Research: Consumer Insights for the Automotive Industry

The automotive industry is one of fierce competition and constant change. You only need to look at the list of brands that are no longer rolling down the open road to realize this.

The industry is also on the verge of massive change and innovation. Electric vehicles, self-driving cars, and rideshare apps are set to shake up the industry in a way that has never been seen before. To remain competitive in such a changeable, ruthless field requires a deep understanding of customers.

Social intelligence can provide an important complement to the research mix, surfacing consumer insights for automotive brands, with qualitative insights at quantitative scale. A key advantage, of particular use to the automotive industry, is the speed at which this research can be undertaken.

Most auto brands are effectively conveying their identity through social posts and campaigns. Yet without social intelligence platforms, some brands are not capitalizing on the full benefits social data can offer.

Consumer insights for the automotive industry

The old way of selling cars had much in common with the used car salesman standing on the forecourt. The brands held all the information, and customers had to come to them for knowledge and to make a purchase. The brand, like the salesman, had control over the information that was available to the customer.

The last few years have seen us transition into the age of the customer. Consumers have a wealth of information and choice available with just a few taps of their smartphone. Brands need to gain a deeper understanding of their customers because of the wealth of information. They need to communicate their message better, on the channels that the consumers choose.

More informed customers mean more factors now come into the purchase decision, so brands need to be aware of what these concerns are before ensuring they address those issues.

Social intelligence can unearth consumer insights for the automotive industry around these various potential problems. Unearthing audience insights and associations, and monitoring trends and threats, can reveal consumer insights that will help sales, marketing, public relations, and even engineering and design.

Automotive audience insights

In the next ten years, 40% of new car buyers will be millennials, of which up to 94% gather purchasing information online. Furthermore, 38% of consumers consult social media before a car purchase. 

These conversations are already happening and provide an opportunity for brands to engage as well as a potential source of research. With this in mind, automotive brands should embrace social media to connect with customers on the channels they consume content on.

Brands can discover which influencers and media have the most interest in discussing the brand and if they are fans or detractors. What are the demographic characteristics of the audience and influencers?

Competitive insights and brand associations

Monitoring competitors can help you unearth the strengths and weaknesses of the competition, develop your unique selling point, understand the content your competitors’ produce and the audience they are speaking to.

You can measure share of voice and understand how much of the online conversation around vehicles is centered around your brand.

Brand associations can be surfaced comparatively, helping to understand if campaigns are delivering the right message, or if there are characteristics that can be emphasized in marketing.

Associations can be surfaced comparatively, helping to understand if campaigns are delivering the right message.

Electric cars

Electric cars have been around for some time now and are increasing in popularity. Tesla received an incredible 325,000 pre-orders within a week of announcing the Model 3. It was enough for a spokesperson to declare it the “biggest one-week launch of any product ever.”

Brands can monitor the conversation around electric cars, measuring the desire for these products and the themes of conversation around them.

Ridesharing

Ridesharing apps have become part of many people’s daily lives. Uber and Lyft have revolutionized the way millions get around.

Market researchers are already investigating whether it is cheaper to travel by Uber than buy a car. Could this new mode of transport reduce the amount of people willing to buy their own vehicle?

As ridesharing grows in popularity and availability, automotive brands should monitor social to understand why the phenomenon is so popular, how much of a threat it is to traditional auto brands and the topics of conversation.

Self-driving cars

The cost of ridesharing journeys might reduce even further when we don’t have to pay the driver as well. Plans are underway for self-driving cars to be rolled out to these services.

This is part of a wider trend that sees several companies developing driverless car technology. The technology necessary to make this future a reality has raised the possibility of technology companies such as Google and Apple enter the car market for the first time.

Understanding the appetite for driverless cars, along with the objections and excitement, can help in both product development and marketing.

self driving cars yeah right …..no way in hell im letting a computer drive for me!

— michael (@NYGiantsCountry) July 1, 2016

Sustainability

It has been estimated that the automotive industry accounts for around 15% of global carbon emissions.

Environmental protection targets alone mean brands need to address sustainability issues, but public perception is important too. Being seen as a future looking, forward thinking, company may become a desirable value proposition for environmentally conscious consumers.

In addition, price volatility around fossil fuels and future government initiatives and law changes threaten to make stainability even more important. The Dutch government is debating a motion that could see the sale of petrol and diesel fuelled cars banned by 2025. Paris has banned pre-1997 cars from its streets, and London is considering banning diesel cars from the city.

Banning diesel cars is essential to tackling London’s pollution crisis https://t.co/lzKDxL7DYa

— OccuWorld ❌ (@OccuWorld) August 17, 2016

Geographic differences

Social intelligence can also surface geographic consumer insights for the automotive industry. Some car brands can be a leader in one market and anonymous in another.

While sales data will tell some of this story, social data has the potential to identify new markets that have an appetite for a particular brand or product.

Our market analysis of the best electric cars showed that while the Tesla Model S dominated the market, there were states that displayed higher interest in the BMW i3 or the Nissan Leaf.

With so many threats coming from different angles, established brands need to listen to consumers and stay ahead of the latest trends. Companies need to know their perceived strengths and weaknesses today, where to focus their attention and what the future holds.