The trials and tribulations car brand Audi has faced on the road to implementing new data strategies were top of the agenda at the ADMA Data Day yesterday.
Speaking at the event held at Luna Park, Audi Australia head of CRM Josh Wood and Holler head of CX Vlad Mehakovic delved into cross-department analytics and A/B testing in Audi's quest to better identify its customers and reach its goal of being number one premium brand in Australia in 2020. It goes up against premium car brands including BWM and Lexus.
The duo explained Audi’s data was fragmented, as individual dealer networks had previously handled the majority of customer information.
Harnessing online customer portals and building a customer base from dealership data became a priority, as it moved away from traditional excel sheets to a dashboard for visualisation of data. Mehakovic says it was about taking it from spreadsheet to silo, and creating a “one-stop shop” for the brand, and also the agency.
The biggest challenge Audi faced in rolling out in its digital customer experience (CX) offering, Wood explains, was due to the overarching brand parent, Audi Germany. He says the Audi IG stakeholder position placed technology restrictions that was holding back Audi in the Australian market.
“You have to convince other people what you’re doing is the right thing,” Wood says.
To put the strategy in place, Holler created MyAudi, a prototype app, which was then pitched to Audi IG. The app offered a test drive option, which saw an 803% rise in test drives once the app went live. It also created an ongoing connection with customers, enabling them to easily manage their car’s details, servicing and finance in one place.
They also began A/B testing for Audi Australia’s email templates, finding the “big sexy banners” at the top of the emails were no longer working. The testing found that when a call to action button was placed higher in the email, there was a 20% increase in click through activity and a reduced unsubscribe rate.
Wood explained that by setting up the backend infrastructure and creating a strong API, Audi Australia is “future proofed” for upcoming technologies including vehicle automation and connected mobility - technologies which he says are “in the pipeline”.
CX is an increasingly big focus for brands and agencies, with Woolworths announcing its CX offering late last year and Saatchi & Saatchi acquiring CX agency MercerBel in February. Read more on CX here.
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