It shouldn’t be a secret that auto shows are an essential part of the OEM brand calendar. Nowhere else can OEMs connect with a large volume of highly engaged consumers than at major international auto shows.
But the current system is flawed.
Currently, automotive brands depend on too many disconnected tools and agency partners for their experiential and event marketing campaigns.
On top of that, brand marketing teams and their agencies have less time and resources to deliver even greater results.
The question on everyone’s mind is: How can I make sure I maximize every consumer touch point leading up to, during and after the event in multiple way to increase handraisers, leads and sales?
This guide will outline how these teams can do more with less to improve the results of their auto show marketing.
How can you increase efficiencies in your auto show workflow? What options are available? And, most importantly, how can OEMs track results for auto shows, ride 'n' drives/test drives and more to ensure they are meeting their desired objectives? All this information and more, below.
Let’s get straight to it: Automotive marketers and their agencies depend on a variety of tools and custom solutions to run their auto show experiences.
They use a CMS to build their microsites, survey software to create contests/surveys and analytic tools to track and report on consumer behavior.
Most OEMS also use custom solutions to specialize in a part of their auto show. One provider will focus on a wheel stand, another on digital kiosks, and so forth.
The result? Subscription and licensing fees for multiple products are costly. And every time you need a new asset, your agency or internal team has to create it from scratch.
No wonder as many as 54% of car buyers say they would pay more for a better buying experience, even if it didn’t have the lowest price.
More and more OEMs are using digital to improve efficiencies across their own efforts and for the consumer.
They see an opportunity to cut costs, improve engagement and boost sales significantly. These internal operating efficiencies are what will set the leading auto brands from the laggards in the coming years. But don’t take our word for it.
The best practices below were compiled by sourcing third-party data from industry experts such as Forrester, Accenture and Autotrader, and by analyzing internal data working with hundreds of OEMs across North American Auto Shows.
If automotive brands want to create an experience that’s as premium as they are, digital must be an essential part of their strategy.
McKinsey analyzed 24 customer touch points for more than 9,000 new car buyers and identified seven core touch point dimensions of consumers’ willingness to pay. Of these, digital experience ranked second most important, just behind live experience.
This rest of this blog provides eight actionable best practices to help automotive marketers improve the overall digital auto show experience for consumers, increase the quality and quantity of engagements and ultimately sell more vehicles at the dealership.
Whether you target the luxury automotive segment or the mainstream consumer market, these actionable pointers will help you develop an onsite display and digital system which captures consumer attention, offers them a seamless experience and provides sales reps with the critical information they need to service patrons in the most personalized manner possible.
Capitalize on the traffic and awe that your vehicles generate with strategically placed wheel stand kiosks.
These interactive kiosks, located beside display vehicles, should act as your hub for consumer engagement with basic product information and brand imagery.
At their core, they function as beautiful interactive product brochures that entice consumer interest. Ensure your wheel stand kiosks have maximum impact by checking off the following.
Your interactive wheel stand not only acts as an informative and engaging brochure, but also as a portal for further targeted engagement with your brand that extends beyond the auto show.
Transmit any information collected through forms and calls to action right from your wheel stand kiosk straight to the dealership, and sort by postal code, so that these leads can be followed up by local sales reps.
Consider building a product specialist app to create an interactive experience for brand ambassadors. With the app, they will be able to look through the consumer’s basic information, as well as images, models and videos of the cars.
The goal of this app is twofold: it offers an additional entry option to floor kiosks while also acting as an extension of the kiosk experience.
The more information you can collect from each person, the better you can service them—and ultimately sell more cars. Your app should be able to do the following:
Reward current customers and loyal brand enthusiasts before the auto show with customized invitations that include incentives like free tickets, discounts, or preferred entry to the auto show. These invitations are particularly effective for consumers with a short purchase timeline.
With a simple personalized digital invitation, you not only reward their loyalty, but create an opportunity for deeper engagement, and extended data capture and up-selling or cross-selling at the auto show or dealership. Maximize your pre-invitation strategy by doing the following:
Qualified leads may be the most likely targets to convert to a sale, but hand-raisers form the foundation of your future marketing efforts. They haven’t purchased a car yet, but have shown interest in your brand by providing their basic information.
It’s important to capitalize on the shear traffic of the auto show and collect as many hand-raisers as possible. One of the most effective ways to do this to offer contesting.
Example: During a recent promotion of the newly redesigned Civic, Honda encouraged consumers to become “Fantographers” by taking photos of the Civic on display and posting to social media with the hashtag #CivicReborn for the chance to win great prizes. This improved the performance of Honda’s contest by enticing consumers to become brand advocates with the simple addition of social sharing.
Whether in a brand’s contesting, follow-up communication or triggered emails, messaging should always be personalized. 75% of consumers are more likely to buy from a retailer that recognizes them by name, recommends options based on past purchases or knows their purchase history.
Additionally, those in auto who use marketing automation to do this are 2x more likely to see higher marketing ROI than dealers who do not use marketing automation.
The more personal and relevant the offers, the more likely consumers are to continue engaging and ultimately purchase a vehicle.
Being able to track engagements, brand ambassador performance and your communication is critical to discover which offers, contests, headlines and calls to action perform best and drive the most engagements.
The more personal and relevant the offers, the more likely consumers are to continue engaging and ultimately purchase a vehicle.
Following these eight best practices will increase results, create an immersive experience for consumers, increase the number of opportunities to capture richer data, and ultimately provide a superior consumer experience at your auto show that will lead to higher sales.
