Harley-Davidson of New York City utilized the artificial intelligence platform company Albert to drive a finance promotion last fall, which resulted in a 40% rise in sales compared with the slow 2015 fall season, Eric Berkowitz, Albert’s vice president of customer success, toldPowersports Finance.
“For Harley-Davidson NYC, we had an opportunity to really show what we could do to help them get rid of surplus inventory,” Berkowitz told Powersports Finance. “[Harley] had a promotion where they were trying to really be aggressive with sales, and they needed a way to get messaging out to the right people. … Albert was able to expand Harley-Davidson NYC’s horizons a bit, in terms of who they thought of as their ideal buyer.”
The “48 Bikes in 48 Hours” promotion — which ended in October 2016 — included 3.9% financing on any new Harley-Davidson motorcycle, no down payment, no interest for 90 days, and no payments for 120 days.
Albert’s platform analyzes an interconnected network across digital channels, like Facebook and Google, to look at community interest groups that potential customers “Like” and follow online, Berkowitz said. Albert takes “an experimental approach” to target different groups over time, in order to narrow in on the customer profiles that prove to offer a high conversion rate to sales and financing, he added.
Prior to using the AI platform, Harley-Davidson NYC’s all-time sales record was eight motorcycles in a weekend, but the dealership has since nearly doubled its record to 15 motorcycles sold during its first two-day campaign last fall, according to a published report.
Additionally, Harley-Davidson NYC has hired six new employees to keep up with Albert-generated leads, according to the report. After three months of the campaign, Harley saw an increase of 2,930% in leads per month.
The campaign used for Harley-Davidson NYC is not just for dealerships but lenders as well, Berkowitz said. Albert’s platform can be applied in a variety of different ways for digital marketing, brand awareness, generating visibility, selling engagement, registration, and events, he said.
In addition to digital marketing, startup Albert offers a mobile app, which dispenses financial advice to consumers. Albert prompts users to connect all of their bank accounts to its mobile platform. This connection enables the app to take a holistic look at the state of a consumer’s finances, before then suggesting actionable enhancements for financial well being — such as the best way to repay credit card debt. Users can then act on the app’s recommendation right from its platform, and can even use it to get insurance with a thumb print, according to the company’s website.