Mercedes-Benz Video Shows Old Marketing Ways Are Still Best
These old training videos prove that Mercedes-Benz’ marketing tactics haven’t changed much over the years.
Spend enough time in the deepest, darkest corners of YouTube and you find some weird stuff. We’ve all been there. Occasionally you stumble upon something truly unusual, only to realize it’s just one part of a larger community. In a way, YouTube has become a sort of cultural repository, a place where things go when they’ve really got no place else to be.
Take for example the above collection of corporate training videos from Mercedes-Benz, hosted by compu85 on YouTube. For what it’s worth, it’s certainly not as entertaining compared to anything else on YouTube. But course the real entertainment is in its innate cheesiness.
Not for Your Eyes
Corporate videos of these kind obviously aren’t for general consumption, and they understandably cut corners. They don’t mention information, techniques, practices, or equipment, and they’re hilariously out of date by today’s standards.
Surprisingly, you find very little of that in this old Mercedes-Benz sales training video from the late 1980s. If you were looking for a sneak peek into the cutthroat world of high-end car sales, you’ll get that, and more. However, the lessons you walk away with may not be the ones you expect to learn.
Old Ways Are Still Best
Despite being around 30 years old, the sales techniques covered in the video are more or less become the standard at highline car dealerships even today. Mercedes-Benz had a clear vision of what the luxury car buying experience should be. It’s clear that the intent of the video was to subtly turn the focus of salespeople away from the traditional closing methods.
It’s all about providing a service—like a concierge, if you will. Gaining the client’s trust with sincerity is important, and that’s accomplished by listening to the customer and their needs, and taking a real interest in what they want. In this way, the Mercedes-Benz salesperson is focused less on getting the buyer’s money and more on helping them spend it wisely in a way that will satisfy them.
If all goes well, everyone’s happy—the salesperson keeps food on the table, and the customer ends up with the Mercedes-Benz of their dreams. The perfect companion for their lifestyle.
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