Last May, Pepe Moder, Head of Digital at FCA (Fiat Chrysler Automobiles) gave a virtual speech at ICT Spring. Unable to travel to Luxembourg, he gave the audience an overview of the digital strategy of FCA and some areas of improvement via video. Pepe is currently responsible for digital marketing and CRM activities from analytics, to content and social media.
How do you stay on top of the social media game which constantly evolves?
Staying on top is not a technological issue. Nowadays what matters is content. Brands need to provide valuable content for consumers. In order to do that, they need to listen and understand what people want, what they are interested in. Then, and only then, they can start chatting and having a long term relation with their consumers.
Usually brands consider communication as a leverage where they talk to the users but do not listen. With social media, the paradigm has been completely reverted. Content personalization gives brands the ability to provide what is called “The internet of Me”. In 2015, personalizing the message and the content for specific audiences is the most important and most challenging aspect marketing.
What are your own favorite digital best practices? How do they directly increase and help your business?
The internet is full of interesting cases. Let’s use the example of Nike. They had the vision of empowering a commodity (represented by a shoe, or “sneaker”) with a huge amount of services. They create their own social media platform, Nike+. They let people have relations based on sports and shoes: this community has become the brand’s best ambassador.
I’d like to invite you to go to www.fiat.com and www.jeep.com in order to see how we are performing along the digital consumer journey by leveraging two strong call-to-actions: “test-drives” and “get a quote”. Behind those buttons we have a very strong and consistent CRM which works into converting the “clickers” into consumers. We are now able to count the number of sales generated by this digital CRM.
Where does digital stay in customer loyalty?
Along the consumer journey, I think digital plays at least 3 important roles.
The first one is about continuing and enclosing the first step of the purchase. You buy the product then you go online and register your warranty. That is when the relation between the brand and the consumer really starts. The consumer starts measuring the quality of the customer service.
The second one is the enhancement digital can give to certain products. Just like mentioned before, the example of Nike speaks for itself, and can be development for almost any kind of product. With your smartphone you can now easily get information on a specific car and these pieces of information will guide you through your customer journey. Applications now give a real experience to consumers and it will make the difference between one product and another.
The third is maybe the most important point. Via the digital assets, the live relation between the consumer and the brands will be continued and nurtured through content. Consumers want to be involved in the activity of the brand and want to feel special.
Digital is the most valuable and most important way to get people close to the brand.
In your opinion what is the next digital trend that will revolutionize the way automobile manufacturers sell cars?
Digital is dramatically changing purchase and experience in the automotive industry. 20 years ago the average number of visits at the dealership was 5.4. Now it has dropped down to 1.6. Why? When consumers go to the dealership, they already know everything about the product. Sometimes they know more than the salesman and are already convinced and focused on what they want to buy. It’s actually just a confirmation of a decision that has been made outside of the dealership. Therefore it affects the distribution: we cannot continue to think that in the next 10-15 years dealers will play the same role. They will become an important place to have a unique experience; it won’t simply be the place where you buy a car. As a matter of fact you can already configure your car online to the last detail, and get all information you need: price, discount, options, etc…
At FCA, in Spain and in the Netherlands, we are running two important pilot projects where we have “real people” only supporting consumers, meaning they can print the final quotation, get to the dealership to sign the contract and buy the car. It will soon become a commodity. It goes even further, in the next 20 years this mobility service will be brought directly at the customer’s house: they won’t have to go to the dealership anymore. The product will simply arrive for a test-drive… or for final delivery.
Therefore, the automotive sector has to improve because the customers are already ahead of the manufacturers…
How could the existing e-commerce platforms be improved?
According to me, areas of improvement mainly concern the inventory. On most of the websites, so many products are displayed, making it difficult to find what you are really looking for. It then becomes almost impossible for a supplier or manufacturer to be visible at that website.
The internal search engines are not enough because if customers already know the name of the product they want to buy, they start from Google and not from the retailer’s website. Consumers therefore need a different structure of the inventory and shipping processes: something simpler, faster…cheaper.
What is the next trend in e-commerce, especially for car manufacturers?
e-commerce is transforming product-based business models into service-based ones.
In the long term, products, even the luxury ones, will not guarantee enough margins due to its lack of uniqueness. Uber, the world’s largest “taxi” company owns no vehicle… Facebook, which is the world’s most popular media owner, does not produce content. Alibaba is the most reliable retailer but has no inventory. Airbnb, the largest accommodation provider, owns no real estate. They sell services. It means that the whole business model is changing.
When you are buying a car, you are not only buying a car, you’re buying a full package of services that are continuingly provided after the initial purchase. The maintenance programs for manufacturers will be impacted by transparency, management easiness and improved consumer service. Having a smartphone in your hands will give you access to all services: appointment bookings, transparent pricing, and not using any cash because you will have paid with your mobile…
