Filed under: Customer Experience, Research | Tags: automakers, consumers, reputation management
Out of 31 responses from Liz's Twitter following, 9 said they would consider buying a US-made car, and 22 said they would not.
Out of curiosity, I asked my Twitter followers yesterday if they would consider buying a US car right now. I should have known that this would turn in to a blog post, but that isn’t why I asked. This has been a frequent topic of discussion on the social sphere lately. Ford has Scott Monty managing their reputation on the social web right now, and he frequently reminds us that Ford’s quality numbers are right up there with foreign automakers. But nobody seems to care about that.
The results of the poll in a nutshell: Most people said they would “probably not” and a few people said they’d consider it. I received 31 responses that I could determine a “yes” or “no” from (a lot of people informed me that they would not consider buying any car right now, maybe I should have noted that this is a hypothetical question). I will also note that my Twitter following is not at all a valid sample of the US population, but I follow them because I think they are interesting and intelligent; therefore I value their opinions.
This conclusion is unscientific and based on the explanations from those who responded, but I believe that perceptions of the auto industry right now are much more of a deciding factor than quality numbers. Most of those who said they would not buy an American car believed that foreign cars are better. A lot of people said they never have and never will buy American. Although Ford’s quality numbers are comparable to those of foreign automakers, consumers are in disbelief. The Big 3 need to do something about changing consumers’ perceptions of their brand, and quality numbers will not suffice.
I will admit; I thought everyone would say no. Nine people said yes and twenty-two said no, so it’s not as bad as I presumed. However, it is clear to me that perceptions of US automakers need to change if they want to compete with foreign companies, and it’s going to take more than quality numbers. This is going to take both stability and reliability.
I’d love to hear more in-depth reactions to this topic from those interested in sharing. Thanks again to everyone who responded!
-Liz Giel
1 Comment so far
Leave a comment
Interesting little poll. I suppose it depends on the makeup of your followers. Another question would have been to ask them what they thought prior to the business in Washington.
I wonder what kind of numbers I’d get if I ran a similar poll. Hmm…another project for over the holiday break?
Scott Monty
Comment by Scott Monty December 23, 2008 @ 5:29 pmGlobal Digital Communications
Ford Motor Company