Confidence inspires confidence… or does it?

This weekend GM launched its highly touted “Total Confidence Package."  Through this program, GM is doing its best to bring customers back into the showrooms to buy. The Total Confidence Package offers any customer up to nine free payments on a newly purchased car should he/she be laid off within two years after vehicle purchase.

It’s a semi-knock off of Hyundai’s ‘Promise’ guarantee which allows customers to literally hand in their vehicle (and payments) should they lose their jobs. I thought this program was a very innovative and wrote about it in February when it came out.

GM’s program is deeply flawed. Marketing is 100 percent about communicating the right stimulus to achieve a desired response. The wrong words or phrases can elicit negative responses if they are deemed to lack credibility by target audiences. I believe that in GM’s current disastrous state, this themed program has done just that. Think about it, how could a failing behemoth like GM ever create a program that leverages the word confidence? It just makes almost no sense. And, when I hear it, my reaction is that this must be a joke. GM… and confidence? Seriously? This isn’t a ‘Saturday Night Live’ spoof?

Now, let’s get beyond the poor choice of a name. Because even though it’s hard to believe, it actually gets much worse. Every single day we hear something new about GM falling closer into the abyss of bankruptcy. The intent of The Total Confidence Package is to calm customer fears. They needn’t worry about having enough money to pay for that large, ongoing commitment (car payment) because GM will be there to help if the worst happens. Yes, it’s a very nice thought.

But, will those same customers be protected when GM can’t even protect itself? Because, chances are that this company will end up in bankruptcy within the next few months. And then, what happens to all those trusting customers who bought into a confidence plan that really can’t provide much long term confidence? That’s right. My guess is that the plan is thrown right out the window along side of all those vendor contracts, employee agreements and billions of $$$ in debt payments.

I commend GM for trying. But, once again it feels like the company developed (or in this case copied) an idea that makes little sense for the times we live in. Making matters worse, it shows how out of touch it is by spending so much promotional money on a name that almost certainly will elicit the exact opposite response it had hoped for.

Comments

[BomberpeteNY]

Ed,

You're right about the timing, but I think GM's idea would make sense AFTER they declare Chapter 11 in early June.

After all, the Feds are going to guarantee both their creditors and the vehicle warranties, and there is tons of 2009 production to be discounted.

Look, GM will be a drastically different entity a year from now, even if it eventually ceases to exist as a car-making entity. But realistically, that's not going to happen anytime soon. We (i.e. the U.S. taxpayer) are going to prop GM up, gut and scale it like a freshly-caught fish, and sell off what salvageable and let it be rebuilt as a more nimble competitor.

Or so we hope. If done successfully -- especially with a decent product line -- Americans will accept the strategy , get patriotic, root for the underdog and buy GM when they can afford to again. And considering that all the resources and talent of the U.S. government will be behind this effort....um, never mind, you're right.