HOW HE SEES IT GM needs brand identity to succeed

Of the many lessons learned from the decline of General Motors, one of the most powerful is in the marketing space.
The giant automaker has leaked market share over the years because its brands lacked (and still lack) something many of their smaller rivals have built well and defended -- unique positions in the marketplace.
GM is a multi-brand company that offers virtually every type of car imaginable, plus a plethora of non-automotive products and services. While that was a sign of strength in the Product Era that expired some years ago, it is a recipe for disaster in the Positioning Era we're in today.
Some of GM's competitors realize the power of a strong position, and have invested heavily along those lines. For example, Honda has become synonymous with reliability. It is nowhere near as broad as GM, or even most of GM's brands. But Honda owns reliability, and its marketing programs and actual performance over the years have strengthened that position.
Volvo owns safety. In the U.S. market, it is a fraction of GM's brands in size, and much smaller than Honda. But consumers rank Volvo ahead of all other automakers in safety, and those who are most interested in safety are likely to buy a Volvo.
In the decades after World War II, there was strength in offering everything to everyone. Demand was strong, competition was limited and a company with a good reputation and virtually unlimited marketing budget could expand a favorable relationship with consumers from one product line to another.
Those conditions encouraged GM to become the ultimate generalist. In recent years, even GM's brands have lost their individuality. Cadillac, once a high-end nameplate, muddied the waters with lower-priced models. Chevrolet, Pontiac and Oldsmobile built cars that looked alike, jeopardizing the long-term value of their once-unique brands to achieve efficiency and short-term financial benefit.
Vulnerable
The lack of a position has left GM and its brands vulnerable to automakers that have staked out clear positions. Volvo with safety. Honda with reliability. Hyundai with low price.
All of those automakers, like any company with a clear brand position, have to make sacrifices. They sacrifice the temptation to be more "efficient" by extending their lines into new products that are outside the position. Line extensions blur the brand in the consumer's mind (is a Cimarron really a Cadillac?). They're bad business, and GM is a pile of line extensions.
We are in the Positioning Era. The consumer's mind is over-saturated with information, and retains only a fraction of what it encounters. In this environment, victory will always go to the well-positioned competitor ... the brand that takes ownership of that one attribute or characteristic that its competitors cannot own, and then focuses its resources on building and defending that position.
This is what Honda, Volvo and others are doing in the car business, and what Dell (position = selling direct), Xerox (copies), Maytag (dependability), Wal-Mart (low price) and Domino's Pizza (delivery) are doing in their markets.
When GM's brands can redefine and re-establish clear positions in the increasingly competitive automotive marketplace, they will start moving down the road of real recovery.
X Dick Maggiore is president and chief executive officer of Innis Maggiore Group, a marketing communications firm with offices in Canton and Canfield.