What Do Web Logs, Sensors, “Wearables” and “Connected Cars” Mean to the Future of Auto Marketing?

What would you want to know that you don’t know now about each customer that comes to your website, clicks on an off-site banner ad, or steps onto your lot?

Write those pieces of information down, and check your list again in six months. Industry leaders Steve Chow and and Andy Lapin, of Kelley Blue Book, think more than a few of those currently hard to access data points may be more easily gleaned and used for greater marketing use in the near future.

As data collection becomes more ubiquitous across all Internet entry points, the auto industry is in a position to collect more data than ever for analyzing consumer buying and shopping behavior. And rather than being an overwhelming collection useful only in painting a broad picture of general trends, Chow and Lapin argue that this greater amount of data collected will provide even more specific, actionable data on consumers that will improve immediate and short-term marketing strategies, down to the individual shopper.

Chow is Vice President of Product Technology at Kelley Blue Book, and Lapin serves as chief architect for Kelley Blue Book’s consumer website KBB.com. At the 16th Digital Dealer Conference & Exposition held this May 6-8 in Atlantic City, New Jersey, they’ll share the trends from a technologist’s perspective on how to better access, manage and use this larger-than-ever collection of information.

Steve will discuss the easy application of these resources to understand what consumers are looking for online to better prepare inventory and marketing messages. Together, they’ll also reveal how big data is currently used at Kelley Blue Book and in the marketplace, and the big data tools currently available to dealerships based on different budgets.

In addition, these two industry leaders will share the vision from their own crystal ball to discuss what the future holds for “wearables” and “connected cars,” and other emerging technologies that will impact the way consumers shop for and use cars.

Challenges including manufacturer partnerships with data providers, the asymmetrical lifecycles of mobile devices and cars, what applications and features to include for safety, emerging government regulations and brand recognition, are also hurdles to overcome.

Partnerships are already emerging, as seen on Chrysler’s latest Viper, with connectivity provided by Sprint Nextel, and General Motors partnering with AT&T.

And of course, this connectivity requires cellular service, and raises questions of burden of payment. Will consumers prefer to use their personal devices and plug in to their car? Or will cars be added as a “device,” adding charges to the owner’s monthly data plan?

All this connectivity adds a host of features and benefits to new models of which dealers and their sales staff need to be knowledgeable. This “knowledge curve” can be a widespread cost concern for dealerships, as each department will have its own level of training required for qualification, especially sales and service departments.

The horizons which emerge from these melding trends are a business model that must refocus its mission from “selling cars” to “selling mobility.” Connected cars, increasingly-automated cars and even car sharing will be factors for which the industry must plan. Technology, while moving rapidly into cars and changing buying habits, is also having a broader impact of how people travel and what those new modes of transportation may look like.