Consumer Intent Paves Way for Customized Incentives
A data-as-a-service company new to the automotive space is hoping to refine the way incentives are designed by financiers and manufacturers. Called Jornaya, the data provider specializes in tracking consumer behavior and, thus, consumer intent, Vice President of Automotive Brian Epro told Auto Finance News.
“It’s 2019, the days of treating every single lead you receive the exact same way are over,” Epro said. Rather, he said, incentive offerings can be tailored on a one-to-one basis, determined by the intent a consumer shows online. Epro said the average time a customer will spend shopping for a vehicle is 16 to 17 weeks – with the majority of that time spent online.
Jornaya tracks consumers visiting websites within its network that are categorized as automotive shopping sites, such as OEM and classified listing sites. It gathers behavioral data that may show the number of times a consumer visits the website over a given timeframe, the number of times different application forms are filled, or the amount of time someone spends on a given page, among others.
Jornaya is currently onboarding two OEMs; Epro anticipates adding at least another two multi-brand OEMs by yearend, though he declined to disclose company names. “[OEMs] are spending a tremendous amount of money on incentives,” he said, adding that it is not unusual for manufacturers to spend $8 billion to $10 billion a year, or an average of $4,000 per vehicle sold on incentives.
“The reality, though, is not every person needs the same incentives. If you have somebody who’s showing a lot of intent who’s actively shopping and the data is indicating this person is going to buy, you may not need to put $1,000 on the hood of the car to get it sold,” he said. If the tailored marketing and incentive strategies are successful, the same offer can be made to other consumers who behave the same way.
Jornaya – which got its start in the insurance, education, and mortgage industries eight years ago – entered the automotive market last spring.
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