Baojun brand marketing will focus on the second and third-tier cities in the future

At the just-concluded 15th Chengdu International Auto Show, SAIC-GM-Wuling brought its entire series of models to the show. The company's newly joined Baojun camp, Baojun Le Chi, was included in the Baojun brand model at this auto show. In the debut, Baojun 630, which was listed in August last year, achieved sales of 21,854 units in 2011, which was initially recognized by the market and consumers. At this year's Chengdu Auto Show, on the sales of Bao Chun brand products and channel construction issues, Wen Hong, SAIC's general manager and market director of Wuling Motors, accepted an interview with Gasgoo.com.


Reporter: What is the performance of SAIC-GM-Wuling in the market in the first half of this year? Tell us about it.

Wen Hong: From the overall perspective, we now have three business segments, one is the business segment of Wuling Commercial Vehicles, one is the Baojun section of passenger cars, and there is the overseas business segment. It should be said that the company has identified three major businesses. After the plate, all the work is proceeding according to our plan.

From the point of view of the development of the entire company, the development of the entire first half of this year is very benign. We sold 860,000 vehicles in January-July, and Baojun was listed on the market from last year. We have achieved some initial results so far. We have achieved certain results in sales, channel construction, and brand recognition. Of course, we have achieved certain results. We will continue to work hard in the future.

In this overseas business, we have already undergone a series of strategic transformations. The entire company has started to export related products, technologies, and talents from the original introduction of technology, talent, and products. From India projects to Egypt projects, we step by step. Footprints have achieved steady development.

I believe the entire three business segments will continue to move in the right direction.

At the product level, the Chengdu Auto Show Wuling brought the entire family of Baojun products, including the newly joined Baojun Lechi, as well as the newly-listed Baojun 630 1.5L DVVT MT enjoying the national energy conservation policy, and Baojun 630 1.8L debuted for the first time. Products, hope to give consumers some more choices. In the commercial vehicle segment, some new products will be launched into the market in the second half of the year.

Reporter: How is Baojun's sales now? What is the future plan?

Wen Hong: The company did not give Baojun more mission indicators. It turned out that we have set certain goals internally. The daily sales have exceeded 100, the weekly sales have exceeded 1,000, and the monthly sales have exceeded 10,000. achieve. In addition, we should pay more attention to whether or not we have the ability to achieve this goal of sales, not to say that in order to achieve the goal, and put the goods to the dealers, we also hope to do a solid job. The success of a brand is not a day or two. The time for Baojun's products to be listed is less than two years. If we have to make drastic changes at once, this is contrary to the laws of the entire market. So I think what we are going to do now is not to say how much we need to make in the short-term, and what’s more important is that Do your own current job well, including brand building, channel development management, and product aspects.

Reporter: Bao Chun has been listed for some time now. Is there any difference between the consumer's reaction and expected situation in the market? What is the situation?

Wen Hong: At the beginning of product development and design, we have expectations and settings for the consumer's form, but the actual situation is still different. The people in our advertising screen are all like suits and shoes, but from the actual customer group, it may not be so much in a suit. The other is the age, the actual customer age of buying a car will be smaller than the age we envisioned.

We envisage that 25 to 45 will be our main purchasers, but in fact the majority are between 20 and 35.

Reporter: In response to these new situations, what adjustments have we made accordingly?

Wen Hong: In response to these new changes in the consumer, in the context of advertising marketing communication, including public relations and consumer communication, we have made some corrections and adjustments in communication methods and discourse composition, and we have also introduced New marketing tools, like Weibo and so on.

Reporter: Recently, BYD Auto has been listed on Speedy, and Baojun 630 is the same level of the car. What do you think is the competitive advantage of Baojun 630?

Wen Hong: Each manufacturer's positioning of its own products will have some differences. Our brand slogan is a reliable partner. The core demands of products can be more closely matched with the daily needs of our consumers. Baojun 630 is our product. Emphasis is also on ease of use, applicability, reliability, and security. Like the newly launched speed sharp, it is also very rich in configuration. BYD is also a very strong independent brand in China. The speed of Rui Rui is not exactly the same as that of Baojun 630. The Chinese automobile consumer groups are very different. There are all kinds of needs. After the products come out, we look at how we can communicate with them and work on specific marketing groups.

Reporter: At present, what is your company's marketing layout for Baojun, and what kind of planning is there for the Southwest market?

Wen Hong: China's auto market has developed rapidly in the first few years in the first-tier cities, and the number of auto ownership has also increased rapidly. Therefore, the purchase of first-tier cities such as Beijing and Guangzhou has now begun. As for the future development of Baojun, we cannot say that we have lost all the first-tier cities. We will maintain the existing market share, but we will focus on the second and third-tier cities. In the ten years since SAIC-GM-Wuling’s joint venture, it has accumulated some successful experiences in brand management. We will use these experiences in the development of the southwestern market to achieve better development. And in the past more than a year in the past, Po Chun's performance in the Southwest market is good.

In addition to the characteristics of each regional market, we will carry out appropriate regional marketing and promotion. Take Chengdu as an example, our marketing methods here are not the same as those in the East China and North China markets.

Reporter: In the second and third tier cities, how do we set up distribution and service outlets?

Wen Hong: We have various stores of different types A, B, C, D, and E. We also encourage the establishment of multiple sales outlets in each city and the development of direct networks in the cities and counties below. Within the scope of the plan, the chain of direct sales stores will be further developed.

In the second and third tier cities, about 200 companies have now been established, with 4S as the main distribution service outlet, and some are 2S stores. About 40 homes are around.

By the end of this year, there will be close to 300 service stores and it is expected that there will be more than 400 next year.

Reporter: A few days ago, Chevrolet LESC rebranded Baojun. What impact will Wuling have on shaping the brand of passenger cars? After Lechang’s rebranding of Baojun, what changes will be brought to the product itself and the sales channel of the product?

Wen Hong: From the overall point of view. Whether it is GM or SAIC, it is hoped that there will be a clearer brand strategy. From our company's point of view, we believe that doing a brand well is a very arduous task. Therefore, our commercial vehicle is Wuling. We do not extend another brand. We can now sell over one million units a year. . Passenger car we do Baojun brand, and Le Chi come in handy, but also by the support of Shanghai GM side.

In addition, after the arrival of Le Chi this product, and Bao Chun products will be the relationship between the equivalent, but in product quality, we will further optimize the future of Le Chi will be better than the original Chevrolet Le Chi. In terms of configuration, we have raised a total of 54 items according to the current demands of consumers.

In terms of channels, the number is higher than before and the operating standards are higher than before. From the perspective of after-sales, the Baobao Lechi Three Guarantees period is further extended because we have more confidence in our quality, such as the engine we have now extended to five hundred thousand kilometers, and can enjoy some of the national energy-saving Huimin policy.

Reporter: Does this mean that we will take over Le Chi's entire production and technology platform?

Wen Hong: We will not copy all these branded things or technologies completely because Bao Chun branded products have their own consumer groups, which are totally different from Shanghai GM's product positioning. The positioning of Chevrolet and Buick will not be the same. Shareholders' resources Here, we must hope to maximize the use of these resources as much as possible. We are a resource integrator, not a passive recipient. We will not completely move or take over a certain platform, but we will absorb these advantageous resources and technologies.

Reporter: Now the overall performance of the auto market is not very good, to deal with the overall decline in the auto market, Po Chun brand products have any good methods?

Wen Hong: Today, the entire Chinese auto market has not shrunk. In fact, it is still growing, but I personally think that it may still be too high. At the Guangzhou Auto Show last year, many media were predicting how the auto market would be this year. I remember that. At that time, it was about 5%. This year it was actually slightly higher than this figure. It was close to 10%, and the expectations of various manufacturers before may be too high. In fact, the real hardship here is imported car dealers. From mid-size cars to mini-cars, the sales volume is decreasing. Therefore, it is very bad for the entire auto market to give everyone a feeling. Even if it is after some hard work, there is no improvement.

For Baojun, the company level does not necessarily emphasize how much sales must be completed. However, we emphasize that the brand needs to live and must live a healthy life. Therefore, we are working hard from the following aspects. One is our own physical fitness work, such as channel construction, brand promotion, customer relationship maintenance, and reputation building.

On the other hand, from the perspective of manufacturers, in fact, we started to adjust production and sales from March to April of this year, and we adjusted according to our actual sales situation. We do not want distributors to use unscrupulous means to achieve sales targets, and we have to complete sales targets. This damages the entire operating system. This is something we do not want to see. SAIC-GM-Wuling is a company that emphasizes strategic synergy. We always say that "a group of people can go further." For Baojun, our brand slogan is "reliable partner". We don't say this in a random manner. We hope that the supplier system, the dealer system, and the experience of the customer's product experience and service can all realize that we are Intentions for products and business, not for profit, so this year you can see that we do not have a particularly large price cuts and other actions, and we hope that our marketing can go more robust. Of course, if dealers have some regionally differentiated needs, we will give them some marketing support.

Reporter: What is the status of dealer inventory?

Wen Hong: The inventory of the entire dealer, Po Chun and Le Chi add up to less than 20,000 cars.

Reporter: At present, many manufacturers are constantly expanding their sales channels and distribution outlets. How does Baojun do this?

Wen Hong: Bao Jun’s first product was listed on August 9 last year. At that time, there were many “hybrid dealers” in the Beijing area. They were also short-listed. Later, during the process of building the store, we dismissed some of them. However, in the past year, the development of Beijing exceeded our imagination. Some dealers are now basically building their second 4S store, and they have also begun to establish some 2S stores.

From a manufacturer's point of view, since the market is still relatively severe, we will not blindly expand our sales channels. I do not ask you to engage in local competitions like other manufacturers' dealers. I know that some Japanese companies Manufacturers, there are more than two dozen dealers in a city in Guangzhou, also kill each other bloody, sell a car lost more than 10,000 have. When the dealership is difficult, we will help them and share the difficulties with them.

On the one hand, we will actively look for some marketing opportunities. In response to these marketing opportunities, vendors will work with distributors to do some marketing and promotion. In the second area, if they have this ability, have this intention, and combine the surrounding regional conditions. , Will build new stores together with dealers or make strategic adjustments. This is also the embodiment and appeal of Baojun's "reliable partner" concept.

Reporter: How did you see this year's Baojun sales and market performance?

Wen Hong: I think I have made some progress, but I am not very satisfied.

On the one hand, in absolute terms, we are obviously not the strongest one. We think there is still room for Baojun to develop. On the other hand, we have more than 200 channels from scratch to now, but we have already established a good dealership. Regardless of the marketing promotion and sales service of the store, we still have room for growth. We are also putting some pressure on ourselves, hoping to buy more, of course, even if it is to sell 10,000 units a month. However, this million-station is not our ultimate goal. Just like when we listed Wuling Hongguang, it may be a small amount of products, but it is now hundreds of thousands of units a year. So sometimes we ourselves should compare ourselves. However, the premise of selling is that we must do a good job in the quality of our products and services so that we can guarantee everything else.