Benz aims for "brand of choice"

Mercedes-Benz has all but resigned itself to the number two spot in the Australian prestige marketplace this year. But local boss Horst von Sanden isn't losing any sleep. Von Sanden has declared Mercedes Australia's aim going forward is not to be "number one in volume" but rather, to be the "prestige brand of choice".

"It is no secret that I would be much happier if our market share would be better than it is... [but] We've lost share, not momentum," von Sanden told the Carsales Network earlier this week.

"We've had a very disappointing situation with C-Class. We ran out of the previous [W203] model two months too early -- so we could have sold another two full months supply... Then the factory delayed our launch of new C-Class a month. This accounts for about the 1000 units we're currently missing to our objective," von Sanden explained.

In spite of the slow start, the new W204 C-Class is now selling at record levels (more here), a situation Benz insiders say will likely continue until the maker reduces its order backlog in Q2 2008. Still it is not matching the volumes of its arch rival BMW's 3 Series -- a stated aim of the new car.

Things are better in other segments for Benz. According to von Sanden, the maker's B, E and GL-Class models are all well ahead of plan. In the case of the big offroader, Mercedes has already exceeded its full 2007 calendar year sales projections. The E-Class meantime is still comfortably dispatching BMW's 5 Series.

But it's not all about volume, von Sanden says. Indeed, in keeping with the parent company's new internal motto, as reported by Automotive News Europe, "The Star always shines from above," the Australian operation is aspiring to different heights.

"For us it is important to been seen as the leader. Internally we have had long discussions [asking] how do we express this... How do we make it clear to our dealer network and our internal staff, as well...

"So our credo, our vision, is clearly to be the brand of choice in the luxury car segment," he said.

"There is a difference [to being number one in sales]. Being brand of choice is clearly a pull strategy as this is not something we can push to the marketplace.

"To be number one -- you can buy this result by pushing aggressively. Being the brand of choice is something customers hopefully give us as an attribute... [They say:] 'If I could, I would love to be in a Mercedes-Benz'," von Sanden explained.

Von Sanden says the building blocks that will determine Mercedes success are "pretty simple" to define.

"Terrific product: the signs are looking good, when I consider the current line-up and what's in the pipe... And customer service: if you look after your customers the best possible way, that's much of the job done."

According to von Sanden, the customer service benchmarks are moving all the time. He says Australian customers will no longer accept arrogance, something for which he says Mercedes has been criticised in the past.

"I think it's about getting the basics right," von Sanden opined.

"Have a good inspiring selling process in place. Hire the right people -- [people] who can deal with customers in a professional way. The other thing is handling problems in the best possible way and creating a brand loyalty by making your customers your friends.

"It's all about people," he said.

In other star marque news, keen logo watchers will notice that Mercedes has revised its three-pointed star -- at least in Europe. Automotive News Europe reports that instead of the three-dimensional star used for the past 16 years, the company will now use a 'flat' version.

In addition Benz will also add a 'sound bite' to its electronic ads. Dubbed an "acoustic logo" (think Intel and Microsoft's various 'tunes', Benz describes the trademark sound as: "based on an original recording of an English boys choir from the 1990s. Sound engineers extracted a choir boy's solo vocal from the recording and adapted it for use in the sound logo."

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