In an strategic effort to increase SAAB's global presence in the United States and its popularity, seven alternatives have been suggested.
“Bigger is better” concept. This concept focuses on new trends in the United States of many consumers migrating towards purchasing bigger vehicles for style and comfort. Many consumers today really enjoy having a bigger car that they can use to travel long distances with a lot of baggage to go along with them without experiencing the discomfort of a tight squeeze. This is especially true for consumers who spend over $30,000 to $40,000 on a nice luxury car. Many people today like a having a more spacious car to drive when it comes to safety, especially during a head on collision over 35 mph. Though SAAB was recognized in 2001 for its “Top Car” by AAA for its excellent performance handling and excellent safety features. It is suggested that, since the majority of SAAB's vehicles are on the smaller side like the SAAB 9-3 Viggen, that the company diversify its product line to cater more to the middle and upper class business people in the United States since many of them feel comfortable and desire driving nice big luxury cars. This may also help SAAB to be highly competitive against its foes BMW and Mercedes luxury “Executive Cars”. Making a larger SAAB Aero 9-5 “Executive Car” that can compete right up there with the Mercedes' 500 S series and the BMW 740iL, may prove very profitable by attracting many “lookers”.
Customer Service improvements. This alternative is a very important focus because the customers are the life line of any business and excellent quality service should come first. SAAB has always been recognized for its customer focus and customer conscious luxury features. A good example of where this is seen today is with the new SAAB Aero 9-5 with its standard 12 month On star system which allows the company customer service department to track and locate the exact position of your vehicle. The system also enables the customer to talk with customer service. The Aero even has the added convenience of a customer being able to check the news, sports, and even to access their e-mail through a newly developed intranet system developed strictly for SAAB customers. By SAAB improving the quality of its customer service, it can create perceived value for its present and potential customers. The company may want to focus on improving its customer service in the areas of product knowledge, basic departmental contact information. Also, easily accessible previous years annual reports on the internet or intranet for its customers only that can be downloaded at any given time from SAAB's website, and having a Quality Control Director do regional customer service checks at various SAAB dealerships and auto parts locations.
In addition, providing more company incentives for employees. Making them feel like they are truly a part of the company and that it has a direct invested interest in each and every person, I recommend budgeting and life style workshops.
