jhalkias

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To be a bit contrarian about the marketing department: Isn't their job to attract new customers. All of us with reservations and orders are already a captured market so why would they want us crowding out the roadshow taking the place of someone who hasn't placed an order?

Besides: They are likely lazy and sending out all those e-mails to existing order holders is just a bunch of work!

Edit: Yes I'm aware that they should be doing something to keep us happy so that we keep our orders and reservations.
Whether we are "influencers" or not, we can be evangelists for the product and the process.

Back when I ordered my Mach E, on the reservation email was this:

"Watch your inbox for more information on the exciting electric journey with Ford, as well as next steps on order details for a Mustang Mach-E. "

It has been almost 12 months since then, and I went back to my mail to check.

I waited 4 months for the first email on 3/3/20. Then I got one on 3/11/20 - great. Then 2 more months until 5/15/20. Then on 6/17 - telling me it was almost time to place my order. Once I ordered, nothing again until 9/10/20 about the webcasts (which were absolutely great), then 9/30 with that AR series. Six total emails in almost a year.

I think it's fair to say I had higher expectations of customer contact than that from what was first communicated. And yes, I know Covid may have thrown a wrench in some of this. But once again, no emails about Mach Drop. No emails about the road tour. No emails about production and when we can expect to say cars at our dealerships.

I can tell you Apple's marketing department doesn't function like this. I got a PHONE CALL making sure I knew when the first order dates were for the iPhone 12 last week. On top of lots of emails.

Maybe it's not the job of the marketing department. Maybe that is the wrong term. Maybe customer communications department - because we ARE now customers - not potential customers.
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Wildthing

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All info I pass on is allowed. The other things I know. Well can't or not yet......
Are you allowed to tell if it's possible to preheat the seats and the steering wheel alors? :). It's already possible on Electric Focus but I didn't see it anywhere in the menus.

Thank you!
 

06VistaGT

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I think the lack of communication from Ford seems such a departure from the rest of the Mach E experience. The reveal was top notch (no shattered windows or stammering host), the engineering detail in the car, the decision to change from compliance car to an something that promotes an emotional response, etc. All have been done so well that the clunky communication has stood out as extremely disconnected.

First was the lack of coordination between Ford and the dealerships regarding the reservation and ordering process (and info about the car itself). Then the complete snafu/fubar that was the mach drop. Over all of this has been the lack of communication from Ford to their customers and potential customers.

I am the optimistic type, so going to assume that the communication issues are normal and similar to other car companies, except for mach drop.. Expectations were just set so high based on the actual product and the reveal that normal is being perceived as substandard.

...back to Sync 4A screen comments
 

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Are you allowed to tell if it's possible to preheat the seats and the steering wheel alors? :). It's already possible on Electric Focus but I didn't see it anywhere in the menus.

Thank you!
Do the Canadian FFEs have heated steering wheels?

I am not able to preheat my seats. Cabin yes....seats no.
 

ChasingCoral

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Do the Canadian FFEs have heated steering wheels?

I am not able to preheat my seats. Cabin yes....seats no.
I think all NA specs are the same.
 


efisher

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Jesus weā€™re breaking out definitions of marketing now?
Iā€™ve kept quiet at the constant berating of marketing but time to offer some perspective.
I donā€™t think their marketing has been perfect, and the email marketing has been particularly poor (crappy links with underutilisation generally)
But the things you lot expect from a marketing department are crazy haha.
As someone who actually works in marketing I can tell you that the definition given, while correct, is broad. Just look for a consensus on product marketing, itā€™s different at every company. At the broadest level the marketing dept as a whole will be judged on things like press pickups, social media metrics, email metrics and yes, reservations.
Rightly or wrongly, they arenā€™t set targets of Mach-E forum membersā€™ happiness. You learnt about their product, you reserved, and now many of you would be counted as advocates. Whether you believe thatā€™s due to marketing or not, their job is practically done. Why spend resources on you lot when they need to concentrate on expanding the top of the funnel? Ie get more reservations. Not a lot more to be done for this segment until delivery
Most people don't understand what a well-run marketing department is supposed to do, including their role in product development and positioning. They are under the mistaken impression that it is mostly about corporate communications, sales, or public relations.
 

efisher

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And it seems they would rather use random advertising or no advertising than the minimal cost and high yield of using influencers.

One of the cheapest mass marketing they can do is send emails to folks who have already signed up and given their emails in response to a button that says "keep me informed". However, they haven't I have received almost nothing from Ford in response to them having my email from the reservation. I have learned more from separately subscribing to Ford Media's email (yes, that's clearly a separate list from reservation holder / order holder / "keep me informed"). I've learned more than that from the FaceBook pages that Ford doesn't run and the most from Forums that Ford doesn't run. People who want to be informed are more likely to spread the word.

Why not do a mail merge and email everyone who asked to be kept informed about the Mach E notified when stories come out on Ford Media? Why not email reservation holders before opportunities to see the Mach E are coming to their own town? Folks who are already interested will talk it up on social media and have a bigger impact than random posts.
The problem is that post-order communications is a double-edged sword. It is not just an opportunity to improve satisfaction, a message that for whatever reason does not resonate with the buyer can queer an already done deal. Consider the number of people on this forum that were angered by Ford reducing the Mach E's price. As counter intuitive as it sounds, it is best to minimize post-order communications. The perceived lack of follow-up communications is not incompetence, but evidence of a well-run marketing department exercising appropriate restraint.
 

ChasingCoral

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The problem is that post-order communications is a double-edged sword. It is not just an opportunity to improve satisfaction, a message that for whatever reason does not resonate with the buyer can queer an already done deal. Consider the number of people on this forum that were angered by Ford reducing the Mach E's price. As counter intuitive as it sounds, it is best to minimize post-order communications. The perceived lack of follow-up communications is not incompetence, but evidence of a well-run marketing department exercising appropriate restraint.
I'll definitely go with the counter-intuitive part!
 

PaulD

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The problem is that post-order communications is a double-edged sword. It is not just an opportunity to improve satisfaction, a message that for whatever reason does not resonate with the buyer can queer an already done deal. Consider the number of people on this forum that were angered by Ford reducing the Mach E's price. As counter intuitive as it sounds, it is best to minimize post-order communications. The perceived lack of follow-up communications is not incompetence, but evidence of a well-run marketing department exercising appropriate restraint.
I believe that most people would understand the dilemma of informing or potentially antagonising captive customers. Whether it is marketing role or a communications role is up for debate. What is not open for discussion though is the fact that in the confirmation of our order Email Ford said the following. In the ensuing 9 months I have received no update to my pre-order and no directly communicated product news despite the fact that Ford have produced web and utube information, none of which was communicated to me. There is a Europe event soon but I anticipate it will be a compilation of past material. I am fairly relaxed about the whole situation as Ford like all businesses has faced an unprecedented situation.

I do expect that others particularly European and Uk FE buyers may be less sanguine as they have yet to place an order, let alone know when they might see their ā€˜First Editionā€™

It does make me wonder about FE models and their relevance. Particularly for limited production runs and overseas deliveries. When they will come on the same boat as other models and may well reach customers after other models.

We will keep you updated on the progress of your pre-order together with all of the exciting product news that we still have to share on our all-electric SUV.​
Yours sincerely,​
ab4eaf7a592c646e2f121f28df90985b.jpg
Lisa Brankin
Director, Passenger Cars
Ford Motor Company Limited​
 

timbop

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The problem is that post-order communications is a double-edged sword. It is not just an opportunity to improve satisfaction, a message that for whatever reason does not resonate with the buyer can queer an already done deal. Consider the number of people on this forum that were angered by Ford reducing the Mach E's price. As counter intuitive as it sounds, it is best to minimize post-order communications. The perceived lack of follow-up communications is not incompetence, but evidence of a well-run marketing department exercising appropriate restraint.
To a certain extent that is true. I'm not sure failure to publicize the current road show or the mach drop, nor the ability for potential mach-droppers to have a clue what car they're getting 2 months after the fact meets your criteria for "well-run marketing".
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