Analytical Lead Management in the Automotive Industry

Abstract

Increasingly, vehicle buyers are using the internet as part of the purchasing process. As a service to the customer, a website can offer its visitors the opportunity to be contacted by a nearby dealer when they are ready to buy. These internet “leads” offer the ability to increase sales, enhance customer satisfaction, and develop a better understanding of buyers who use the internet. In order to take advantage of this situation, automotive manufacturers have to be able to capture website leads reliably and deliver them to the appropriate dealers directly. Furthermore, performance metrics should be implemented that enable manufacturers and dealers to improve their sales and marketing performance.

In this paper we describe an approach which is designed to maximize return on leads generated from internet websites. The core of our approach is a statistical model that is able to score each lead to determine the likelihood that it will result in a sale and prioritize each lead before sending it to the appropriate dealer. An operational lead management project for Audi of America is used for illustrative purposes.