You don’t have to look far to read the complaints of old school marketing departments — people are just loyal as loyal to a particular brand as in the past. Gone are the days where every camera was a Nikon, every truck was a Ford, and every TV was a Sony. Customers are jumping ship, and marketers are scrambling around and wondering what happened.
According to a recent study by Acxiom Corporation, luxury car dealerships including Mercedes Benz dealers have found that even die hard buyers are being seduced away from their lavish leather interiors and escaping to the eco-friendly world of hybrid vehicles. Even if they would never normally buy the standard model of the car, the hybrid factor is making them sit up, take notice, and pull out their wallets. While car buyers today are all less loyal to their particular brand, they’ve traditionally stayed within their vehicle class. Hybrids are changing the game.
This certainly isn’t a new phenomenon. Consider the once humble Macintosh computer. Apple had a laughably low share in the home and business computer market, and then the iPod came out. Loving their new sleek and simple music players, hard core PC users started to wonder if there wasn’t something to switching to the other team when it came to their computers as well. When the iPod was followed up with the unbelievable popularity of the iPhone, even the most loyal Bill Gates fans started leaving in droves.
While this is bad news for the big guys, it’s great news for the intelligent businesses who can see the opportunity to turn the favor in their direction. Called “conquesting”, these smart and savvy marketers are turning these customers’ wandering eyes into the chance to convert customers who were previously way out of their reach.
If you have a dealership that sells hybrid vehicles, this is the time to make a grab for this new class of car customer. Whole groups of people — and specifically ones with a lot of money to spend on a new car — are suddenly becoming accessible. Customers who are interested in hybrid vehicles are among the most tech savvy and forward thinking around — an effective online brand marketing strategy can help get the right people through your door.
I’m curious — what are your experiences with conquesting and brand switching? Have you switched your loyalty when it comes to purchasing decisions? Are you noticing that your customers are doing the same?
