At the National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) Conference in New Orleans Jan. 28, The Cobalt Group, a provider of e-business software and services to the automotive retail market, and Acxiom Corporation, which offers Customer Data Integration (CDI) and customer recognition infrastructure, unveiled AutoMarket In.Sight, an electronic customer relationship management (eCRM) solution available to the automotive retailing industry. According to Acxiom, with the release of AutoMarket In.Sight, the same CDI tools that revolutionized the financial services and retail industries are for the first time part of an eCRM solution now available to automotive manufacturers and dealers.

"AutoMarket In.Sight offers a unique one-to-one solution to automotive dealers facing rising customer acquisition costs of up to $400 per vehicle," said John Holt, president and CEO of The Cobalt Group. "By directing more of their dollars toward only those customers most likely to buy, AutoMarket In.Sight can help dealers cut those marketing costs by up to half."

According to the company, AutoMarket In.Sight provides a turnkey eCRM solution that manages customer data and direct marketing campaign creation and fulfillment, while reducing advertising costs and dealership management efforts. AutoMarket In.Sight helps pinpoint the most qualified, in-market customers and prospects for dealers' marketing campaigns to make sure that their offers get to the people most likely to act on them, at a fraction of the cost of traditional advertising.

"Good customer relationships start with good customer data," said Acxiom Company Leader Charles D. Morgan. "AutoMarket In.Sight's data integration enables dealers to more effectively communicate with customers and prospects by providing dealers with an accurate and enhanced understanding of the propensity and motivation to purchase a car, and by getting the right offer to the right customer at the right time."

According to Acxiom, utilizing their Customer Data Integration software, AbiliTec, and data analysis tools, AutoMarket In.Sight extracts, cleanses, enriches and integrates customer information from auto manufacturers, dealers, and demographic and purchase modeling databases, giving dealers an accurate view of their customers and prospects. AutoMarket In.Sight then creates and fulfills targeted direct marketing mailings on the dealer's behalf to in-market customers and prospects. Dealers can conveniently review and approve their campaigns online through MotorPlace.com, Cobalt's online business management portal for the automotive industry. Throughout the campaign, AutoMarket In.Sight produces detailed reports on vehicle sales activity and campaign return on investment through MotorPlace.com.

AutoMarket In.Sight Features

• Data extraction, cleansing and warehousing eliminates bad and duplicate records to deliver a single, accurate customer view.
  

• Modeling analysis segments consumers by their likely vehicle choice through a proprietary triple screen analysis that includes consumer propensity to purchase, motivational triggers, and market timing factors.
  

• Privacy compliance is ensured using suppression of do-not-solicit requests.
  

• Prospect identification maximizes market reach by adding prospects that match the dealership's best customers to the dealership's mailing lists.
  

• Automated, targeted campaign fulfillment saves time and reduces wasted mail pieces, resulting in better customer reception and higher ROI.
  

• Sophisticated reporting and analytics based on dealer management system (DMS) sales data help the dealer determine the campaign's response rate and effectiveness.
  

• Best practices training, consulting and support from Cobalt's automotive e-business experts ensures program success.
  

• Integrated manufacturer-to-dealer communication facilitates manufacturer program compliance, brand support and marketing message.

  
  

  AutoMarket In.Sight is a cornerstone of Cobalt's eCRM product and service offerings. Also part of Cobalt's eCRM product suite are Cobalt Lead Manager and Cobalt myCarTools. Lead Manager allows dealers to manage all communications with customers and prospects through a single Web-based application. MyCarTools provides automotive ownership pages to dealership customers and enables ongoing communications throughout the customer lifecycle. AutoMarket In.Sight was built using Cobalt's newly announced J2EE-based Nitra e-business technology platform.

  
  

  
  

  The AutoMarket In.Sight Early Adopter Program has already begun and the product will be available for general distribution in March of this year.

  
  

  
  

  About The Cobalt Group

  
  

  The Cobalt Group works exclusively in the automotive retail market to help manufacturers and dealers develop integrated e-business programs by leveraging its technology, broad range of services and deep domain knowledge.

  For more information, please visit www.cobaltgroup.com or call (800) 909-8244.

  
  

  About Acxiom Corporation

  
  

  
  

  Acxiom Corporation, a Customer Data Integration (CDI) and customer recognition infrastructure company, enables businesses to develop and deepen customer relationships by creating a single view of their customers across the enterprise. Acxiom achieves this by providing CDI software, database management services, and customer data content through its AbiliTec, Solvitur, and InfoBase products, while also offering a broad range of information technology outsourcing services. Founded in 1969, Acxiom is based in Little Rock, Arkansas, with locations throughout the United States and with operations in the United Kingdom, France and Australia. For more information, please visit www.acxiom.com.