CU-Boulder Professor Eben Johnson sees lessons for his marketing and high tech venture students everywhere, even from a parked car.
Noticing a Tesla parked outside a local coffee shop one day, he gave himself a mission鈥攖o find the owner. 鈥淚 found and met the owner,鈥� he said. 鈥淗e turned out to be a great and personable fellow, so I asked him if he would talk to my class about being an 'early adopter.'鈥�
Johnson is a professor with the at CU-Boulder. He continually strives to bring real-world learning to his classroom experience. This time he brought a state-of-the-art car to campus.
Herb Morreale, owner of the Tesla S, alumnus of the , and a successful IT entrepreneur proceeded to share with Johnson's students his experience with the car from not only a technical perspective but also from initial interest through purchase.
鈥淚 wanted Herb to help students understand how the early adopter is a different kind of customer,鈥� Johnson said. 鈥淭hese early adopters are taking risks, spending a lot of money, and have certain expectations that are different from mainstream customers who often buy more stable, mature products.鈥�
One interesting aspect of Morreale鈥檚 purchase was his first real experience with the Tesla team. 鈥淗erb went to a ride-and-drive event and wasn鈥檛 that impressed. He was ready to walk, but he happened to introduce himself to an employee with whom he hit it off well. The employee turned out to be a Tesla engineer who was able and willing to talk technical,鈥� Johnson said. 鈥淭esla was lucky.鈥�
Morreale explained to the class how he was surprised how little the company did to support him with his purchase and to generate a positive and exciting experience. When his car was ready for pickup, he received a brief, simple email telling him he could take delivery of his car at such a place and time. 鈥淓specially at this stage of Tesla鈥檚 life, and for the electric-car industry in general, we need to understand we鈥檙e not just selling someone a car,鈥� Johnson said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e selling an experience, an opportunity to contribute and be part of something new and exciting.鈥�
In fact, a main concept of Johnson鈥檚 course is to show students that it鈥檚 more than just the product that鈥檚 created鈥攊t鈥檚 the whole package, it鈥檚 the whole experience. He puts up a bulls-eye target in class, where the inner ring is the core of what the customer is buying, the deep need that鈥檚 being satisfied and the experience that鈥檚 being sought. The next ring addresses the many features common with most products and services, and the final ring includes all the supporting attributes such as the sales support, financing, delivery, and after-sales service.
"I want students to see that the customer will first be attracted by the core technology, but that alone is not enough; the customer鈥檚 overall experience is critical," Johnson said. "Great testimonials and word-of-mouth are critical in the early days of a new technology, a new company, a new industry.鈥�
In the end, the Tesla engineer helped secure the sale. Morreale loves his car and is delighted with the performance.听 鈥淪ure, a couple things weren鈥檛 quite right,鈥� Morreale said. 鈥淏ut most have been taken care of, and that鈥檚 OK. As customer number 8,400 or so, and being an early adopter, I鈥檓 making a bit of a contribution, I鈥檓 helping, and I expect a few things to still be 'under development鈥�.鈥�
Many professors in the Lockheed Martin Engineering Management Program strive to bring in guest lecturers offering real-world lessons. Contact the Lockheed Martin Engineering Management Program at 303-492-0954 or at cuemp@colorado.edu to learn more about course, certificate, and degree options.
Story and photos courtesy of the Lockheed Martin Engineering Management Program