Birchwood launches digital market strategy to boost awareness and retention

Sussex-based Birchwood Group is implementing a new digital marketing strategy across all 10 of its sites to boost brand awareness and increase customer retention for sales and aftersales.

The group is partnering with automotive digital marketing experts Marketing Delivery to devise and activate the new strategy, which has seen the introduction of new data cleansing processes and automation to facilitate personalised customer communications across multiple channels.

Birchwood has 10 sites retailing both used and new Ford, Škoda and Kia brands.

It adopted the Marketing Delivery VoiceBox platform in March 2024 with its aftersales solution and social media advertising feature, SocialStock.

The group will use SocialStock to target consumers’ Meta (Facebook and Instagram) feeds with vehicle stock adverts based on recent searches.

VoiceBox integrates with the retailer’s dealer management system (DMS), Pinewood, to deliver mobile-optimised communications throughout the ownership lifecycle.

The system automatically issues alerts to aftersales customers regarding upcoming service and MOT dates, helping to maximise workshop bookings and also encourage recipients to consider a change of vehicle, where appropriate.

Matt Brown, director of digital transition at Birchwood Group, said: “Having implemented VoiceBox in a previous role, I saw the firsthand results that Marketing Delivery achieves.

“So, when I was appointed at Birchwood, I knew we had to sign them up. The automation is a real selling point; having a way to increase the impact of our messages and remind

customers of their servicing and maintenance requirements without our teams having to continuously follow up has already saved us so much time; this alone makes the solution extremely beneficial.”

Jeremy Evans, chief executive of Marketing Delivery, added: “Working with Birchwood is a full-circle moment for me. 

“As its former group marketing manager, I know how it focuses on meeting the highest standards.

“The products we offer will only enhance the already excellent service the group provides, and we’re already seeing strong results.”