Re-defining the "qualified buyer"

Talk about an interesting case of corporate soul-searching.

In this morning’s Automotive Digest, there was a link to an interesting story from TheDetroitBureau.com, which focused on the impact of the recent recession on the luxury car market.

Supporting his thesis with brief quotes from Mercedes marketing chief Steve Cannon, the author of the story, Paul Eisenstein, suggests that the recession has “forced manufacturers like Mercedes to rethink the way they pitch potential buyers. Over the last several decades, the luxury segment has increasingly turned to incentives and, in particular, subsidized leasing, to attract buyers who really didn’t belong in the luxury segment.”

Implications: Consumers are widely reported to have pushed a re-set button, when it comes to the way they invest their resources. In the recent past—and probably for the foreseeable future—most purchases will be accompanied by more than one “second thought.”

Instead of “Why shouldn’t we buy this,” people will ask, “Why do we need this?”

Instead of “How much does it cost,” people will ask, “How much is it worth?”

Instead of “Buy now, pay later,” people will consider, “How long do we want to live with this (financing) burden?”

Different people will have different answers to these questions, based on their age, life stage, desires, needs, and means. But people from all walks of life will be asking these—or similar—questions.

Just as consumers are re-evaluating the way they buy, companies are wise to do a gut-check about the way they sell. Specifically, are you talking to the right people (the most appropriate target consumers), and is your offer an attractive option to them, based on their desires, needs and means?

In particular, I was struck by this thought from the Mercedes story: “[In the past, companies have sought] … to attract buyers who didn’t really belong in the luxury segment.”

If you sell in the “big ticket” market, it’s a smart time to be thinking about who your “qualified buyers” really are; those people who authentically BELONG on your list of target consumers. After all, your consumers are thinking about that, too.

Mike Anderson