????為了保住全球頭號豪華汽車制造商的寶座，德國寶馬公司（BMW）正重新設計其經銷商的運作方式，將增設更多“天才”產品專家，同時減少銷售人員。

????這是一種更柔和、更輕松的服務理念，因蘋果（Apple）而普及開來。在蘋果門店中，有專門的產品專家向顧客解釋蘋果公司的筆記本電腦以及其它產品。顧客可以向訓練有素的產品專家提問，而無需有議價的壓力；一旦他們決定購買，將由銷售人員接手。

????渴望有朝一日趕超寶馬的雷克薩斯（Lexus），與蘋果的思路大同小異。潘世奇汽車集團（Penske Motor Group）的格雷格?潘世奇，在加州艾爾蒙特市的Longo雷克薩斯店以及圣何塞的Stevens Creek雷克薩斯店雇傭“雷克薩斯專家”（“Lexperts”）已有近三年之久。

????潘世奇表示：“盡管借鑒了‘蘋果天才’（Apple Genius）這一理念，但我們招募的大學生能了解汽車行業，看到自己可能的職業道路，而且還能開好車。他們的起薪也與‘蘋果天才’非常接近。如今，所有廠商都在考慮這么干，因為隨著技術日趨變成直觀感受，我們希望確保顧客獲得最佳的客戶體驗。”

????傳統汽車零售，即客戶握著報紙走進汽車展銷店，然后要么被晾在一邊，要么被強行推銷的銷售人員忽悠的銷售模式，正迅速消亡，這一點已經不是什么秘密。大多數成功的零售商正采用新戰術。互聯網正在汽車零售中扮演日益重要的角色。消費者會花很多時間去研究[自己想買的車型]，他們往往對相關車型及其正常售價了如指掌。

????在美國，汽車經銷商都是私有專營企業。因此，[產品]專家和“天才”是由經銷商雇傭，雖然他們通常是由汽車制造商進行培訓。

????寶馬表示正在接近達成目標，即到今年年底，寶馬339家美國經銷商雇傭500名[產品]“天才”。一年前，寶馬在該公司歐洲經銷商中推出了這一理念。寶馬表示，有些規模較大的經銷商雇傭的[產品]專家多達10名；而且四分之一的[產品]專家是女性。

????寶馬負責營銷的董事伊恩?羅伯森表示：“汽車制造商正改變整個零售體驗，而[產品]天才們是我們為顧客打造更有內容、更加友好的客戶體驗的第一線。”43個國家的寶馬經銷商，共雇傭了1500多名[產品]“天才”。其中有一名是在中國西藏。

????本月，寶馬“天才”們在慕尼黑聚首，羅伯森在會后表示：“他們很興奮，他們喜歡這個新角色，而且他們尤其高興的是，顧客非常喜歡這種能獲取信息，且沒有購物壓力的氛圍。”

????汽車零售業未來的新篇章已經展開，有些汽車品牌的顧客，足不出戶就能查看特定經銷商的庫存、下訂單并安排融資。美國最大的公營連鎖汽車經銷商AutoNation稱，該公司將于今年12月推出在線系統，使買家能從經銷商庫存中選擇并預訂車輛。

????也許是預見到未來的發展趨勢，寶馬已開始在線上提供“天才”服務。（財富中文網）

????譯者：Hunter

????審稿：李翔

????To help stay on top as global No. 1 maker of luxury automobiles, Germany’s BMW is redesigning the way its dealerships operate, a process that will include more “genius” product specialists and fewer sales personnel.

????The concept, popularized by Apple AAPL 1.19% with in-store specialists who explain the company’s laptops and other products, is a softer and more relaxed approach. Shoppers can pose questions to a trained expert without the pressure of price negotiation; once they’re ready to buy, a sales person takes over.

????Lexus, which has ambitions to catch BMW one day, is thinking in the same direction. Greg Penske of Penske Motor Group has been employing “Lexperts” at Longo Lexus in El Monte, Calif., and Lexus of Stevens Creek in San Jose, Calif., for about three years.

????“Even though it’s derived from the Apple Genius concept, we have been able to recruit college students who can learn about the business, see the career paths they can take—it’s a very similar income as an Apple Genius starting out—and drive cool cars,” Penske said. “You are seeing all manufacturers looking at doing this because as technology is getting more intuitive, we want to make sure customers get the best guest experience.”

????It’s not exactly a secret that conventional automotive retailing, in which customers visit showrooms clutching the Sunday newspaper and either are ignored or fast-talked by high-pressure sales people is vanishing quickly. Most successful retail operations are employing new tactics. The Internet is playing a bigger and bigger role in automotive retailing. Shoppers spend hours doing research and often are extremely knowledgeable about the vehicle and the price at which it should sell.

????Dealers in the U.S. are privately-owned franchises. Experts and geniuses, therefore, are employed by the dealers, though often trained by the automaker.

????BMW said it’s closing in on a goal of having 500 geniuses employed at 339 U.S. dealerships by the end of the year. The idea was rolled out at BMW dealerships in Europe a year earlier. Some of the larger dealerships employ as many as ten; and a quarter of the personnel are women, BMW said.

????Ian Robertson, BMW board member for marketing, said, “the automaker is changing the entire retail experience, and the geniuses are the front line to make it more informative and friendly for our customers.” More than 1,500 are working in dealerships in 43 countries, including one in Tibet.

????Following a meeting of geniuses in Munich this month, Robertson said, “they’re excited, they like the new role, and they especially like seeing how much customers enjoy an atmosphere of information and no sales pressure.”

????The next chapter in the future of automotive retailing already in unfolding, allowing customers for some car brands to examine the inventories of vehicles at specific dealerships, place an order and arrange financing – without a visit. AutoNation, the biggest publicly-owned chain of dealerships in the U.S., said it would unveil in December an online system that will allow buyers to select and reserve vehicles from dealer inventory.

????BMW, perhaps anticipating the future, is making its geniuses available online as well.