Tag: automotive

Article written by Jill Canetta, Experian Marketing Services’ Chief Data Officer, and Mark Pryzbylski, Experian Automotive’s Senior Director of Product Management At this point, it’s indisputable that the COVID-19 pandemic has completely changed everything for everyone on a multitude of levels. And now that the country is moving toward easing stay-at-home restrictions and people are starting to venture out into the world, auto marketers are faced with unique challenges amid an uncertain future and customers who aren’t sure of the best step to take next in their ownership experience or potential vehicle purchase journey. However, that uncertainty provides an opportunity for brands to make deeper connections with current customers and interested consumers—provided they can understand and address their customer’s needs in a supportive way. You need to lead with empathetic messaging that directly addresses their needs and offers support during this challenging time. Data is the starting point, and Experian is ready to help. First, you need to understand what consumer outlook looks like on a national scale, in real time. Using insights gleaned from consumers across the country, Experian created a US Consumer Sentiment Index built on daily survey findings that outlines what customers are thinking and how they’re feeling during COVID-19. As of June 10th, 2020: 44% have automobile payments they need to make monthly, with Millennials and Gen X leading the pack at 50%21% are considering buying a new vehicle within the next few months, with Millennials at the forefront of this drive at 16%Of those considering a new vehicle, 63% will continue with their purchase as planned, 42% will buy something less expensive, and 18% will consider leasing, with Gen Z leading the last two these categories Certainly, this data can help auto marketers glean the information they may need to begin targeted outreach, especially when sentiment shows there’s still a need and desire to own, lease or rent a vehicle. But this is only part of the picture. To create a complete view of the customer, marketers need to fill in the blanks so they can thoroughly address their needs and let them know they’re both ready to help, and capable of doing so. For example, due to the changing landscape, it’s unlikely that dealership walk-in traffic is going to present the same opportunities for purchase that it once did. This means marketers will have to leverage new avenues to execute their outreach. Using the power of data, auto marketers can identify those who are most likely to be in the market for a new vehicle, such as those coming to end of lease or those who are soon to be in equity on their current vehicles. But how can this information help you in your outreach efforts? Demographic, behavioral, life event, lifestyle, automotive and attitudinal data can help you tailor a compelling message to address their stage of ownership—and potentially address their new or emerging needs as a consumer. Perhaps their child is starting college in the fall and needs a vehicle. Or maybe they’ve downsized and don’t need an SUV anymore, so a compact car would better fit their needs. When it comes to leaseholders, data can show you which leases are coming up for renewal or termination. Regardless of their situation, leaseholders will need to decide on their future vehicle needs whether it means buying their car, leasing another, or going in an entirely new direction—one that may potentially be more cost effective to address the issues they may suddenly be facing. Beyond identifying your target audience, you need to understand how to reach them. We also offer the opportunity for multi-channel media activation, leveraging our relationships with more than 100 media partners and digital platforms to launch and optimize your one-to-one marketing campaign across all channels. And to help you determine the ROI of your offline and online campaigns, our measurement tools help you gain actionable insights for future campaigns with easily digestible dashboards and reports. As we all adjust to the new landscape and find different ways to navigate the current environment, marketers need to be cognizant of how they’re targeting new consumers—especially when the landscape appears to be unstable. By addressing consumers with relevant and thoughtful messaging that supports their needs, marketers now have the opportunity to create deeper connections that can create loyalty that lasts a lifetime. Learn more about how the Experian Marketing Engine for automotive marketers can help.

What generation already has 61 million consumers[1], is set to be the largest generation ever, and influences $600 billion of spending[2]? While you may think these attributes describe millennials, they are actually a portrait of Generation Z, better known as Gen Z, the newest generation that is emerging in the marketplace. Made up of consumers born after 1996, Gen Z is ready to be noticed and become a force to be reckoned with in the market. In the automotive market alone, Gen Z made up 3.8 percent of all new vehicle registrations in the first quarter of 2019. While that number may seem small, consider the fact that in 2015—just four years ago—they only made up 0.5 percent of new vehicle registrations. These are statistics that should make automotive marketers pay attention. Most marketers tend to lump Gen Z with millennials – after all, they grew up with smartphones and social media, so how different can they be than the generation that came of age with the Internet? However, unlike millennials, Gen Z is considered a true “digital generation” – performing many of life’s day-to-day activities online. This means that they do a lot of research when shopping for a product. In fact, according to the Center for Generational Kinetics[3], 52 percent of Gen Z has looked at online reviews for a product while shopping in-store. But how do digitally native consumers impact automotive marketers? In order to sell cars, marketers’ messages need to be relevant. Like many other generations, Gen Z interacts with brands across a number of different devices and touchpoints. They’re constantly bombarded with messages and advertisements, so much so that it becomes information overload. To create consistent messages that resonate, brands need to communicate across these different touchpoints and tell a story that is relevant to your audience. For example, you wouldn’t show an advertisement of someone buying their dream sports car to a member of Gen Z. Most of these consumers are buying their first car, so it would typically make more sense to show them ads for economical, reliable, sedans or cross-over SUVs. Historically, automotive marketers have relied exclusively on CRM data, but this strategy isn’t effective when it comes to Gen Z, as the fact of the matter is they probably haven’t purchased a car from you previously. The recipe for marketing success with Gen Z is identity resolution – combining your first-party identity signals across channels with third-party resources, as well as advanced technology, such as machine learning and artificial intelligence, to truly create and deliver campaigns that are relevant to the youngest generation. The more knowledge marketers have on your audience, such as demographics, life events and purchase behavior, enables them to tailor the messages to the audience in a way that will cut through the noise and resonate. As more members of Gen Z come into the marketplace, automotive marketers will want to ensure they’re meeting them where they are, delivering messages that matter to them. This will help marketers sell more cars, but also begin to create relationships that could last for years to come. [1] https://www.bls.gov/spotlight/2016/a-look-at-the-future-of-the-us-labor-force-to-2060/home.htm [2] http://www.millennialmarketing.com/research/ [3] https://genhq.com/gen-z-2017-research-infographic-stats-money-earning-spending-shopping/

Marketing in the automotive industry used to be a simple process. Advertisements would be placed in newspapers and auto dealers would host events to lure customers into showrooms. However, the way people shop for cars has changed dramatically. Most consumers don’t begin their car buying experience at dealerships—they start online with research and comparison shopping. To help auto marketers actively evolve their marketing strategies and campaigns and effectively communicate with today’s buyers, Experian Marketing Service has debunked a few myths: Myth #1: Traditional advertising methods are still the most effective. Advertising only on non-addressable linear television and direct mail is the way of the past. Digital channels are replacing physical interactions, creating various new interfaces between consumers and businesses. Marketers need to connect with today’s consumers with a one-to-one message, wherever they may be, whether it’s through TV and direct mail or online, social, email and mobile. Savvy marketers have learned how to use one channel to support another to drive maximum results. The key for auto marketers is developing a multi-channel campaign that enables them to target custom audiences on specific channels. The ability to measure and capture information about those points of interaction puts marketers in a position to apply data analytics and decisioning together to create a better customer experience.   Myth #2: Campaign success is measured by clicks. Getting clicks is no longer the ‘end all, be all’ for measuring the success of a campaign. Sales-based attribution shows precisely how well your marketing initiatives perform by campaign, lead source, make/model and more. Marketers need to get a more complete view of their target audience response, including those who bought from their competition. Recognizing trends sooner and making well-thought-out decisions are critical when it comes to seeing results. Once marketers have a clear picture, the success of the campaign can be measured in automotive insights and analysis based on the most accurate, up-to-date Department of Motor Vehicles statistics, combined with demographic, lifestyle, psychographic and financial data.   Myth #3:  First-party data is king. While first-party data is valuable in certain contexts, third-party data really amps up your ability to go beyond what you know – enriching customer profiles and reaching new customers. Collecting consumer data through a third-party is essential in today’s market. Six out of ten executives believe sharing their data with third parties and tapping into additional data to enrich their customer profiles will help them create frictionless customer experiences. In fact, there is an increasing percentage of senior leaders exploring opportunities to share more data with third-party agencies and partners. With the responsible use of data, the usage of third-party data sources to augment your own will help you identify the right customers faster, and deliver enhanced customer experiences. The Automotive News Power Training Webinar recently presented by Experian provides you with new information about automotive marketing KPI’s. Watch the on-demand webinar: The Race to the Sale: Adopting OEM advertising KPIs for a record finish to learn about a range of marketing KPIs commonly used by OEMs and their agencies to measure advertising performance.

There are thousands of potential car buyers heading into dealerships and browsing websites for their next vehicle every day. And that means thousands of opportunities for automotive manufacturers to market their vehicles to prospective buyers. But not every vehicle is going to meet the needs and wants of every car buyer. So, how do automotive brand marketers reach the individuals most likely to be interested in their products? Simply put, it comes down to better understanding the brand’s audience. But, today’s digitally-driven world creates a significant challenge for brand marketers – the overreliance on mobile devices and digital channels creates hundreds of digital touchpoints for brand marketers to consider. But, the data also creates an opportunity. If automotive marketers can bridge the gap between online and offline touchpoints, they’ll be better positioned to develop messages that resonate with their desired audience and deliver communications through the most effective channels. The end result? A more meaningful interaction with potential car buyers. To get there, automotive marketers need to consider these concepts: Navigate the identity resolution process The secret to a more relevant conversation begins and ends with knowing who you are addressing. People interact with brands through a variety of channels. For example, a person may see an advertisement for a new vehicle on their smartphone, later research the same vehicle at home on their desktop or on a mobile app and test drive the vehicle a few days later. The automotive marketer that can reconcile these three different interactions will be able to deliver relevant advertisements to the individual and cut down on wasted advertising spend. Knowledge-based identity resolution is what allows you to be smarter with your marketing. Present the right offer People are bombarded with hundreds, if not thousands, of advertisements daily. Automotive marketers need to cut through the noise and deliver messages that resonate with the target audience – whether it’s through e-newsletters, 30-second TV spots, banner ads or direct mail pieces. If automotive manufacturers miss the mark, it could lead to a frustrated consumer and poor brand reputation. For instance, an automotive marketer would not want to advertise the latest minivan to a couple who are empty nesters. Create customer loyalty It’s important to stay on top of current market statistics and data to fine-tune marketing campaigns. Vehicle ownership and purchase patterns can vary greatly in each market, and that means brands might need to fine-tune long-term loyalty strategies. A loyalty program that works in the Northeast might not work well for the Midwest market based on car buying patterns and the reasons behind owning a car. Data can help prioritize resources in areas with the highest potential for sales growth. Experian Marketing EngineTM helps automotive manufacturers engage customers across every channel while making the most of a marketing budget. It’s designed to seamlessly collect, consolidate and use customer data by connecting offline and online identifiers to create a single customer view. Experian’s North American Vehicle Database alone has over 11 billion records and over 800 million vehicles, of which over 68 million are Canadian vehicles. Marketing Engine leverages automotive specific insights, including vehicle purchase behaviors and ownership data, and combines that with other marketing data such as demographics and lifestyle interests. These automotive tools provide a more unified approach so that brands can make more informed decisions, gain and retain new customers, and drive sales. Learn more at https://www.experian.com/automotive/marketing.

Car shoppers are faced with a vast and exciting number of options in today’s automotive marketplace. Remember when you shopped around for your last car and had to decide on the type of vehicle – SUV, car, minivan, pickup; the engine type - electric, hybrid, gasoline or diesel; the actual make and model; and finally, a myriad of features and options. And how about fitting it into your budget? Options like new, CPO or pre-owned are all solid considerations.  Even payment choices such as cash, financing or leasing impact your final decision. So many brands, retailers and complex purchase decisions to consider! In a crowded marketplace, it’s more important than ever for marketers to connect the dots of each consumer's unique purchase journey, and to know what they want, in order to deliver the most relevant experiences possible. In today’s omni-channel world, there is a breadth of consumer data available to more effectively identify and communicate with current and potential customers. Imagine you’re an automotive marketer trying to influence purchase behavior to achieve aggressive sales goals. Then imagine launching a major automotive campaign without having clear direction on whom to target, how to reach them or which markets are most effective to tap into. This happens more often than you think because automotive dealers, like many businesses, struggle to gather and fully understand their data to make more informed and effective marketing decisions. In fact, recent Experian research shows that 83 percent of marketing and IT leaders have challenges distributing and using their own data. This is a critical problem to solve because data is at the core of identity resolution, a key enabler of enhanced return on investment. Understanding identity is the foundation of any great campaign, and the same holds true for the automotive industry. Studies have shown that consumers express frustration when an experience feels impersonal, even when brands get names wrong in customer communication. Identity resolution impacts those customer experiences, not only by maximizing the effectiveness of ad dollars, but also by helping customers in an omni-channel space by making it easier for them to purchase the vehicle that is right for them. Data can help marketers figure out matters like where large growing families are living, what channels they’re using to shop, or who might be more inclined to buy a small car versus a bigger vehicle. Investing in an effective identity resolution solution might just be the most important thing you can do as an automotive marketer. To make the most of your investment, consider how you’re currently handling your customer data and then set your priorities. Don’t hesitate to make identity resolution an organizational effort in order to prepare, automate, and distribute and act on the assets needed. Finally, remember to find ways to keep your audience engaged. At the end of the day, you’ll be delivering the right messages to the right people at the best time, and consumers will be more appreciative, too.