Ever since this article in Auto News was published recently, I’ve been remembering back to the days with a particular auto maker around their use of data and the widely considered ‘holy grail’ to connect an online prospective buyer to a real life, in the showroom prospect/customer. The ability to connect someone’s online intent to real life offline conversion. Is it still a dream, or has it now become a reality?

For what seems a decade or more already, automakers have had an online car configurator where you can build your perfect car and then print it, put it on the wall, download a brochure or maybe even book a test drive (the latter two usually always a KPI metric they like to track for reporting purposes).

Of course for an auto manufacturer, getting drivers into real life cars is always preferred, as that means they’re in the showroom and can engage with a sales representative.

For some time, this is where there has been a disconnect. Being unable to ‘bridge’ the gap between ‘online’ and ‘in the showroom right now, next to said car’; it has widely been believed to be an ask too great. However, those days are now gone. By leveraging bluetooth beacons (specifically bluetooth and not wifi - due to short range proximity - ideal if standing next to a car!), you can now pinpoint when ‘someone’ is next to said vehicle. More over, IF that visitor has used their mobile phone to build the car of their dreams or interacted with your web site/app on the mobile device and identified themselves, you will most likely have an identifier you can leverage, especially if part of the ‘build, download, print’ process required, a phone number or email address which is gold dust in this use case!

So picture the possibility (which is very much real now), of being able to bridge that ‘unknown’ gap between online and offline interactions. It is now possible to send a notification to your showroom sales representatives that a ‘John Doe’ is now in the showroom and stood next to ‘That car’ - oh, and by the way, machine learning and AI algorigthms have marked ‘John Doe’ as being highly engaged and ‘likely to buy’ - maybe in the next 30 days and along with all his other known attributes he has shared or demonstrated over the time he has been browsing your site and consuming content on your site or in the mobile app… The days to be able to connect the ‘anonymous showroom browser’ to ‘known prospect’ are finally here! You can of course use this same approach with other industries - conferences spring to mind…

So what is next for automotive manufacturers beyond this use case? Well, a CDP can also empower car dealerships to nurture long-term customer relationships. By consistently tracking and analysing customer interactions online and offline, dealerships can gain insights into their customers' needs, preferences, service schedules and ownership cycles. With this information, dealerships can proactively engage customers with personalised service reminders, exclusive offers, and timely updates on new models or maintenance tips.
This integration creates a cohesive customer journey, providing a consistent brand experience across all touchpoints and reinforcing customer loyalty for possibly years to come.

Still unsure of how to leverage bluetooth or wifi beacons into your customer lifecycle experience via a CDP? If so, we'd love to discuss the options further with you!