Betting the Ranch, Again

Greetings.  For awhile, the thought of bailing out General Motors sparked intense debate among a lot of us.  Surely as taxpayers we had better uses for our money than to save a company and an industry that had really screwed up big time.  But I guess somebody had to do it.  And given that the Tooth Fairy didn't have tens of billions of dollars in available cash, we all became the lucky winners.

Now that it's been done, we're all left to hope that it was an act of true genius.  And we should get some indication soon.  Because it appears that our friends at GM are ready to bet the ranch (once again), or at least our portion of it.  But this time on a very powerful idea.  You see, last time they bet the ranch (or farm) on a bunch of products that most people didn't really want.  And that's not the smartest idea on the planet.  But this time they're actually putting the customer at the center of the equation by taking a page from our friend L.L. Bean's playbook (see yesterday's post)!  

Yes, its their recently announced "60-day satisfaction guarantee."  Simply buy a new GM car–if you can get a loan–and drive it for sixty days.  Then "if you don't love it, we'll buy it back."  Now that's starting to sound like a company that stands behind what they offer.  And that's an idea worthy of semi-thunderous applause. But is it enough to bring disinterested and disenchanted customers back into their showrooms?  And, are GM's newest cars worthy of this offer?  We will all have to stay tuned for the answers.  We'll also have to get beyond their new commercial announcing the program which features new Chairman Ed Whitcare in the starring role.  While he seems likable enough for a seasoned corporate executive, we can only wonder why they didn't use our time to feature their new and remarkable cars. After all, they're not challenging us to spend 60 days with Ed.  But that's getting into the world of advertising–which is definitely a subject beyond my expertise. 

Anyway, here's the link so you can watch for yourself:

http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid37109670001?bclid=0&bctid=38119824001

We win in business by making and delivering on bold promises that really matter.  What's your promise? 

Cheers!