Colin Carrasquillo: The significance of first party data for marketing teams

Through the end of the year and into 2023, marketing teams must work effectively with dealers to maintain customer engagement. Colin Carrasquillo, the digital marketing manager for Nielsen, Dodge, Chrysler, Jeep, and Ram, discusses the significance of understanding first-party data with reference to dealers’ marketing efforts on today’s Inside Automotive.

Due to inventory creeping back up, the ultimate goal of marketing teams continues to be “look back to move forward” according to Carrasquillo.  In the midst of inventory values, Carrasquillo believes this “pendulum swing” is a slow balancing increase between rising car options and an increase in customers. 

While planning their marketing strategy for 2023, dealerships must excite customers with new inventory and lower costs. The volume that plays out in interpreting first-party data, according to Carrasquillo, is significant. Marketing teams are investigating “brand loyalty” in relation to future expenditures. Therefore, Dealers will succeed better in 2023 if they concentrate more on their current customer database and the brands they consistently purchase.

We are “looking at a cookie-less future” as we approach Google Analytics 4, the most significant first-party platform going ahead, says Carrasquillo. He adds, starting in 2023, the three D’s—cleaned data, delivery, and dissection—will be the most important tools that dealers’ marketing teams must utilize. Additionally, it will make it possible to serve consumers more skillfully. For instance, Customers who use Google Chrome leave a digital trail, making it simpler to find click-based content.

Dealers inherently transform into data centers, especially when they engage in an infinite loop of communication with their customers. According to a study by CarGurus, in 2022 for dealers, there was a chance to recoup lost business from customers who switched to other dealers because of inventory shortages. Additionally, J.D. Power did a study that predicted 2022 brand loyalty, which highlighted that despite inventory problems, customer loyalty remained high.

When OEMs release programs based on first-party data and when we still have cars on the market selling for more than the MSRP, it can be difficult to navigate communications with customers. According to Carrasquillo, marketing methods from 2019 stated that “$100 under invoice price. But today, with high-interest rates and rising gross profit, sending out exciting advertisements has become more difficult.” Overall, marketing teams must rely on the consumer experience.