BMW USES A LEADING indicator to predict annual sales: numbers of people visiting showrooms. It is an indicator that should be monitored where I work because when people actually walk in for a visit, they indicate more than a passing interest.
Retailers tell the same story when they describe the enormous positive effect from people passing their storefronts. Good marketing, social media conversations and attractive signage all affect people and their consumer behaviour.
In BMW's case, the marquee brand gets 140 minutes of my time in the showroom every month. That's because I ned to have maintenance work done on an 7-year-old car. I also like the airy showroom and my three-year-old daughter enjoys sitting in the cars. So we take liberties and often record ourselves climbing into, around and under different BMWs at Morrison BMW in Cahir, County Tipperary.
Halfway around the world, the same thing is happening in China. Thanks to Chinese profits, BMW should stay profitable during the 2012-13 global recession. China accounted for 14.5 per cent of BMW's sales in the first half of 2011, compared with almost 20 per cent in North America and 17 per cent in Germany.
Sent mail2blog using O2 3.5G Typepad service from my Nokia E7 on Inchydoney Beach, County Cork, Ireland.
