Real-time mobile data specialists, TAAP today announced that Fiat Auto (UK) has increased its prospect data volumes and general quality, as well as improving its fulfilment timescales through the use of OnTAAP Mobile DataCapture. In an industry where a road test report drives the purchasing of cars more strongly than any other activity, the speed with which a manufacturer or dealer can get a ‘prospect’ into a car, the shorter the sales cycle.

Fiat’s aggressive marketing campaigns saw an increase in the variety and extent of media used to collect leads – the internet, consumer shows and road shows – combined with the usage of a large number of temporary events staff led to huge numbers of leads – but a marked decrease in quality. It is estimated that handwritten information can result in a bad or incomplete data ratio of between 1 in 4 and 1 in 5. Additionally, the manual processes involved in collating, checking and passing on the data gathered at a show, could take up to 10 working days from the end of the show until a brochure was sent out.

Prior to implementing TAAP’s technology, Fiat Auto’s agencies used a variety of manual processes to move prospect information – no longer feasible when the number of leads generated from the UK Motor Show topped 21,000, Fiat Auto needed to rationalise the process of dealing with those leads. Identifying a need to increase data quality, reduce time wasted in double entry and manual analysis – alongside improving the time that it took to deliver a brochure to a consumer, or a test drive request to a dealer - were all key project requirements.

OnTAAP Mobile DataCapture uses patented technology, tested to provide simple and dynamic capture of customer lead data from a mobile system. Available from anywhere in the world – the product enables any operator, with minimum training, to capture defined data on a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA). In addition, brochures and other information such as surveys or details of special offers can be loaded onto the PDA and accessed at any point in the data capture process, prompting events staff to ask questions depending on answers received by the potential customer.

“With TAAP,” Malcolm Thomas, Fiat Auto’s Events Manager, who has seen a number of benefits from the use of the technology, continues, “the captured data is then made available within 10-15 seconds of the lead being taken, and is then pushed through - using standard connections provided by TAAP - to our events company, contact centre, fulfilment house and also our dealer network.
 

"We are now able to make on-the-spot decisions based on the real data available to us – on staffing levels, distribution of leads, and next day delivery of brochures – and even advise our printing house on brochure reprints depending on demand.

In a move that created the first consolidated stream of data to Fiat Auto’s electronic lead data sources, the company took the TAAP solution a step further in implementing the TAAP Unify server product. Taking data feeds from other sales lead generation sources – Sky Interactive, a number of websites and SMS data campaigns, the TAAP Unify server solution creates a centralised data repository, which is then fed into Fiat Auto’s contact centre, fulfilment house and dealer lead management system.

Malcolm Thomas comments: “Using TAAP has allowed us to concentrate the initial steps in the sales process and certainly speeds up those first few stages. The technology we’re now using is really starting to make us think about how we can use the data to our advantage – and it really has been simple to use – our events team has picked this up very quickly and the quality of our data and the way in which we now use it is incredible.”

Established in 2003, TAAP provides organisations with the tools to capture, analyse and distribute data accurately, efficiently and effectively within a global market. TAAP’s off the shelf products deliver measurable return on investment in any business, with customised industry solutions that automate the automotive, property, events and field marketing industries.