Why GM Will Never Overtake Toyota Unless They Start Making Hovercraft

This is a little mock advertisement I put together to sort of illustrate what I talk about in this post. It's not very professional since it's on a 0-dollar budget but you get basically what it's supposed to get across:



General Motors was a humble little start-up in Flint, Michigan back in 1908. Not even founder William C. Durant could have predicted that it'd climb to such heights. Throughout the 20th century, it gained a reputation in the United States, as maybe the best practical car around. And even as the 21st century dawned, GM still held the lead in annual sales. Nobody could have predicted that it would have fallen this hard back in the glory days of the mid-1900s. However, since the late 80s, disaster had been knocking on the auto giant's door, and finally it grew big enough to shoot GM down.
But after filing for bankruptcy, the company is making an honest effort to re-gain its footing on the automobile market. Determined executives are calling it the "re-invention". But they are still refusing to look up to their Japanese counterparts, not willing to damage their sensitive ego. Let's face it though, GM will never get past Toyota ever again as long as cars are the prime mode of transportation. I think most average Americans have realized the Harvard executives at GM can't seem to grasp it.
However, I don't mean to convey that GM should admit defeat and just shut down. They don't even have to tangibly admit defeat. But they do have to stop trying to be number one and start trying to be number two.
I know that sounds odd to you. But look at the auto sector as a race on a sheet of ice. GM had been gliding along nicely as the leader for almost a century but then suddenly, it slipped and fell. So Toyota and a few other brands retained their pace and sped ahead. Once GM got back up, they were quite far from the lead position. On the other hand, now they're trying to run at full speed to try and catch up. That's not going to work though running to fast on ice is just going to make you fall again. GM just has to maintain a steady sustainable pace that won't make them fall down but allow them to remain a contender. Here's why.
If you took a poll of every American driver, and I'm sure plenty of agencies have already done so, it's most likely that a majority will consider Toyota the leader in fuel efficiency, value, environmental issues, service and practical performance. These are aspects that GM owned for the past few decades but has been taken away from them. However, GM is outraged over this fact and its inflated ego is telling it to try to snatch all these things back. But common sense and the marketing knowledge, that I know they have, is telling them to project themselves as something that Toyota is not, even the opposite. You're probably thinking, "Well, they can't say they damage the environment, are too expensive, are not fuel-efficient at all and make bad cars." I agree, they can't. But what else do analysts talk about and label Toyota when they continuously assert its excellence? They say that Japanese cars are this and Japanese cars are that. That's the key word, Japanese. But I'm not telling GM to start discriminating against the Japanese, I'm saying for them to advertise the fact that they're American and if you're a real American, you'll buy GM.
Now, I'll admit: A lot of people aren't about to buy a car that they think isn't very good just because they think it'll make them a better American. Then again, there are plenty of people who value this image of patriotism. A 4th generation American is going to be very upset if they feel any less American than anybody else; they'll but a GM. How about companies that want to seem genuinely American; they might use GMs for any transportation needs. These demographics aren't going to allow GM to re-gain top spot but they will allow GM to re-gain its status as a successful company. And research has shown that people prefer to buy from successful companies so who knows what will come of a simple step in the other direction?
Nobody can claim that they're more American than GM but there are plenty of companies who can claim that they make better cars. And maybe GM does make better cars but in the end, its about who the consumer thinks makes better cars.

Top 6 Biggest Branding Mistakes and Failures: The Products Whose (Marketing) Fails to Impress

There are probably plenty of worse jobs that companies have done but this is what I've come up with. This list only includes products that are still in existence and those that launched in recent history. That means New Coke and the McPizza don't count although they definitely would make the all-time list.

6. Mitsubishi Elevators

Trailing Otis, Kone and several other companies in the elevator industry, Mitsubishi itself has been a massive failure. Its televisions have almost no market share while barely anyone knows about a random food and textiles division. Simply put, Mitsubishi does not stand out with any distinctive color like Ferrari, sound like the Ford Taurus or smell like Mercedes. And that's just its cars. But has anyone ever seen and recognized and applauded a Mitsubishi Elevator? The entire corporation has simply developed a reputation of substandard quality and no uniqueness or innovation, led by a badly trailing automobile division.

5. Microsoft Zune

I have complimented this device on its quality and I still think that it's a good device but from the start, it was destined for failure. After a hyped launch, the "iPod-killer" sputtered throughout its duration on the market at prices nearly the same as the iPod. A confusing interface, lack of unique features and little online capability, the Zune just doesn't have the charm that iPods do. The Zune doesn't even have a variation of the cover flow or genius playlist generator while online features are incredibly poor. Basically, Microsoft, renowned for its no-nonsense Windows operating system, has no right to market share in the MP3 player market, which demands innovation.

4. Samsung Instinct

Don't mess with Apple. The Samsung Instinct never even had the hype that the Zune had and was and still is regarded as an iPhone spinoff. I've never personally tried this device but can tell that its appeal is not anything compared the notorious Apple iPhone. Samsung just came too late in the touch screen world and is facing not-so-great sales as a consequence.

3. Dunlop Sport

Although a good tire manufacturer, Dunlop Sport is a mistake. Athletes are considerably picky about their brands and I know I wouldn't buy tennis balls or golf drivers made by a tire company. Dunlop has never been a leading innovator in any of its sports departments, trailing Wilson and Head in tennis, is a leader in the relatively small squash market, is not even considered as a player in the badminton market, which is the same with golf.

2. Reebok Reebok

In an athletic wear market dominated by Nike and Adidas, Reebok comes in at a lowly third. In the shadow of these two foes, Reebok has a good hockey division and has an adequate share in fan merchandise in the NFL but every other sport puts this brand out of the equation. Little to no media marketing, massively overpriced items, lower quality and simply the shadow of the two giants has not helped the company.

1. GM Pontiac

Have you ever heard of CalorieLab.com? If you've been reading my blog, you have but if you haven't then you probably don't have a clue what I'm talking about. Well, you've probably heard of Pontiac. So why has CalorieLab overtaken Pontiac in daily web reach (website visitors), according to web research company Alexa? Because nobody cares about the sinking division of a sinking GM anymore. GM doesn't even care about Pontiac, which is not included in its four-division focus. This is because what does Pontiac have that's unique? Nothing. It was lauded as the new car company like Saturn. It isn't true American like Chevrolet. It isn't luxury like Cadillac. And it isn't fuel efficient like Toyota.

Do you see the similarities of all these? They all don't have any unique features and they all live in the shadows of a big-name, big-brand player in their market. This is exactly what you shouldn't do. Just some advice.