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The Art (and Science) Behind Jaguar’s Marketing Performance

The Art of Performance” is more than Jaguar’s tagline. It’s a nod to the luxury vehicle brand’s approach to design and driver feel. But when it comes to U.S. market share, the company stalls.

Out of the 32 different car segments in the United States, Jaguar currently competes in only three—the full-size luxury sedan segment, the midsize luxury sedan segment, and the luxury sport segment—notes IHS Automotive Industry Analyst Thomas Libby.

The problem is that Jaguar isn’t leading in any of them. That’s a position Jaguar aims to change through an artful blend of data and marketing innovation.

Rocky road
There were 50 new registrations in the U.S. this past June for the Jaguar XFR, part of the luxury sport segment, comprising 0.1% of the segment share, according to IHS Automotive’s data. And there were 554 new registrations for the XJ—a full-size luxury sedan—comprising 1.6% of segment share.

“It’s a very, very small market share,” Libby says.

So, who are the major players? According to Libby, there are 15 key brands in the U.S. automotive luxury market—including Audi, BMW, and Porsche—and Jaguar competes with most of them in each segment that it’s in.

Given their more prominent U.S. market share, many of these competitors have a lot of money and resources, Libby notes, and therefore, can be in more segments than Jaguar and redesign products more frequently with the latest technology, safety features, and connectivity.

This perception means Jaguar has to drive harder to stand out.

Even Laura DeStefanis, national advertising manager for Jaguar Land Rover North America (now owned by Tata Motors Limited), says proving that the brand is “no longer the old and stodgy Jaguar” is one of the company’s key marketing objectives.

“We’ve gone leaps and bounds in the past few years to promote that Jaguar’s quality has improved significantly,” she says.

And it looks like Jaguar is progressing on that front. In J.D. Power’s 2015 U.S. Automotive Performance and Layout (APEAL) Study, Jaguar has the second highest ranking, falling behind Porsche but beating out the other top-five brands that include Audi, BMW, and Mercedes-Benz. Jaguar also ranked as one of the top three auto brands for J.D. Power’s 2015 Nameplate Initial Quality Study Ranking. However, Renee Stephens, J.D. Power’s VP of U.S. automotive quality, says that the perception of Jaguar’s quality lags behind the actual quality of its current vehicles.

“Despite this good performance, Jaguar models scored lower in quality perception compared to other models in the same segment,” she says.

DeStefanis says that the brand’s “unique driving experience” is what separates Jaguar from the rest of the pack. “You’re always going to have that sports car feel no matter what [Jaguar] you’re in,” she says, “nimble handling and kind of that sensual experience. That’s really what we always want to promote and market, as well.”

“Unique,” however, means different things to different customers, especially considering Jaguar’s various price points. According to auto pricing and information website TrueCar, Jaguar car prices begin at about $50,000 and go upwards of about $100,000. And customer profiles can range just as drastically. For instance, a customer willing to pay $50,000 for a 2015 XF 2.0T Premium is more of a practical, daily driver, DeStefanis explains, while a customer willing to pay $116,000 for a 2015 XJR is more of an emotional driver who focuses on the craftsmanship and beauty of the vehicle. Jaguar has to ensure that the “unique driving experience” meets those very different customers’ needs.

With these speed bumps potentially slowing Jaguar’s progress, steering consumers down the path to purchase could be like traveling a long and winding road—but with a data-driven approach to marketing, Jaguar is up for the ride.

Start your engines
For Jaguar, the pre-purchase process starts with print, TV, or automotive press, DeStefanis says. As customers start to make more practical purchase decisions, they tend to head to Jaguar’s digital channels. These touchpoints allow Jaguar to expand upon the brand story started in its broadcast channels.

“You can only say so much about that [unique driving experience] in some of the above-the-line space[s],” she says. “When you get down to the digital space, it allows you to take that story a step further.”

A good indicator of whether a customer is seriously considering a purchase is whether he asks Jaguar for information while online. For instance, via JaguarUSA.com customers can schedule test drives, request quotes, inquire about brochures, or simply opt in to the brand’s communications to stay informed. When customers request brand communications they can select what model they’d like to learn about, what style, and when they plan to make a purchase. In the process, they also provide their contact information and demographic details (e.g., ZIP Code). This makes the site a treasure trove of customer data that Jaguar’s marketers can use to, among other activities, improve the online customer experience.

In fact, the goal of Jaguar’s website is to make it easy for customers to quickly identify their ideal vehicle and then contact their local retailer, says Kim Kyaw, digital, social, and CRM manager for Jaguar Land Rover. The luxury vehicle manufacturer is able to achieve this objective by using a combination of first-party data, website cookies, and third-party data to personalize its digital ads and online experiences.

If, for example, Jaguar knows that a customer is new to the brand, it may direct that customer to its “Why Jaguar” section on its website first. “This helps them understand what sets Jaguar apart from the competition,” Kyaw explains. Contrastingly, if a customer just bought a new car, Jaguar may send that customer communications directing them to how-to videos on topics such as how to use keyless entry or voice recognition.

Drive relevancy through direct mail
One way Jaguar communicates with its customers after they’ve requested information is through direct mail. Mailers tend to be more product-specific or full-line focused, DeStefanis says, and explain the benefits of the featured vehicles to better distinguish Jaguar from its competitors.

“It’s always going to ladder up to why the brand’s unique and different,” she says. “Obviously, at that point—when you’re talking to a person one-to-one and they want to learn more about a specific car—you have to include more information about that particular product.”

Generally, these communications direct recipients to a Jaguar retailer to test drive the promoted vehicle or to Jaguar’s website or social channels to learn more about the car.

Jaguar is also able to segment its direct mail pieces based on a number of different attributes, such as product, demographic information, interests, and media consumption.

“For some of the sedan ranges, we notice that people want to be communicated to while they’re multitasking,” DeStefanis explains. “You know that you can communicate to them on a tablet while they’re watching [a Jaguar] commercial, and then send them a direct mail [piece] because they’re constantly looking in different places for information.”

And like Jaguar, its direct mail is anything but old and stodgy. For example, Jaguar North America and CRM partner Plan B won Davey Awards in the Direct Mail to Consumer category for their Jaguar XJ and Jaguar XFR-S direct mail campaigns. The XFR-S campaign was a lenticular direct mail piece that creates the illusion that the car is driving; the XJR campaign leveraged thermochromic messaging to reveal a secret message. The companies also created an augmented reality mailing for Jaguar’s F-TYPE model.

DeStefanis says that Jaguar’s direct mail pieces have been so well-received that some fans share them on social media—adding to the brand’s exposure.

“People will actually get so excited about receiving our products in the mail that they’ll snap photos of it and post it on Instagram, which is very cool to see,” she says. “We’re constantly looking at new ways to actually bring something new and exciting to somebody’s mailbox, so they’re not just tossing it aside, but actually taking it, experiencing it, and learning about the brand another step further.”

Accelerate the path to purchase through email
In addition to reaching out to prospective customers via direct mail, Jaguar relies on targeted emails to drive prospects through the purchase funnel. Those emails comprise a typical variety of message types, including the Roar enewsletter for owners, hand raisers, and leads; sales event emails for people in market; and reveal or launch emails that include behind-the-scenes materials for hand raisers or leads, DeStefanis says. And it tries to tailor its messages to appeal to its various segments based on first- and third-party data.

For instance, a person who has requested information but hasn’t gone for a test drive might receive an email inviting him to do so, DeStefanis says, while a prospect who has gone for a test drive might receive news announcements to keep him informed about deals, events, and products that he can take advantage of. Similarly, a prospect looking to buy a $50,000 vehicle might receive more practical information—like the benefits of the car and how to use them—she says; whereas a sports car enthusiast looking to buy a $100,000 car might receive owner stories and content regarding the car’s accolades.

“You really need to make sure that the communication is talking directly to the person,” DeStefanis says.

Although most of Jaguar’s emails consist of HTML content, DeStefanis says that the brand is looking to incorporate more dynamic content so it can pull in themes from its website and provide users with the most up-to-date information. She adds that the brand plans on implementing a preference center to ensure that it’s communicating with customers via their channels of choice.

“We really are trying to put the customer first,” she says, “and we want to make sure that we’re respecting the relationship we have with them.” 

Push the pedal to the metal with post-purchase communications
The marketing journey doesn’t end for Jaguar once a customer makes a purchase. The brand continues to engage owners post-purchase to generate brand advocacy and repeat purchases. After all, car purchasers tend to be quite loyal. Consider the following data from IHS Automotive: Purchasers who returned to the new vehicle market in the first six months of 2015 had a brand loyalty rate (meaning they purchased from the same brand) of 48.9%.

Similar to its approach during the pre-purchase phase, Jaguar relies on direct mail and email to interact with customers after they buy a vehicle. For example, Jaguar is working on sending new owners welcome direct mail pieces congratulating them on becoming part of the Jaguar family. These mailings will also include a bit of history on Jaguar, information about the brand, and a Growler keychain. Additionally, it sends new owners welcome emails, as well as targeted content in its ongoing emails—such as how to use their all-wheel drive feature in the winter—and invites to events.

It’s during these welcome series communications that Jaguar invites patrons to share their owner stories and photos, Kyaw says, to generate word of mouth and reinforce buyers’ choice of Jaguar. The brand then shares this user-generated content on its website.

“The owner stories are really always focused around making sure that they’re staying in love with the brand and why they should,” DeStefanis says, “[such as] how they can always take advantage of different opportunities that they have as a Jaguar owner.”

Switch lanes
So, what does Jaguar’s roadmap for future success look like? Along with some high-speed straights to brand engagement, it may include a few new twists and turns.

According to analyst Libby, Jaguar is expanding into two new segments: First, is the compact luxury sedan segment, with the debut of the 2017 Jaguar XE in spring 2016. The brand is also entering the crossover market, with its 2017 Jaguar F-PACE compact luxury SUV. Although pricing for the F-PACE has yet to be revealed, the pricing for the Jaguar XE will start at $34,900, a significant decrease in pricing compared to Jaguar’s other models.

“[It’s] very exciting for us,” DeStefanis notes. “We are happy to further develop our product portfolio for our consumers with cars that always deliver on the same Jaguar promise: unique design and performance.”

Expanding into other segments makes sense from a volume perspective, Libby says; however, the brand will have to continue to differentiate itself from sister brand Land Rover, he adds.

Evolving the brand is one of Jaguar’s biggest challenges, DeStefanis says, as it is for many brands. “Like any other marketer,” she says, “it’s just constantly staying ahead of the trend or making sure that we’re at the cutting edge of all the different opportunities that are out there, which is an exciting challenge.”

So, fasten your seat belts because it looks like Jaguar’s road to success is just beginning.

“Never assume that your job is done,” DeStefanis says. “You can always improve on it. Everything is always going to be evolving. So whatever you’ve done today, just always look to improve it tomorrow.”

 
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