In the dimly lit CRM control room of a major luxury automaker, there’s a particular customer profile that should glow like a beacon, bright enough to warrant sunglasses. Instead, it flickers like a candle running out of wax.
Let’s call this dataset “The Recurring Buyer.” The automaker has known him for over a decade. The Recurring Buyer has purchased the brand’s performance-oriented sedans twice, from the same dealer, no less. His spouse recently added a three-row SUV from the same marque - also from the same retailer.
Each of these vehicles have been maintained at a dealership with the punctuality of a Swiss train. Warranty, non-warranty, oil changes, tire rotations. The automaker has been handed customer data on a silver platter for years.
While waiting for service, the Recurring Buyer strolls the showroom like a polite inspector general, chatting with sales staff, examining the latest models, and radiating the subtle curiosity of someone who might be asking, “Hmm, what have you engineered for me this year?”
This isn’t a customer who requires predictive analytics. This is a customer who can be analyzed with basic awareness.
But instead of CRM (customer relationship marketing) the brand is practicing PRM: prospect relationship marketing. This is the kind of relationship management that treats a loyal, two-time performance sedan owner like a guy contemplating his first date with the brand.
The Recurring Buyer receives the usual glossy mailers:
“Thinking of trading in?”
“Ready to upgrade?”
“Meet the new, but mostly-the-same version of the car you already have!”
These mailers arrive with the determination of migrating geese - utterly predictable, obviously seasonal.
Meanwhile, the automaker already has NASA-grade data on this customer:
He replaced his first performance sedan with a fully redesigned performance sedan after seven years.
A second vehicle was purchased in the same household… at the same address… with the same last name.
His loyalty to dealership service is so strong the service department practically knows how he likes his coffee (black).
He’s a cash buyer, signaling pricing elasticity and being unconstrained by monthly payment psychology.
He even purchased a performance enhancement via an over-the-air software update representing a giant neon sign of engagement.Subscribe now
An effective CRM system should light up like a pinball machine with inputs like this. This should not only prompt the next purchase, but also make sure the customer never thinks about defecting to another brand.
And then there’s the motorsport blind spot.
This automaker - and let’s whisper this part - will be entering the highest level of international motorsport next year. That’s right: the series, the fast one, the global circus, the one with engineers who moonlight as astrophysicists.
You’d think someone might ask, “Do any of our existing performance sedan owners happen to, I don’t know… watch this?” Or, “Might this Recurring Buyers be a fan (he is)?” Has he received a single keychain connecting his interest in performance to the brand’s biggest motorsport announcement in generations? Not yet. But hey, it’s still early. So there’s still hope.
This is why PRM masquerading as CRM falls short unless your brand is already at the very top of global brand hierarchy. Think Rolex. Apple. Ferrari. Maybe Porsche (depending on the forum thread).
PRM assumes the Recurring Buyer is just a lead who wandered in from a bus stop.
CRM asks, “What else might this customer want?” And “How do we deepen this relationship in ways that benefit both sides?”
CRM is about more:
More performance
More luxury
More exposure to the broader lineup
More brand experiences
More motorsport activation
More owner-specific content
More reasons to stay
PRM doesn’t ask the right questions. It doesn’t anticipate (other than anticipating the trade-in leading to a quick sale). PRM is better handled by the dealer with support from the factory. CRM is better managed by the factory, with support from the dealer.
If you haven’t guessed by now, I am the Recurring Buyer.
And the automaker is Cadillac, the luxury division of General Motors.
For the record, I’m a mostly satisfied Cadillac customer. But not so satisfied that I won’t consider a competitor for my next purchase.
And yes, I’m always looking.
Now if only Cadillac’s CRM could figure that out.