Aspen Marketing Services embraces new tools for dealers
If he had to nail down a value proposition for his company, Richard Lambert, Group Vice President of Aspen Marketing Canada, says it would be this: “We sell business intelligence, combined with technology and products, that drive results.”
Coupled with that intelligence is the accountability for those results. “We own what we do,” says Lambert. He says what sets Aspen apart is that it provides clients with detailed return on investment reports and analytics on how their campaigns perform.
Lambert leads a multi-functional management team of more than 30 employees that help spearhead campaign execution, testing, performance measurement and analytics, and prospect profiling for Aspen’s Canadian clients.
Prior to taking this role as Apsen three years ago, Lambert was the Chief Marketing Officer for Pfaff Automotive Partners, and has extensive advertising agency experience with firms such as Saatchi & Saatchi Advertising and MacLaren McCann.
Outsource specialized marketing
With more industry consolidation, and rising costs, many dealerships and dealer groups can’t afford to have individual marketing departments for each store. So they turn to companies like Aspen to manage and coordinate their marketing efforts aimed at sales, service, and even customer relations. “Our goal was to become the full-service provider to our OEM clients and to be that natural extension of the dealership,” says Lambert.
Lambert says they sign agreements with dealers to provide reports every 30-45 days on the performance of their products and services. “Accountability is key to our organization,” he says. “If we can’t earn the business, we don’t deserve it.” When they launch a marketing campaign, they tap into the dealer’s DMS systems, and use other tools to measure the results of the efforts. “Some people have never received a piece of communication from their dealership,” he says.
The company went from working with 123 dealers three years ago, to more than 500 dealers now, and their goal is aggressive and continued growth for its marketing services and its customer relationship management (CRM) software tools.
One-stop shopping
Dealers are very comfortable buying print media, as it’s the “old faithful.” But some are much less comfortable branching out into new areas. “Do something a little differently. Try to find ways to actually convert leads and drive interest to your sales and service department,” says Lambert. Helping provide measurement tools for these campaigns helps dealers feel more comfortable.
The company does a wide range of conquest marketing campaigns, retail marketing, service marketing, list management, or contests or special events — anything a dealer might want for help boost their business and touch customers. “Its one-stop shopping at Aspen,” he says. “You come in and we own it all from A-Z. We don’t outsource anything.”
The company also has resources set up in Quebec to help manage its French language campaigns. “Our operations are fully bilingual,” he says, adding that the company is continuing to expand its capabilities in other languages to serve specific Canadian communities.
Company profile
The company was acquired earlier this year by Epsilon. That company’s core business units include Epsilon Targeting (data services), Epsilon Marketing Technology (email / digital and database services) and Aspen Marketing services (agency services.)
In May, Aspen announced a partnership with Volvo Cars of Canada Corporation to be their preferred supplier of an Aftersales Customer Retention (ACR) program offered exclusively to 44 Volvo auto dealers in Canada.
In a news release issued about the deal, Aspen says this partnership would provide Volvo dealers with a customized ACR program designed to nurture long-term customer loyalty, increase service opportunities at the dealership level and maximize service revenue.
Founded in 1986, Aspen Marketing Services was the largest privately held marketing services agency in North America, prior to being acquired by Epsilon.
For more information, visit: www.aspenms.com. The company also has an active and useful Facebook site: www.facebook.com/aspenmarketingservices, where there are regular posts related to marketing trends and automotive retail and customer retention best practices.
