As digital continues its ravenous advance into every corner of our daily lives, automotive as a sector in particular is becoming progressively aware of the need to keep up with the increasingly savvy consumers.

Research has revealed that four in five car buyers now use smartphones and other mobile devices at some point during the purchase journey and use a multiple of platforms and channels to investigate potential purchases – both on the forecourt and off.  

As a result, dealers find themselves dealing with increasingly informed and engaged customers – much more receptive to that final sales push – but at risk of being left behind for those who better embrace this increasingly important platform.

The good news, however, is the opportunity presented by the sheer volume of data available to manufacturers and dealerships to refine and target digital marketing practices will only continue to grow, allowing more savvy brands to create more targeted, personalised and relevant display ads, direct emails and promotional offers.

Below are six steps to get any brand moving in the right direction, whether just starting to use data or looking to better target consumers, and some key points to consider to help drive success in this increasingly mobile-first world:

 

1.Start with what you’ve got

Do an audit of what data you have and where it lives. What are you collecting right now? If people sign up for emails, what fields are included in the form? Do you track purchase history by customer name or ID? Do you ask gender or category preferences? What about web search activity? Call center details? Get a list together so you can see what you have, and what you may be missing, that could be helpful to your messaging.

2.Build a team

Bring together people from across your internal silos, working together to move things forward as you centralise your data. With so many projects and tasks, the best way to keep things on track is with cross-company involvement. Team members should have authority or responsibility over a specific channel or data source so there’s ownership in the decisions being made across the organisation, especially as priorities shift towards an integrated data approach. You’ll want both their brains and their buy-in on this.

3.Map out customer personas

Your data integration has a single purpose – to better serve and engage your customer. This can be difficult to do if you’re not sure who you’re selling to. See how the data you have can support the buyer/customer across their entire customer journey. Consider different situations when people buy from you. Chart out the steps a sample persona prospect may take as they are introduced to your brand or services. Then see what type of data can be collected and leveraged to make each of those experiences terrific.

4.Investigate the details

Be the Sherlock Holmes of the customer journey, then smooth and improve any rough spots you discover along the way. As you piece together your data, look for trends. Spend time on the stories behind the numbers. Ask yourself “why” things are happening as they are, instead of focused on the “how”.

5.Reduce friction with facts

Use your data to identify real issues. Is there a falling off point along the path to conversion or checkout? Are your email campaigns doing well, but activity off of purchase confirmation emails is weak? Do people click through to the home page but jump off without browsing deeper into the site? Does your strategy include ways to engage them before they get away? These can indicate a point of friction on the path to conversion.

6.Work together

Not only do you need to be working together within your organisation to establish shared priorities to pull your data together, you also can work with partners specialising in Data Management to both educate and support you along the way.

 

Recent advancements in digital marketing and the growing popularity of digital marketing hubs, have meant that interest identified on a website (or social platform) can be more precisely and rapidly targeted to capture the consumer at the point of interest, and help guide and support them through their experience of the brand in a strategic, engaging and relevant way.

Whilst this can often sound like a confusing, and sometimes terrifying concept to embrace, the key for any brand, manufacturer or retailer is to identify the currently accessible data and unite it around a common goal – providing customers with the most seamless, relevant and real-time shopping experience (from research through to purchase) as possible.

This needs to be front of mind for any automotive retailer looking to succeed, especially as the automotive industry continues to see uncertain times in its future.

Author: Florian Gramshammer, UK managing director at IgnitionOne