Driving a 319% uplift in performance for Renault through transforming and scaling Renault's customer driven marketing
Challenge
In 2018, Renault UK’s CRM and Digital team set itself an ambitious challenge to deliver customer-driven marketing at scale, with the aim of building customer loyalty and delivering incremental sales opportunities for its dealer network. . To achieve this, Renault brought together all the different customer datapoints and activity streams into a single customer view solution the Customer Engagement Platform (CEP) - to better understand the customer, build new propensity models and define omni-channel digital marketing strategies.
With the introduction of a raft of new electrified models and the increasing pressure on auto manufacturers to meet strict CO2 emissions targets, Renault needed to capilitise on the rich CEP data in order to drive more sales of EV, plug-in hybrid and hybrid models.
This required Renault to rethink their target audience, redesign their creatives and to refocus their incentives to better target their customer demographics. This led to a need to deliver a truly personalised total customer experience powered by a foundational platform that could bring together the wealth of disparate data sources generated across multiple activity streams. The platform had to rise to the challenge of understanding who to target, with what model tod drive the growth of the E-tech range.
Approach
Programmes were orchestrated across all channels to deliver maximum impact, create better customer experience and increase velocity through the sales funnel.
Using insight on the length of a customer journey resulting in a high propensity to purchase (52 days) we changed our audience retargeting strategy from 90 days to 60 days in order to hit harder in that 52 day window of opportunity. In CRM we developed a program of 15 new behavioural trigger programs based on known events nurturing prospects through the funnel.
On Web we built next best action signposting based on known optimal Customer Journey patterns based on previous interactions across multiple channels.
Customer Type targeting - the insight led us to refocus on loyalty and finance type. We have now begun to target existing owners with cash offers as we are seeing the demographics of customers change (especially in light of COVID and the older, more affluent profiles growing)
To support Events, we built targeted audience segments in CRM to drive highly engaged customers and prospects into VIP events showcasing the E-Tech range
Specifically, as a part of the Renault Zoe brand campaign, that ran in August 2020, Renault brought together planning teams across all agencies to create a program of personalised, always on and ad hoc comms programs designed to deliver web traffic / leads and ultimately sales in the E-Tech segment.
In paid Social Media we used EV hotspot geo analysis to optimise efficiency of budget spend and maximise engagement in targeted Facebook ads by targeting only the hottest EV selling areas – this was previously thought to be inner cities but our insight busted the myth! This approach was also used within targeted CRM campaigns in the same geographical areas.
To support this, we adapted our creative to consider who our target audience were, adjusted the design and messaging of creative to ensure our E-Tech range was appealing to our target audience. This included locally relevant messaging for the hottest EV selling areas identified.
Results
The omni-channel approach with Merkle spanning digital media, social media, events, creative, CRM and web transformed Renault’s customer driven marketing and helped in a 319% uplift in sales compared to the previous quarter.
Through Merkle’s work creating and identifying new audiences, applying hotspot geo analysis and developing 15 new behavioural trigger programs, Renault saw an increase in model awareness for the ZOE by 9% since the start of the campaign.
Renault were able to better understand their customer base and behaviours and improve the chance of a prospect moving through the funnel. In addition, Renault were able to optimise their targeted advertising and adjust their design and messaging of creative to ensure the E-Tech range was appealing to their target audience.
Keys to success
- Changing our thinking to understand the target audience and to understand how to appeal to them
- Optimising the efficiency of budget spend to maximise engagement and reach in targeted paid ads
- Retargeting and re-engaging with high engagers to create more opportunities to push down the funnel into being leads for dealers
- Creating a better holistic customer experience so the retargeting strategy would hit harder within the 52 day window of opportunity