The Art Of Leadership – A Ford Story
Posted: August 10th, 2009 | Author: MSGiro | 33 Comments »
This story, to some, will seem more like fallacy than fact, but I assure you that what you are about to read is true and not something that we, as professionals, consumers, leaders, etc can only dream about. What I’m sharing with you is not just about social media. It’s not just about Twitter. They are just tools used by leaders to effectively communicate to those who otherwise would have never been given the chance to be heard or appreciated. These tools offer one the ability to add the human touch to experiences that have been, up to this point, utilitarian, boring, fake or worse frustrating. From my end, dealing with the service side of global corporations, as a customer, felt like I was just another character in “One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich“, locked in a prison yearning for better days to shine upon me. This story is about leadership and the desire to go the distance in order to prove that your brand is worthy of my attention.
First we need to fire up the Flux Capacitor and take this back a few months. I noticed Scott Monty, Ford Motor Company’s Director of Social Media, posting tweet after tweet about Ford’s new attitude, their commitment to quality, innovative design direction and so on and so on. I paid attention, but I wasn’t a “Ford Man” so it didn’t matter that much. Then the automotive apocalypse hits. The Big 3 CEO’s are sent to the Principal’s office AKA Congress and everyone in America decides they will blame them for our economic woes, especially since they so obnoxiously flew in those fancy corporate jets to DC. If I may, do you see the irony in them flying commercial given how many bailouts the airline industry has received over the years? I, for one, am glad they never chose that option. All of a sudden Ford says that they don’t need any money and Scott Monty has his ears and eyes on every corner of the social media landscape while sharing The Ford Story (To be honest I still prefer West Side Story). I bite and start paying closer attention. I begin to notice their messaging and pick up on feedback from Ford lovers exulting that their products were created to compete with my beloved Volkswagen and Audi, two brands that have been part of my car owning life for the past fifteen years. I also noticed that the pricing is relatively the same between Ford and zee Germans Now that got my attention. German cars are supposed to be more expensive. They are supposed to be of a higher quality. You are supposed to put your family second and driving your German car first in life’s priority list. How the heck can Ford be as good and charge as much as Audi in some cases?
I needed to get to the bottom of this so I sent a tweet to Scott; “Can you please send me your email addy. I have a few questions.” which he obliged. Here is a condensed version of how that email exchange went. I predicated my questions with the fact that I haven’t been inside of a Ford in years, with the exception of a new Shelby Cobra which I thought was an over the top thrill ride yet too extreme for comparison, and for the life of me cannot believe they are as good as my Audi.
ME: C’mon Scott. Let’s be real. How can Ford get away with saying this?
SCOTT: Before Ford hired me I drove an Audi. It was terrible. My wife hated it, but I loved it sores and all. Now that I’ve been driving a Ford for a while I have to say it’s a fantastic car. I’m a true believer now.
ME: Fortunately I only had your typical minor car issues with my Audi’s so I can’t relate. Are you a company man now spitting the PR rhetoric?
SCOTT: Believe me they are great products. Alan (Mulally) has made it his mission to make Ford products the best in the world.
ME: OK, so if Ford’s are so great and can justify the prices what are they doing to reach out to current owners of Audi’s or VW’s in order to at least get our attention and consider switching?
SCOTT: Actually nothing that I know of.
I’ll be honest that answer irked me. My feeling is that if you believe in a product so much and claim it to be as good as others then put your money where your mouth is and come up with ways, short of jumping in front of my car holding a sign “Can we talk for a minute”, to grab my attention. I consider myself a conscious consumer who is always in search of the best bang for his dollar. I’ll listen. Prove it to me.
Months passed and I was within a year of my lease ending, which is when I start getting the itch to move into something new. Naturally when you lease it’s easier to roll out of a lease early when you go back to the same company you leased from. After fifteen years I just figured Audi, especially given that their sales were down during the first half of this year, would want to shed some inventory and also sell off a used (sorry pre-owned) vehicle to help their bottom line. Same for VW, given it’s the same company and their sales were worse. I tried and I tried to work with them, but the VW dealership I went to turned out to assume I was an idiot even though the salesperson said to me, after being unable to answer too many questions about the Tiguan, “It’s obvious you know more about this car then me” and given that comment tried to pull one over on me with the negotiation. Audi, much to their credit, couldn’t keep the Q5 on the lot so I tried to see what I could get for an A4, but the numbers just weren’t working out and though I have been a loyal customer of Prime Audi for years I never got the impression that they truly cared about my business, because they assumed there was no way I was going anywhere else. I needed a third option and I remember saying to Scott that I would test drive the Ford Edge one day and so a shade over a month ago I did. I liked it so much that I brought MrsGiro back a few days later, but to a different dealership, because the one I went to the first time blew me off. I was irked, but I can’t totally blame the brand for a dealership that doesn’t want my business. The feedback from MrsGiro was “I really like this. If we can get a good deal I think we should get it.” I honestly never expected to hear that from her.
That is where the story took a detour that will go down as one of my favorite life moments. I sent Scott Monty a tweet; “I’m test driving an Edge for the second time this week. Have Alan Mulally call to tell me I’m not crazy.” If you know me you know that was me just joking around like “ha ha I know you and Alan are hanging at a BBQ this weekend so why don’t you guys ring me up when you have a few in you?”. Something funny happened. Scott sent me a direct message on Twitter asking for my phone number that following Saturday morning. “Hmm” I said. “That can’t be. He’s not going to have Alan call me”. I honestly figured Scott was going to call to give me some insight into the Edge. When my phone rang with a Michigan number during my daughter’s birthday party I let it go to voicemail. I would call Scott back after. When I finally checked the voicemail it was not from Scott Monty, but rather Alan Mulally. He was singing the praises of the Edge and what I thought was looking like a cute PR stunt ended up being a sincere message with the request to call him back. Let’s pause for a second and process this. The CEO of Ford Motor Company, a global mega-brand run by a man who is probably more busy than all of my friends combined, is taking time out of his Saturday to call me? Seriously? No, seriously? So I called back. Alan picked up and we talked. I shared my experiences. Alan listened. He listened to me explain my loyalty to VW/Audi. He listened about my need to save money while I bootstrap my entire life as we get ActsLike up and running. He listened while I ranted about two dealerships blowing me off. This went on for over twenty minutes. Instead of saying “Thanks for your time. I hope you buy the Edge.” Alan put some serious wheels in motion. Alan first said that he really wanted me to get into a Ford, because he believed in it so much and if it helped offered me friends and family pricing (Amen!). Anyone would be ecstatic at that point, but he went on to tell me that we needed to get this dealership issue resolved so he was going to contact their General Sales Manager, Randy Ortiz, to have him follow up with me. An hour later Randy calls. An hour after that Vincenza “Enza” Sleva, the New England Regional Manager, called and then while on the phone with Enza I received two separate calls from the owner of Sentry Ford, Fraser Lemley and his son Chris who is the President. I was overwhelmed to be honest, but everyone made themselves available to answer my questions and to provide me an education on Ford and how they do business. Each and every one of them was available over the course of the month it took me to get everything squared away to the point where I was ready to make the deal. Everyone collectively worked on this deal too. The Ford corporate team did not just pass the buck to the dealership. They stayed actively involved. I made suggestions for carving out a better deal. They made productive counter-offers. There was never a no in the negotiations. They wanted to make it work and in the end it did.
I’m fully aware that this is not a normal life experience and I’m not somebody with access to the golden gates of global icons either. As a professor of entrepreneurship at Boston University I always stress the importance of leading by example, respecting everyone around you, exhausting all solutions before saying no and consistently doing the unexpected. This is how you win people over and become a great leader. Not only does Alan Mulally have a big fan, but he also has a new customer.
I ended up with this Edge Sport.
Thanks to everyone. I’m glad I asked.
First!!! Great story Marc. I’m sold.
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A very well written story.
Ford has been trying very, very hard to fix things. The press has been impatient because this is no big news. It’s one million and one little things that need to be fixed, from the feel of a steering wheel to what happens when you ask a question at a dealership. Executives, employees, and media loves big bold statements of action. But those are rarely anything but symbolic. Getting a company focused on fixing the 1,000,001 problems – that’s good leadership.
This article is making me rethink the Ford Motor Company…wow! Marc, aka @MSGiro is a great friend and sound business adviser…his words are gospel. Amen!
What a great tale of leading by example. Thanks for sharing, glad to hear of Scott Monty’s part in this too… Congrats on your Edge!
Welcome to the Family!
What a success story — great to hear how it unfolded. I have similar feelings about the German cars I’ve owned/driven — namely the ones from Sindelfingen, Dingolfing and Spartanburg, South Carolina. While my exposure to Ford products has been limited to Hertz rental experiences, the European models have been pretty darn good, while the US models left much to be desired. I’m back in the extended Ford family now with an XC90, and pulling for this great American company to become even better with all the challenges ahead. Thanks for taking the time to share your story! And kudos to Scott for connecting with you.
First, Welcome to the Ford Family. Second, Ford Motor Company has been working tirelessly to change the perception that Detroit does not build vehicles consumers want. It is a slow process, but one that IS working.
Thanks for chiming in everyone. I’m a self-described car junkie and part of the fun of owning a German car in my early 20s were the modification opportunities and tight community revolving around that culture. Once I started doing grown up things, such as getting married, home ownership, family expansion and starting a couple of ventures the money that went into that part of my life got re-routed to those areas and so the fun was taken out a bit. I still love Audi/VW and don’t have much to complain about. They treated me very well over the years, but as I said I wasn’t feeling the tingles at the dealership level. As a long-time customer I certainly got it on the service side, but the sales side was a whole different ballgame.
At the same time I do not see Audi/VW (or BMW, Porsche or Mercedes for that matter) listening in on networks like Twitter and therefore I don’t have the opportunity to communicate with them. My expectations are higher now and for every firm that ventures into a Twitter, Facebook or Second Life I am under the assumption that you want to listen to your customers and build an audience. Those who take advantage of that win people like me over.
I really hope Alan helps lead the charge in changing the image of Ford and it all starts with quality. If he accomplishes that let’s hope he can throw some of that pixie dust the Lions way.
As a Ford employee, thank you for publishing your experience. He (Alan) is just as impressive to us on the inside. This company is so different because of him.
Regarding Ford putting its money where its mouth is. They are now comparing the new Taurus to the Audi A6. The V6 vs V8 spot on http://www.fordvehicles.com/2010taurus/
Great story!!
After many years of Honda ownership, I am now on my third Ford.
Many family members and friends have made the switch to Ford and couldn’t be happier.
Enjoy your black Edge Sport as much as I am enjoying mine.
Marc,
Thank you so much for giving Ford a chance. Keeping an open mind is all we ask, as we try to help people understand that long-held perceptions might not be in line with today’s reality.
As to quality, I should note that Ford is now #1, having surpassed Honda earlier this year and Toyota just last month: http://www.businessweek.com/autos/autobeat/archives/2009/07/ford_tops_quali_2.html
Scott Monty
Global Digital & Multimedia Communications
Ford Motor Company
I have been working professionally in social media for almost a year now as a Community Outreach Manager for Best Buy Remix. Scott, and Ford clearly have a great understanding of the space and the power that reaching out to one individual can have. This is a great example of how positively effecting one person at a time is really to change the perspective of many.
I just wanted to say, as a long-time Ford employee I am so excited to see that we are getting it right! Alan Mulally is changing the Ford culture for the better (which is not an easy task!) and is doing a tremendous job.
I am also sincerely glad you had such a great experience with Ford. You should test drive the new Taurus SHO. You will be surprised by the driving experience!
It’s funny Jamie that you brought up the SHO. Everyone seems to be talking about it, but I told Alan if I had my way I’d be adding a Shelby or Rousch Mustang to the order, but right now we don’t need a second car. When we do I’ll be anxious to see what the Mustang has to offer as I need to find a way to satiate my need for American Muscle.
Being a retired Ford employee, I love to read stories like this one. Too bad Alan can’t call and personally discuss the benefits of buying a Ford with every prospective car buyer. Ands it’s too bad that every prospective buyer doesn’t test drive a Ford before they make their final decision. They are really missing out on some fantastic cars built with pride and quality.
Very inspiring story! A lesson of commitment, humbleness and honesty, isn’t it?
Regards from Argentina!!
As a sales consultant for a company that’s been selling Fords for 98 years, this story makes me proud to have the Ford Franchise and the new attitude!
I can’t say I have converted to Ford as I am as my father as was,and his father was, a loyal Ford guy. I have since seen my sister trade in both her cars (Toyota, Lexus) for a Freestyle and a Flex. If only Ford made something really small and sporty I can finally give up my 1980 FIAT X1/9….. hummm Ford got anyhting like that coming?
Stuart, perhaps the soon to be launching in the States Ford Fiesta will be the answer. At least the Top Gear guys like it. This is the greatest auto review I have ever seen. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h_KIqdS1SO0
Marc – this is an amazing story, from a social media and a general communications perspective. The work that Scott Monty, and others like him have done, clearly pays dividends. There’s one thing that intrigues me the most. Scott, through his good work, turned a conversation he had with you into a sale for Ford. If that doesn’t scream TRUE ROI, I don’t know what does. If only that demonstration were as easy in other instances, we’d have many more companies embracing the possibilities within social media.
Great story of going above and beyond with customers (or potential customers).
I’ve watched Ford’s efforts in social media with interest over the last couple of years. Scott certainly hit the nail on the head with this one – bravo.
Ford is one of the best car companies there is! They are all that I have ever owned. It is exciting to see whats going on now and all the new products coming. Unfortunatley after being laid-off from my job, I had to sell my 04 F150. It was the best truck I ever had. Now going back to school and looking to the future…I will be back in a Ford!
As a dealership employee I would like to welcome you to the family.
Thanks for giving Ford a chance! Fraser and Chris, and the rest of the family (the Ford employees) look forward to having you in our family for many years to come. I have an Edge, too, and love it. As you have seen, Alan leads by example and it’s rubbing off on all of us, in a good way. We were good before, but now we’re poised to be the best at making cars and trucks that people love to drive, which was Henry’s mission back in 1903!
Welcome to the Ford family. Being involved in a Ford dealrship for 15-years, I can tell you this current and upcoming product line is the best offering from Ford Motor Company that I have seen. The Ford Flex is the best driving vehicle I have been in to date.
I see that stigma though of dealerships not treating people right are still out there. Maybe you were just unfortunate in your experience, but there are many fine Sales Consultant’s and dealerships across this land. In this day and age with internet information, a customer that is looking at a Edge, lets say, has been going over the information for 2 weeks, while the Sales Consultant has to know 15-17 different vehicle lines. It has come to the point where a customer comes into the dealership, and may know more about the vehicle they wish to purchase than the Consultant selling it, which can be a put off to the customer. It is the new day of the customer/consultant dealings, and the Consultants have to move to the next level in knowing their information. Part of the Consultant’s job function is to show the feature/benefits to the customer, but when the customer comes in knowing all of this, it is easy for the consultant to try and take it to the next step in the selling process. It is not an excuse, but just a new dynamic with the infomation age upon us, and the sales process will need to be tweaked in this information age. Customer/Consultant relationships are different than 15-years ago, that is a fact, but it still comes down to being sincere, honest, and assisting a customer to make sure they obtain the vehicle that best meets their needs and budgets…..that will not change.
Thank you again for your purchase of a Ford Motor Company product. It may be time for the old tag line, ‘Have you Driven a Ford Lately?’
Hey Rob,
I understand your argument, but the two issues are actually unrelated. The Ford dealership that I first went to was a great in-person experience. The consultant knew the Edge inside and out and like me, as a car junkie, informed me of the details that most consumers and consultants glaze over, but those are the details that win me over. The problem was that after a positive experience they never called me back. I still haven’t heard from them. Nothing. How does that happen? If I were the GSM I’d be livid over losing a deal that just walked through the door. I’ve been sized up as “Not a legit buyer” in the past (by Lexus) and on both occurrences I purchased a new vehicle within a month of that incident.
The “You know more than me” issue came up at a VW dealership. What turned me off so much was when you tell me I know more about the car than you do (I’m fine with that, because I usually do tons of homework.) you have to assume that I may know something about the details of the selling process. Trying to pull a fast one one me by saying “There is no way I can move these numbers” after your first and only volley. They were 5% over invoice so obviously we weren’t even close to dipping into holdback territory and about .5% over the posted APR on VWs own website! On top of that when I asked about the factor and residual it felt like pulling teeth to get that info and finally I never got a trade-in offer though they had all the information. We did go to another VW dealership (Minuteman in Bedford, MA for those wondering), who was awesome and incredibly aggressive with their pricing on an 09 Tiguan, but as much as I loved it the Tiguan was the smallest of the crossovers we were looking at and with two kids and a 60lb dog the fit would have been a bit snug to say the least.
As a Ford employee am so excited to see that we are getting the right prodcuts into the market with great features.
I owned a Ford Escort and now Ford IKON and it is a pleasure to drive a car which assures a ride worthy of royalty.
Alan Mulally is a true Servant Leader that is trying to do the Right things!
A CEO that cares about customers and takes time to engage them. That is a leadership style worthy of duplication!
Henry Ford would be proud!
Oh Yeah welcome to the Ford family!!! You are part of the American Legacy now! Don’t forget to Pay It Forward!
I am a Ford dealer with several stores. Additionally, I am on the Ford Dealer Council, one of 30 dealers that represents the dealer body with Ford Motor Company. Your experience with the management team is spot on!!! This is the finest group of people I have ever worked with and they are on a mission with the dealers to create products and experiences that keep customers coming back.
Being a Ford Dealer has never been more fun, even with the difficult times we have right now. I was in Detroit last week for meetings and Alan spoke to us this past Monday; its like talking with your best friend! You can feel his passion and you just want to get up and go do something! I would put him up to run for President of the USA but I don’t want to lose him from Ford! http://www.thefordstory.com, DriveOne!
I’ve been a “Ford Man” since the 8th grade, honest. Never owned anything else so it was a natural to get to work for the Ford Motor Company. Even though in the Customer Service Division, selling Ford Products and being a Ford booster were full time jubs. Over the years, Ford made some cars that were not the best. But now, it seems like we have turned a corner. Mr. Mulally joined the Company before I retired in 2007 and I’m glad he did. We currently own an Edge and 4 other Ford Products. Remember, One Ford!!
[...] to the overall brand impression that traditional marketing could never achieve. Take a recent post by a new Ford customer where he details the experience of reaching out to Ford via Twitter which in turn would lead to a [...]
I think we all should pull for the American auto makers. Sure they made mistakes and lost their way, but the more succesful companies the better for consumers. I prefer the germans myself, but that’s more for driving dynamics than anything else.
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