GM Redefines Car Shopping, Buying Experience With `GM BuyPower' Consumer Initiative
4 September 1997
GM Redefines Car Shopping, Buying Experience With `GM BuyPower' Consumer Initiative
-- Consumers Now Have New Ways to Shop For and Buy GM Vehicles,
`Anytime, Anywhere' --
THOUSAND OAKS, Calif., Sept. 4 -- In a bold initiative to
give consumers new choices when shopping for or purchasing a new vehicle,
General Motors today unveiled its benchmark program, "GM BuyPower(TM)," a
comprehensive consumer marketing service exclusively available in California,
Washington, Oregon and Idaho. Launching this fall, "GM BuyPower" is the first
initiative of its kind to integrate consumer-focused services, including
extensive Internet and 800 number components, with the ability to access
dealer inventory online.
An industry first, "GM BuyPower" encompasses a suite of customer-oriented
services that offer both "high-tech" and "high-touch" options. For the first
time ever, consumers can choose between a comprehensive Internet Web site
(http://www.gmbuypower.com) or a professionally staffed toll-free number
(1-800-GMBUYPOWER) to conduct research, obtain competitive pricing, access
dealer inventory and pave the way to purchase the new GM vehicle of their
choice.
Additionally, with "GM BuyPower," GM's 1998 models -- including Chevrolet,
Pontiac, GMC, Oldsmobile, Buick and Cadillac brands -- will be offered with
aggressive sticker prices that include key features, thus making car-shopping
and car-buying easier and more convenient.
"For the consumer, `GM BuyPower' is a great new way to shop for and buy a
GM vehicle, anytime, anywhere at their convenience," said Ann Noel Pattyn,
manager, GM Consumer Marketing Initiative (CMI). "We're looking to extend our
retail sales lead in California and the Pacific Northwest by offering
consumers unprecedented choice and control over both the car-shopping and car-
buying experience, not to mention continued and expanded competitive pricing
on all GM vehicles."
The new "GM BuyPower" consumer Web site, http://www.gmbuypower.com, and 800
number (1-800-GMBUYPOWER) are accessible 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Both services will go into operation on October 15.
The "GM BuyPower" Web site offers the industry's first integrated vehicle
shopping and purchasing resource. Customers can conveniently research a GM
vehicle, do comparative shopping among competitive brands, tap into GM
inventory to specify and locate the GM car or truck of their choice at a
nearby dealership, apply for pre-approved credit, and set up an appointment
for a test-drive. Once they choose to make a purchase request, the customer
will be contacted by a designated dealer contact who will then give them the
dealership's single best price on that vehicle.
Similarly, the "800" number connects customers with GM's BuyPower Center,
which is staffed with shopping consultants who will verbally help customers
move through the shopping and buying process, which is essentially identical
to the process experienced on the Web site. In addition, the "GM BuyPower"
800 number will be staffed by bilingual personnel to accommodate Spanish-
speaking customers.
"GM BuyPower" follows the company's highly successful "Value Pricing" and
"Value Selling" efforts which, introduced in 1993, were the catalyst to GM
regaining its retail sales lead in California; GM continues to lead retail
sales in California, with 21 percent market share. "GM BuyPower" takes this
strategy one step further, making GM the first automotive manufacturer to
combine both Internet and 800 number functionality with the ability to search
dealers' inventory.
"With `GM BuyPower,' General Motors is the first and only company to offer
consumers unprecedented choice and control over the car-buying experience, a
reflection of the great inroads we've made in meeting consumer expectations
and demands in California and the Pacific Northwest," added Pattyn. "By
combining a high-tech approach with the Internet and a personal touch through
the 800 number, `GM BuyPower' is a direct response to consumer needs and
preferences."
"GM BuyPower" features cars and trucks with a Manufacturer's Suggested
Retail Price (MSRP) that is an outstanding value compared to competitive
vehicles similarly equipped. With "GM BuyPower," all of the equipment that
consumers say they want -- such as air conditioning, anti-lock brakes, air
bags, 24-hour roadside assistance, a 36-month bumper-to-bumper warranty, and
more -- is already included in one low MSRP.
Customers utilizing the "GM BuyPower" Web site and 800 number will be
quoted a "single best price" on the GM vehicle of their choice by a primary
contact at the dealership of their choice.
According to Pattyn, whether a customer is on a dealership lot, on the
Internet, or working with a "GM BuyPower" 800 number shopping consultant, "GM
BuyPower" will enable them to easily judge value for themselves by providing
pricing information (supplied by the Automotive Information Center, an
independent organization) on competitive, comparably equipped vehicles.
"'GM BuyPower' gives consumers a straightforward, apples-to-apples look at
how GM vehicles stack up against the competition," said Pattyn. "Shoppers
will find `GM BuyPower' vehicles have MSRPs substantially less than the
competition."
In California, GM leads all other manufacturers in retail sales. For
1997, GM is on a pace to sell over 45,000 more cars and trucks than in 1992, a
23 percent increase.
In addition, GM's customer satisfaction ratings in California continue to
climb. According to J.D. Power and Associates' most recent Sales Satisfaction
Index (SSI) study, GM in California leads all major manufacturers in highest
overall SSI.
SOURCE General Motors
