Lest you think Marketing as Service is this idealistic notion that is tough to execute, consider this simple but brilliant example from SmartCar. SmartCar, that tiniest of autos with a six-month waiting list, has lined up deep parking discounts for its New York customers. Here are the details as reported by MediaPost:
The company has negotiated a deal with New York City parking system Meyers Parking to get steep discounts for owners of the Smart ForTwo car, a super-short two-seater.
Owners of the 106-inch-long vehicle get a 50% discount off daily and monthly posted parking rates at any of six Meyers Parking facilities in New York City.
“Meyers actually reached out to us and our customers for this deal. We hope other privately–and publicly–owned facilities move in this direction. It just makes sense that a car half the size of a traditional vehicle should receive a parking discount: The car takes up less space.”
Brilliant, indeed. The service reinforces a major benefit of owning a SmartCar (i.e. easy to park) and costs SmartCar nothing. The garage also wins since they might pick up a few new customers. And of course, the SmartCar prospect has one more good reason to buy, knowing that the total cost of ownership will be even smaller.
