Apart from boosting vehicles sales, which hovered at 300 cars last year, the focus on CRM is seen as integral to the repositioning of Volkswagen from a "people's car to a luxury brand. "VW has been around in Indonesia for 15 to 20 years and there are still a lot of old VW Beetles on the road so that impacts people's perceptions of the brand, said S K Biswas, technical advisor of FCB Indonesia.
FCB was tapped to handle Volkswagen's business after a creative and strategic pitch against incumbent TBWA. According to Biswas, Volkswagen sees CRM as crucial to the marketing mix as it sharpens its focus on existing customers and those with a high propensity to purchase to lift sales.
FCB's CRM assignment will involve database management, direct and interactive marketing. Biswas said he expected CRM to represent as much as 50 per cent of the assignment, with the remainder going above the line to drive awareness. The company is counting on its small car, the Polo, which launched in mid-September to boost sales. Biswas expected the car would succeed as it was better suited for driving in Indonesia's congested city streets.
