The right omni-channel customer engagement solution for automotive

Customer engagement is increasingly the primary activity for every company, in every vertical sector. Within a now universally shared strategy that places the customer at the heart of every process, an omni-channel customer engagement solution can be the decisive competitive factor.

The application tools and technologies available in professional marketing automation services have proven themselves to be fully adapted to market demands and to the primary trend that sees information, or rather data, as the main pivot of any strategy, not just marketing. However, it is still necessary to develop a customization project that defines the specific needs of the customer and the market, starting from a basic platform.

One specific sector in which it makes particular sense to revise, if not fully implement, engagement models is undoubtedly the automotive sector. In this context, the customer relationship is particularly varied and complex given the variety of touchpoints available: car showrooms, temporary kiosks, website, apps, etc.

In addition there is great volatility of information and a high abandonment rate within the same sector. Valuable contact data are often collected through devices and tools that are not centralized and, moreover, the first contact is not followed by an adequate experience.

Aware of the lack of an adequate strategy capable of exploiting the full potential of technology, one of the world’s largest car manufacturers turned to Lutech to implement a one-to-one journey project specifically designed for lost prospects.

The problem is very clear: every year thousands of prospective customers interact with one of the car manufacturer’s touchpoints and then disappear: how to contact them again? These may be prospects who took part in a test drive, visited a car show, or requested a quote and did not follow up on the first activity. 

Of these, the vendor has at its disposal a series of voluntarily provided data, such as their email address, or even telephone number, postal address and other information that can help to profile the target with precision.

It was immediately evident to the company that these “lost” customers needed to be contacted again in some way, but there was no adequate professional marketing automation service available. It was clear that online and offline channels were to be used, such as dealers, contact centers, digital channels (website, e-mail, text messages, social Adv). But it wasn’t clear how to do it.

Lutech Group immediately understood the needs of the customer company and laid out a project to create an information aggregator, a customer data hub offering a single customer view. In particular, a marketing automation platform was to be developed to create a one-to-one experience with customers who had been in contact with the company and then not been heard from since.

“A one-to-one journey process involves the implementation of an intelligent data aggregator, capable of implementing precise, customized actions not limited just to company properties.”

A precise one-to-one journey process was quickly created, specifically designed for potentially lost customers, drawing from the database of information collected during the first and only contact. The first action of the specific marketing automation process is to send an email after one month, asking the recipient to complete a customer satisfaction form related to the previous experience.

Depending on the answers obtained, various actions are automatically triggered. If the customer confirms that they are no longer interested, the journey is halted. If, on the other hand, the customer states an intention to purchase within one month, an alert will be processed to the dealer, who will contact the customer. 

If, finally, the customer states that they are willing to purchase after more than a month, the reference is input into a new journey. The next process involves sending emails at predetermined intervals about campaigns, promotions, encouraging the drafting of a quote and a test drive. Each of these emails is carefully tracked so that accurate information on opening, reading and clicking of links is collected.

Finally, if the survey is left unanswered, a text message is sent, followed by a call from the call center if there is no response to this.

The solution that Lutech, in agreement with the customer company, identified as the best in terms of versatility and ease of implementation, was Salesforce Marketing Cloud. Lutech has been a Platinum partner since 2016 of the well-known next-generation intelligent marketing platform, particularly popular for creating personalized customer experiences.

The team then made specific additions. In particular, the dealers’ CRM software, the Contact Center application system and the official websites – which, thanks to the shared information, are now able to provide a customized and assisted browsing experience – were connected. 

In particular, among the selected Salesforce Marketing Cloud modules, Journey Builder creates a direct and individual customer path via email, mobile, advertising and the web. It is also able to link the marketing initiatives of all commercial activities, sales, customer service and any other point of contact with customers.

Advertising Studio, on the other hand, is used for integration with social media activities. The tool uses customer data to enhance digital advertising and manage acquisition, engagement and alignment campaigns. Finally, it was necessary to use the specific API integration tool for communication with external applications.

The project was completed within a few months without any effect on day-to-day activities, and the client now has a specific marketing automation procedure for the engagement of prospects who would otherwise be forgotten. Thanks to the use of the Salesforce platform, the conversion rate for those customers increased immediately. More than 30,000 surveys were completed in one year and more than 2,500 prospects resumed contact.