Audi’s Digital Showroom – A Fully Digitized Car Showroom
Audi and technology are synonymously related to each other. Audi have always adopted pioneering technological uses as a part of their brand strategy. The company slogan “Vorsprung durch Technik” literally means ‘’leading through technology’’. Till recently, Audi showroom had the typical brick and mortar structure, which involved having the physical car presence along with the related expensive furniture and accessories. This was there to provide an immersive environment for their customers. Although now, Audi have gone through a digital revolution and have incorporated enhanced technology in creating a digital showroom where there is no physical car present at all.
This digital showroom is part of a world-wide effort to digitize their showrooms in an effort to save cost, space and increase customer experience by giving them all available certified options that Audi can possibly give. Overall this would enhance the look and feel of respective dealerships so they could offer the most comprehensive inventory to their customers.
Currently, this is the most advanced digitized car showroom system networked in the world.
Challenge
Audi needed to design a digital system that is universal and takes into consideration the commercial requirements of different countries and their respective dealerships. There were various factors, which needed to be considered, all of which needed to conform to a workable budget, as it is the dealers who paid for the system using their own money. Therefore it needed to be viable. Furthermore the system needed to prove its worth to the dealership. The mitigating factors range from different languages, location, size, currency, time-zones and dealer specific options/offers.
Strategy Adopted
There are four distinct digital media types experienced by customers within each participating Audi dealership. Each is specifically designed to provide customers the information they need in a high-quality format to support the high standards set by the Audi brand. Digital content created by Audi’s marketing team for use in the Audi digital showroom includes advertorial films, Audi sporting and corporate events, Audi news, and features on culture, innovation and concepts.
At the first instance when the Customer enters the fully digitized Audi showroom, there is a large display unit kept there as a Free standing unit.
With which the customer not only gets an hand on experience to touch and feel the product but also to customize the product as per his needs and requirements.
The screen is placed in the waiting area and supports high branded audio and video material to attract customers.
The Presentation element of the digitized showroom might not have a live car in its showroom for its customers but has the ability to bring life to a static product. The audio element in the presentation give a theatrical experience to the customers.
The Digital Audi showroom has a screen which supports digital info element comprising of details like pricing, test drive, service, warranty and other packs and finance schemes information on it. There are also paper brochures kept which if a customer wishes can take them along with him for further reference.
The next advantage of a Digital Audi touch point for its customers is its Audi Configurator. The Audi configurator allows its customers to specify there needs like style, colour , engine size , interiors etc to specify range of items and personalise there vehicle. It also enables them to make more informed decision that suit there need and requirements.
All the Audi’s digital media content is designed by it marketing team and made available to its dealers via a portal. The dealers can login to the portal and download the brand templates as per there needs. The data is specific to each dealership and whatever needed can be downloaded.
The Audi’s digital showroom is made available to its dealer via proprietary portal in order to enable seamless and efficient content management between head office and dealership. It also makes sure that all its customers get the content presentation on band and on time at all the time.
The Audi’s digital showroom initiative has enable a company to have a worldwide and scalable presence all over. And even in the high street of the Capital city’s where the costs to run a actual showroom is much higher is compared to digital showroom. The company make sure that it provides all its customers highest quality branded media at all times.
There is an international communication system in place which enables Audi’s to reach out to its dealers and provide content specific information at all times. There is an intelligent system Scala in place as well which Audi specific content to all its dealers at one time in multiple languages. This not only saves time for the Company, but also enormous operating cost which a company would incur in case they have to send out information manually individually to its dealers.
With this system not Only the company get the assurance of placing high braded content to its dealers at the same but also the dealers have the convenience of placing its requests and messages on the system at the same time.
At the moment Audi Digital Showroom concept is prevalent if around 600 showrooms in more than 70 countries worldwide. The staff engage and educate customers from the moment they enter the digital world to the point of closure of live sale.
Photo Credit: Audi
