As the new round of price war in the auto market intensifies, car company executives have also thrown themselves into it and are busy. On the evening of March 28, at the launch conference of Xiaomi Automobile, Lei Jun, founder, chairman and CEO of Xiaomi Group, gave a speech for more than two hours, not only to amaze people with the pricing strategy of Xiaomi Auto, but also to express sincere admiration for Lei Jun's physical strength. In fact, Lei Jun is not the only car company executive with such amazing physical strength. On December 17 last year, Li Bin, the founder, chairman and CEO of NIO, demonstrated his perseverance and physical strength in a unique way. He drove for 14 hours, drove 1,044 kilometers, and broadcast the whole process live, personally testing the performance of NIO's 150-degree battery pack. On February 12, Yu Chengdong, Executive Director of Huawei, CEO of Huawei Device BG, and Chairman of Intelligent Vehicle Solution BU, also showed the same tenacity and perseverance. He drove the Wenjie M9 from his hometown in Anhui all the way to Shenzhen, driving 1,314 kilometers and taking 15 hours.
This series of events makes people joke that we may know the driving range limit of these models, but the "driving range" limit of these car company executives is unfathomable. They used their own actions to endorse their own products, showing the deep emotion and firm confidence of the executives of car companies in their own products.
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From behind the scenes to the front of the stage
At the Xiaomi car press conference, Lei Jun enthusiastically introduced the shocking technology and figures, won bursts of applause, and successfully drove the market enthusiasm, the new car order volume is close to 90,000 units, and the final lock order exceeds 40,000 units, which is undoubtedly a new miracle created by Lei Jun in the field of automobile marketing. Although people can evaluate this conference from different angles, Lei Jun's performance as an executive of an auto company has undoubtedly set a new benchmark in the field of automotive marketing. Cui Dongshu, secretary general of the National Passenger Car Market Information Association, spoke highly of Lei Jun's marketing ability, he believes that the popularity of Xiaomi cars continues to rise, and Lei Jun's marketing methods for Xiaomi SU7 are worthy of learning and reference from practitioners in the automotive industry in terms of product concept and marketing promotion.
Liu Rui, a professor at the School of Applied Economics of Chinese University, pointed out that compared with other products or commodity marketing, automobile marketing has higher professionalism, complexity and comprehensiveness, and it is not easy to do it well. In addition to market opportunities, auto executives also need to demonstrate superior intelligence, insight, thinking, expression and physical strength, and these traits are fully reflected in Lei Jun and other auto executives. In particular, the executives of private car companies and new car manufacturers are deeply integrated with the market, and these characteristics are more prominent in them.
Wei Fulei, director of the Research Center for Finance, Taxation, Trade and Industrial Development of China (Shenzhen) Comprehensive Development Research Institute, said that whether it is at a press conference, a social occasion or an online media platform, if car company executives can win the goodwill and attention of the audience, then product marketing has been more than half successful. At the same time, this is also the key to establishing a good brand image for the enterprise and achieving twice the publicity effect with half the effort. To a large extent, the executives of car companies are the spokespersons and image ambassadors of the company, and marketing is also one of the important tasks related to the survival and development of car companies. Therefore, it is necessary for car company executives to attach great importance to and personally participate in marketing, which has also become a beautiful landscape in the automotive industry today.
From a theoretical point of view, the marketing methods of car company executives also show a different pattern. Xue Xu, EDP chair professor at Peking University's School of Economics, believes that the marketing of car company executives can be roughly divided into two routes: passionate marketing and rational strategic marketing. Among them, strategic marketing is characterized by the fact that in the context of relative resource disadvantage, the weak can defeat the strong through ingenious strategies, which is the essential ability that car company executives should show. In this regard, many car companies, especially the executives of new car manufacturers, have done a particularly good job. Taking Lei Jun's marketing of Xiaomi cars as an example, at the beginning of the product, he skillfully used a large amount of data and comparisons to develop his strengths and avoid weaknesses, and achieved remarkable marketing results, which undoubtedly provided valuable experience for other car companies.
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It's a performance and an experience
"Will live streaming be the ultimate battlefield for car manufacturing?" With the popularity of live video, car company executives have plunged into this emerging marketing field. In mid-March, Li Bin made his live broadcast debut on social platforms to bring goods for NIO products. Previously, Lu Fang, CEO of VOYAH Automotive, also introduced VOYAH's "Lanhai Power" new energy platform to the audience through a live broadcast. When the Xpeng X9 new car was released, He Xiaopeng appeared on the video platform, showing in detail the appearance of the model design, flexible space layout, luxurious interior configuration, and diverse car use scenarios. In addition, online press conferences and interviews of various car companies are not uncommon, and car company executives personally go down to cheer for their new cars.
Through the screen of the mobile phone, car companies have opened up a new online marketing battlefield. "Online live broadcast is undoubtedly an efficient marketing method for new energy brands and new car manufacturers. Wei Fuley believes that the mainstream consumer group of new energy vehicles is the young "Generation Z", who grow up with the Internet and are more likely to accept marketing forms such as live video and short videos that highlight the characteristics of the Internet era. Therefore, when car company executives go live broadcast, they should pay more attention to the pragmatism of live streaming and reduce the individual performance component, so as not to leave a flashy impression on the audience. Integrity is not only the basic quality of car executives, but also the key to product marketing. Excessive performance and exaggerated product claims are counterproductive, and this is something that auto executives need to be wary of.
Zeng Xin, a professor at the University of Science and Technology Beijing, believes that the live broadcast of car company executives is itself a kind of personal performance, which integrates the corporate brand image and aims to market the company's products. Just like the film and television works in which actors play different roles, executives of car companies also need to combine the advantages and characteristics of products in live broadcasts to show professional insights and expression skills. They must not only have a deep understanding of products and technologies, but also be able to interpret and introduce complex technologies concisely and clearly, and show their professionalism and excellence in simple design with professional expression. This kind of performance task puts forward higher requirements for the professional ability, learning ability and expression ability of car company executives. In fact, the successful performance of many car company executives in live broadcasts has added luster to the products and brands.
Xue Xu also pointed out that combining personal experience with personal performance can more effectively convey the theme of live streaming. Automobile marketing itself is a kind of professional level of display, in the live broadcast, press conference, interview and other marketing activities, car company executives not only show their own knowledge level, thinking ability, logical organization, leadership art and corporate philosophy, but also to a large extent convey important information such as corporate image, brand connotation and product quality. Only the ability to "plant grass" and successfully attract traffic and promote sales can be regarded as a sign of marketing success.
03
Where are the boundaries of executive marketing
Compared with the variety of marketing methods, the marketing of car company executives focuses more on the in-depth display of products, technologies and concepts. However, there are also some cases of "swords going sideways", such as scolding each other in the air, "bumping porcelain" opponents, rubbing traffic and even smearing each other, these phenomena also occur from time to time.
At the end of last year, the debate over the "AEB" (automatic emergency braking system) aroused widespread attention in the industry, and even attracted a number of car company executives to join the "battle". There are different opinions in the industry about this phenomenon. Zeng Xin believes that from a marketing point of view, this kind of in-depth discussion between executives, although the rhetoric is intense, does not involve substantive mutual blackmail, but is more like a planned exploration of a new executive marketing model. In the case that conventional marketing methods are difficult to attract widespread attention, this ingenious air dialogue may attract traffic, increase product popularity, efficiently promote the main products of both parties, and achieve efficient zero-cost marketing. However, the key to success lies in not only accurately grasping the "intensity" of the discussion, but also deeply conveying the connotation of professional products and avoiding boredom, but this successful marketing method is difficult to replicate.
"There must be boundaries to the marketing of car executives. Wefley pointed out that as more and more Chinese cars "go overseas", many factors at home and abroad are that executives need to carefully consider in their marketing work. As China's auto exports continue to grow, and executives of auto companies frequently participate in overseas marketing activities, they must pay attention to factors such as regulations, customs, and aesthetic habits in different countries and regions. For example, Europe attaches great importance to green environmental protection, and there are many laws and regulations directly or indirectly related to automobiles, the Middle East is mostly Muslim countries, and there are strict taboos on colors and living habits, and many countries in Southeast Asia also have color taboos, such as Thailand and Vietnam, which do not allow ordinary people to use yellow. All of this requires the executives of car companies to pay special attention to overseas marketing.
Xue Xu believes that the growth and development of car companies ultimately depends on the ideological realm of business operators. The thinking space and boundaries of entrepreneurs determine the space and boundaries of enterprise growth. In the context of the accelerating transformation of the automobile industry, the increasing popularity of automobile products, and the increasingly complex public opinion environment at home and abroad, the executives of automobile companies must not only adhere to the boundaries of principles in marketing, but also continue to explore the boundaries of innovation, so as to make marketing deeply rooted in the hearts of the people and lead the brand to continue to improve.
Text: Zhao Jianguo Editor: Guo Chen Layout: Wang Kun
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