tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10118571.post-18541962696054205812008-04-10T00:21:00.000-07:002008-04-10T13:30:42.123-07:00Dodge and the Truck Market<DIV><STRONG>Truck Market</STRONG> - What the competition is saying about Dodge</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>For years, the truck market in America has been Ford, Chevy, and Dodge...but something happened awhile ago that was a bad omen for Dodge.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Remember that the law of the ladder states that there can only be three companies/products in the mind of the prospect. My article about Geoffery Moore's concept of Gorillas, Chimps, and Monkeys talked about how you have 1 Gorilla, 1 or 2 Chimps, and then a bunch of monkeys.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>In the truck market it has always been that way, with Dodge being a little monkey. Then the market changed...</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>A couple of years ago a series of ads came out that literally took my breath away. You know the ones. The truck takes off from a standing start, races through closing steel doors and then slams on the brakes to stop at the end of a ramp that extends over a cliff. </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Or the one where huge pendulums swing down as a truck races between them while pulling a load.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Or the one where the truck drives up the ramp carrying a huge load, only to have the ramp tip down and the truck demonstrates the superior stopping power.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>All of these ads were live demonstrations that took my breath away. </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>And they signaled the end of Dodge...because the company that does those ads is Toyota, an import that had never been invited to the Gorilla and Chimp table. It was always one of the monkeys. But now it was playing in the big boys yard and making a statement.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>So what happened? </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>I say an ad the other day from Chevy...it was making some statement about how good it was...better than Ford and better than Toyota...WHOA!! What? Chevy comparing themselves to Toyota? That is a signal of a major change in the market as noticed by the competition. When the competition doesn't mention you anymore, you know your days are numbered...</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Good bye Dodge</DIV>Richard Blisshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06711443052326619281noreply@blogger.com