This article was published on February 11, 2013

BMW commits to its Apple-inspired Genius program, coming to the US by ‘early 2014’


BMW commits to its Apple-inspired Genius program, coming to the US by ‘early 2014’

German car-maker BMW is set to become the lastest company to adopt the Genius Bar setup popularised by Apple across all of its dealerships, with the full scale roll out of its new “BMW Genius Everywhere” program, Adage reports.

Available in all dealerships in the US by “early 2014”, BMW has been training employees to assist customers with questions about cars and their features, arming them with iPads to do so. The rollout follows a successful pilot in the UK last year.

BMW will launch the program in Europe first, coming to the US by the time its new i3 electric car reaches dealerships early next year. The company will hire associates based on their knowledge, not rewarding them with commission on sales. Like Apple’s Geniuses, staff will be on hand to assist with technical questions, rather than push customers in an attempt to sell cars.

Apple products will be used to impart information, but the car-maker will also offer iPhone and iPad apps that include vehicle overviews and feature explanations, as well as a BMW Assist call button inside every one of its cars (offering help from a real person).

Adage reports that BMW will follow Lexus and Cadillac with the rollout of it is own Genius Bar program in the US. Lexus has already trained 2,400 representatives in nine cities over the past four months, while Cadillac has found success with its Cadillac User Experience program.

Image Credit: tartanpodcast/Flickr

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