9/10/2009

General Motors, in a massive effort to reverse its eroding market share, will offer customers a 60 day money back guarantee period in which they can return their car with no questions asked. GM will be pouring millions into its “May the Best Car Win” marketing campaign through the end of November, hoping to drive more customers into dealerships nationwide.

Upon emerging from bankruptcy, GM feared they would continue to lose market share through the end of 2009 because of its shedding of brands such as Pontiac, Saturn, Saab, Hummer, and now Opel. Edward Whitaker Jr., having recently taken control of GM’s board, strongly disagrees. He hopes the new marketing campaign, which kicks off Monday, will reverse the trend and actually increase market share. The campaign will be a massive endeavor for GM, and will include print, radio and television advertising to get the word out to potential car buyers.

According to GM, customers who purchase a new car may return the vehicle within 60 days as long as they have kept the vehicle for at least 31 days, have not driven the vehicle over 4,000 miles, and are current on their payments. The dealer must repurchase the vehicle, but will be compensated by GM to cover all costs. The only part the consumer cannot recuperate is the negative equity on the vehicle they traded in.

According to Bob Lutz, chief of marketing at GM, the company’s recent sales slide is due to negative consumer sentiment, and Lutz strongly believes that the gap between reality and what consumers perceive is enormous. The “May the Best Car Win” campaign is intended close that gap by proving to consumers that GM has improved over the past several years, and is ready to back that claim with cash.

GM has run a similar campaign in Europe with its United Kingdom unit, Vauxhall, which only experienced 3% in returns. Just in case returns are higher than expected stateside, GM has purchased an insurance policy to protect itself.

To further remove the negative stigma of pre-bankruptcy GM, the company has removed all corporate GM emblems from the vehicles and will market them solely by brand and model name.

GM’s sales have been sliding for decades, but the decline has increased recently due to a negative public perception of quality and increased competition from import brands. During the first eight months of 2009, GM had a market share of 19.4 percent, significantly lower than the same period in 2008, of 21.6 percent. Whitaker and Lutz are betting a large amount of government lent cash to reverse this trend.

The advertising program will attempt to get consumers into dealerships by comparing GM’s brands of Chevrolet, Cadillac, Buick, and GMC to comparable models form Asian and German manufacturers. One example will be comparing the Honda CR-V to the Chevrolet Equinox, pointing out that the Equinox gets significantly better gas mileage. The program is set to launch on Monday.

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