Nov06
17
Aston Martin Evangelism
* This post also appeared at Biz-Community on 22 November 2006 [Link].
I felt like a Reach for a Dream candidate. I kept looking over my shoulder to check whether or not I was being followed by a Candid Camera crew. What am I going on about?
A few weeks back I wrote an article for the Citizen about things I wanted to do before I die. One of my goals was, and is, to drive an Aston Martin.
Justin Divaris, MD of Aston Martin SA, got in touch with me early the next week via email to thank me for my article (what!?) and offered me the opportunity to drive my dream car for a day. I quickly scanned the email again… “we will arrange for you to spend a day driving an Aston Martin!” Nope, wasn’t seeing things.
Once I had finished dancing on the kitchen table, I replied and said I would be rather keen. Ha ha.
You see, here’s the strange thing (and why, to be quite honest, I was pretty skeptical of Justin’s invite at first). Aston Martin is not just any auto brand. It is more than just an exotic brand. Each Aston is a handmade, thoroughbred supercar. Most famous for its marriage with the James Bond brand, Aston Martin (both the brand and the car) is the quintessential balance between raw power and sleek sophistication. The ‘bottom of the range’ V8 Vantage starts at R 1.4 million. Next in line (at least in the SA market) is the sleek DB9, quickly followed by the brutish Vanquish S (no pun intended). These are some of the finest and fastest cars on the planet. They are driven by the elite, forget the rich. Bottom line (and the question I kept asking myself) is: Why on earth would these guys let me drive their car?
I’m not unfamiliar with exotic cars. I worked at Extreme 16 in the North of Jozi for about six months, albeit as a retail assistant :). We had some pretty impressive cars gliding in and out of there on a daily basis, and from time to time I was called on to assist with a delivery or two. Someone would drop me off at another dealership to collect the car in question (anything from a 3 series BMW to a Range Rover to an SL55 AMG), and the experience at the dealership was always the same - I would stroll through the doors and some salesman or woman, a receptionist or a manager would look me up and down quickly, Blink, and make a decision before they’d even spoken to me that I was unworthy of their attention or help, let alone their merchandise.
From the moment I received the email from Justin my entire experience at Aston Martin was quite the contrary. To quote Sukasha Singh of the Mail & Guardian:
The Aston Martin people are just about the friendliest folk you can come across. No airs [sic], no graces, no pretences [sic] - just down-to-earth professionalism. Sales manager Nic Naylor could see that I was a tad nervous about driving a R2.1 million car for the day, so after briefing me on certain features, such as where to find the hidden fuel release flap that almost drove Jeremy Clarkson to tears, he said: “Don’t be afraid to drive this car. It loves to be driven, so go out there and have some fun.”
Not once did I feel judged. Without exception my experience of every other exotic show room in this country, Ferrari (especially), Lamborghini and even luxury dealers such as BMW and Mercedes, is a snooty, arrogant ‘you’re not worthy’ attitude.
Now a good car salesperson will tell you that they can spot a buyer in seconds. It has a lot to do with the confidence of the person, their self-assurance - the way they ‘carry’ themselves. If the customer comes across nervous and uncertain chances are they aren’t worth your energy.
But the weird thing is (and this is the philosophy of Aston Martin SA), EVERYONE IS A CUSTOMER. Whether I’m buying your car or not, I’m a customer. Not only am I a customer, but I’m a potential salesperson - a potential evangelist for their brand. Readers of this blog know I’m an Audi evangelist - I love the cars and the people have always treated me like a human being. Aston Martin know that whether I can afford their car now or not is irrelevant - I MIGHT BE ABLE TO AFFORD IT ONE DAY! And when I can, they want me back in their showroom. Not Ferrari, not Bentley, not Lamborghini. Aston Martin. They bleed Aston Martin and it shows.
The brand enjoyed rave reviews for their presence at the Auto Africa show this year - a show in which many marques took flack for disappointing stands and in some cases, not even showing up (apparently Nasrec is ‘too South’ for some exotic brands… nice).
Fans of the cars were afforded the opportunity to sit in the model of their dreams, rev the engine and dream just for a few seconds what it must be like to own one. Aston Martin sold 7 cars. Not bad for a week’s work.
Here’s what Aston Martin get that very few other companies, let alone car companies, understand:
1. If you invest in customers, the vast majority will return your investment with interest. Maybe not right now, but sometime in the future. Customers are like elephants, they seldom forget. I will NEVER forget the negative experiences I’ve had at all Aston’s competitors, and NEVER forget the positive experience at Aston.
2. You simply can’t afford to judge a book by it’s cover. Justin thought I was a freelance journalist. He knew when he sent that email there was NO WAY I could afford that car. Little did he know that I am a business owner. In two years time, when I can afford it, you know where I’m going back to. You just never know who your next customer is (or who your next blogger is).
3. Customers become Evangelists through relationship and experience. Justin, Alex and Nic gave me the experience of a lifetime, and even if they’re pretending, did a great job of making me feel like I was a welcome friend. I am simply burning to return the favour. Brace yourself, Sheila.
So the day before yesterday at 15h00 I picked up a black 6.0 litre V12 Aston Martin DB9, and returned it at 10h00 yesterday morning. For 19 hours I felt like a king. For 19 hours people applauded as I drove through traffic (I kid you not). For 19 hours I got to share one of the most exhilarating experiences on earth with the people I love the most. I will never, ever forget it.
The flickr stream is here: Not too many pics, I had better things to do
Update:
This post was submitted to Digg on 28 November. As a result a bunch of really cool bloggers linked here. They are:
Robert Scoble - I want an exclusive interview about new iPod with Steve Jobs
Pronet Advertising - Track your buzz, manage it and create evangelists
Church of the Customer - links for 2006-11-27
Newlaunches - Man blogs about Aston Martin and gets keys of a brand new DB9… damn
Tribolum - Aston Martin evangelism
Rafiq - Mike Stopforth gets keys to a new Aston Martin for mentioning them in blog post
Futurereach - I love Aston Martin!
Thanks for the gesture guys.
dude i waited and waited on Jan Smuts ave for the aston martin to pull by and pick me up.
As the realisation hit home that you were not coming, i slowly slinked back to my desk biting back the tears, crying out WHY WHY WHY!
Where were you dude??!?!
Amazing post, well done.
Mike,
You’ve got me sold on buying an Aston Martin, just because of the customer service aspect!
I’ll need to put AM to the test regarding being treated like a potential buyer if I drive up to the showroom on my scooter though.
I don’t know what I’ll do with an Aston Martin (the DBS) once I’ve got it though, but it’s sooo pretty!
Congrats! What a great experience! Now stop grinning!
Wow! To say I’m jealous would be a severe understatement. Got goosebumps just reading your post!
Reach for an Aston Martin…
Not everyday you get a chance to scratch off one of your life goals from your list, and not often you…
I don’t know - I’m quite a loyal BMW fan - and I’m sure my M3 will give the bottom of the range Aston Martin a run, even on a price/speed ratio at least.
That said, Giles Douglas (incuBeta CEO) is very interested in an Aston Martin, so I’m sure he’s jealous that you got it for a day! Nice one Mike!
My personal favourite in the AM range has got to be the Vanquish - now that’s a dream car!
Man blogs about Aston Martin and gets keys of a brand new DB9. Damn…
Mike Stopforth a writer from South Africa is one lucky guy, in his column on a website he wrote about things he wanted to do in his lifetime which included driving an Aston Martin. The next week he was surprised to find an email from Justin Divaris, M…
[...] Some dude submitted my post about the Aston Martin to Digg and it seems to be doing ok… [...]
Niiiice - now I know you weren’t kidding when you phoned me last week saying, “Dude, I’m driving an Aston Martin!”
Mike - challenge time.
Can you get into a Lambo, Prancing Horse, Porsche, Maserati and Hummer by the end of next year?
Well done to Aston Martin.
You know I can’t turn down a dare…
Amazing, simply amazing.
Driving an Aston Martin, that would be nice, owning one and being able to push it to the max on a private track… that’s a dream
And this made it to the TOP of Digg for at least 5 minutes.
[...] read more | digg story Share and Enjoy:These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages. [...]
[...] read more | digg story Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: . [...]
Thats sounds great man, glad you enjoyed yourself. Question though, you were driving the car and taking pictures!?!?!?
[...] I’ve been playing around with the plugins and themes on my site and I haven’t found theme that holds a candle to plaintxtBlog except my all time favorite (Connections and Connections: Reloaded). Luminus is hopefully back in the blogging saddle as I, sort of, am too. So much to do around here, but the procrastinator in me keeps rearing its ugly head. I’m off to do some ‘real’ work now … after I read Scobleizer. Man, what would I give to be this guy whose wish came true (Hat tip: Scoble)? In other news, I’ve got the Snap preview plugin (Download here)rolling and thus far, I think I like it. It definitely gives my little ole bloggie some eye candy. I’ve also ditched my PXSMail plugin for the Secure and Accessible PHP contact form. Alright, gotta run. Update later. [...]
[...] Guy gets Aston Martin for a day… Bookmark to: [...]
Aston Martin Evangelism…
Aston Martin loans guy a car for a day because he blogged about it being one of his life’s goals. This is publicity no mainstream media can provide…….
Track your buzz, manage it and create evangelists…
A few weeks ago Mike Stopforth mentioned in an article that one of his goals before he dies is to drive an Aston Martin. Aston Martin, who was obviously tracking their buzz, saw this and sent Mike an email offering him a day with an Aston Martin. Now, …
I think many companies, not just car dealers can learn from this exercise. the evangelical customer is king and a brand’s best ally.
good work aston and mike..
[...] Well, looks like the fairy grandmother reads weblogs too! This guy wished for driving in an aston-martin for a day in his weblog, and he got it next week! If that’s how things work this days, here it goes. We wish to have a PS3 with an HD display. Explore posts in the same categories: Uncategorized [...]
To Vinny:
You’ve got to be joking. Your M3, while a great car to be sure, is not even in the same league as an entry-level Aston Martin. Be realistic.
[...] Podéis leer sus impresiones aquí (en inglés). [...]
Sobre como soñar en un website … y las paradojas del destino…
Mike Stopforth es un escritor de Sudáfrica, el 2 de noviembre escribió sobre las cosas que siempre había querido hacer: 1. Conducir un Aston Martin, 2. Escalar el Kilimanjaro y 3. Escribir un libro. Si señores, a la semana siguiente recibió un cor…
[...] Mike Stopforth » Aston Martin Evangelism Guy begs to drive an Aston Martin, Aston Martin say ‘Ok’. (tags: misc) [...]
[...] Man gets keys to a new Aston Martin for mentioning them in blog post This guy mentioned in a blog post that driving an Aston Martin was one of his life goals. Aston Martin sees it and then gives him the keys to a brand new AM DB9 for a day. Read More… [...]
It’s all fun and games until……
Alternate title for today’s entry: Hold your Wii
It blows my mind that so many people are accidentally……
[...] Hey, begging for things you want on your blog sometimes works. This guy begged to drive an Aston Martin on his blog and got his wish taken care of. [...]
This is a rather cool story. I am a big believer that if you put your dreams out there for the world to see….someone will help you find the path to those dreams. I will have to join the bandwagon and blog about your story as it is another nugget of cool stuff can happen to anyone!
[...] Want an Aston Martin? Just ask for it [...]
[...] co było dalej - opisywać nie chcę - chętni przeczytają wpis na blogu mike’a. ogólnie - przejechał się. był super-szczęśliwy i przy okazji poczynił kilka interesujących uwag nt. podejścia do człowieka w astonie w porównaniu do ferrari, lamborghini, bmw czy amg. warto przeczytać choćby po to by móc sobie poprawić humor. [...]
[...] Okay, now you are wondering what this is a about. Lately, I have been very lucky that people think I have an influential opinion and want to give me things so I will talk about them. One blogger recently got an Aston Martin for a day. Scoble wants to chat with Steve Jobs and I hope he gets that too. I did when I worked at Intel and saw him in the parking lot;) [...]
Congrats. This is a great story.
Please director or president of Lamborghini of “World”, my dream is to PILOT a super extreme beaultifully a red Lamborghini Diablo “without a aerofolio” since 1991, when i have 7 years, today with 21 to 22, my dream continues, close with the beauty of the Diablo. pleaseeee contact me.
[...] How Mike Stopforth on the subject of customer evangelism [...]
[...] Kevin Rose knew exackery what he was saying. He built up the scene and broke the ’secret’ knowing full well the response it would get - the furore it would create. Digg is the Web’s no. 1 social bookmarking hub - my Aston Martin post hit the digg front page last week and the resultant traffic shut me down for hours. Kevin knows this (of course) and so does Apple. With MacWorld coming up in January, could there possibly be a better time to ignite some serious discussion, debate and controversy around the product EVERYONE is waiting for? Come ON!!!! [...]
Perfect phone for the perfect car
http://www.kahrlos.com/pc-8360-241-sony-ericsson-cyber-shot-k800i-royal-silver-james-bond-edition.aspx
[...] Just in case you still don’t believe me . [...]
You are the luckyest man cause I like astonmartin more than any other car but in my country there isn’t an astonmartin store.
[...] This guy mentioned in a blog post that driving an Aston Martin was one of his life goals. Aston Martin sees it and then gives him the keys to a brand new AM DB9 for a day. So….. Aston Martin, Aston Martin, Aston Martin, Aston Martin, Aston Martin, Aston Martin. Click here to read more. [...]
[...] Monday, January 22nd, 2007 in internet, 2007, 1965, mustang, shelby One of the most exciting blog related stories I’ve heard during the last few months is this one: Aston Martin Evangelism. Mike Stopforth wrote an article for the Citizen about 3 things he he wanted to do before he dies and one of it was to drive an Aston Martin. And you know what? About a week later he received an email from the MD of Aston Martin saying “we will arrange for you to spend a day driving an Aston Martin!” Fantastic. [...]
[...] Un tipo con suerte A un chamaco le prestaron un Aston Martin por un dia por haber comentado los vehiculos en su blog. Leer el articulo completo. [...]
Makes me wanna cry..
[...] Aston Martin Consumerism ¾ His car story was picked up by the AM dealership and then by Digg and consequently by Google [...]
[...] Kris closed with some cases like the guy who got to drive with an Aston Martin because he wished for it, the Gillette 5 blades disaster and the famous Dell Hell. [...]
[...] Yes, so to end. I cant help but remember the story of a blogger in South Africa who mentioned Aston Martin in one of his articles in a good light and so to his astonishment, he was offered the Aston Martin DB9 for a whole day as thanks. [...]
[...] Let me ask you a question. How many of you believe they will buy an Aston Martin anytime soon? Not many indeed… still, that is not the real importance and Aston understood that really well. The philosophy of Aston apparently is: everyone is a customer. Whether I’m buying an Aston or not, I’m a customer. Not only am I a customer, I’m a potential sales person – a potential evangelist for their brand. Something that Mike Stopforth experienced in the fall of last year exactly, when he got an Astin for a day after writing about it on his blog. [...]
[...] Let me ask you a question. How many of you believe they will buy an Aston Martin anytime soon? Not many indeed… still, that is not the real importance and Aston understood that really well. The philosophy of Aston apparently is: everyone is a customer. Whether I’m buying an Aston or not, I’m a customer. Not only am I a customer, I’m a potential sales person – a potential evangelist for their brand. Something that Mike Stopforth experienced in the fall of last year exactly, when he got an Astin for a day after writing about it on his blog. [...]
[...] Everyone is a customerA bit linked to the subject before, ‘Everyone is a customer’ is the title of the last few presentations I have given related to social media, blogging and brands and outlines some of the content of these presentations. Although the presentation itself was always adapted to the time and location, I like to keep the title. It refers to a case that I do always use in these presentations and that show the great effect of brands listening to their ‘customers’, you can read about that one here. [...]
[...] today are Carl Nienaber of the GreenCars.za.net Blog, Durban blogger - Marc Forrest and our own Aston Martin driving Mike Stopforth. Charl Norman and/or his team from Carblog.co.za were also going to attend, but last [...]
Well I read your post - and 10 out of 10. I had the pleasure of taking a 10 year old boy to the Astomn Showroom in Cape Town last Friday. Friendlier sales people I could not have asked for. You are so right, when you say they treat everyone as a potential client, and I walked away having bought two Aston Martin caps - I have been to other luxury dealers, whose cars I could clearly not afford, and to get more than a terse nod as I browsed across the floor was impossible. Both myself and the boy know not to touch as a grubby finger mark could cost thousands to remove, but not once did I feel “unwanted”. I will buy an Aston long long before a “F” or a “L” just because of Friday afternoon, and because of those sales reps on the showroom floor so will the 10 year old! Well done Aston Martin.
I’m thrilled to hear the the positive experience is not limited to the Jozi crowd Mark. Thanks for your comment!
[...] było dalej - opisywać nie chcę - chętni przeczytają wpis na blogu mike’a. ogólnie - przejechał się. był super-szczęśliwy i przy okazji poczynił [...]
[...] wie man erfolgreich als Marketingler mit dem Web 2.0 umgeht. Konkret geht es um die Aston Martin: Mike Stopforth hatte gepostet, dass er ein riesiger Aston Fan ist und - man höre und staune - ein paar Tage [...]
[...] Mike the keys to a DB9 for a day after he wrote an article mentioning the vehicle. He subsequently blogged the experience, the post was picked up by some major sites and over 50 000 people read it. As a result and [...]
[...] Mike the keys to a DB9 for a day after he wrote an article mentioning the vehicle. He subsequently blogged the experience, the post was picked up by some major sites and over 50 000 people read it. As a result and [...]
[...] Mike the keys to a DB9 for a day after he wrote an article mentioning the vehicle. He subsequently blogged the experience, the post was picked up by some major sites and over 50 000 people read it. As a result and I’m [...]
Ja bym oddała wszystko, żeby chociaż usiąść w takim samochodzie jako pasażer.. Pewnie nigdy mnie nie będzie na niego stać, ale na zdjęciach też ma swój urok.