Why Did Ford Drop Friends & Neighbors Promo?

[JessicaRuth]

Ford pulled their Friends and Neighbors promotion - is it because the market is just so used to seeing incentives and discounts?

"Starting Tuesday, Ford is moving to a new Holiday Sales Event," wrote Elizabeth Weigandt, a Ford spokeswoman, in response to a query. "Dealers offered insights on the kinds of offers resonating most with customers in-market, and we are updating our plan based on their feedback. We will continue to be competitive yet disciplined on incentives and offers for customers."

 

[Jeff Kershner]

I believe the consumers here in the states buying domestics still expect to see and receive some type of substantial discount.

 

[BHavican]

It was a disaster. Prospects didn't really understand it and it was hard for them to see value in the discount without a hard number to advertise. On top of that most dealers in the Chicagoland area have already been setting prices well below the Friends & Neighbors price, so it didn't really do anything. I was at a Ford Direct dealer meeting for digital marketing a couple weeks ago and there was so much frustration with the program that they opened by apologizing for the program.

It seemed to me like they wanted to experiment with a one-price strategy. As Jeff alluded to, I don't think domestic buyers will go for that type of strategy, they've been conditioned to expect substantial discounts and/or great finance rates.