This blog is intended for the participants in the Boston University School of Management IS 829 course to share their ideas and interact with others on topics and themes pertaining to how information technology impacts and influences the business strategies of firms.
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
Ford CEO Alan Mulally Wants Dealerships Like Apple ...
After our discussion about Sync and the connectivity of multiple devices with a car I was left wondering how well that would really translate into new car sales. The usefulness of these added technologies will be very dependent on the individual consumer's preferences. Speaking for myself, I would find them useful, but I don't know if it would make or break my decision to buy a car. To get a better idea of what a typical consumer may think I took a look at the average age of a new car buyer. This site indicates that the average age of new car buyers last year was 48:
I looked around at the average age of the typical iPod user and although I found varying results, the average was always well below 40. I found multiple survey's that put the average iPod touch user below 20. Given this demographic information I wonder how much Sync will help to boost sales. I'm sure as people who grew up with mp3 playeres grow older, these technologies will be in demand by a larger % of the market. However, by then I'm sure that these will be at least optional in nearly every competitor's vehicles as well.
As much as a realize that it is probably necessary to introduce things like Sync to keep up with the competition, Ford and other auto makers should probably focus more on things clean diesel, electric, and hydrogen powered cars for sustainable revenue.
I agree with Adam. Ford and GM are trying to differentiate themselves from other car manufacturers by providing technology in their car. I'm sure customer will have to pay for all this features, what's the price I'm paying for these extra features, are they really worth? What about privacy?
After our discussion about Sync and the connectivity of multiple devices with a car I was left wondering how well that would really translate into new car sales. The usefulness of these added technologies will be very dependent on the individual consumer's preferences. Speaking for myself, I would find them useful, but I don't know if it would make or break my decision to buy a car. To get a better idea of what a typical consumer may think I took a look at the average age of a new car buyer. This site indicates that the average age of new car buyers last year was 48:
ReplyDeletehttp://blogs.cars.com/kickingtires/2008/01/down-economy-mo.html
I looked around at the average age of the typical iPod user and although I found varying results, the average was always well below 40. I found multiple survey's that put the average iPod touch user below 20. Given this demographic information I wonder how much Sync will help to boost sales. I'm sure as people who grew up with mp3 playeres grow older, these technologies will be in demand by a larger % of the market. However, by then I'm sure that these will be at least optional in nearly every competitor's vehicles as well.
As much as a realize that it is probably necessary to introduce things like Sync to keep up with the competition, Ford and other auto makers should probably focus more on things clean diesel, electric, and hydrogen powered cars for sustainable revenue.
I agree with Adam. Ford and GM are trying to differentiate themselves from other car manufacturers by providing technology in their car. I'm sure customer will have to pay for all this features, what's the price I'm paying for these extra features, are they really worth? What about privacy?
ReplyDeleteApple is Niche product and Apple can keep premium price. Is Ford car a Niche product?
ReplyDelete