Your TGIF Adult B2B Marketing Tip of the Day - The Confidence Gap

The Confidence Gap

Back in the old days when you wanted to buy a Ford, where did you go? To the Ford dealership. Which Ford dealership? THE Ford dealership. Why? Because it was most likely the only one anywhere near your house. And when you got to the dealership, who specifically within the dealership did you go to find out information on the vehicle? That's right - to the salesperson. And why did you go to the salesperson? Was it because you loved being 'slam-dunked' by them? Did you enjoy pain more then you do now? Of course not. The reason you went to the dealership and then to the salesperson was because it was the only way you could find out any information about the vehicle. It was your only choice.

So what about now? Where do you go now? To one of the 10 Ford dealerships within a 28 mile radius of your house. Or if you're like an ever increasing number of car buyers, you go to the internet from the comfort of your couch. Let me take this a step further to show you how confidence gets eroded. If you've ever bought a car, you've experienced the hassle of finding the best deal. You look in the paper and see the model you want advertised for a really low price. When you get to the dealership you find out that it was a totally stripped down model and there was only one of them anyway - and it was painted avocado green. But hey, they've got the one you wanted for only $12,000 more than the one in the ad. So next time you notice in the ad the really small print that says "only one available at this price." Won't fall for that trick again, will you?

Well, now you're tired so you flip on the tube and wouldn't you know it, there's a commercial for a Ford dealership and they say that they've got the largest inventory of Fords in the state. So you make a mental note to go check that place out. You flip the channel and there's another commercial for a different Ford dealership and guess what? They're the largest volume Ford dealership in the city. Wow! How can that be true? As you're driving over to settle the issue of who's actually the largest, you hear an ad on the radio for a leasing company that says you'd be a fool to buy a car when leasing is so much cheaper...and they can handle all the details right over the phone. Okay, I'll stop here. But you tell me, is this a realistic scenario or am I just making it up? Who do you have confidence in after trying to sort that mess out? The problem is that all the sellers are trying to trick buyers into coming into their showroom so they can pressure them into paying too much for something they didn't want. The buyer-seller relationship is adversarial - or at best, apathetic.

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