BMW creates an interactive quiz experience to promote their electric vehicles through Facebook Messenger.
50% of chabot users converted
+2Min average user engagement with chatbot
41% CTR compared to Industry SMS benchmark of 5-10%/Email 2%

BMW is a global leader in premium automotive innovation and a driving force in the shift toward electric mobility.

To raise awareness and spark interest in its growing range of electric vehicles, BMW launched an engaging Messenger experience featuring interactive online quizzes.

Through the experience, users could test their knowledge of electric mobility, learn about BMW’s latest EV models, and discover which vehicle best suited their lifestyle

Challenge: Engaging and converting digital-first car buyers in a changing market

BMW’s messaging strategy addresses the challenges automotive marketers face with evolving digital buyer journeys and lead generation.

In recent years, the automotive industry has witnessed a significant shift in consumer purchasing behavior, with a growing preference for online and mobile platforms over traditional in-person dealership visits. This change in behavior has proven challenging for Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) as they try to meet the demands of modern consumers. 

This shift is especially challenging in the Electric Vehicle (EV) market. Research shows that the average sales cycle for EVs is prolonged, as consumers spend more time in the consideration phase. And, brand loyalty declines significantly once buyers make the switch to EVs.  

 

The solution:

To overcome these challenges, BMW US partnered with Spectrm and set out to: captivate users on their most used platforms with a dynamic, mobile-first experience, do so with maximum efficiency, expand their customer base, and drive sales.

  • Prolonged sales cycle for EVs: simplify digital touchpoints into one easy to track conversation to accelerate the purchase journey.
  • Customer signals: collect zero party data signals to improve lead quality, build segments, and reduce your cost per action
  • Buyer education: engage in a two way conversation that adds value and educates buyers about new models.
  • On-going engagement: book more test drives by converting users to message channel with higher reachability than phone or email
  • Lead activation: grow new seed audiences and active existing lead lists on their preferred channel


Case:

As the focus was to launch quickly in the US market,  BMW US focused first on Messenger and Instagram Direct.

By adding Click-to-Messenger and Click-to-IG DM (CTX) ads to their campaigns they wanted to test in a scientific test the impact of bringing on-site experiences like Lead Generation  and customer engagement tools to the messaging platforms. The results are then measured with a double control group along the funnel, from brand lift to site-action completion inside the messaging platform to sales. 

The Messenger and Instagram chatbot experience transforms education on electric vehicles into a playful experience, showcasing BMW’s models & technology. Guided by the bot, users experience a personalized journey to find their perfect EV match based on their needs and preferences. 

Customer Journey:

BMW offers a one-to-one conversational journey across the customer lifecycle. Here’s how the chatbot engaged users online and directed them from a Facebook ad, to a Messenger experience and then to the website. 

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1. Acquire users: BMW US engages users with CTX ads across Meta’s platforms using creatives such as video and still. BWM’s CTX ads are best practice: They clearly indicate that the experience is conversational and continuing on a messaging platform and therefore avoiding surprises.

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2. Engage and qualify: Once the user clicks the ad, they are directed to the Messenger or Instagram ad, where the chatbot starts the conversation. The chatbot asks for preferences, such as driving style, weekend activities or specific car models to make a recommendation for the perfect EV model from BMW US.

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3. Convert users: At the end of the chatbot experience, the chatbot offers a click-out to the website for further information, or collects the lead directly in chat in a conversational way. With an integration into BMWs CRM systems, this information is then instantly shared with a dealer.

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4. Send notifications: With recurring notifications, BMW US keeps engaging users even after the chatbot experience ends. They send follow-on push notifications to users on their preferred messaging app to drive ongoing engagement and upsell them.

How it works: zero-party data capture via Facebook Messenger

BMW captures zero party data in a privacy-safe channel to improve customer profiles, segment audiences, and reach them directly

Below is an example of how BMW structures the data from chat to build audience segments and re-engage customers one to one with push notifications from Messenger.
BMW 55

 

BMW's Success with Spectrm Chatbot: Overcoming Automotive Challenges and Achieving Exceptional Engagement Rates

BMW US saw across the user journey and across the funnel strong results in one of their biggest campaigns in the entire year. The scientific setup with the double control group creates a lot of confidence in these significant results. 

  1. Messaging helped driving double digit incremental reach showcasing the value of adding messaging experiences to our usual BMW-branded ad strategy to reach new buyers with almost no overlap to BAU campaigns. 
  2. High engagement on Messenger and Instagram Direct; on average users chatted for +2min with the chatbot. The follow-on push notifications BMW US sent to re-engage users had a 96% open rate. 
  3. Almost 50% of all messaging users were converted to a lead or switched to the car configuration on the website. 
  4. The campaign drove significantly more sales (measured by cars sold) in that time frame than the BAU campaign.