TED LALKA TALKS ABOUT BUILDING UP SUBARU’S BRAND AWARENESS IN CANADA
CANADIAN AUTO DEALER traveled to Subaru Canada’s head office in Mississauga, Ont. for a one-on-one interview with the Vice-President of Product Planning and Marketing, Ted Lalka. Here’s part of the conversation with our columnist and automotive journalist Petrina Gentile.
On The Road: Ted Lalka, Vice President of Product Planning & Marketing of Subaru Canada from Canadian Automotive Video on Vimeo.
PG: What’s the biggest change you’ve seen in your 25 year career with Subaru Canada?
TL: With things changing so quickly in this marketplace, in this world, every day I come to work I learn something new. There’s a new variation to everything I thought I knew. It keeps things really exciting and it’s also very challenging.
PG: Subaru’s product lineup is simple and straightforward — most of your vehicles are AWD with your core BOXER engine. Is that strategy working to attract buyers?
TL: It’s one of those things that makes Subaru unique and consistent in terms of the marketplace message we send to the market. The BOXER engine is definitely the basic engine that is consistent throughout our lineup and all-wheel-drive is standard on every single vehicle — except for the BRZ — because it’s designed to be a more traditional rear-wheel-drive sports car. All-wheel-drive provides all of the benefits — the safety and the control of all-weather driving capabilities. That’s relevant to Canadians.
PG: But Subaru is a niche brand — how can you grow to appeal to the masses?
TL: I think the key is getting the message out. Subaru is often described as one of the best kept secrets in the industry, and as more and more people discover what Subaru is all about and the fact we have a vehicle for them, more and more are choosing Subaru vehicles. The whole idea is getting the message out. We do it in many different ways — advertising, traditional ways in TV, print, and radio, and certainly the online channels that are now available through social media is a big way of getting the information out to consumers to let them know what Subaru is all about.
PG: When it comes to social media, what’s working and what needs improvement?
TL: We have found that when you’re sending out a message on social media it’s about being real. What I mean by that is providing information that is relevant and entertaining, but is meaningful to the people you’re trying to communicate with. With our current customers we try to find out what’s important to them and try to communicate those points to them. The other thing to remember about social media is the channel of communication is a two-way channel. So we do use it to get information out, but we also use social media to get feedback from our current owners and our prospective owners about what’s important to them, which is safety, durability, and getting a vehicle that delivers real value, especially in these economic times.
PG: At the dealership level, how do you train sales consultants to deal with more educated consumers who are coming into the showroom armed with knowledge?
TL: We have been providing extensive training to sales consultants at the dealership level. We provide them with tools. We provide them with opportunities for training… We also conduct Learn and Drive sessions. We give them first-hand experience on the capability of our vehicles as well as how they stack up to the competition. In addition, we provide them with tools like tablets that they can use with their customers to actually show them videos of the capabilities of our vehicles that make Subaru vehicles unique and provide a sense of the advantages of owning a Subaru.
PG: With more online interactions, will the role of a traditional dealership become less significant in the future?
TL: We know that customers are doing an awful lot of research before they come into a dealership. But I think there’s nothing that can really replace the role of a dealership. People still want to come in and test drive the vehicle and confirm their purchase decision. They still have questions they’d like to have answered such as the various options available to them, whether it’s in financing or another aspect of vehicle ownership. So, there’s definitely a role of dealer in the network. That role will continue to evolve as do all our roles as things continue to change.
PG: When it comes to sales, how will Subaru end the year?
TL: Last year we sold just over 42,000. This year, we’re on track to be selling over 45,000 vehicles. That number could be higher if we had more vehicles available to meet the customer demand. But I expect something over 45,000.
PG: Can Canada’s auto industry remain competitive given the current oil prices and exchange rates?
TL: Absolutely. We’re in a very competitive business. And there’s going to be new ways of conducting business as they emerge — ones we can’t even anticipate today. That’s one of the things that I really love about this business. But that competitiveness is also working to benefit consumers. Consumers have never had more variety and quality in vehicles ever before. And I think Subaru certainly represents one of those things as a unique alternative that more and more people are being attracted to. And that’s the way we’re going to be successful. We’re not trying to follow others. We provide a unique alternative that’s appealing to customers.
