Cirrus marketing involves salesmen who know their customer's names and stories. I kid you not, at OshKosh, I randomly met the guy working rhe front of the Cirrus booth and he happened to be the rep for my area. He knew the names and callsigns of the two Navy Instructor Pilots who bought USED Cirruses. They have a fantastic USED Cirrus sales program that ensures the brad remains legitimate - even 3 or 4 owners later.

Meanwhile, I was ignored at the Beech booth.

You have no idea how an involved and invested sales team can affect the longevity of a particular brand... Especially when the reality of USED planes remaining in the market for GENERATIONS to come is a reality.

Cirrus marketing involves salesmen who know their customer's names and stories. I kid you not, at OshKosh, I randomly met the guy working rhe front of the Cirrus booth and he happened to be the rep for my area. He knew the names and callsigns of the two Navy Instructor Pilots who bought USED Cirruses. They have a fantastic USED Cirrus sales program that ensures the brad remains legitimate - even 3 or 4 owners later.

Meanwhile, I was ignored at the Beech booth.

You have no idea how an involved and invested sales team can affect the longevity of a particular brand... Especially when the reality of USED planes remaining in the market for GENERATIONS to come is a reality.

Help me out here: how is marketing different from sales?

I believe they're completely separate departments in any business...but I'm too tired to argue that.
My point is that "Cirrus marketing" is not what sells Cirrus airplanes. Cirrus airplanes are what sells Cirrus airplanes. Cirrus marketing (& sales) is what brings potential customers in the door...the product makes the sale.

Alex,

Lay off the tequila....this seem like a circlular argument. "Works to a point ..not necessarily, depends. "Check will be written...but someone like me, probably not".

This is like my marketing class at the of Texas in 1978, I haven't a clue what point your trying to make, seems like both side of the argument are supported here.

My point was that emotion is not the dominate force in purchasing a new aircraft, especially an expensive one. If you haven't purchased a new aircraft there is a good chance that your opinion about the motivations of new aircraft purchasers are lost on you.

Unless your enrolled in the school for the blind I don't believe there is really any debate
about the looks of a Duke!

No. iPad not possible without major advances in CPU horsepower, glass, and ubiquitous mobile Internet. No amount of marketing would have mattered a few years earlier.

Besides the chute, which they aren't even going to test (!!), what's new about the SF50?

Sales is comped on commission, marketing isn't Everything else follows from that.

It can be if the fundamentals haven't changed.


That was enabled by significant changes in chips and software. No such fundamental change is happening in aviation.


Conventional wisdom said Columus would not reach India by sailing west. They were right. Columbus actually failed at his stated objective.

Mike C.

There are two SF50 airplanes.

One is the SF50 Cirrus marketing has created in the brain of its customers. It is a virtual aircraft where the customer is either explicitly told, or better yet, left to infer, that the plane is perfect and ideal for them.

Two is the real SF50. Warts and all.

As soon as the real airplane exists, the virtual evaporates. Cirrus will work hard to keep the real airplane from becoming known for as long as possible.

Not a single person outside Cirrus has flown in an SF50. No customers, no press, nobody. No flight manual or detail performance numbers have been released.

Nobody knows the real airplane yet. They've all bought a dream.

Mike C.

Exactly my point. All you need to do is sell the dream. That's it. What else is there?

I love the Cirrus. Wanted to buy one shortly before I got the rare chance to get a Bo. The Cirrus is a good airplane. The Cirrus Jet I just haven't really grasped yet. If you see them all side by side you do begin to question, what is so special.

That's all, really.

How many more circular arguments can we make to get to 200 pages?

At a high level: Marketing is everything to get a prospect. Sales is everything taking the prospect and closing the deal. Both need to work hand in hand.

Cirrus has done wonders with both groups; and unlike many companies the two groups seem to actually talk to each other.

Anyways, Cirrus marketing is great (I think). They have a very effective sales team (as demonstrated by Matt S. and others comments). However, no sales team and no marketing team can overcome a bad product. They can overcome a deficient product compared to a competitor, but they cannot overcome a bad one long term. The market eventually figures this out.

Based on history, I would say Cirrus has done a good job of understanding the market they compete in. Question will be how well do they understand what has traditionally been the SETP level market.

In terms of technology and goals, actually many early SEJ programs I believe failed because they tried to compete against traditional twin engine jets at high altitude with inefficient small engines that required fairly significant pilot knowledge. The complexities (as Mike C likes to keep pointing out) to overcome regulatory issues with high altitude are incredibly complex and expensive and it is likely much cheaper to install a second engine. Cirrus is trying to change the game; they are competing against the lower altitude SETP with the sexy factor of a jet using a modern turbine. The question is if it is good enough. It does not have to better then a Meridian, it just have to be close enough. Then emotions, appeal, and other factors can rationalize the final part of the spreadsheet.

Tim

Exactly my point. All you need to do is sell the dream. That's it. What else is there?

Alex,

Lay off the tequila....this seem like a circlular argument. "Works to a point ..not necessarily, depends. "Check will be written...but someone like me, probably not".

This is like my marketing class at the of Texas in 1978, I haven't a clue what point your trying to make, seems like both side of the argument are supported here.

My point was that emotion is not the dominate force in purchasing a new aircraft, especially an expensive one. If you haven't purchased a new aircraft there is a good chance that your opinion about the motivations of new aircraft purchasers are lost on you.

Unless your enrolled in the school for the blind I don't believe there is really any debate
about the looks of a Duke!

Conventional wisdom said he would fall off the face of the earth - not exactly what I would call being right.