People Won't Buy Electric Cars Until...

Why can't we sell electric cars?



1. Batteries Die

• The Transistor Radio

• The Remote Control

• The Razor

And, dare I say it, the car battery on a cold morning.  Batteries Die


2. Batteries Don't Last.

That is why car batteries have warranties.  



3. Unanswered Questions:

• How long will the battery last?

• How much will a new battery cost?

• How long will you keep it at the dealership inflating the service bill as you check out the car instead of replacing the battery?

HOWEVER

The biggest problem is not battery life or battery cost or sloganeering like slinging around words like 'range anxiety."


The real reason is that Americans measure distance in hours and minutes--not in miles.



This is not an American conversation.


"How far is it?"

"Eight Miles."




This is an American conversation.


"How far is it?"

"Fifteen minutes."



Question


"My wife's sister lives two hours away?  If we buy a Tesla (A Volt) can we make it to her sister's house?" 


In American:

"Do we have enough gas?"

"A little under 3/4 of a tank."

Maybe we should fill up before we leave?"

"No. I'll stop at that station by your sister.  It's cheaper there."



What if we buy a Tesla or a Volt?


"My wife's sister lives two hours away. Can I make it on a full charge?"

"How far away does she live?"

"I told you. Two hours!"

"No. I mean how many miles is it?"


"Mr. Tesla?  Mr Volt?  You are not listening to your customers.  My wife's sister lives two hours away. Can I make it on a full charge."



Electric Cars. The JCP of  Ron Johnson lives on.

• Ron Johnson wanted to sell "everyday low pricing."

• Customers wanted to buy, "coupons and discounts."

• Ron Johnson tried to convince the customers to buy what he wanted to sell.

• Ron Johnson should have sold what the customers wanted to buy.

• Don' be a Johnson.

This is what you want to sell:

• Price of the Battery.

• Life of the Battery

• Recharge Time

• Recharge Cost

• Charging Stations

• Swap-out Stations 

• How far can I go on a full charge.  In hours, not in miles.

If you find anything here to be helpful, please do not hesitate to send me a really tricked-out Mac Book and to put a few dollars into the envelope along with the thank you note. Slim.

Bob Asken
Box 33
Pen Argyl PA 18072


Sincerest regards,


Slim


Slimfairview@yahoo.com 

Linkedin Profile


Copyright (c) 2013 Bob Asken
All Rights Reserved.

The Volt Age and Dead Batteries

GM Jump Starts Volt sales.

Okay, here's the deal:


Batteries Die 

***************

"Did you forget something, Ward?"

"No, no.  The battery on the car is dead."

"Heck, Dad, you want me to call Lumpy's Dad to see if he can give you a jump?"

"No thank you, Wally.  Lumpy's, uh, Clarence's Dad just went by on the way to work."

"Jeepers, Beav.  Dad is really gonna clobber you when he finds out you killed his battery listening to the radio."

I couldn't help it, Wally. The battery on my transistor radio died."

********************* 

• Car batteries die.
• Transistor radio batteries die.
• Remote control batteries die.
• Gillette Mach 19 razor batteries die. 

Now GM is attempting to sell an electric car.  Let me see if I can pitch in and help out.



Does the Consumer have any questions?


I watch the commercials. I still don't know the answers to the following questions:

• How far will the Volt go on a full charge?
• How many gallons of gasoline does the tank hold?
• How many miles per gallon will I get? City/mpg
• How many miles per gallon will I get? Highway/mpg

Then we have the commercial itself.


Who is your target market?  From what I understand, it is a middle-class, suburban husband who takes his wife out for clown-food.  [ I notice that commercial was dropped after this article was posted.]

Who will buy your automobiles in the future?  The goofy kid who finds the place where you pour the electricity in.

Arthur Godfrey made headlines, and sold a lot of chicken noodle soup, ridiculing the product.  He did not become a sensation by ridiculing the people who eat chicken noodle soup. 

Warmest regards,

Slim

slimfairview@yahoo.com

ps.  If this helps you to sell a few extra Volts, please don't hesitate to send me a really tricked-out laptop and to tuck more than a few dollars into the envelope along with the thank you note.  Slim

[Thanks, Slim. Very helpful. We sent along a little gift for you.] Look up my address: See below.

www.linkedin.com/in/slimfairview/

Additional reading.

Your logo

I wrote three articles about JCP and their peccadilloes. 


Your Logo
JCP and 1000 Pennies
Ackman sells Penney-Stocks

The pertinent one concerns "your logo" 

What does your logo look like?

Wrong!

I could ask, "What does your logo look like to your customer", but that would be misleading.  A better question would be, "What does your customer see when he looks at your logo? How does your customer feel when he looks at your logo."  The problem arises from the fact that you are confusing your logo with a graphic.

Now, how does the consumer feel when he watches your commercial for the Volt?  Like the [adjective of your choice] who takes his wife out for clown food.



Compare and Contrast 


Here is my compare and contrast for JCP and Macy's:

While Mayor Ed Koch may have brought umbrage down upon himself while running for Governor of New York by disparaging Sears Roebuck suits, when I think of a suit from JCP the only thing that comes to mind is "I didn't buy this suit at Sears I bought it at J C Penney."

I did buy a Harris Tweed sports coat at Macy's though.  The Logo?  A snifter of single-malt whisky.  What snifter of single-malt whisky?  The snifter of single-malt whisky I am sipping in front of a fire while wearing that Harris Tweed sports coat. (Okay, maybe Macy's is piggy-backing on the Harris Tweed Logo, still....)


Appeal to the Consumers' Image


A far better image is the husband in evening clothes attempting to start his Volt.

The wife:  It looks like where out of gas.
Husband:  That's okay. I'll just switch to electric.
The wife:  (Turning off the car.)  "It looks like we're out of gas."

Husband carrying wife back into the house.

VO:  The Chevy Volt.  Even when you're not going anywhere, you're still getting somewhere. 


Okay, I don't do ad copy.  However, from the disappointing sales figure.....follow the path of the trajectory.

Warmest regards,

Slim

slimfairview@yahoo.com








 Copyright © 2012 Slim Fairview. All rights reserved.