Typically, the relationship between a customer and a company is almost purely transactional. But this is not the case with Tesla and its customers. Just as Tesla is fully committed to creating the best electric cars on the planet, Tesla owners are truly interested in the company’s success.
Tesla’s target audience aligns with the company’s mission and sincerely believes that Tesla is capable of the best. In fact, in less than two decades, Tesla’s stock surge has made the company the most valuable auto company in the world.
Does Tesla have a great marketing department? Not really, there is no marketing team or marketing director. Furthermore, Tesla’s advertising budget is zero.
So how does Tesla market on a limited budget? What is Tesla’s marketing strategy? While no one outside of Tesla has concrete answers to these questions, we can certainly learn a lot from how Tesla has distinguished itself as an automotive brand.
Lessons to learn from Tesla’s brand strategy
For successful digital marketing on a budget, you need to focus on providing an exceptional customer experience. Simplify word-of-mouth marketing by creating engaging referral programs. Don’t rely too much on paid advertising campaigns, but instead help your company leaders leverage their social media influence and position you as an authentic brand with a sense of humor.
Additionally, have a strong vision and mission that you can incorporate into all of your digital marketing and promotions. Provide top-notch customer service after the sale, be transparent about your issues, and be bold enough to create controversial content. Next, keep your company messages consistent, keep your audience informed with all updates, and respond to as many followers as possible.
Finally, for holistic branding, don’t just sell your products or services directly, but support a cause or do something for the greater good. Don’t be afraid of your competitors’ success, but instead focus on becoming the best in your industry while achieving your company’s long-term goals and vision.
Now, to delve deeper into these points, here are 15 lessons we can learn from Tesla’s apparent marketing strategy:
- Create the best customer experience possible
- Create a strong referral program
- Don’t rely on paid advertising
- Leverage your CEO’s influence on social media
- Be as authentic (and fun) as possible
- Present your mission and vision in all your marketing efforts
- Offer top-notch customer support after your purchase
- Be transparent
- Don’t be afraid to be a little controversial
- Focus your efforts online
- Offer self-service options
- Ensure consistency of corporate messaging
- Keep your audience informed
- Get your brand known in multiple ways
- Face the competition
Conclusion
Offering a personalized, insider perspective on social media can help humanize your brand. Whether it’s the CEO, another executive or a group of employees, consumers are increasingly interested in the people and values behind a brand (especially large ones) and not just the products. The popularity of Elon Musk, and by extension Tesla, lies in his willingness to share thoughts, ideas and even failures, while other leaders rightly prefer to play it safe.
The problem is that social media today is so noisy that “playing it safe” isn’t enough to eliminate the background noise. It might be a little uncomfortable at first, but it’s time CEOs and leaders started being more visible on social media.
Your customers (and investors) are talking about you anyway, being present on social media allows you to at least play a role in shaping their perception.
