01/13: Annoying, Yes, But also Shrewd
Category: Shrewd Marketing
Posted by: ZodQueen
You've no doubt got annoying car salesmen on TV in your area. I don't even watch much television - mostly just the local news, plus Jay Leno's monolog and headlines segments.
When I'm watching Jay, though, it's on the DVR, the morning after the actual broadcast. Boy, do I wish I could fast forward the ads when I flip on the TV in my bedroom in the morning to watch the news. The Raleigh-Durham area has one of the most annoying - and probably one of the most successful - car dealership owners in the country.
He's doing something right, though. I'm not sure when this guy appeared on the scene exactly, but since then, he took a rather obscure dealership in Durham, made himself a household name, and built a brand-spanking-new showroom with loads more space to show off his inventory.
This guy obviously knows the ins and outs of successful marketing. His mug is on TV several times during each local newscast on the two most popular stations. He advertises heavily in the main newspapers, too. He uses testimonials unlike any other dealership in the area, putting satisfied customers on the air in his advertisements and having some of them sing his jingle - yes, he has his own catch phrase and jingle.
Recently, he added two other unique offerings - no-haggle pricing on all his cars, as well as a "limited lifetime warranty." I don't know what's actually covered under this warranty, because there aren't any details on his Web site or in his advertising. However, if it's just a come-on, or a ploy to get folks to buy a more expensive extended warranty, he'll soon lose customers, and he's probably too smart to do something like that.
Most car dealers try to sell you on an extended warranty for the car. It's almost as hard a sell as the car itself! The salesperson just gets done telling you what a great car it is and convinces you to buy it, then switches gears and tells you of all the expensive things that could go wrong to lure you into buying an extremely high profit margin extended warranty. It's the same kind of deal with large appliances, televisions, and other electronics. KMart tried to sell me a $2.99 extended warranty recently in a $24.99 curling brush! If Mr. Annoying Car Salesman has really gotten rid of the silly haggling that goes on in most vehicle sales and also gives away a decent lifetime warranty with no mileage limit, he has my vote for Marketing Genius of the Year.
When I'm watching Jay, though, it's on the DVR, the morning after the actual broadcast. Boy, do I wish I could fast forward the ads when I flip on the TV in my bedroom in the morning to watch the news. The Raleigh-Durham area has one of the most annoying - and probably one of the most successful - car dealership owners in the country.
He's doing something right, though. I'm not sure when this guy appeared on the scene exactly, but since then, he took a rather obscure dealership in Durham, made himself a household name, and built a brand-spanking-new showroom with loads more space to show off his inventory.
This guy obviously knows the ins and outs of successful marketing. His mug is on TV several times during each local newscast on the two most popular stations. He advertises heavily in the main newspapers, too. He uses testimonials unlike any other dealership in the area, putting satisfied customers on the air in his advertisements and having some of them sing his jingle - yes, he has his own catch phrase and jingle.
Recently, he added two other unique offerings - no-haggle pricing on all his cars, as well as a "limited lifetime warranty." I don't know what's actually covered under this warranty, because there aren't any details on his Web site or in his advertising. However, if it's just a come-on, or a ploy to get folks to buy a more expensive extended warranty, he'll soon lose customers, and he's probably too smart to do something like that.
Most car dealers try to sell you on an extended warranty for the car. It's almost as hard a sell as the car itself! The salesperson just gets done telling you what a great car it is and convinces you to buy it, then switches gears and tells you of all the expensive things that could go wrong to lure you into buying an extremely high profit margin extended warranty. It's the same kind of deal with large appliances, televisions, and other electronics. KMart tried to sell me a $2.99 extended warranty recently in a $24.99 curling brush! If Mr. Annoying Car Salesman has really gotten rid of the silly haggling that goes on in most vehicle sales and also gives away a decent lifetime warranty with no mileage limit, he has my vote for Marketing Genius of the Year.
Trackback
There are currently no trackbacks for this item.
Use this TrackBack url to ping this item (right-click, copy link target).
If your blog does not support Trackbacks you can manually add your trackback by using this form.
Sidebar
