Viewing automobile marketing from the stabilizer bar of BMW's new 3 series

2065438+June 2009, the seventh generation BMW 3 Series was released in the domestic market. Compared with the previous generation 3-Series, all the models of the 7-generation 3-Series in the domestic market are not equipped with rear stabilizer bars, which has aroused heated discussion in the automobile circle. The discussants are basically divided into two factions: one holds a negative view and thinks that this is a kind of? "Palace Punishment" and Jane Eyre; The other school thinks that there is no problem without the rear stabilizer, which does not mean that the performance is not as good as the previous generation.

The stabilizer bar, also called "anti-roll bar", is a kind of bar installed on the automobile suspension. Scientific and reasonable design and application of stabilizer will play a positive role in improving the driving stability and steering performance of automobiles. For more knowledge about "stabilizer bar", please refer to Gong Hao's previous article: Easy-to-understand explanation of stabilizer bar/anti-roll bar principle.

first part

There are 10 versions of the seventh-generation BMW 3 Series sold in the domestic market, which are generally divided into "standard axis version" and "long axis version", corresponding to the chassis codes "G20" and "G28" respectively. Among them, the G28 long-axis version is a "China Special Supply" version, which is not available in overseas markets, while the 3 Series sold in China is said to have no rear stabilizer.

In fact, whether there is a rear stabilizer bar really doesn't mean anything.

First of all, the new 3 Series is a brand-new product, and the chassis code has been changed from the sixth generation F30 to G20 and G28. Therefore, the chassis is a newly designed and developed product, instead of canceling the rear stabilizer bar when making minor changes like the first generation mazda 6 in China, so it is not a castrated product. The newly designed chassis will inevitably consider the performance of the whole chassis in the development process, and the final result must be a product with relatively balanced performance.

Let's talk about the long-axis version-G28 is a special model, which is only available in China. If it is a "simple" version with the rear stabilizer bar closed, where does this "simplicity" come from? Compared with whose "Jane"? Vertical comparison-the first in this generation; Horizontal comparison-not counting overseas. Is it better than the previous generation? Can it be said that when BMW engineers developed the G28, they clearly felt that the rear stabilizer was not better than the existing one, and they had to gild the lily to be worthy of consumers?

The situation of the scaled-down G20 is relatively complicated. Some of the following configuration versions are global models without rear stabilizer bars, and some are indeed overseas versions but not in China. But even so, what does this mean? Many global models will be "localized" when they enter the China market for joint production. For the driving performance of a car, this "localization" means making adaptive adjustments. As we all know, the traffic conditions and car habits in different countries and regions around the world are more or less different-Japan has a large population density and crowded roads; North America is vast and sparsely populated, and the roads are long and straight, so long-distance public transportation is not very convenient; China is almost the country with the largest number of speed bumps in the world ... which means that a single performance can't adapt to all use conditions.

For example, many global models will adjust the characteristics of shock absorbers when they are "localized". The maximum speed limit of China highway 120km/h, that is to say, the stability at 200km/h is no longer important. There are many speed bumps in China, and the pavement smoothness is generally poor, so we need to pay more attention to some comfort needs ... Generally speaking, such changes have improved the experience of most domestic consumers in the process of using cars. Moreover, this is an unattainable change-the adjusted configuration scheme of the shock absorber is packaged inside the shock absorber tube, and the appearance has not changed, so it is difficult to attract people's attention.

But when it comes to the rear stabilizer, people can see clearly what is missing, which many people think is a kind of deficiency; Actually, it is not. From the performance point of view, there is no essential difference from those changes of shock absorber.

It is true that one less stabilizer can save a little cost. But the performance is developed by testing, not by using Excel to make a parts list to see who is long and who is short.

However, there are so many people who are skeptical about it. Are our consumers too ignorant?

To answer this question, let's first look at a seemingly unrelated thing-

the second part

Economist Janet? Ty When studying Chinese businessmen in Southeast Asia, Randa found that they often form business gangs by region, and there are families in the business gangs, which are more closely linked. Chinese rubber plantation owners in Minnan, Malaysia, divide people into several grades when doing business:

Close relatives-distant relatives-kindred-Chinese in the same village-Chinese in the same dialect-other Chinese-non-Chinese.

They treat business partners with different relationships differently-different trading conditions and different loan interest.

Actually, this is a common phenomenon. For example, Jewish businessmen active in new york and Antwerp almost monopolized the diamond business all over the world, and their business activities were strictly limited to Jews.

This behavior of treating business partners differently by kinship is essentially a kind of discrimination. When such a businessman faces a foreigner, he can't judge that this person is more treacherous than his relatives. Instead, he will treat him with stricter commercial terms and even refuse to do business with foreigners. This is discrimination against foreigners.

However, this kind of discrimination does not block your own financial path, but will help you settle down better. These Minnan people live in Malaysia, where language communication is blocked and the local system is not perfect. If there is a commercial dispute, it will not be so easy to protect your own interests. Then, this distance-based difference and discrimination is a means of self-protection.

The knowledge of economics tells us that information asymmetry is one of the root causes of discrimination. You don't know who the other person is and don't have this information, so you can only guess and speculate, and you are more inclined to discriminate based on limited information. For example, many jobs have the requirement of "no criminal record" when recruiting. Is this a form of discrimination? The hiring manager doesn't know whether the person who applied for the job is good in character, framed by others, or has become excellent after serving his sentence. He will only say "Sorry, we don't accept applicants with criminal record". Because he does not fully grasp the information of the applicant, he can only replace the judgment of this individual by the overall impression of the society on people with criminal records and the characteristics of the group. At this time, discrimination came into being.

Another important basis of discrimination is the scarcity of resources. In the example of Southeast Asian rubber plantation owners choosing partners, rubber plantation owners are scarce resources; When managers recruit employees, job opportunities are scarce resources. If there are many rubber plantations, each rubber plantation owner can choose few partners. Can they still choose their partners in a critical way? If several supermarkets suddenly open in a town, and everyone can't recruit enough workers, can you still resolutely refuse applicants with criminal records? I can't. Therefore, we can see that only scarcity can lead to discrimination, and the scarce party is the right party to initiate discrimination.

So what does discrimination have to do with the rear stabilizer bar?

In the automobile market, the market and consumers are scarce resources. Because there are many automobile brands and products on the market now, every manufacturer is striving for more consumers, and every consumer has many different choices, so consumers have the right to discriminate against different automobile products. If the market is large enough, the number of consumers is large enough, and the demand for cars exceeds the supply, consumers will feel that they are "lucky enough to buy a car" and lose the basis of discrimination.

The performance of the car we discussed above is invisible. You can't see it. You bought a car and it took you a long time to know its performance. This is information asymmetry. What do we usually do in the face of information asymmetry? Speculate, hearsay or rely on statistical data.

"Because many cars with excellent handling performance have rear stabilizer bars, I think the new 3 Series is a car with poor handling."

"Because the previous generations of 3 Series have rear stabilizer bars, but the new 3 Series does not, I think the new 3 Series is not as good as the previous 3 Series."

……? ……

Discrimination just happened.

Is this the ignorance of consumers? Far from it, it is both scientific and reasonable.

the third part

The automobile market is a place where discrimination is very serious.

Performance is not the same as configuration. The configuration is tangible-whether a car has a skylight, seat heating, and a large multimedia color screen can be seen at a glance; However, the performance can not be seen at a glance. The car doesn't drive smoothly and the road is bumpy. /kloc-Will many parts be damaged after 0/00000 kilometers? These are difficult for consumers to see at the beginning of buying a car. This has also caused self-owned brand cars to pay more attention to configuration from the beginning.

It is precisely because of this information asymmetry that prejudice and discrimination in the automobile market are rampant.

"The steel plates of Japanese cars are very thin and unsafe."

"American cars consume a lot of gas."

"English cars are hard and uncomfortable."

"The smaller and lighter the car, the less safe it is."

"When watching the car, knock at the door and press the front cover. If the steel plate is not thick, you can't buy it. "

……? ……

The list goes on and on.

There are always some voices on the internet, either urging people to believe in science and treat it rationally, or laughing at some people's ignorance. As we all know, when people can't get scientific and accurate information, listening to rumors may be the most scientific way.

In the case of BMW's new 3 Series, BMW is the party discriminated by consumers. In reality, discrimination like this is staged in different brands and models every day.

People used to discriminate against Japanese cars, thinking that Japanese cars were thin, light and unsafe. Now, more and more safety performance tests of different institutions have entered the public's field of vision, more people have effectively obtained scientific and accurate information, and there is naturally less discrimination.

As an industrial product, cars are nothing more than function and performance. Function is the problem, performance is the problem. In the era of car shortage, consumers are concerned that I can quickly realize the transportation function from point A to point B, the function of sheltering from the wind and rain, and the social function of "showing my economic strength". However, in this era when all kinds of cars are in full bloom, people no longer only pay attention to whether they are available, but pay more attention to performance characteristics such as "how quiet the car is", "how convenient human-computer interaction is" and "how handy it is to drive". These unattainable performances often become the biggest concern and the biggest uncertainty when consumers buy a car. After all, whether a car has panoramic skylights, panoramic images and other functional features is clear at a glance, and there is almost no hidden "minefield", and consumers' experience of a car's performance is more like a gamble.

Cars are like chocolates, you never know what you're gonna get.

How to convey this information to consumers objectively and effectively is not only related to eliminating discrimination against the seller's products, but also related to the welfare of the buyer. This "information war" is like a "price war". Competitive behavior will surely lead the market to develop in the direction of eliminating discrimination and information transparency, and consumers will be the ultimate beneficiaries. For sellers, how to seize the opportunity in this competition is a problem worth thinking about.

When all families are uncivilized feudal families and men can't see their true colors until their wives come home, whoever becomes an enlightened family first has a better chance of finding a good husband.

There is no end to history-the high information asymmetry that exists when consumers buy cars today will be gradually optimized in the process of transaction evolution. Those who move against the trend die, those who follow the trend survive, and those who lead the trend prosper.

Of course, by the way, if you want to win more consumers, you can do the opposite. We need to reduce information asymmetry to weaken discrimination against ourselves, and we also need to create an overestimated and guided "negative discrimination" through marketing means. There is a fascinating behavior-many people stand on the door to prove the firmness of the car, which is actually a typical overestimation guide. But if the trick is too low-level, not only few people will be moved by it, but they will be laughed at by everyone.

-End-

This article comes from car home, the author of the car manufacturer, and does not represent car home's position.