Open product comparisons have worked for Pepsi and Progressive Insurance - and now General Motors is hoping that it can work for its Saturn division. Starting this month, Saturn dealers across the country will be offering a test drive of the Toyota Camry or Honda Accord next to its new Aura.
This novel approach comes as both General Motors overall and the Saturn Aura in particular are under extreme competitive pressure. GM continues to bleed cash and market share, while sales of the new Aura have totaled only 18,000 vehicles so far in 2007. This is in spite of the Aura being named Car of the Year by auto writers in January.
So with extreme pressure, a quality product, and very little to lose, GM is experimenting with open competition among the consumer options. Although - and maybe because of - it comes out of desperation, I think it's a brilliant move for Saturn.
First, its embrace of competitive comparison sends a big signal to prospective buyers at the dealer lot. Car buyers see a company that is unafraid to put its product against the best. We tend to think, "Well, if they have the other cars right here, then they must be confident in their product."
Second, it gives Saturn salespeople a great prop to compare the Aura to. They can point out what is equal about all the car choices, and can specifically point to the couple of features that Saturn has over the others. For example, "The Saturn drive-train has a 100,000 mile warranty but the Accord and Camry have only 60,000 miles on theirs." By isolating a few key differences in the sales process, the Aura sounds like a better product.
Finally, putting the three cars together helps highlight Saturn's number one competitive advantage: price. Just for fun, I ran a comparison of the three cars on Edmunds.com and found the following MSRP on basically equivalent models (entry level, 6-cylinder, automatic, 4-door):
- Saturn Aura: $20,345
- Honda Accord: $25,200
- Toyota Camry: $28,020
So Saturn can force consumers to look at the price difference up close, and a friendly salesperson will casually ask what the Camry has that is worth an extra $8,000 bucks. And he can add that over the course of a 60 month loan that will actually amount to a $10,200 difference. When the dollars are this large, it's a pretty short trip to "what color would you like?" and another Saturn leaves the showroom.
Kudos to GM for getting aggressive in its marketing. By taking "bold moves" (sorry Ford) in the face of competition, it might recapture success while providing a better value for the consumer.
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