Nissan’s path to better sales and engagement: personalized mobile messaging

Purchasing a car is a huge decision – but it’s not something most people do very often. So, once you’ve made a sale, how do you maintain a strong customer relationship?

Nissan, one of the largest car manufacturers in the world, found an innovative solution – in partnership with Sinch and Adobe Campaign.  

Challenge: Shifting the mobile marketing strategy 

Did you know most people who purchase a new car wait five to seven years before choosing a vehicle? It’s no wonder that many automobile manufacturers struggle with the industry’s lengthy customer life cycle.  

Nissan Europe had seen decreasing engagement from its customers via traditional communication channels such as email. The company wanted to continue building these relationships, boosting engagement and brand loyalty – but needed to find a better solution. That’s why in 2018, Nissan decided to implement a major shift, putting mobile messaging at the heart of its customer relations strategy. 

Nissan Europe turned to Adobe Campaign and its integration with the mobile messaging platform Sinch. This solution allows them to use their CRM data to orchestrate dynamic, cross-channel campaigns. With the help of both tools, Nissan Europe can now develop rich, immersive media and SMS experiences while delivering targeted mobile messaging to customers anywhere and anytime — even on the road as they take advantage of connected car technology.

Solution: Connecting with customers on their preferred channel 

Nissan Europe had already been working with Adobe Campaign for several years. Sinch – an Adobe Campaign partner – was the perfect fit to help Nissan take its mobile messaging to the next level, becoming the first automotive company in Europe to test Rich SMS messaging.  

Sinch’s platform allowed Nissan to use their existing CRM data to orchestrate personalized campaigns, targeting the right user at the right time – even on the road, in their car, using the opt-in NissanConnect mobile app. 

Time for routine maintenance? Nissan sends customers a friendly reminder a few months beforehand. Or perhaps a driver hasn’t had time to learn all the features in their new car yet. At the three-to four-month mark, buyers receive a Rich SMS message with details on how to make the most of their car’s connected services. 

“Depending on a customer’s preferred channel, who they are, and when they come back to the market, we try to strategically deliver relevant messaging based on their maintenance needs or even based on the weather forecast,” says Claire Laurent, Senior Account Director at Publicis, Nissan’s marketing partner. “For example, if it was going to rain or snow, we’d send them a message that said ‘Snow is coming, so you need to change your tires.’” 

And when a new model of the car a customer has driven and loved for years becomes available, Nissan can send a tailored message to them with information – including directions to the nearest dealership where the exact color and model they want is available. 

Results: Customer loyalty, suited to each driver 

Nissan’s customers clearly appreciated and preferred the new campaigns. How does quadrupled customer engagement sound? What about an 80% conversion rate? After Nissan’s first trial of Rich SMS campaigns with Sinch, the company decided to continue and expand its mobile messaging efforts. 

Want to learn more about Adobe Campaign and Sinch? Download a free PDF of Adobe’s case study with Nissan and Sinch here.