Artemio Garza, Chief Brand Officer for Driven Brands, which includes MAACO and Meineke Car Care Centers, is very optimistic about 2016 and talked to Loyalty360 about how customer-centricity and customer loyalty are key priorities.
Since MAACO has a deep rebranded approach to include a customer-centric focus, how has the company used its rich data to understand changes in customer behaviors that affect loyalty?
One of our primary methods of increasing retention and loyalty outside of in-shop sales efforts is email. With every estimate and work order, our shops collect the customer’s email address. This allows us to connect directly with customers during key moments in the sales process. While in the consideration phase, we follow up with targeted messaging about their estimates and special offers to bring them back into the shop to have the work completed. After the work has been completed, we connect with customers to get feedback on their experience and offer referral specials for their friends and family. That’s one example of how we increase loyalty.
We’ve also taken many strides toward ensuring that a customer’s experience is consistent – from the commercials they see on TV, to the tweet they read on Twitter to the experience they have in the shop; the goal is for the message to be unified. We’ve also integrated consumer financing into our offerings; knowing that the Uh-Oh moments we reference can happen at any time and are often unexpected. Other ways we’ve increased communication and loyalty amongst our customers include, the MAACO mobile app and the ability to easily schedule appointments through the app and online. For added convenience, we’ve continued opening our satellite locations in retail-heavy, highly trafficked areas. Finally, customers can opt in to get text and photo status updates of their service via the phones with the integration of AutoWatch – one of our advance CRM tools.
How would you characterize MAACO’s brand perception since the company overhauled its marketing and positioning strategies?
Since relaunching “Uh-Oh, Better Get MAACO” in 2015, nearly 40% of consumers have said they are more likely to visit our centers; another 40% say that their perception of MAACO has improved. We also saw a 5% increase in brand familiarity and a 3% lift in future consideration from Q4-2014 to Q2-2015. Sixty-nine percent of consumers find our commercials entertaining, while more than 64% have found them attention-getting. Most notably, The “Uh-Oh, Better Get MAACO” slogan has hit the mark with consumers — 83% of consumers find our slogan memorable, while 82% find it likeable and appealing.
And how has that change in brand perception impacted customer engagement?
Consumers are more engaged. As a system, we’ve seen an average increase of 6% in same-center sales over 2014. Consumers are also seeking to engage with us online and via social media. Our average monthly website sessions increased 27% over 2014, and our Facebook page saw a 5% increase in likes. We garnered consistent growth across Instagram and Twitter, too. We’ve seen that customer want to engage with our educational materials, learn more about our services and get closer to the brand and our abilities through the MAACO app.
Improving the customer experience was MAACO’s top priority in 2015. Can you talk about the progression of that goal in the past 12 months?
In 2015, we opened five new MAACO Satellite locations across North America. These satellite locations are in highly trafficked retail areas, making stopping by for an estimate, dropping off and picking up their vehicles convenient. As we move into the New Year, we are continuing to roll out our updated POS system which allows clear and timely communication with the customer – updating them with texts and photos of their vehicles as it moves through the various #MAACOVER stages. Training across all operations functions and customer services is led with a complete customer-first charge; a charge we strive we fully embody from the top down. Also, to improve our customer’s experience while in the shop, we’re rolling out digital sales boards that allow dynamic storytelling and a better approach to the sales process.
What is MAACO’s top priority for 2016?
MAACO’s top priority in 2016 is to continue the trend in growth of consideration amongst consumers. We’ve laid a solid foundation in 2015, so we’ll continue to leverage the ever-popular “Uh-Oh, Better Get Maaco” slogan to be the solution for auto paint and collision repair services – providing easy, affordable and reliable services for our customers.