledge...Business Wisdom Brewed From the Grounds of Starbucks Coffee, Starbucks is in the people business serving coffee.
To answer my original question, IF you got a bad drink, the Barista throws it away and makes you exactly what you want.
Someone just sent this to me, and I think it fits in here:
View: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6XAPnuFjJc&feature=relmfu
Incentivize people with a vision. What is your product again?
View: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6XAPnuFjJc&feature=relmfu
Incentivize people with a vision. What is your product again?
In classical marketing terms, Ed is right about the car being the product or merchandise. The dealership is the end of the distribution channel, the retailer. That isn't to say that retailers don't add value to the product, they must. However, marketers generally don't refer to the value added by sales efforts as a product. The service of vehicle repair is a product, the service lane is distribution. Having said that, the lines can get a little blurry.
A retailer of bottled water at the beach adds place utility. Nothing more, but it is worth a premium. Walmart doesn't add value any differently than its competitors, but it does it for less. If you sell cars at a premium, then you need to be able to demonstrate the added value. If you can't demonstrate it to the customer in the age of transparency and choice, then you need to think about selling on a low-priced transaction basis.
Some retailers actually make the product. Starbucks and Cold Stones were mentioned. Both of these companies add value to the product, primarily buy making it custom. They both try to add value beyond the product: clean restrooms, atmosphere, friendly service.
I don't think anyone is wrong here, it is more a question of vocabulary. In the pop-culture that surrounds marketing, the vocabulary constantly changes. In classical marketing terms the word product means what it has always meant.
All this misses Alex's fantastic point. If your people don't know how they are adding value, then they will not be adding much of it and they will not be fulfilled. To Joe's point, enhancing confidence adds value, but I think some stores need to be realistic about how much of this value they actually deliver and what it is worth. Getting the shopper into the right vehicle with the right mix of accessories, financing, service contracts, etc. is also a job worth doing and being rewarded for. Rarely are the differences in vehicle prices equal to the cost of buying the wrong car and having to switch again. Proper matchmaking is just one way dealers can add value, but you need to be honest about whether or not you are in the business of proper matchmaking. I doubt anyone at a high-end dating service ever put a spiff on Ugly Betty because she had been around for 90 days.
A retailer of bottled water at the beach adds place utility. Nothing more, but it is worth a premium. Walmart doesn't add value any differently than its competitors, but it does it for less. If you sell cars at a premium, then you need to be able to demonstrate the added value. If you can't demonstrate it to the customer in the age of transparency and choice, then you need to think about selling on a low-priced transaction basis.
Some retailers actually make the product. Starbucks and Cold Stones were mentioned. Both of these companies add value to the product, primarily buy making it custom. They both try to add value beyond the product: clean restrooms, atmosphere, friendly service.
I don't think anyone is wrong here, it is more a question of vocabulary. In the pop-culture that surrounds marketing, the vocabulary constantly changes. In classical marketing terms the word product means what it has always meant.
All this misses Alex's fantastic point. If your people don't know how they are adding value, then they will not be adding much of it and they will not be fulfilled. To Joe's point, enhancing confidence adds value, but I think some stores need to be realistic about how much of this value they actually deliver and what it is worth. Getting the shopper into the right vehicle with the right mix of accessories, financing, service contracts, etc. is also a job worth doing and being rewarded for. Rarely are the differences in vehicle prices equal to the cost of buying the wrong car and having to switch again. Proper matchmaking is just one way dealers can add value, but you need to be honest about whether or not you are in the business of proper matchmaking. I doubt anyone at a high-end dating service ever put a spiff on Ugly Betty because she had been around for 90 days.
After reading your post, dealership is also an important part, for an specific there is an specific dealer for that.
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✨ AI Highlights
The thread debates what a dealership's true 'product' is, sparked by Alex Snyder's assertion that the dealership itself — its culture, people, and processes — is the product, not just the vehicle. Commenters wrestle with the semantic tension between classical marketing definitions (cars as product, dealership as distribution channel) and a broader view that dealers are really selling confidence, experience, and brand culture. The emerging consensus is that while the car remains the tangible product, the dealership's environment and people are what differentiate it and drive profitability.
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