Increasing the price actually sells the best products. What is the magic of Lexus?

Higher prices actually sell the best products. What is the magic of Lexus?

When Infiniti and Acura first entered China, they probably never imagined that they both made Japanese luxury cars, and the gap could be so huge.

How big is the gap? Look at the domestic sales data in 2020: Infiniti 25,695 units; Acura 11,193 units; look at the big brother Lexus, about 225,000 units, directly crushing it, right?

How did big brother Lexus do it? Is life really good? Or are you giving consumers some magical ecstasy soup?

Lexus's "import status" makes people feel noble

This starts with Lexus' so-called "imported car" lineage. After all, many consumers are just like this. Yes, it means "the moon in foreign countries is extraordinarily round".

And imported cars themselves are also a feature of Lexus, making them easier for people to remember.

Tian Zurong published a paper in the journal "China High-tech Enterprises", "Research on Differentiated Competitive Strategies of Manufacturing Enterprises", which was mentioned in it.

Manufacturing companies use unique product characteristics, technology, brand image, additional features, personalized services, etc. to strengthen product characteristics, increase consumer value, and make consumers willing to pay.

To put it simply: the other two brothers have chosen domestic products. What do they call them in the eyes of the eldest brother? It's called "lowering one's worth".

The eldest brother was also secretly happy: "Oh!" Among the top three Japanese players, I am the only one who is purely imported, and the "imported bloodline" has been highlighted.

Lexus's success is not just because of imported cars

Many friends may ask: "When Infiniti and Acura did not make domestic products, they seemed to be no better than their big brothers, right? Right? "

Now we have to talk about why the eldest brother is called "Big Brother".

Lexus is more well-known

First of all, from the perspective of popularity, Lexus is indeed the well-deserved big brother.

Although the three Japanese brothers officially entered the Chinese market at about the same time, basically between 2005 and 2006.

The reason why it is the eldest brother is because it knows how to "steal chickens".

Lexus released its first car in 1989, and by the end of 1991 it became the best-selling high-end imported car in the United States.

In 1993, Hong Kong car importers at the time introduced a large number of American versions of Lexus, which were still called "Lexus" at that time.

So, the timing of the three brothers’ deployment of the Chinese market appears to be similar, but in fact the gap in popularity has widened.

For example: We all went to junior high school together, right? Now that we are old enough, we all go to junior high school together, right?

But when Xiao Ming was in elementary school, he already won first place in competitions abroad. Many people must have known about such a little prodigy.

Famousness directly affects early sales, because everyone still has to look at the brand when buying something, right?

Refer to the Xinhuanet report in 2007: Lexus sales in 2005 were around 3,000 units; in 2006, sales suddenly reached 11,500 units; in 2007, the sales volume is expected to exceed 24,000 units.

Infiniti’s sales target for 2007 was only 1,000 units; Acura was even worse, with a 4S store in Beijing selling less than 50 units in one month.

It can be said that from the beginning, the two brothers Infiniti and Acura were at a disadvantage at the starting line.

Lexus has a richer product line

Let’s talk about products. The three brothers all set up stalls to sell goods, but the items on the stalls were very different.

Refer to a car home: Lexus currently has 9 models on sale, including 1 C-class car, 1 D-class car, 5 SUVs, 1 MPV, and 1 sports car.

Infiniti sells only 3 models; Acura sells even fewer, only 2 models, right?

Looking through history, the total number of models sold by the three brothers is also very different. Lexus has sold 445 models, Infiniti only has 74 models, and Acura has only 56 models.

With fewer models, it is definitely easier to lose a lot of consumers. It is like: I went to have a meal, I want to eat stir-fried kidneys, and this store said: "No, we only have stir-fried pork ribs." "Really?"

There is no other way, I just want to eat kidney fries, and it doesn’t mean that your restaurant is of poor quality. I just want to eat kidney fries. If I change the restaurant, the style will be affected.

The sales network is more complete and the service is better

One more issue is the sales network. The eldest brother Lexus has also done a better job.

Refer to the Beijing Morning Post report: As early as 2007, there were 25 Lexus authorized sales stores; by the first quarter of 2008, the number had increased to 46; by the end of 2020, the number of authorized stores exceeded 230 Home.

What is this concept? Let me tell you about the tragic situation of the other two brothers.

As of the end of 2011, Acura had a total of 39 dealers nationwide, which is basically the level of its big brother in 2008.

Infiniti is slightly better. In 2014, it had more than 60 dealers, which is about the same as its elder brother in 2009 and 2010. The sales network is at least 3 years behind.

Practically speaking, once sales channels are not established in the early stage and cars cannot be purchased, it will have a great impact on consumers' enthusiasm for consumption, publicity, etc.

It’s like: a game has been promoted for most of the day, and my appetite has been whetted. Tickets have been delayed many times, and I can’t buy it even if I want to.

It was finally released today. It said there was no network connection and there was a problem with payment... Anyway, I didn't buy it in the end, "Oh" forget it, why bother? Some of my friends have been persuaded to leave, right?

What I just talked about was pre-sales. Is the level of selling things good? Right? We also talked about word of mouth, right?

Which of the three brothers has better after-sales service? Unfortunately, the eldest brother is still the best.

In the list of winners for after-sales service satisfaction and sales service satisfaction of luxury car brands announced by the China Quality Association, Lexus has won the championship for three consecutive years since 2012.

As far as the warranty period is concerned, the eldest brother Lexus entered the domestic market in 2005. From the beginning, it seemed that the warranty period had been set at "4 years and 100,000 km".

The average level at that time was 2 years and 60,000km, the better ones were 3 years and 80,000km, and the 4-year and 100,000km warranty was more outstanding. It was considered the best, of course. People leave an impression.

Consumers’ brand impressions vary greatly

In addition, the brand image of the three brothers in the eyes of consumers is also quite different.

Zhang Depei of Minzu University of China has a master's thesis, "The Impact of Individual Brand Perception on Brand Construction—Taking Consumers of Six Automobile Brands as the Research Object", which states.

It interviewed 60 car owners who purchased luxury brand cars and found that different brands give consumers completely different impressions.

Relatively speaking, Lexus consumers believe that Lexus has better quality and is trustworthy.

Infiniti consumers believe that the Infiniti brand is relatively low-key and that the overall performance of its products is relatively excellent.

The brand image of low-key and excellent comprehensive performance is still relatively vague in the final analysis.

It’s just like when I was in elementary school, the class teacher wrote a final comment: Such-and-such child performed well overall. Even if it belongs, you can’t find anything else to boast about, right?

This unclear brand impression also makes it difficult for Infiniti to have a group of die-hard fans or die-hard fans. Instead, Lexus is called "good quality, reliable, not easy to break" to facilitate others to describe it. and memory.

There are many reasons why Lexus "outshines"

So, in general, among the three Japanese luxury brothers, Lexus "outshines".

In addition to being an imported car, Lexus has a higher reputation, a richer product line, a more complete sales network, and better services. It is not just about faith.