How modern car buying habits can be used to create highly-targeted marketing
Just as with nearly every aspect of our lives, technology has transformed the way people search for a new car. That same technology is also helpful in collecting data that marketers can use to very specifically target potential buyers.
Of course, having the right information is essential. In the past, the data has told marketers that Alan Smith’s truck loan will be paid off soon, but it can’t tell if he’s actually searching for a new truck. Until now.
BDEX uses real-time data to more precisely target those who are actively in the market for a new vehicle. How is this done? First, let’s discuss modern search habits when it comes time to buy a new vehicle.
Search habits of the modern automotive customer
Car buying has gone digital in a very big way. A majority of customers now begin the buying process by doing a tremendous amount of online research, from looking for types of vehicles and reviews to maintenance costs and depreciation of the major car brands. They also use a mixture of different devices for research, including smartphones, tablets, and computers.
Look at these stats from an AutoTrader.com/Kelly Blue Book study:
- Car buyers spend 59% of their time researching online
- 46% of car buyers used multiple devices in online searches
83% used a computer (desktop/laptop); 46% used a smartphone; 41% used a tablet
14% only used mobile devices
- Only 30% of car buyers knew the exact make/model they wanted before they started researching
- Third-party sites are the most-used of any online resource, with 78% of car buyers visiting at least one of them
- Car buyers spent 60% of their time on third-party sites
- The top 5 online activities of car buyers:
Researching car prices
Finding actual vehicles listed for sale
Comparing different models
Finding the current worth of a car
Locating a dealer/getting dealer info
More evidence of modern automotive buying habits, including the use of social media, from a study by JD Power & Associates:
- Internet shoppers visit an average of 10 automotive websites in their shopping process
- The three most frequently visited third-party sites are: Consumer Reports, Edmunds, and Kelley Blue Book
- 22% of new-vehicle shoppers use social media sites as a shopping source
Once digital research is complete, the majority of shoppers still visit an auto dealership in person
Walking into the dealership is still the most common initial point of contact for car buyers, according to JD Power and Associates. 56% walked into a dealership, compared to 25% who used the phone, 14% who sent an email, and 3% who participated in an online chat.
How BDEX uses the modern search habits of car buyers to create targeted lists of data
BDEX uses real-time targeting to compile data from connected devices that marketers can use to offer relevant products related to current online (and even offline) buying activity. For instance, the data can tell marketers that a potential buyer has visited a site like cars.com, downloaded an app, or signed up for a newsletter. Unique identifiers are fed into a database and cross-referenced with other databases to help identify consumer behaviors, devices, and patterns.
Marketers can learn when users have been researching cars online, which sites were visited, and the specific device that accessed them.
Precise data that targets offline habits
People do still need to visit dealerships in person, either to test drive a number of different vehicles or purchase a specific one. So, it’s also important to be able to track this kind of activity.
BDEX leverages geofencing, a technology in which GPS, radio frequency identifiers (RFID), Wi-Fi, and cellular data are utilized to see information about the places people go, including a local car dealership. This makes it possible to identify prospects who have visited competitors in your area which lets you know that you also need to get their attention.
Data that allows you to target modern car buyers (or any other product)
BDEX uses the shopping habits of modern consumers to provide data that goes beyond guesswork is this prospect actually looking to buy a car? This enables you to vastly increase the efficiency of every marketing dollar compared to traditional direct marketing methods. We have over 700 million device ID connections, as well as more than 900 billion data signals available through our proprietary Data Exchange Platform.
To learn more about BDEX and what this data can do for your automotive marketing, contact us.
