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Marketing Insights
Newsletter
Special Issue: Automotive
Jaguar Uses Mass Marketing To Learn About Individual
Customers
Source: 1to1 Magazine.
Upon
opening Business 2.0 and a slate of similar
titles last September, readers were greeted by a huge
spread announcing the arrival of Jaguar's new XJ8L.
Dubbed "Temptations," the ads viewed each of the
seven deadly sins through the lens of Jaguar luxury
("Wrath: the fury of a supercharged engine"). It
proved one of the automaker's most successful campaigns
to date, spurring a flurry of sales and doubling Web
traffic.
The
print ads were accompanied by a tear-out card asking
interested consumers to share information about
themselves -- everything from the basics (name, address,
phone number, e-mail address) to the more involved
(timing of next car purchase, factors that will weigh
heavily in that purchase). Jaguar's CRM team is quick to
admit that this wasn't the most novel data-gathering
technique. But the venue in which it was attempted, a
mass-market business publication, represented a shift in
tactics for the venerable automaker. It was one that
quickly paid off with an impressive -- and unexpected --
40 percent surge in lead generation. "That exceeded
every one of our goals," says relationship marketing
manager Melissa Grady.
The
strategy behind the ads was twofold. On one hand, Jaguar
has long realized that stylishness is its top attribute
in consumers' minds, so the campaign was designed to
reinforce this reputation. On the other, the company's
CRM executives hoped to better identify those traits
that resonate with customers already sold on Jaguar's
style. Through the tear-out cards, Jaguar attempted to
discern which consumers were attracted by quality,
safety and/or pricing, then tailor future communications
accordingly.
"In a
very broad, general sense, we have a good idea what
people are thinking -– 'I'm spending X amount of money,
I know I'll get quality.' But if they're willing to give
us a better sense of what motivates them and where they
are in the purchase cycle, we can talk to them in a way
that's relevant," notes Heather Harkovich,
communications manager for Jaguar Cars North America.
The
team took pains to placate fears that customer data
would be used for nefarious purposes or shared without
explicit permission. Jaguar requested only the
information necessary for a given transaction -- for
instance, consumers who asked for a XJ8L brochure merely
had to relay an address, rather than a phone number
and/or demographic data. "The only way you do this right
is by holding yourself to the strictest standards,"
Grady says. "We don't talk a lot about being part of
Ford, but this is one of the areas where it's a benefit.
There are tons of people paying attention to this."
Now,
several months after the business-reply cards started
trickling back to Jaguar's offices, the CRM team has set
about using the information to better understand
customer and purchase cycles. It is attempting to tailor
messages more specifically to so-called hand-raisers as
well as build more advanced targeting models, both for
media and direct mail/e-mail. Harkovich and Grady
caution that it's too early to evaluate the success of
the data push or the company's CRM plans in the wake of
the program. Still, they're cautiously optimistic.
"We
know we're not a mass-market brand, and knowing that
gives us some leverage to tailor communications," says
Harkovich. "The idea now is to keep getting smarter
about our customers. We think this [campaign] is a large
part of that."
Reprinted with permission from Peppers & Rogers Group, a
Carlson Marketing Group company. Copyright (c) Carlson
Marketing Group. All Rights Reserved.
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