Author: BZ Consultants Group

This summer we had the chance to spend some time in Europe. One of our stopping points was Munich. Needless to say, we relished the opportunity to play in BMW’s playground. As you will read, we are massive car enthusiasts, so you can imagine our excitement in visiting BMW’s heartland! We were like kids in a candy shop ogling and drooling at the new toys, new cars, and the latest and greatest.

For those that don’t know, let me educate with a brief history lesson on both myself and Chris. I have ALWAYS had a passion for cars. There is something so sexy about cars, the lines, the power, the way they make you feel…if you are a car person, you know what I mean and how I am feeling even typing this. Let’s put it this way, when my family went to buy a car, they took me, the cute little blonde versus one of my 3 brothers. I knew more about the cars than the sales person. Chris has been around the car world his entire life. His father had a dealership, and Chris followed suit. He worked at a Ford dealership; shortly thereafter he was recruited to run a Cadillac store. Once again, he was highly pursued to open and own his own Infiniti dealership. Pretty much, we love nice luxurious cars!

As I stated in our very 1st meeting/article, I NEVER want anyone to be that person that is simply nodding along and having absolutely no idea what is going on and all kinds of confused. I want to start with the basics of BMW and then dive into why they are so successful. I think we all can learn something from them.

I am sometimes shocked how many people “claim” to be car people yet think BMW is only a car company. This is false. Not only that, they didn’t even begin in the car industry, rather the aviation field (their logo is believed to shows this). Yes I am a wealth of useless knowledge. Actually there is some controversy in this history when one car enthusiast dove into “true” history.

Fact: The blue and white is from the Bavarian Flag.
Fact: The circular blue and white BMW logo or roundel evolved from the circular Rapp Motorenwerke company logo.
Fact: Logo says BMW.
Fact: The logo was first used in a BMW advertisement in 1929, twelve years after the emblem was created—but this is not the origin of the logo itself.
Up for debate apparently: Logo represents movement of an aircraft propeller with the white blades cutting through a blue sky. Really how does it not represent this? In the words of Chris Carter, “C’mon Man!”

Check out BMW’s video if you want to hear more about the logo’s history.

BMW (Bavarian Motor Works) was founded in March of 1916. It took over Rapp Motorenwerke aircraft during WW1 (1917). After the War (1918), the Treaty of Versailles forced BMW to cease aircraft engine production. The first SIGNIFICANT aircraft engine was the BMW IIIa (1918).

This is when BMW dove into motorcycle production. In 1923, they unveiled the R32.

It was not until 1928-1929 that they started producing automobiles. The first car was the Dixi. It was called the best small car in the market.

In 1927 (after the ban), 1 out of 3 flight records belonged to BMW engines. In case you are wondering, yes they were the engine for the around the world trip in a flying boat! Needless to say, from day one BMW was setting the bar high and break record after record.

In 1994, BMW bought Rover Group. This Group included. They owned it for 6 years. If you remember, Rover had huge losses. Consequently, BWM sold it BUT retained rights to build the new Mini, which was launched in 2001. Did I also mention BMW is the parent company of Rolls-Royce?

Aside from making wise acquisitions, what else make BMW successful? They have one or three of everything. Look at their product line, they have a vehicle for every situation. Hands down, they better job than maybe any of their competitors. Do you wants a small car? Great! How does a 2 or 3 Series work for you? You want it Electric? i3, done! Oh, you want an Electric SEXY Beast?! i8 will turn more heads than Kim Kardashian-West’s latest butt selfie. You need a smooth SUV. They have more choices than your local Froyo shop! X1, X3, X4, X5, and X6. Then just when their line wasn’t sexy and fast enough, they hit you with the M Series, or as I like to call it, the MMMMM Series! Bottom line, they stay ahead of the competition. They know the public needs options. Not 1 SUV and 1 Sedan but multiple looks at each. Then they know how to market each. We all know their tag lines and the friendly blue and white rounded emblem that has stayed tried and true for over a century.

In June 2012, BMW was listed as the #1 most reputable company in the world by Forbes.com. Rankings are based upon aspects such as “people’s willingness to buy, recommend, work for, and invest in a company is driven 60% by their perceptions of the company and only 40% by their perceptions of their products.”

If you ever receive the opportunity to visit BMW’s plant, I highly suggest you seize the opportunity! It will be well worth your time. For your information, there are a couple of main areas: The Tower, Museum, and Welt. The BMW Tower was built to look like a 4-cylinder car engine with the Museum representing the cylinder head.

BMW Welt (“World” in English) and BMW Museum: The Museum is located right next to the tower. The Welt is across the street. The Welt is FREE admission. The Museum is 10 Euros (about $11.21) The Welt houses all the cars and motorcycles there. You can spend a good chunk of time. Also the Welt has a cafe.

One of my sources was this video. Please, feel free to check out if you want to know more about BMW’s history. I also referred to good old Wikipedia to clarify some dates.

As much it drives me insane that no one has an ACTUAL face to face (or even over the phone) conversation any more or that fact that no one seems to be able to sit down around the dinner table and have the “So how was your day?” conversation without some form technology being involved (or banned/thrown out from the table), I guess the overwhelming theme is “it’s the day and age in which we live.” Don’t get me wrong, I consider myself fairly technology sound and up on the latest and greatest, I guess I am simply old school that certain things should never change. I want, if not for a brief moment, to have electronics silenced and to unplug from this plugged in world and to sit with my loved ones and have their undivided attention while having mine and hear and see what is going on in their lives. Maybe that is outdated in this crazy world, but I think that would and should never go out of style.

Now with that being said, let’s examine these INSANE numbers on how texting has taken over the world! When I left you last, I had driven home how critical CRM is to your business. I am now going to show how vital it is to make sure whatever CRM you select that is has a strong texting component. A good portion of the statistic come from Gigi “45 Texting Statistics That Prove Your Businesses Need to Take SMS Seriously.”

It use to be that email was the preferred method of contact. It the last couple of years, this has changed. Why is that? Well, texting. Texting is king. Let’s think about the logistics of the two methods before jumping into numbers.

Texting vs Emailing

Texting: Instant-no delay
Email: Depending on setup and provider, there can be up to 15 minute delay

Texting: All phones receive text messages
Emailing: Have to have a Smart Phone to receive emails on phone. If on a regular phone, one will not receive email until he/she checks it on a computer.

Texting: Don’t have to an internet connection to receive text (only cell service)
Emailing: Have to have some type of internet/data connection to receive an email

Texting: Most plans now have unlimited text messaging plans
Emailing: Most plans are not unlimited data. If close on data, one will have to wait to check/open email

Texting: Generally more demographics feel more comfortable with texting vs email
Emailing: Generally email scares the older population vs texting

Texting: Texting has a phone number attributed to it, making it easy to call the other person
Emailing: One must scroll to the bottom of the page to find the phone number. If it’s a chain of emails, it can make it difficult to find a phone number.

There are many other pros/cons to each of these methods of contacts. I simply wanted to point out a few. To take these reasonings one step further, it is time to look into those numbers on why texting is so prolific.

• Texting is the most widely used and frequently used app on a smart phone. Not only that, 97% of Americans areusing it AT LEAST ONCE A DAY! (Pew Study)

• 64% of American Adults have a Smart Phone. This means the rest of the population does not. You have to be able to communicate with them. (Pew Study)
• According to DuoCall Communications, 75% of phones or 4.5 billion are text-enabled.
• 96% of Smart Phone users text. (DuoCall Communications)
• Worldwide we will send 8.3 TRILLION texts in this year alone! In case you are wondering, that is 23 BILLION/DAY or 16 MILLION/MINUTE. (Yeah I would say we are little dependent on our phones. (Portio Research)
• In 2012, Forrester stated that over 6 billion texts were sent in the US EVERYDAY!
• Between 2011-2014, it was estimated that the text message use for the US would grow from the 255 billion that were sent in June to 8.5 BILLION EVERYDAY.
• The same article that showed the above stat, stated that 81% of American text regularly. This means that of our population of roughly 323 million people that almost 262 million of them text regularly. I am not sure if you remember the last article, but this 81% stat is higher than the 73% of US households that have broadband internet. Hands down (pun maybe intended) texting is the most common and popular activity on one’s phone.
• A 2012 Study showed that Americans sent 69,000 texts EVER SECOND!
• In a Business Insider article, numbers show that the average Millennial sends/receives 67 texts/day. This is why we need Unlimited plans!
• Text message have 98% open rate. Emails have dropped to a 20% open rate. (Mobile Marketing Watch)
• Text messaging has a 45% response rate. Email: 6% response rate. (Mobile Marketing)
• 90% of texts are read under 3 minutes. We hate those emails that drone on forever!
• On average, texts are read in under 5 seconds. (Slick Text)
• USA Today stated that the average adult spends a total of 23 hours/week texting. In case you are wondering, that is a part-time job!!
• We all love those people over at Nielsen! They showed that Americans texts TWICE as much as they call.
• In 2010, Nielsen also reported that 42% of teens said the PRIMARY reason they had a phone was for texting. (Bizzuka)
• Also in 2010, eMarketer stated that Smart Phone owners aged 18-24 considered texting as meaningful as an actual conversation over the phone. (Bizzuka)
• When Carly Rae Jepsen said “Call Me Maybe,” we all must have taken her seriously as ONLY 43% of Smart Phone owners used their phones to actually call anyone anymore! OVER 70% of phone users text. (Connect Mogual)
• 55% of heavy text message users (50+ text/day) say they would prefer to receive a text OVER a call. (Pew Research)
• In 2011, Pew Research showed that 31% of American’s preferred text message to phone calls. This percentage has increased since 2011.
• 64% of consumers with texting abilities prefer to use texting OVER voice as a customer channel. (OneReach)
• It takes on average 90 seconds to respond to a text vs 90 minutes to an email. (CTIA)

• 79% of businesses believe customers prefer text/SMS Support. (ICMI)
• Dimension Data reports that 38% of contact centers currently offer SMS and 23% have plans to add it in the next 12 months. This means that a total of 61% of contact centers will offer SMS support in 2016.
• eWeek’s survey enlightens how 80% of people use texting for business. Additionally, almost 1/3 said they texted from a device other than a mobile phone (this goes back to strong SMS/Text integration with your CRM).
• 1 in 5 consumers is just as likely to prefer a text from a business as the are a call. This number jumps to 36% with 18-24 year-olds. (ICMI)
• More than 50% say they would text a customer support agent. 52% prefer texting support their current preferred form of communication. (eWeek)
• In 2012, text messages were the highest rated contacted method for customer satisfaction out of all channels. It earned 90/100. Phone earned 77/100. Facebook earned a meager 66/700. (CFI GROUP) As CSI is key, this is a very key factoid.
• Most are addicted to their phones (legally and mentally): over 1/3 of business professionals say they can’t go 10 minutes without responding to a text. (eWeek) The plus side to this is response time is phenomenal!
• SMS/Texts chats can convert a $6-$20 call to a chat that costs pennies/session. (Forrester & ContactBabel)
• Sales prospects who are texted convert at a rate of 40% HIGHER than those who are NOT sent any text message. (Velocify)
• Over 80% of people use text messaging for business. 15% state that more than half their messages are for business purposes. (eWeek)
• Almost 25% of marketers are currently using text messaging and 65% of them find it as being “very effective.” (ExactTarget)
• 75% of people would like to have offers sent to them via SMS. The sad part about this is the fact that around 80% of consumers have NOT received a marketing text/SMS from their favorite brand/company. There is so much money being left on the table by not engaging your customer base via texting. (Digital Marketing Magazine)
• 44% of consumers with texting capabilities would prefer to press a button to initiate a text conversation immediately, rather than waiting on hold to speak with an agent. (One Reach)
• 77% of consumers with texting capabilities aged 18-34 are likely to have a positive perception of a company that offers text capability (One Reach)
• 64% of ALL consumers are likely to have a positive perception of a company that offers texting as a service channel. (One Reach)
• 81% of ALL consumers agree that is frustrating to be tied to a phone or a computer to wait for customer service help. (One Reach)
• 44% of consumers would rather receive product details and other marketing messages through TEXT over ANY OTHER channel. (Direct Marketing Association)
• Around 70% of employees think their organization should use text messaging to communicate with employees. 86% say it should not be reserved for only customer communication. (Vitiello Communications Group)

• It takes on average 90 seconds to respond to a text vs 90 minutes to an email. (CTIA)
• 79% of businesses believe customers prefer text/SMS Support. (ICMI)
• Dimension Data reports that 38% of contact centers currently offer SMS and 23% have plans to add it in the next 12 months. This means that a total of 61% of contact centers will offer SMS support in 2016.
• eWeek’s survey enlightens how 80% of people use texting for business. Additionally, almost 1/3 said they texted from a device other than a mobile phone (this goes back to strong SMS/Text integration with your CRM).
• 1 in 5 consumers is just as likely to prefer a text from a business as the are a call. This number jumps to 36% with 18-24 year-olds. (ICMI)
• More than 50% say they would text a customer support agent. 52% prefer texting support their current preferred form of communication. (eWeek)
• In 2012, text messages were the highest rated contacted method for customer satisfaction out of all channels. It earned 90/100. Phone earned 77/100. Facebook earned a meager 66/700. (CFI GROUP) As CSI is key, this is a very key factoid.
• Most are addicted to their phones (legally and mentally): over 1/3 of business professionals say they can’t go 10 minutes without responding to a text. (eWeek) The plus side to this is response time is phenomenal!
• SMS/Texts chats can convert a $6-$20 call to a chat that costs pennies/session. (Forrester & ContactBabel)
• Sales prospects who are texted convert at a rate of 40% HIGHER than those who are NOT sent any text message. (Velocify)
• Over 80% of people use text messaging for business. 15% state that more than half their messages are for business purposes. (eWeek)
• Almost 25% of marketers are currently using text messaging and 65% of them find it as being “very effective.” (ExactTarget)
• 75% of people would like to have offers sent to them via SMS. The sad part about this is the fact that around 80% of consumers have NOT received a marketing text/SMS from their favorite brand/company. There is so much money being left on the table by not engaging your customer base via texting. (Digital Marketing Magazine)
• 44% of consumers with texting capabilities would prefer to press a button to initiate a text conversation immediately, rather than waiting on hold to speak with an agent. (One Reach)
• 77% of consumers with texting capabilities aged 18-34 are likely to have a positive perception of a company that offers text capability (One Reach)
• 64% of ALL consumers are likely to have a positive perception of a company that offers texting as a service channel. (One Reach)
• 81% of ALL consumers agree that is frustrating to be tied to a phone or a computer to wait for customer service help. (One Reach)
• 44% of consumers would rather receive product details and other marketing messages through TEXT over ANY OTHER channel. (Direct Marketing Association)
• Around 70% of employees think their organization should use text messaging to communicate with employees. 86% say it should not be reserved for only customer communication. (Vitiello Communications Group)

I would ask “What does this all mean to those looking for a CRM or those looking at marketing channels?” but I am really hoping by this point I have utterly inundated you all with these statistics on how vital texting/SMS is to your business! One key thing to remember is as with all things, there is a is fine balance. 80% of consumers only like to receive a maximum of 2 marketing messages/month (Digital Marketing Magazine). Use your head: don’t text a customer if he/she hasn’t given you permission. Don’t text before actually speaking with the customer. Most of the Do’s and Don’ts are common sense and if followed correctly will make your business flourish! Now go text like an American teenager!

Until next time,

BZ

Aww those glorious 3 little letters we all love: no, not IOU but CRM! We all know we have to have a CRM to succeed in this competitive world and stay on top of our customer base, but I am constantly brought back to the basics of simply what is CRM? Do we really know what it is and why it is so important?

I know we all have been that person in the room that is nodding in agreement like a complete imbecile, only hoping no one calls their bluff that they have no idea 1. The topic of conversation or 2. Any clue of what the words mean coming out of the mouth of the person speaking. We simply hope and pray the conversation doesn’t turn to us for some intelligent input or definition. Whether we haven’t brushed up on our celebrity gossip, cared to remotely pay any attention those speaking, or simply thought we always knew about said topic but SURPRISE we don’t know, I am assuming we have all been in this situation at some point.

Let’s start at the beginning. As I don’t want anyone nodding along saying “Yeah, Brooke. Sure, Gotcha,” but be that person we have all been, let’s start with what is CRM. CRM is short for Customer Relationship Management. You may hear some people call it “Customer Retention Management,” but its actual acronym is “Customer Relationship Management.”

Many industries have and need CRM’s, not only the auto industry. Now the auto industry has dominated and, for lack of better words, hoarded the CRM technology to itself for some years. In the last couple of years, the other companies have seen the light and jumped on board.

I am sure we all can list about 10 reasons off the of our heads why and how our CRM has helped us close a deal, make an extra deal, or in some way has helped us. For those that are new to CRM, let’s examine a few numbers.

Gartner predicts CRM to be a $37 Billion (yes that is Billion with a B) industry by 2017. In case you are counting your pennies in your piggy bank, yes that is VERY lucrative business! One of the biggest proponents of a CRM is staying in touch and retaining your customers. As there is no hard and fast number on this, the general averages for returning customers vs new customers is that it costs between 4-10x more to acquire a new customer than it does to keep an existing one. Some may even tell you this number will range from 3-30x. Gartner says that 65% of your business is coming from your existing customers (business).

To take this one step further, let’s look at the technology aspect of your CRM. The 2013 US Census showed 84% of US households owned a computer, and 73% of US households have broadband internet. Car Buyer Journey study commissioned by Autotrader and conducted by IHS Automotive showed that 60% of the car buying experience (5 hours and 12 minute) is spent “shopping” the car online and at third-party sites. 88% of shoppers used the Internet for shopping. 78% used third-party sites during the car buying process. Consumers that researched or shopped on the Internet use Autotrader or Kelley Blue Book 73% of the time. Jared Rowe, President of Cox Automotive Media said “Dealers have less than 30% chance of changing a purchase decision once a customer is on the lot.” Driving this home a little more, 71% purchased the initial vehicle upon dealership arrival.

HOPEFULLY, I have driven home how vital it is to retain your customers; how essential your internet presence is; and how necessary it is your CRM interacts seamlessly with your different sites.

There are endless aspects to CRM and CRM usage, which we we tackle one by one, blog by blog. Until next time!

BZ