Re: make it pay (long)

["Joe Garcia" <corsanostra@domain.elided>]

>In a message dated 01/05/2002 1:26:40 AM Pacific Standard Time,
>Pottree@domain.elided writes:

>As I see it, there are only a couple of strategies that could possibly bode 
>for USA marketing success for our favorite marque: one scenario
>has it as a prestige leader to attract floor traffic to the showrooms >of 
>Saab or Cadillac (or brand X) dealerships, and have marketing
>budget that is subsidized by profits form the sales of other products,
>such as Cadillac hearses or New Holland tractors.  The other way is to
>charge more for the product, position it as the Armani suits of the 
> >automotive world for the discriminating and solvent buyer, and let its 
> >marketing program compete on an equal footing with the people who are 
> >selling the cars people actually WANT to buy.

I have a *slightly* different take on this. I'd opt for a variant of the 2nd 
scenario and position it using the Lexus model. Cheap, no, cheapER, yes. 
Here in SoFla, admittedly a weird li'l market, Lexi GS430 (never mind teh 
GS300s) with an MSRP of ~$45K (and they seem to get pretty much MSRP for 'em 
too) are seen in greater evidence than BMW 5 series or MB E-class and this 
is among a clientele that could readily afford any of the above. Why?

1- Lexus dealer service. What Lexus has is as close to proscribed carnal 
knowledge as can legally be had
2- Reverse sticker shock. People get taken in by the mushmouthed announcer, 
the list of luxo-goodies on a car, the hushed tones proclaiming the 
incomparable fit 'n' finish, the burled cocobola wood, the Kobe beef 
leather, yadda, yadda. They go see the car, expecting a MB MSRP and are 
pleasantly shocked to see the car stickering for about $5K less. The 
affluent like a bargain, too. I have no data to confirm this, but my 
GUESSTIMATE is that reverse sticker shock is a good way to keep a buyer from 
haggling too hard.

My own name for this is "perceived status per dollar" (i.e., this car will 
get me 68 status points and it only stickers for $39K! A BMW gets me 70 
status points but it costs $48K...WOW!), and the cars with the highest index 
for this will invariably always sell better.

Now, above and beyond this, what should Alfa Romeo do?

* Make the car among the most leasable on the market,
* Offer an eyepopping (in a good way!) warranty,
* Position itself as the car brand that will do for refined (luxurious, if 
you will) performance cars what Lexus did for luxobarges,
* Make the cars unquestionably gorgeous (i.e. Pininfarina or Bertone, et 
al.)
* Make the cars BULLETPROOF and
* Drop bank on marketing and advertising...and advertising that does NOT 
clearly and painfully suck. This also means, gulp, TV spots. Product 
placement wouldn't hurt, either.

(Gawd, I have yet to see ANY Alfa advertisements in the U.S. that did not 
make me wonder why they didn't leave 20 years earlier, running for the weeds 
like its hair was on fire. Alfissimo? "Tecnologia Vincente Da Sempre?")

OK, putting my marketing concentration away...

-Joe in reasonably sunny SoFla

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