Kia is increasing its focus on retention as it looks to build relationships with its customers and boost engagement and loyalty, says UK marketing director Mark Hopkins, including through its work with consumer review site Reevoo.

He said the car maker has previously focused its marketing on customer acquisition and, while this remains a priority as it looks to build brand awareness, it now sees new opportunities in communicating with customers to boost retention.

Hopkins said in an interview with Marketing Week he is hoping to establish a “longer term engagement plan” that will turn its website into more of a loyalty platform and help to boost sales not just of new cars, but also its after care and service plans.
He admitted that while all new customers are given a welcome pack and offered access to a MyKia portal on its website, it “could do more” to communicate with customers beyond information on car launches.

Marketing Week speaks to Hopkins, in his first interview since joining Kia at the end of last year, about the marketing opportunities for the car marque, its loyalty plans and how its uses sponsorships to build brand awareness.

Hopkins, who joined Kia late last year, said the collaboration with Reevoo to have the third party's customer reviews posted on the Kia website was "enormously successful".

"The opportunity to have customers speak on your behalf is something that consumers really engage with. The fact we have this Trip Advisor-esque community saying what they think of the models and giving a robust and honest opinion gives people peace of mind. It diminishes the risk in decision-making," he said.

"We now want to drive Reevoo into areas beyond the physical product. The car market tends to focus on cars but what you are offering as a brand is much more than the physical car, it’s the insurance and aftersales care. That is something we can start to amplify through Reevoo, the strength of the product offering and the customer experience throughout the dealer relationship."