Online communities are an excellent source of honest feedback, praise and critique from the most important constituency:  consumers.  The long practiced strategy of rolling out product introduction upon product introduction without including consumers as the stakeholder and creative adviser has to cease in order for automotive manufactures to realize success today.

Consider the following examples of automotive online communities (courtesy of our friends at Freshnetworks.com):

Mini Insider

The Mini Insider online community is a fantastic example of amplifying word of mouth. The community was originally set up to work in tandem with an offline advertising campaign but has since grown in both numbers of people engaged and the ways in which it is used. It’s reported that 75% of Mini owners in the USA are now a member of the community, providing a rich resource of advocacy and of information. Not only do most members of the community stay loyal to the brand and buy another Mini, but it’s claimed that about half of all sales leads are actually generated by the site.

A resource like this is a great way of decreasing your conversion costs. Getting existing owners to talk about and showcase their own Minis helps those who are new to the brand to understand what they could have and what they might want to buy. We know that people trust peers more than a marketing message and so the Mini Insiders online community can be a much more powerful conversion tool than other sales and marketing routes. And when compared to face-to-face advice or sales, the online community is significantly cheaper.

GMnext

GM’s GMnext community is an interesting example of using the brand and the consumer’s relationship with it to talk about another issue. The site brings together people from senior GM executives (up to and including Chairman and CEO Fritz Henderson), front-line employees, and retirees as well as consumers. They are encouraging conversations in five areas: vehicle design, current and emerging technologies, the environment, ideas and global corporate social responsibility. For GM, these are the areas that they think will drive the future of the automotive industry and they want to be part of (and perhaps own) the debate in these areas.

This is a good example of brands using their position in an industry to discuss issues amongst themselves and with their consumers in a very public arena. This can be a great way to position yourself as both being at the forefront of your industry, and also of being an innovative and responsive communicator. Using internal expertise and seeking external commentators is what many brands probably want to do, and online communities make it really easy for them to do it.

My note:  One would (rightfully) argue that the GM Next “community” is nothing more than a blog…an informative source of information, opinion and insight, but not a true environment where consumers engage in open and honest dialogue with each other and the company.

Note: This is marked HD but has a grainy video quality and the sound is out of synch. This is how I found the video on Youtube. Sorry.

With 30 mpg fuel economy, thanks in part to GM’s direct injection technology, and a strong, confident design, the 2010 GMC Terrain is a multi-purpose crossover vehicle. Go behind the scenes with the designers and engineers of the GMC Terrain to learn more.

Today was a historic day at General Motors. Employees all over the globe celebrated GM’s 100th birthday. It was really cool to watch and be a part of. At the end the production version of the Chevy Volt was released. Check out all the cool action at gmnext.com

The next 100 years is going to take: Leadership, Passion, Vision and Focus from all of on the GM Global Team. I am looking forward to being a part of writing the next 100 years for GM.

Look closely at what was on the moon tonight.

General Motors turned 100 today and the company’s management tried eagerly to convey the message of change and optimism. The once largest car maker in the world, incorporated by Billy Durant in 1908,  is in a deep crisis. GM created a giant $38.7 billion loss in 2007. GM’s sales numbers in the U.S. have nosedived, primarily due to the sharp increase in gasoline prices and the higher awareness for fuel economy of car buyers as well as the economic slowdown. The product line-up, famous for gas-guzzlers like Hummers or GMC trucks, is simply not anymore meeting demand. Competitors, especially Japanese automakers, pushed forward with more efficient models and popular hybrids. Though Toyota’s hybrid car sales are small in comparison with the large pick-up trucks Toyota sells in the United States, the company managed to establish a green image. Intelligent advertising and the hybrid hype worked out for Toyota….

Despite all the odds, GM appeared to be determined to maintain its position as a major car producer and to regain its former competitiveness.

Rick Wagoner left no doubt that GM is absolutely focused on its future now. Looking forward! That’s the slogan of the day. In his speech, Wagoner mentioned highlights of General Motor’s past 100 years. “…amazing heritage…” / “….tremendous heritage…”  are all word’s Mr. Wagoner used when referring to GM’s time as the leading car manufacturer in the world. Confidently, he spoke about GM continuing this legacy into its second century – he was also talking of a “bright future”.  Dramatic changes are going on right now, all over the world. Wagoner assured that GM “kept up with that change”, with which I only agree up to a point. In recent years, General Motors failed to adapt its product line-up, failed to meet demand, failed to remain profitable. As it was the case with Chrysler and Ford, the management was ignorant and made self-centered decisions… The market changed, and they denied it. Now, however, it seems as if the leading figures of GM have become aware of what’s going on and what needs to be done:

“We’re committed to leading our industry on the most important issue we face over the next generation: The development of alternative fuel propulsion.”

Rick Wagoner pushes forward the “reinvention of the automobile”, shifting from mechanically driven vehicles to electrically driven ones.

The symbol of GM’s new direction is the outstanding Chevrolet Volt, an electric car with range-extender. (Read more about the Chevy Volt in Electric vehicles are competitive with gasoline-diven vehicles The electric car revolution is about to happen ) It’s expected that the production version is unveiled today during the GM Next live broadcast. All the excitement about the Chevy Volt is justified, if the shift to electric cars fails, the company is not likely be there anymore in 100 years…

Jack Smith, the retired CEO of General Motors, refers to GM’s future as “an exciting time”… He’s absolutely right!

GMnext – past v.s. future

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/uptospeed/2008/09/volt-unveiled-g.html

Who has seen the latest GM “Employee Discount for Everyone” commercial on the occasion of the car maker’s 100th anniversary? If so, you’ve probably seen some SUVs, one Hummer, sports cars, but have you seen any of these cars on which the survival of the once largest car maker in the world, now one of the largest loss generators, depends? No!

General Motors will celebrate its 100th anniversary on September 16. It was founded in Flint, Michigan, in 1908 by Billy Durant. It evolved into a giant automaker and it once held more than 50% of the U.S. car market. GM was the world’s largest automaker for 77 years, it’s brands are known everywhere around the globe. Undoubtedly, GM can look back to many glorious years. Though General Motors had to face numerous challenges in the past 100 years, the company has barely been in as dire straits as today. Its U.S. market share is shrinking, because most of GM’s cars are inefficient gas guzzlers which aren’t competitive with Japanese models. SUV sales numbers are in free fall due to sky-high gasoline prices. The company has relied on its old strength for too long a time. Its stock value has nosedived in recent years and GM generates enormous multi-billion dollar losses. Thus, it’s no surprise that nobody of GM’s employees is in a party mood. GM is closing down factories and reducing capacities.

Nevertheless, it seems as if the company’s management has realized that it’s time to act and there’s need to hurry. GM created a state-of-the-art electric car with range extender – the Chevy Volt. It runs on electricity for the first 40 miles, and then a small gasoline-powered generator recharges the batteries and extends the driving range considerably. As most Americans drive less than 40 miles per day, they can reduce their gasoline consumption decisively by using electricity from the home socket for power. The Chevrolet Volt is planned to hit the market in 2010, and it could become a huge success, as it is much more advanced than e.g. Toyota’s famous hybrid car, the Prius. Hybrid cars can only be considered a short-term solution, but all electric cars – with or without range extender – will increasingly gain market share in the next decade.

For GM, the Chevy Volt is vital to the company’s survival. But one car can’t be the saving grace. GM has to change its entire product lineup and change its image. Obviously, GM’s PR department failed this time with this commercial, and instead of offering employee discount for everyone, and reducing the profit margin even further, they should make an effort to show that they’re on the right track.

It’s generally expected that GM will promote its new efforts to build more efficient and technologically advanced, greener cars on the offical celebration on September 16th. On GMnext.com, lots of information about how the company wants to enter its second century can be seen.

You can read all about the Chevy Volt and the electric car revolution in many of my past posts. You can see an overview on my last post from August 13th. I’ll continue blogging regularly soon. Right now, I’m spending my vacation in Miami.

http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080818/BUSINESS01/808180328

GMnext.com heißt ein Portal, das General Motors zu Beginn des Jahres freigeschaltet hat. Ziel ist ein Dialog mit Bezugsgruppen zur künftigen Entwicklung des Automobilherstellers. Das Portal nutzt zahlreiche Social Media-Ansätze wie ein Blog, Podcasts, eine Videocommunity, Bewertungsmöglichkeiten oder Social Bookmarking.

GM-Chairman und CEO Rick Wagoner dazu:

“We’ll use GMnext to introduce some of our ideas for addressing critical issues concerning energy, the environment and globalization. In the process, we also hope to spark a broader, global discussion on these important topics.”

Weiter heißt es in der Presseinformation:

“The site is designed to encourage feedback and interaction among participants. In addition to GM news, positions and commentary, it will feature opinions and insights from the general public, from industry observers outside GM, and from the global media, both traditional and social.”

Im Interview mit Shel Holtz und Neville Hobson im PR-Podcast “For Immediate Release” (FIR) betonen die Verantwortlichen für GMnext, mit der Plattform soll etwa eine Million Menschen erreicht werden, die über die Entwicklung des Autoriesen mitdiskutieren sollen. Besonders eingeladen worden seien hierzu auch die 280.000 Mitarbeiter, für die die Plattform bereits Anfang Dezember freigeschaltet worden war.

Als Leitthemen für die Diskussionen gibt der weltgrößte Autohersteller zunächst Umwelt, Technologie und Design vor. Teil der Plattform ist auch ein neues Blog, das von etwa 20 Autoren gefüttert wird – darunter auch Mitarbeiter von Partnern und Zulieferern sowie Kunden. Zur Kommunikationsstrategie von GM gehöre neben der eigenen Plattform auch, in anderen Netzwerken wie Facebook oder Video-Communities präsent zu sein, erläutern die PR-Manager Scot Keller and Christopher Barger im FIR-Interview.

Ich bin sehr gespannt, wie sich GMnext entwickelt und ob die Plattform die gewünschte Akzeptanz findet. Vieles wird davon abhängen, wie offen die Kommunikation dort läuft. Eine erste Nagelprobe dürfte der geplante 24-Stunden-Chat während der North American International Auto Show am 13. und 14. Januar sein. Eine andere Herausforderung ist aber sicher das starke Konkurrenzdenken in der Automobilbranche, von dem typischerweise auch die Mitarbeiter geprägt sind. Ob sie es wagen, sich im erhofften Maße zu beteiligen und wie sie bzw. die Manager in kritischen Diskussionen reagieren, wird spannend zu beobachten sein.