Shifting into high gear with Adobe

Automotive customers' needs and expectations have changed a lot over the past decade. They want to shop on their terms, when and how it suits them. They want customized offers and personalized experiences. And, above all, they want seamless interactions across various sales and marketing channels.

In this environment, the look, feel and functionality of an original equipment manufacturer's website is more important than ever. It is quite often the first stop customers make on their car-buying journey. It is, therefore, a critical marketing tool and lead generator.

The client recognized the opportunity to better serve its customers and ultimately boost sales by redesigning its website. With a legacy site that was nearly 10 years old, it was time to upgrade the company’s ability to engage customers in a meaningful and intuitive way, while being fully optimized for shoppers using mobile devices.

Customers weren't the only ones who would benefit from a new website. The company's creative agency, which was responsible for keeping the website fresh and up to date, needed a solution that would enable them to make quick changes to site content and functionality. The old system required the involvement of the IT department to make changes—adding time, cost and complexity to the process. In addition, desktop and mobile websites relied on two distinct code bases, meaning site updates always needed to be made twice for both environments.

The client opted to build its new US digital presence using Adobe Experience Manager, a leading platform that combines digital asset management with the power of a content management system. Accenture, a long-standing Adobe alliance partner, worked with the creative agency, as well as the automotive company’s interactive marketing team and IT department to reimagine the digital experience for their customers. The team began by developing several creative concepts, each coupled with an assessment of the technology needed to bring it to life.

The winning concept organized site content and digital assets in a way that gave shoppers more transparency and clarity into vehicles, features, styles, pricing and offers. Website visitors can compare the company’s entire lineup of vehicles, filter their selections on a host of factors, review offers in their areas, and even find their tailored vehicle at a nearby dealership.

When it came to building the new Adobe-powered website, the team designed the user experience, architected the wireframes and web templates, loaded the content, and integrated the new platform with a number of back-end and third-party systems that would enable their creative agency to add new content and assets and make quick updates on the fly. Importantly, Accenture also introduced analytics and worked with the client to identify the metrics, data and insights to be tracked moving forward.

Throughout the project, the team adopted a hybrid-agile approach—meaning much of the development and implementation effort was delivered in four-week sprints. The project culminated in a flawless transition from the old site to the new.

Using Adobe Experience Manager as the platform, the company’s redesigned website provides visitors a more engaging, intuitive and relevant experience. Online shoppers can quickly find car options, customize a vehicle to their specifications, and even locate local inventories of their desired cars—from their desktops or mobile devices. Enhanced site search and product filters, conformance with ADA accessibility standards, and integration with automated translation services offer shoppers a new kind of car-shopping experience.

At the time of the website's launch, a J.D. Power U.S. Manufacturer Website Evaluation Study found that the site outperformed the mass-market average on nearly every factor.  Using Adobe Experience Manager as the platform, the redesigned website provides visitors a more engaging, intuitive and relevant experience. Online shoppers can quickly find car options, customize a vehicle to their specifications, and even locate local inventories of their desired cars—from their desktops or mobile devices. Enhanced site search and product filters, conformance with ADA accessibility standards, and integration with automated translation services offer shoppers a new kind of car-shopping experience.

For the company, the new site saves time and money by eliminating the burden of having to use two different code bases for desktop and mobile channel configurations. Their creative agency no longer needs to involve the IT department in changes or updates. The agency can handle those tasks quickly and even add new content and digital assets without worry, thanks to the Adobe Content Manager’s ease of use and scalability.

Immediately after the site was rolled out, the client saw a 10 to 15 percent increase in high-value actions, such as shoppers viewing inventory or requesting quotes. This is particularly noteworthy because the site went live just before the COVID-19 pandemic forced many dealerships to close or adjust their customer service operations. The website provided a fresh, appealing and safe alternative for car shopping—and a new channel of growth in the United States.