Marketing Suggestions for Nissan: Let's Get Serious

Hi all --

There's no getting around the dismal Leaf sales figures for 2012, especially the last four months:
http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=2883" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
As a Leaf driver since Feb. 2011 I am personally very interested in seeing this car succeed. But I'm worried, very worried, and I think Nissan is dropping the ball on marketing these (as evidenced by the fact that the Volt has reversed its disadvantage from last year and is regularly outselling the Leaf). I'm glad the Volt is succeeding, but the Leaf must keep pace.
Selling 500 cars a month just isn't going to cut it at this stage in the game. Is Nissan in denial, or do they really believe their own story that they still have a chance to hit their 20,000 car goal by March 2013? Given that they've sold 2,000 in the first quarter, they would have to sell 10 to 14,000 cars in the last quarter. Unrealistic, even if the Tennessee plant starts churning out a bunch of Leafs in December. It's the first rule of business: Don't set targets you can't reach or the market will punish you even more. Come March 2013 and a missed target, it will only be bad PR for the Leaf.

It's time for Leaf drivers to let Nissan know they're not doing enough. Please submit your ideas for how Nissan can better sell this car and improve its sales figures.

I live in California and see many more Volt commercials and ads -- the ads I do see on the Leaf are pretty lackluster, never mention the essential benefit of the carpool lane sticker, and aren't even capitalizing on the high price of gas. What gives, Carlos Ghosn?

I'd like to see the following:
- More TV ads on the Leaf that clearly show the white sticker and testimonials from people who whiz by gas car drivers during the morning commute in the carpool lane (I'll gladly volunteer!)
- More ads that show a two-car family... they use their Leaf for 98 percent of their trips. When they want to go camping, they just climb into their Nissan Versa and leave the Leaf happily charging. This is the reality of the target demographic, we don't have to pretend gas cars are the enemy.
- More money spent on getting Leaf driver features published. The only press coverage has been business stories, and the news lately has been bad. Electric cars are not just a business story about monthly sales figures... they are a sea change in driving culture, but I haven't read more than a couple stories about that. The good coverage will come from feature stories that show the Leaf lifestyle is much better than the old driving lifestyle because you can pass by gas stations and cut your commute time in half.

Thanks, ideas welcome...

Josh

You make some good points, but you should know that there already are several posts on this subject.
I too would like to see the Leaf as a big success; It is to me, and I talk it up to everyone who is interested.

And, you are not alone in thinking you can market the Leaf better than Nissan.
There are plenty of posters who have made lots of suggestions. I am not sure, however, what makes them think they know advertising, car marketing; but they seem, like you, to think they can do a better job than Nissan and its professionals.

As to the idea of placing news stories about this new lifestyle, I know about that stuff -- after decades in the news biz. You are talking from inside the bubble. This stuff is very interesting to us, and less interesting to journalists who are trying to reach the masses. Of course, there have been some of those kind of stories, but you shouldn't think it is easy for Nissan's PR folks to get those stories done in the mainstream media in any great number or with great frequency. That is especially true with the level of buying of Leafs going on.

barsad22 said:

I live in California and see many more Volt commercials and ads -- the ads I do see on the Leaf are pretty lackluster, never mention the essential benefit of the carpool lane sticker, and aren't even capitalizing on the high price of gas. What gives, Carlos Ghosn?

Click to expand...

But I consistently see more LEAFs that I see Volts. Hell, I've seen more Fisker Karmas than I've seen Volts. So I'm not sure where they're selling so well, but it sure as hell isn't in my 'hood!

I don't expect any changes for anouther 8 to 12 months.
Until TN is rolling out cars the mass market thing is just not needed.

smkettner said:

I don't expect any changes for another 8 to 12 months.

Click to expand...

There will be no changes to 2013 model period. I am not interested to trade my current model and I do not see thousands and thousands customers waiting for new model. Production run of current model just about 40K and no competition in the segment.

mwalsh said:

But I consistently see more LEAFs that I see Volts. Hell, I've seen more Fisker Karmas than I've seen Volts. So I'm not sure where they're selling so well, but it sure as hell isn't in my 'hood!

Click to expand...

I think a big part of that is that Volts don't look unusual. Leafs jump right out at you because of their unusual look. You have to think about it and be on the lookout for Volts and then you start seeing them. Heck one popped up in my garage!

Cheezmo said:

mwalsh said:

But I consistently see more LEAFs that I see Volts. Hell, I've seen more Fisker Karmas than I've seen Volts. So I'm not sure where they're selling so well, but it sure as hell isn't in my 'hood!

Click to expand...

I think a big part of that is that Volts don't look unusual. Leafs jump right out at you because of their unusual look. You have to think about it and be on the lookout for Volts and then you start seeing them. Heck one popped up in my garage!

Click to expand...

I see more Leafs here than Volts, but the Volts are starting to catch up.

Current Volts do look a bit unusual w/the large black area in back. That's changing for the next model year, IIRC. I do agree that from other views, they jump out less.

I do agree w/many of the OP's ideas for ads. It is really odd that I see 0 Leaf ads promoting the CA white HOV stickers vs. the Volt ads which promote the green HOV stickers the eAT-PZEV versions qualify for.

Cheezmo said:

I think a big part of that is that Volts don't look unusual. Leafs jump right out at you because of their unusual look. You have to think about it and be on the lookout for Volts and then you start seeing them. Heck one popped up in my garage!

Click to expand...

Dude, I'm a car guy. I can spot a Volt in a herd of Malibus. It don't need to be any more unusual for me to know they just ain't out there in OC/south LA.

In this day and age, if you've got a good idea on how to promote something, it costs next to nothing to produce your own video and post it up on youtube. Long odds on it going viral in a large way, but it can be done.

What if perhaps, just perhaps it is the product and not the marketing?

Nubo said:

In this day and age, if you've got a good idea on how to promote something, it costs next to nothing to produce your own video and post it up on youtube. Long odds on it going viral in a large way, but it can be done.

Click to expand...

And, you can turn on monetization for YouTube videos. If it goes viral, you might have some passive income for a little while.

Train said:

What if perhaps, just perhaps it is the product and not the marketing?

Click to expand...

Then that means all or virtually all pure EVs are in trouble in the US, at least given our gas prices, incentives/discincentives, electricity prices (many of us don't live in areas of cheap electricity and un-complicated rate schedules), fuel economy standards, the general public's lack of caring (thru actions) about foreign oil dependency, global warming, etc.

If so, it would take a major change of the above, a crisis (e.g. oil crisis like in the 70s) or some breakthrough in battery technology and costs to help the situation.

Nissan should do exactly what they are doing-- waiting for the USA produced 2013 model. Why not hold off serious promotion until higher volume production improves availability and reduces cost? The Leaf has three marketing problems: 1) High cost, which might come down when assembled here, 2) "Range Anxiety" which is really just a customer education issue since so many drive well within the cars range on a daily basis, and 3) The difficulty selling to an "impulse buyer" you don't just drop by a Nissan dealer, see one and then take it home-- since customers need an EVSE installed, which can take weeks or months for estimates and permits.

I think sales go up considerably with a 5K price drop AND cars ready to go at every dealer. Still, it will never be as easy a sell as a hybrid. A restyle wouldn't hurt either

SteveInSeattle said:

Nissan should do exactly what they are doing-- waiting for the USA produced 2013 model. Why not hold off serious promotion until higher volume production improves availability and reduces cost? The Leaf has three marketing problems: 1) High cost, which might come down when assembled here, 2) "Range Anxiety" which is really just a customer education issue since so many drive well within the cars range on a daily basis, and 3) The difficulty selling to an "impulse buyer" you don't just drop by a Nissan dealer, see one and then take it home-- since customers need an EVSE installed, which can take weeks or months for estimates and permits.

I think sales go up considerably with a 5K price drop AND cars ready to go at every dealer. Still, it will never be as easy a sell as a hybrid. A restyle wouldn't hurt either

Click to expand...

I will add one more thing and quite important inability to cool down battery when temp at midnight 87F (today and many more days to come)

The only ads I've seen for a LEAF are the promotional emails I get from Nissan. It doesn't seem like there is any sort of campaign at all.

I'm not too surprised the LEAF isn't selling well here, a whole lot of Americans aren't that into prudent car choices. What concerns me is that Europeans aren't gobbling them up. They have the gas prices, environmental awareness, and compressed distances that I would think would make the LEAF a no brainer.

Because of where many Europeans live, home charging is a real issue for some.

rpmdk said:

I'm not too surprised the LEAF isn't selling well here, a whole lot of Americans aren't that into prudent car choices. What concerns me is that Europeans aren't gobbling them up. They have the gas prices, environmental awareness, and compressed distances that I would think would make the LEAF a no brainer.

Click to expand...

I wouldn't be surprised if Nissan has been applying some reverse psychology on us and is planning some big changes and/or in fact everything is going according to their plan... limited initial sales to gather data and make improvements, limited information available on big future changes to keep the niche market buying the current model, leading up to a new roll out with a real advertising blitz.

if they have learned something so far:
-even though 70ish miles of range exceeds the average need, people don't buy based on averages, they buy based on extremes, a perception of what they need to feel that magical and irrational sense of being limitless... a 2-300 mile pack and a nationwide DC QC network is what it will take to capture the interest of the mainstream. plugging in wherever one goes is a utopic ideal that gets old and worn out fast.
-L2 charging at any speed is really only going to cut it for home, work and long termish parking scenarios... quick charging and a larger pack is key for mass market level convenience.
-climate control of an EV is drastically different from an ICE... heated seats and steering wheel and heat pump should be standard for all but tropical climates, that and a drastically improved interface with full manual options (basic things like the ability to adjust the circulating fan with CC off).
-either passive cooling and heating of the battery won't cut it or major advancement in battery chemistry is in the works. the experiment has proven the current battery can't handle extreme heat for prolonged periods of time. TMS is key for current chemistry to smooth out the effect of the extremes.

I suspect Nissan has some surprises in store for us, I would put money on it that they are keeping their cards very close to their chest for now... that or they are completely bluffing and are about to fall flat on their face.

thankyouOB said:

You make some good points, but you should know that there already are several posts on this subject.
I too would like to see the Leaf as a big success; It is to me, and I talk it up to everyone who is interested.

And, you are not alone in thinking you can market the Leaf better than Nissan.
There are plenty of posters who have made lots of suggestions. I am not sure, however, what makes them think they know advertising, car marketing; but they seem, like you, to think they can do a better job than Nissan and its professionals.

As to the idea of placing news stories about this new lifestyle, I know about that stuff -- after decades in the news biz. You are talking from inside the bubble. This stuff is very interesting to us, and less interesting to journalists who are trying to reach the masses. Of course, there have been some of those kind of stories, but you shouldn't think it is easy for Nissan's PR folks to get those stories done in the mainstream media in any great number or with great frequency. That is especially true with the level of buying of Leafs going on.

Click to expand...

OB -
Do I think that users of the product sometimes know more than the $300/hour advertising executives that Nissan wastes their money on? Most definitely. Why would I think that? The sales numbers that I just mentioned speak for themselves. They're the only metric that matters in the advertising world, as you should know as a news guy, where circulation and ratings are king. If you're not selling the cars, and the other guy (GM) is, your ad guy should be fired.
By the way, I am also a journalist with years of experience, and I disagree completely that electric car consumer stories are less interesting to journalists... it's a pitch failure, that's all. And the fact that editors want to see this as an "up or down" business story of either success or failure. Come on, OB, stop defending these PR execs and let's send them some new ideas (I do believe that someone out there in Nissan might actually bother reading this forum).
JG

SteveInSeattle said:

Nissan should do exactly what they are doing-- waiting for the USA produced 2013 model. Why not hold off serious promotion until higher volume production improves availability and reduces cost? The Leaf has three marketing problems: 1) High cost, which might come down when assembled here, 2) "Range Anxiety" which is really just a customer education issue since so many drive well within the cars range on a daily basis, and 3) The difficulty selling to an "impulse buyer" you don't just drop by a Nissan dealer, see one and then take it home-- since customers need an EVSE installed, which can take weeks or months for estimates and permits.

I think sales go up considerably with a 5K price drop AND cars ready to go at every dealer. Still, it will never be as easy a sell as a hybrid. A restyle wouldn't hurt either

Click to expand...

Steve --
I'm disappointed that rather than discuss how we can better sell this car, most people used this thread as an opportunity to rehash the merits of the car itself (the car is awesome... many people would love to own it if they knew it existed). You seem to be saying that the only reason we have a sales slump is low availability and a secret plan by Nissan to tank 2012 sales, which couldn't be further from the truth. Some rebuttals to your points:

1. Nissan should do exactly what they are doing-- waiting for the USA produced 2013 model.
Are we really supposed to believe that Nissan's grand plan is to take a huge hit on 2012 sales and absorb bad PR for an entire year while their competitors race ahead, and then bet everything on a 2013 model that will not be different or cheaper? If that's their plan, we're in more trouble than I thought.

2. "Range Anxiety" which is really just a customer education issue since so many drive well within the cars range on a daily basis.
Yes, that's exactly what I said in my OP... TALK about the fact that you will never drive this car to its outer range limit and you will have a gas car for the long trips. This message is nowhere to be found in any marketing materials I have read or seen. Instead we got polar bears and some glitzy stuff that shows how high-tech it is.

3. The difficulty selling to an "impulse buyer" you don't just drop by a Nissan dealer, see one and then take it home-- since customers need an EVSE installed, which can take weeks or months for estimates and permits.
Everyone on this forum knows this is untrue. Go to evseupgrade.com and you will see that Phil can hook up any buyer who wants to drive off the lot with one... in the same week, they can be charging straight from their standard outlets at 240V. Done. Nissan needs to get over their liability anxiety and inform customers that this is a safe possibility (as far as I know, none of these upgrades have failed or caused any safety hazard). Those of you who have been posting about not being able to install chargers must check this option out and take the garage charger off your list of complaints.

4. I think sales go up considerably with a 5K price drop AND cars ready to go at every dealer. Still, it will never be as easy a sell as a hybrid.
I'm sorry, but a price drop like that is not in the cards just because we're producing the car in the good ole' USA. The high cost is driven solely by the battery (which will NOT be produced in Tennessee, but at the same place (Korea?) it currently is), not by the fact that we had to ship these cars from Japan. That might save $500 in shipping or so, but not $5K.
The availability problem is a red herring, in my opinion. They have delivered 12,841 Leafs to date in the U.S., about double that for worldwide. It seems unbelievable... even with the earthquake delay... that the Yokohama plan hasn't produced more than 26,000 cars since November 2010. I spoke to my dealer and he said that there are lots of "orphan" Leafs lying around at dealerships... those are Leafs that people pre-ordered in 2010 without doing any research on the car, and when they got a look at it in 2011 and were told they could only drive it 70 miles at a time, they walked away.

I am surprised that there aren't more Leaf owners out there who agree that this is a marketing problem. Yes, of course changing people's minds about what a car should be is hard. But that doesn't mean it can't be done.

Josh

barsad22 said:

3. The difficulty selling to an "impulse buyer" you don't just drop by a Nissan dealer, see one and then take it home-- since customers need an EVSE installed, which can take weeks or months for estimates and permits.
Everyone on this forum knows this is untrue. Go to evseupgrade.com and you will see that Phil can hook up any buyer who wants to drive off the lot with one... in the same week, they can be charging straight from their standard outlets at 240V. Done. Nissan needs to get over their liability anxiety and inform customers that this is a safe possibility (as far as I know, none of these upgrades have failed or caused any safety hazard). Those of you who have been posting about not being able to install chargers must check this option out and take the garage charger off your list of complaints.

4. I think sales go up considerably with a 5K price drop AND cars ready to go at every dealer. Still, it will never be as easy a sell as a hybrid.
I'm sorry, but a price drop like that is not in the cards just because we're producing the car in the good ole' USA. The high cost is driven solely by the battery (which will NOT be produced in Tennessee, but at the same place (Korea?) it currently is), not by the fact that we had to ship these cars from Japan. That might save $500 in shipping or so, but not $5K.

Click to expand...

Not every Leaf is owner/potential customer on this forum and thus not all of them know about evseupgrade.com. I suspect if you were able to take a poll of people even thinking about a Leaf, I suspect a majority will believe they need to install an EVSE (or they'll incorrectly think charger) at home.

I don't know where you get your information about the battery plant, but if batteries won't be produced in TN, then stories and press releases like these are lies:
http://nissannews.com/en-US/nissan/usa/channels/Facilities-News/releases/u-s-secretary-of-transportation-visits-nissan-for-tour-of-nation-s-largest-lithium-ion-auto-battery-plant-site" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://green.autoblog.com/2011/01/30/construction-of-nissans-smyrna-battery-plant-on-schedule/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-05-26/nissan-starts-constructing-u-s-battery-plant-expecting-electric-car-boom.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Re: the current batteries, you're also wrong. I guess you never watched http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xPKRTQbLs0w" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; or looked at press releases like http://nissannews.com/en-US/nissan/usa/releases/33a01766-da87-4370-879b-964adb55a47f" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; and http://nissannews.com/en-US/nissan/usa/presskits/2012-nissan-leaf-press-kit/releases/036cf0bd-f529-4961-9f26-08fdd564831c" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;.

lithium-ion batteries produced in Zama, Japan

Click to expand...

I think you're confusing the batteries w/that of the Volt which come from LG Chem of Korea.

Also have you looked at the yen/dollar exchange rate? See http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=1+us+dollar+in+yen+from+january+1%2C+2001+to+today" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;. The yen is still far too strong compared to years ago.

cwerdna said:

barsad22 said:

3. The difficulty selling to an "impulse buyer" you don't just drop by a Nissan dealer, see one and then take it home-- since customers need an EVSE installed, which can take weeks or months for estimates and permits.
Everyone on this forum knows this is untrue. Go to evseupgrade.com and you will see that Phil can hook up any buyer who wants to drive off the lot with one... in the same week, they can be charging straight from their standard outlets at 240V. Done. Nissan needs to get over their liability anxiety and inform customers that this is a safe possibility (as far as I know, none of these upgrades have failed or caused any safety hazard). Those of you who have been posting about not being able to install chargers must check this option out and take the garage charger off your list of complaints.

4. I think sales go up considerably with a 5K price drop AND cars ready to go at every dealer. Still, it will never be as easy a sell as a hybrid.
I'm sorry, but a price drop like that is not in the cards just because we're producing the car in the good ole' USA. The high cost is driven solely by the battery (which will NOT be produced in Tennessee, but at the same place (Korea?) it currently is), not by the fact that we had to ship these cars from Japan. That might save $500 in shipping or so, but not $5K.

Click to expand...

Not every Leaf is owner/potential customer on this forum and thus not all of them know about evseupgrade.com. I suspect if you were able to take a poll of people even thinking about a Leaf, I suspect a majority will believe they need to install an EVSE (or they'll incorrectly think charger) at home.

I don't know where you get your information about the battery plant, but if batteries won't be produced in TN, then stories and press releases like these are lies:
http://nissannews.com/en-US/nissan/usa/channels/Facilities-News/releases/u-s-secretary-of-transportation-visits-nissan-for-tour-of-nation-s-largest-lithium-ion-auto-battery-plant-site" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://green.autoblog.com/2011/01/30/construction-of-nissans-smyrna-battery-plant-on-schedule/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-05-26/nissan-starts-constructing-u-s-battery-plant-expecting-electric-car-boom.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Re: the current batteries, you're also wrong. I guess you never watched http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xPKRTQbLs0w" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; or looked at press releases like http://nissannews.com/en-US/nissan/usa/releases/33a01766-da87-4370-879b-964adb55a47f" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; and http://nissannews.com/en-US/nissan/usa/presskits/2012-nissan-leaf-press-kit/releases/036cf0bd-f529-4961-9f26-08fdd564831c" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;.

lithium-ion batteries produced in Zama, Japan

Click to expand...

I think you're confusing the batteries w/that of the Volt which come from LG Chem of Korea.

Also have you looked at the yen/dollar exchange rate? See http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=1+us+dollar+in+yen+from+january+1%2C+2001+to+today" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;. The yen is still far too strong compared to years ago.

Click to expand...

Cwerdna -
I stand corrected on the battery production location and exchange rates, thanks for the information (though no need to get snippy about it). Now the question is whether you believe all that will result in a significant price reduction next year. I'm on the "no" side, but I guess rational people can disagree on that. We can revisit the subject this time next year and see what Nissan is asking for the 2013s.
Forest through the trees... my post was about marketing. WHY aren't these cars selling?

Josh