Luxury cars woo Indian customers through social media
From Facebook to Twitter, YouTube to specially customised apps, luxury car brands are leaving no stone unturned to get the Indian customers on their side.
'Luxury is not meant to be marketed online.' This age-old marketing adage is swiftly being thrown out of the window as the world's best known luxury cars woo the Indian customer, through social media. From Facebook to Twitter, YouTube to specially customised apps, luxury car brands are leaving no stone unturned to get the Indian customers on their side.
Audi is one of the firm believers in new media. Joe King, head, Audi India, says that one of the uses of online technology is to generates better sales for the brand.
"The Audi Q3 S Edition for instance was launched on a digital platform through an online booking engine - driven by social media platforms. As a result, we received 125 bookings for the Q3 S on the day of its launch itself," says King.
Audi is not the only one looking to drive sales through digital platforms. Luxury car brand Mercedes Benz has developed an iPad-based tool called iSales, which showcases features of the car through videos, images and even financial options.
Eberhard Kern, MD and CEO, Mercedes Benz India, says, "iSales has been instrumental for us in aiding sales to tech-savvy customers, who are on the move and short on time."
Analysts say, enthusiasm by luxury car brands for social media is not only because it is cheaper than conventional marketing strategies but also because it reaches the target audience. A recent study by Fidelity Investments showed 85 per cent millionaires use text messaging, smart phone applications and social media. Add the fact that 50 per cent India's tech savvy population is under 35, and one begins to understand just why digital media matters. The result - car brands are using new media to promote an offline event among this age group.
BMW is a case in point. At the recently concluded Auto Expo in Delhi, 16 videos were generated online in a week to showcase the "action" at the BMW Pavilion. From showcasing BMW cars, to Sachin Tendulkar at the stand, to VIP sound bytes - the luxury carmaker trended on Twitter, received over 4,00,000 views and an increase of over 60,000 Facebook fans. This ensured a mass following that traditional advertising could not have matched.
Events aside, the online USP for luxury and super-luxury cars, is customisation. Mercedes introduced the iPad-based iConfigurator this year, which allows customers to create the car of their dreams. For those who want a new look Porsche, that's possible too. Buyers can log in to the brand's official website - choose exteriors, interiors and other options that will enable the customer to have a Porsche no one else has. Once done, final images of the car are shown, enabling the buyer to see what their Porsche would look like. This option is something even a visit to the showroom would not be able to provide.
Apart from marketing their car as unique, brands are also using the online forum to build loyalty with a notoriously fickle customer. Jaguar, for instance, has developed the F-TYPE Mobile App, which takes the viewer behind the scenes to explain just how their luxury car was created. Others seek brand loyalty by involving the customer in their campaigns. Audi's Start Young campaign is a prime example. Kings says, "Customers were invited through digital platforms to take part in a music video contest, where over 200 entries were received. The winning entry featured John Abraham in the video."
The online journey of car brands is still in its nascent stages in India. But with a continued slump in luxury car sales, analysts expect the fight for the customer is only set to get bigger on the web.