Mercedes-Benz USA: Smooth ride for the rich
Another company that is connecting online with the well-off by establishing expertise and designing around their needs is Mercedes-Benz USA. According to Astrid Fontaine, the company's general manager of e-business, 65 percent of last year's Mercedes buyers in the United States went to the mbusa.com site to do research before purchasing.
Besides giving visitors popular but standard features such as a vehicle configurator and a trip planner, the Mercedes site also goes out of its way to be an authoritative source on luxury automobiles. Visitors can get not only specs on Mercedes cars but also comparisons with other luxury vehicles, thanks to an extensive library of third-party information from Kelley Blue Book, Road & Track magazine and others. This is a strategy, Fontaine said, that all sites can use to give themselves credibility and to give buyers convenience.
Another key, she said, is listening to online customers and giving them what they want. For example, her team got a number of requests from users for brochures they could print out, so the site now lets them do that. And buyers wanted Mercedes-logoed paraphernaliaâ€"-hats, sweatshirts, key chainsâ€"-so those are for sale on the site now, Fontaine said. In fact, she said, business is brisk at the personal accessories area.
And more's coming. This summer, Mercedes plans to give its high-end customers the feeling that they're part of an exclusive online club by beefing up its owner-only area, creating a password-protected place where users can get access to Mercedes credit card information and a car's service history. Owners can sign up for email reminders about service. For example, they can be notified online about the days and times service appointments can be scheduled. The bottom line: Mercedes, Fontaine said, is using the Web to enhance what is already a close relationship with owners, maintained up until now by telephone and mailings. "The Web is just another way for us to stay in touch," she said.
Keeping in touch with high-end customersâ€"-or any online customers-â€"is key, analysts agree, whether it's through live chat service, regular email or even snail mail. Combining multiple communication channels has been the strategy at RedEnvelope.com, an upscale gift site that, three years after its launch, is now expanding its business to include catalogues.
Now the site and the catalogue-â€"and brand advertisingâ€"-all work together to attract and serve high-end customers, said Martin McClanan, CEO.
The company has 400,000 customers, and McClanan said it's on track to be profitable at the end of the year, although he wouldn't disclose revenues.
