What Tesla can teach us about Marketing
In 2003 came the rumors about an electric car company who promised to revolutionise the automotive industry and compete against the big players, and with the dream of make every single american an electric car owner, accelerating the difusion of sustainable transportation, no one believed that such endeavour could be possible.
On a graveyard of green companies, Tesla promised to be successful. On an industry where the last successful automotive startup (Chrysler) had been born in 1925, Tesla wanted to be the following successful case.
For start, it’s not only the Charisma of its CEO, Elon Musk, or his personification of Tony Stark or even the embody of his vision on his company mission. More than that is the disruptive innovation that Tesla brought to the automotive industry, being in this moment years ahead of its competition.
On second place Tesla tells us a story and involve us in its vision of a sustainable world, of electric and technologically advanced cars. Together with its hability of produce its own parts and software, these are maybe the most critical success factors, allowing to promote brand diffusion among the public opinion.
When Tesla launched its first model, the Tesla Roadster, the fact of being a startup was good and at the same time bad, good because it allows it not only to go through unexplored paths, using new building methods and technologies. But also the startup envyronment allowed it to work in a unusual rythm on the automotive industry, and bad because it had to pass by the same errors that all company cars had to pass in some time of its history.
The first Roadster models released had a lot of technical problems, however was thanks to the aura of innovation and disruption that hovers over Tesla, combined with its customer care and PR departments and Elon’s vision that enabled Tesla to surpace its problems, Tesla was becoming to turn what we Marketeers call an Evangelizer Brand.
When Tesla Model S was released, it represented a big step forward in comparison with Roadster, however in the first times after the lunch, were common the complains of Tesla owners about some car functions that were not fuction properly, however throught its innovative software, technicians on Tesla HQ were capable to solve the problems, by updating the software, without human intervention. Something that would had required a recall in other brands, in Tesla, thanks to its capacity to build in house the parts and software required to build its cars, had been able to correct its software problems in just a few hours. In the in the next day, when Tesla owners turn on their cars the problems were solved like by magic, this created a positive feedback on media, creating a lot of awareness and publicity for Tesla. With a great customer care and PR departments, Tesla was starting to fulfil its promises to its clients and embracing the mission and values that customers and brand evangelizers were connected to.
But Tesla innovative software not only allowed to correct problems it also allowed to upgrade the vehicle caracteristics, as upgrade the vehicles range capacity or enable the insane velocity mode, without being necessary to lunch a new vehicle version, something unthinkable and without precedents in automotive industry.
With the release of Model X, Tesla created a SUV beyond the expectations of its customers, focusing on the details that other brands failed to achieve, one great example of that was the space between seats which allowed to those who had toddlers to easily install the kids chair.
Other of the dilemmas that Tesla came to change in the automotive industry were the inspections. When we buyed a car with a combustion engine we were obligated to follow an inspection list. with the electric cars from Tesla, due to the mobil parts were almost inexistent, such inspections were no longer required, altought Tesla advice its customers to do an anual check up, to give some maintenance to its cars.
But not only on its cars Tesla focused. To supply its cars with energy, Tesla created, firstly in US and then in the world, charging grids that enabled Tesla owners to charge their cars for free.
Besides that, Tesla changed the way people buy cars, Tesla sells its cars through its website and its stores, however when we enter in a Tesla store we are not approached by a seller we are approached by a Tesla employ, and he not sell us a product, he sell us an experience whitin the Tesla world. When we enter in a Tesla Store, we are imediately invited to enter in a different world, strategically decorated, with different kinds of merchandising and a beautiful Tesla Model S awaiting for us. Remember, Tesla do not sell cars they sell experiences.
Tesla brought to the automotive industry what Apple brought to the phone industry, Tesla competition is many years far behind it, and as happened in the phone industry with Nokia and Blackberry, in the automotive industry great players will fall.
The complex structure of automotive builders and their many parts supliers entangled its capabilities of creating disruptive innovation.
With the recent lunch of model 3, Tesla could start to fulfill its great mission, widespread the electric car, and at the same time become the most valuable car brand in the world. It’s soon to say but Tesla futures seems to be smiley.
