Online Customer Community

Global Automotive Brand Partners with Knexus to Create Online Customer Community

Challenge:

A global automotive manufacturer wanted to create an online customer community to achieve several strategic marketing objectives including...
Reinforce its reputation for innovation and build trust in the brand by demonstrating a willingness to be open and listen to consumers
Reach consumers directly to open up a dialogue and capture customer data - given that most of its product marketing takes place through its car dealership network
Harness customer advocacy, particularly with its more sporty models and Formula One Racing which have a highly engaged and enthusiastic customer following
The company wanted to find an experienced partner with social business expertise, who would help define a strategy, provide appropriate technology, help realign business processes and manage the community

Solutions:

Knexus worked with the company to define a community offering that would meet its marketing objectives whilst adding value to the company's customers and prospective customers
The core proposition was to create a social network where the company's customers and those interested in its products and brand could come together, post photos, sharing insights, ask questions, network and interact with the company's product development engineers. In addition, those with the highest 'kudos' had the opportunity to win exclusive rewards, for example VIP invites to Formula One test days
Knexus built the online community solution using its K'nex-us 2.1, a LAMP platform, integrated with salesforce.com (CRM system) for data capture purposed
Knexus identified internal process changes required to support the community in terms of customer support, product insights etc., working with the company to make appropriate changes e.g. having company engineers engage with the network to talk about new model launches
Knexus took responsibility for managing the community, including moderation, organizing and delivering webcasts and live chat events, analyzing user feedback, implementing site improvements, liaising with customer service and other key functions with the company, measuring ROI and providing regular reporting

Results:

The community quickly generated an engaged following, helped by promotion from the main company sites and scoops associated with new product launches
The community generates substantial interactions around new product launches, 'classic cars, Formula One Racing and the environment
Company customers help one another to address frequently asked questions, providing an alternative source to the company's expensive call centre resources or more static online help
The community generated valuable buzz around new product launches
Members receive loyalty rewards such as exclusive insights and competitions e.g. a hugely successful competition with a prize for the top ten customers to see the company's Formula One team practice session
Discussions and debates around Formula One racing have helped boost brand advocacy
The high level of user generated content has helped the company to improve its natural search performance
Online member engagement has built a substantial new database of direct customer and prospect contact details. This provides the company with an option to communicate directly with customers as well as through its dealer network
The community provides a rich source of insights that would otherwise require a substantial investment in traditional market research. The company has also experimented in engaging members in product development