IF you’re in the business of selling business cars to local business customers, the first place to start is with the car. Right?
Err, no. Apparently not.
OK, the local business angle, then?
In the office we regularly have people that can get over 100mpg.
Wrong again.
I’m going to have to ‘phone a friend at this rate.
Lee Wheeler puts me right: “The offer to a local business customer doesn’t start around a car. It starts around Earth Dream Technology and what it can mean to the business.”
Lee is manager of corporate sales at Honda, and I was keen to understand Honda’s offer to the SME market.
And for those not familiar with Earth Dreams Technology, it’s a series of engines from Honda that combine great performance (get up and go plus economy) with environmental values (low CO2 emissions).
“Earth Dream Technology means reductions in noise, weight and friction in our transmissions, which in practice means we will deliver class-leading mpgs,” continues Lee.
“The benefit to a customer is they won’t have to take the car to the fuel station as often as competitors. So we explain the benefits a customer will quickly see, rather than making the message too complicated.”
It’s a good point to start. SMEs always have a keen understanding of controlling costs – and Lee says that Honda can always demonstrate a fuel saving against competitor cars with running expenditure such as whole life costs.
“It’s an area we always win,” continues Lee. “From that point we can talk to local business customers about the needs of their fleet and their drivers.
