BMW Adds Apple-Like Geniuses with Tablets to Its Showrooms

In order to boost sales figures and directly compete with Mercedes-Benz, BMW is going to hire around 3,000 “genius” employees in all its worldwide showrooms.  Borrowing an idea from Apple Inc, these employees will be equipped with an iPad in an attempt to better serve potential customers.

“We tell them we work for BMW in a new, exciting role, and we sometimes refer to ourselves as the ‘geeks’ of BMW,” said Oliver Watkins to the San Francisco Chronicle. Watkins is just 21 years old, works for Cooper Norwich, a BMW dealer in eastern England in September and bragged one of the automaker’s first tow geniuses.

Seeking to defend its lead in luxury car-sales, 3,000 genius employees likely to join BMW’s workforce globally, and will begin popping up in outlets in France, United Kingdom, China and Netherlands this year. However, United States will have these genius employees probably in the coming year.

Watkins along with his colleagues will help customers sync their smart phone and work through features options such as Night vision and Active Steering without selling pressure. This is a part of a new sales campaign BMW is starting in an attempt to close the gap with Mercedes Benz in sales figures and further separates itself from Audi.

The strategy was first exuded last week at BMW’s new store near the Champs-Elysees in Paris. The shop is the first of its kind as it focuses on showcasing the brand to casual shoppers to attract more consumers. This will eventually help BMW to retain customers and not lose any to Mercedes Benz or Audi. According to the stats of last year, BMW was successful in retaining 47 percent of customers, while Mercedes-Benz saw a retention rate around 62 percent. Audi stood third with 37 percent of customers coming back to its brand.

Adding these geniuses, will help BMW to win new fans and reach its target goal of 20 percent increase in sales by 2016.