Among
the number of companies Elon Musk runs, Tesla is the one you probably hear
about almost every day. But you might not have known that the world’s most
valuable car company has a $0 marketing budget.
As
the CEO and product architect of Tesla, Musk is known to make headlines around
the world. He knows how to wield the media to shine the spotlight directly on
himself and his company. And he does this without paying a single cent. All the
funds are allocated to product development, to ensure that the world receives
products of exceptional quality.
With
other automotive giants spending so much on advertising, it is very intriguing
that Tesla has chosen to go the other way. First and foremost, they’ve created
a product that matters to people. The cars are so advanced and environmentally
friendly, car experts and regular drivers absolutely love them.
Building
an amazing product is the first and most difficult step. But if you’re lucky
enough to figure this out, the next part is to communicate the product’s value
to the market. In this time and age, you need to be able to tell stories that
resonate with people.
This
is exactly what Musk has mastered. Over the years, he’s developed cool products
and has been associated with some very interesting projects. Although he has a
slightly awkward presence about him, he does as many interviews as he can to
get his brands and products out there. He’s aware of newsworthy factors and
potentially viral stories. Clearly, this man knows how to put on a show.
Tesla
Motors has no advertising, no ad agency, no CMO, no dealer network. And that’s
no problem. — AdvertisingAge
Besides
interviews, there are also other acts that have helped to boost Tesla’s image.
Here are some examples of how Musk has received so much attention without
taking out his wallet:
Bold statements
Saying
something absurd is something that Musk does quite often. People might think
he’s crazy, but he does know how to make magnetic headlines. Here are some of
the things he’s said:
Nuking
Mars is the quickest way to make it livable
Vehicles
will drive themselves in two years
Apple only
hires Tesla’s worst engineers
Cameos
The
South African tech mogul has had a number of appearances in Hollywood movies.
Let’s take a look at this top five cameos:
·
Iron Man 2
·
The Big Bang Theory
·
Young Sheldon
·
Rick and Morty
·
Why Him
Giving away patents
for free
In
June 2014, the tech founder announced that he would be supporting the
open-source movement. During the early days of his career, he believed in
creating and obtaining patents. However, he soon realized that patents merely
obstruct advancements. If the goal is to create and accelerate technology to
make a difference in the world, then getting patented is no help at all.
In
Tesla’s Palo Alto headquarters, you will find that this wall of patents has
been removed.
Fulfilling a dying
man’s wish
Musk
was involved with another act of generosity in 2016. There was a long line of
people waiting to receive their Tesla Model S. In December 2013 at the age of
29, Ryan Wagner was diagnosed with colon cancer. With the disease spreading to
his lymph nodes and lungs, doctors stated that he only had a few years left to
live.
Knowing
that he didn’t have much time left, Wagner started crossing off items on his
bucket list. Among his many wishes was owning a Tesla. He ordered the Model S and
when the dealership got to know about his story, they bumped him up the
production queue. Wagner sadly passed away in January 2018.
Using Youtube
As
one of its marketing strategies, Tesla has its very own YouTube channel. As of
August 2020, the channel has 1.39 million subscribers. It uses the video
distribution platform to showcase its latest models and technology so viewers
can enjoy the Tesla experience.
Here
is one of its latest videos giving viewers a peek into the latest developments
to help with the COVID crisis.
Emphasis on safety
One
of Tesla’s biggest principles is its focus on safety and using technology to
improve safety. Tesla mobiles are considered to be the safest cars in the
world. On the Tesla website, you will find this statement regarding its safety
standards:
We believe the unique combination of
passive safety, active safety, and automated driver assistance is crucial for
keeping not just Tesla drivers and passengers safe, but all drivers on the
road. It’s this notion that grounds every decision we make — from the design of
our cars, to the software we introduce, to the features we offer every Tesla
owner.
It’s
mandatory for all cars to get tested by the U.S. government’s New Car
Assessment Program. Model S, Model X, and Model 3 have achieved extremely high
safety ratings. Tesla’s models have a very low center of gravity, which
attributes to the rigid and powerful structure. Due to this, if ever a Tesla
car is involved in an accident, the battery has very low chances of getting
damaged. And if in the slightest chance there’s a fire, the advanced technology
has a safety system in place. It isolates the fire to other parts of the battery
that are less dangerous while pushing heat away from the vehicle at the same
time.
It
would be a dream to have a car that can prevent all types of accidents.
Although it is pure imagination, Tesla does come very close to it.
Working on massive and
impactful developments
Tesla
and Musk are on a mission to creating a better world. Their main focus is on
the world’s transition into sustainable energy. With the majority of cars
running on gasoline, Musk would like to see more electric vehicles and energy
products on the road. To achieve this, he’s striving to manufacture affordable
electric cars.
To
be able to produce and deliver 500,000 cars per year, every single lithium-ion
battery that exists on this planet is necessary. With that in mind, the
Gigafactory was built in order to supply enough batteries to support Tesla’s
car production. This massive structure of a factory produces the Model 3
electric motors and battery packs as well as other energy storage products.
Located
outside Sparks, Nevada, the Gigafactory covers an area of approximately 1.9
million square feet. With its several floors, there’s an operational space of
close to 5.3 million square feet. Opening its doors in June 2014, the name
truly represents the size and mission it is trying to accomplish.
Although
the entire project is still years from completion, Tesla has already begun
manufacturing inside. Once complete, the Gigafactory will be the biggest
building in the world and powered only by renewable energy sources. With the
aim to be a net-zero energy factory, the factory will solar-powered.
Free ads &
publicity from Project Loveday
According
to Tesla’s policy, the company does not do traditional advertising. It does
things a little differently and chooses to earn respect through PR acts. Loved
by so many, the innovative car manufacturer has even received free ads made by
superfans.
And
then one day, a 10-year old girl by the name of Bria Loveday sent a letter to
Tesla suggesting that they hold a video contest. The automotive giant thought
it was such an awesome idea and Project Loveday was launched in 2017.
For
a few months, Tesla collected videos from all around the globe. All submissions
had to be related to Tesla and kept to 90 seconds or less. Videos were judged
based on these four criteria: originality, creativity, relevance to Tesla, and
entertainment value.
The
winner didn’t get a Tesla. The Grand Prize was an invitation and public
introduction at a future Tesla product launch. Here was the winning video by
famous YouTuber Marques Brownlee:
Extremely active on
Twitter
It’s
no secret that the billionaire CEO loves his tweets. His presence on the social
media account dates back to 2011. With 37.6 million followers, he’s able to
tweet to a huge audience and have his voice heard.
With
every year that passes by, his twitter feed seems to be expanding. If you check
out his profile, he doesn’t have a tweeting routine. He’ll randomly tweet at
any time of the day and late into the night.
The
effectiveness of marketing through Twitter has shown that it’s about time other
CEOs jump on board. For the automotive industry, stats indicate that over 95%
of people explore digital channels when they research on cars. Specifically,
social media is used to check out reviews, listen to what others have to say
and to follow influencers. It’s a virtual gallery for brands and products to
showcase their expertise.
Among
all the major tech CEOS, Musk ranks second as the profile with the most tweets.
Only Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff tweets more than him. Not only are most of his
activity tweets, but he also replies to anyone — literally anyone.
This
is the marketing genius interacting with ordinary citizens. The blocks in
yellow are his replies. More than half of his activity on Twitter is a reply.
He’ll answer anyone regardless of the number of followers you have. His
popularity on Twitter is also attributed to the fact that he uses a very casual
tone. Unlike other very serious CEOs.
Here
is a list of things he uses his social media account for:
·
To make jokes
·
To share about his personal life
·
To give insight into his various
businesses
·
To ask the market what they want
·
For customer service
·
To spar with critics
It’s
a combination of his humor, casual tone, and genuine self that makes him very
likable on social media. At times, he might tweet about the wrong thing, but he
has shown how powerful a marketing tool Twitter can be. If you run a business,
you should be jumping on the wagon.
He doesn’t believe in
market research
Apart
from his zero paid advertising policy, the South African billionaire also knows
how to allocate budgets wisely. Ignoring this aspect of the company, he has
claimed that he does “zero market research whatsoever”.
“A lot of
times people try to make products they think others would love but they don’t
love themselves.” — Musk at a conference
The
Tesla CEO has absolute faith in his product. He believes that if you love your
product, others will too. And they will be interested in buying it. In other
words, you need to focus on developing an amazing product and it will market
itself.
On
the contrary, many other large corporations still place their bets on market
research. It’s not the wrong path either as it has also proven to be successful
over the past decades. If you’re thinking about whether you should be
conducting this type of research, here are some situations for when market
research might not be necessary:
1. When your product
is beyond the market’s imagination
You
might be developing a product that the world has never seen before. Though
you’re convinced that it will improve their lives, they might not be ready to
accept it. A good example is when Ford started producing cars. It is rumored
that Henry Ford once said “If I asked the people what they wanted, they’d have
said faster horses”.
This
was during a time when people used horses to get around. Asking them for their
opinion on such a new concept would have been unfathomable.
2. When time is
ticking
When
time is of the essence, you can’t waste time on consumer research. This type of
study could take years. There are just too many phases and tests to run. While
you’re spending time conducting research, a competitor could overtake you as
well.
3. When you trust the
experts in your team
You’ve
been working with your team of experts that they have become your trusted
advisors. If you have faith in them, their opinion is often better than the
market’s thoughts. Let your team go wild with their innovation and develop new
ideas.
4. When failing
doesn’t mean bankruptcy
It
saves a lot of time, effort, and money to just develop a product and put it out
there. Go with the flow and see what happens. If the market responds
positively, then it’s a successful product that can go into the next phase of
mass production. On the other hand, if it is met with negative responses, it
would be considered a failure. But a cheap failure that you can afford and
learn from. Then, move on to the next idea.
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