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Friday, October 14, 2011

Wins and losses among automotive manufacturers

A very good story in today’s Marketing Daily cites Experian data in looking at the recent history of automotive sales.  Click here to see the story.

Implications:   Research is invaluable in anticipating what consumers will or will not respond to… but the most important data often shows up based on how people voted with their wallets.

How are your sales different from last month?  Last year?  Five years ago?  I’m not asking simply, “Are your numbers up or down.”  I’m asking you to consider 1) When you have gained customers, where did they come from?  Are they new to the market or did you take them from a competitor?  2) When you have lost customers, where did they go?  Did they simply leave the market, or did they go to a competitor?  3) Are your target customers buying for the same reasons today that they bought five years ago?

Sales figures can behave like a trail of breadcrumbs… reminding you to never wander too far from what works best.  Not just in automotive... but in any sales-driven company.

Mike Anderson, for the Elm Street Economics consumer trends blog. A service of The Center for Sales Strategy, Inc.

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