Saturn: A “Woman’s Way” Business Model Before Its Time
The American automobile industry situation is indeed tragic, and at this point there is not much more to say. Still, I had always held out hope for the original Saturn “way.” That GM brand’s initial concept and launch is a great example of serving car customers “in a woman’s way.” Through its more inclusive, community-oriented (of auto workers, salespeople and owners) and softer sell approach (was it Saturn that made the no-dicker sticker price famous?), the brand spoke a whole new language.
Now, it seems, the automobile industry was already too entrenched in its traditional ways in the late 1980s/early 1990s, and may not have committed to the core Saturn message for long enough. As Micheline Maynard writes for the New York Times:
True believers in Saturn insist the concept behind the division, which stressed respect, teamwork and communication from the factory floor to the auto showroom, could have kept G.M. from losing nearly half the market share it held when the first Saturns went on sale 18 years ago.
“I’m absolutely convinced that the Saturn way could have worked,” said Michael Bennett, the original U.A.W. leader at Saturn. “But what we had was never embraced or adopted.”
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Saturn’s story was a good one, and, in fact, their marketing efforts were great at leveraging story altogether (remember the ads showing how the owners and employees had reunion picnics together in Tennessee?). They also attempted, if not committed, to a management style that was more inclusive/lateral/participatory. Saturn, at first, delighted and surprised consumers, and made its buyers feel like part of something bigger… even a “movement.” And, all those things reflected a more holistic way of thinking and looking at the world, and a deeper understanding of how and why people buy.
Business just couldn’t quite get there, back then. There was no emergency situation or catastrophe compelling them to explore such innovations. The car industry was doing fine, no huge worries about gas availability or prices, and upgrading models every few years was the abundant society way. So, GM executives must have considered the Saturn approach an interesting little aside and nothing more. Too bad.
If just one auto manufacturer were to perhaps have explored a very similar path more recently, and taken the risk to commit fully to such a “crazy” way of doing business, the industry would be on its solid way to a new game rather than back-peddling.
Initially, the Saturn brand could have been mapped as doing most everything right to transparently serve the more connective/storytelling/community-oriented side of their customers’ buying processes. It was a “woman’s way” business model that served everyone better, but it arrived just a decade or so before auto executives could come close to harnessing its power.
Don’t let this happen to you.
