With over 15 years of automotive retail experience, Glasgow-based Gerber brings a wealth of knowledge and insight into how marketing solutions can benefit retailers within the industry. She joined Taggarts – part of Lookers Motor Group – in 2008 as Group Marketing Manager, later advancing to Divisional Marketing Manager in 2014 where she oversaw a diverse range of volume and prestige brands.
A key part of the new programme, led by digital marketing firm Marketing Delivery, is the introduction of AI-powered email alerts to replace multiple labour- and time-intensive lead management processes.
With margins on new car sales fixed, Marketing Delivery argues that agency retailers need to do more than their peers to draw prospects into the sales funnel early in the purchase research phase, when potential customers are less likely to have committed to a specific marque or model.
There’s also a growing trend towards user generated reviews – especially video content – either created by consumers or influencers, and as a younger demographic such as Gen Z gets to an age where they start to spend a lot of money within the economy, it’ll get more and more important in capturing their attention
Mercedes-Benz agency dealer group, which has locations across the south of England, worked with Marketing Delivery to identify 5,558 vehicles with an apparently unresolved recall that were owned by customers who had not visited a Sandown site within the past 18 months. Marketing Delivery then managed a personalised email campaign encouraging each lapsed customer to visit the government website to check their vehicle’s outstanding safety recalls and book an appointment with their local Sandown service department, using a tailored link.
Three-quarters of 18- to 25-year-old motorists said they ‘agree’ or ‘strongly agree’ with the statement: “When I next shop for a new or used car, I would prefer not to visit a showroom at all”.
In Marketing Delivery’s new consumer survey, which polled 1,000 motorists across the UK, those aged 18 to 24 were the most receptive to the idea of a combined appointment for both MOT and service, with 85% saying they would be more likely to book with a workshop that made that possible.
Prior to the pandemic, the average time between enquiry and purchase was 16 days, but by November 2021 this had dropped to just six days. Many dealers saw a notable shift in how consumers research new and used car purchases during the pandemic, and the Marketing Delivery analysis suggests some of these behaviours have become embedded.
Following Sandown’s pilot integration project, made possible by Marketing Delivery joining Keyloop’s international Partner Programme last summer, the software has been implemented at all 13 of its Mercedes-Benz (car and van) and smart locations across Surrey, Hampshire, Berkshire, Dorset and Wiltshire.
Aftersales departments need to be on top of their digital game, and that means capturing and retaining accurate data on MOT and service due dates, securing contact permissions, and then scheduling timely reminders.
