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Driving for Sales

The latest way automakers get you behind the wheel

Selling cars, trucks, SUVs, just about everything, has taken a different approach these days. Very different.

The goal is to reach the right customer through a special program that is designed as a pleasant, perhaps memorable, experience that results in that individual becoming a genuine buyer.

Ride-and-Drive

Today, the strategy is all about "involvement," stemming from an "experiential" format, structured so that the potential buyers are contacted by the automaker and invited to a unique event—most commonly known as a "ride-and-drive"—and given the opportunity to drive the company's featured vehicle(s), as well as its competition. Essentially, this provides an up-close-and-personal experience, so the customer learns about this new car in a more in-depth way.

Throw in a nice lunch, a "goodie" bag filled with several gifts (a blanket emblazoned with the company's logo, an umbrella, brochure), some hands-on driver training and a little one-on-one conversation with a "factory" guy or gal, and you've developed a relationship with that potential customer.

Said customer generally leaves a happier person for the time expended; perhaps a bit more knowledgeable about the car and the manufacturer in general, and hopefully now has a better appreciation for that company and the capabilities of the vehicle he or she just drove. Also included in the goodie bag is a hand-out that conveniently lists all the manufacturer's local dealers where that potential buyer can visit to purchase or lease that automobile.

Sound like a nice way to spend a few hours? It generally is for the targeted individual. But it represents a great deal of work, advance preparation and a fair amount of financial investment on the part of the manufacturers to create this somewhat controlled, but quite effective, environment.

Logistics are the linchpin to a successful event. A ride-and-drive is typically a month-long (or longer) program for some manufacturers; kind of like a rock concert tour, moving from city to city, with the crew arranging everything in a large parking lot or racetrack that has been reserved prior to the team's arrival. Up go tents, vehicles are trucked in (both the manufacturer's featured car, truck or SUV and its logical competitors) and several driving courses are laid out—generally a fast one, if acceleration is a key selling point, and a handling track, to demonstrate how stable the vehicle is, or how little roll it experiences through curves.

By Invitation

Invitations are sent out well in advance to targeted attendees. To fill the tent, the manufacturer uses names it has on file (current owners whose present model is starting to age, two- to three-years old, or those whose lease is running out), or works with its dealer body in the cities it plans to have the "road show" visit by utilizing their customer databases. In other situations, mailing lists provided by some of the top automotive and consumer magazines are purchased and subscribers whose zip codes match the cities where the tour will appear are selected. And, depending on the price range of the featured vehicle, only certain zip codes are chosen. It's not discrimination; it's all about reaching the right audience. Too much money rides on inviting just those who can afford the featured vehicle to attend the ride-and-drive.

Each event a manufacturer develops has a special theme. Sometimes a golf outing is incorporated with the introduction of a new car, or guests are treated to a brief golf lesson by a local pro. Names such as "Drive and Drive" are used to entice key customers. Nissan used that concept to introduce its Maxima to potential buyers in golf-crazy Phoenix, Arizona. Travel + Leisure magazine tied into the event and supplied a list of subscribers who lived in this city. Future events were held in other cities using the same concept.

Lincoln Mercury recently targeted older customers through a special ride-and-drive featuring its top-of-the-line models. This "Senior Expo" offered guests a chance to test their driving skills, and included a number of outside vendors who sought to reach this important audience. Bracketing fine examples of Lincolns and Mercurys were displays offering health care services and diabetes tests, home repair services, optical inspections, even mortuary information. Entertainment was provided by a former Miss America whom attendees all knew. This co-op trend will continue—upscale apparel and watch companies want to partner with manufacturers like Jaguar, Mercedes and Lexus.

BMW capitalizes on its "ultimate driving experience" slogan by inviting key prospects and current customers to events tied to the launch of the X3, its downsized SUV (or SAV as they call it). A multi-city driving program allows guests to experience slaloms and straightaways, along with braking exercises and accident avoidance maneuvers. And, in each city where BMW holds an event, the manufacturer offers "The Ultimate Drive" for the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, donating $1.00 for every mile driven by participants to breast cancer research, education and treatment.

Loyalty Pays

These events have all proven to be successful because they are reaching out to good customers and either making buyers out of them or cementing existing relationships. At the very least, the invited guests leave with a better impression of the manufacturer and its product(s). It gives some consumers the sense that their loyalty is appreciated.

However, the best thing about a ride-and-drive is that the event allows the participants to drive the automaker's vehicles in a very non-threatening, no pressure environment; sort of a "hands-on" auto show. That is very appealing to car buyers, as it just may help leave a lasting impression. And that, more than anything, is gold to the car companies.