How we in BMW Marketing are dealing with Covid-19, and what we’ve learned from it for our future customer experience management.

In January this year I passed my first anniversary with the BMW Group as Senior Vice President Customer & Brand BMW and, as befits the occasion, I took a brief personal look back at what we had achieved in this first year as a great team. In the same breath I also thought about the year ahead, our goals, and our tasks. In 2019 we laid a very good foundation with the clear goal not only of improving the creative quality of our marketing communications - and strengthening BMW as an iconic luxury & lifestyle brand - but also further developing the way we digitally and physically interact with our fans and customers, to become a truly customer-centric relationship brand. For 2020, many projects were in the starting blocks, such as the introduction of our new brand design, including our new communication logo, to name just one of many such projects. While in this case we had been planning the final preparations for the worldwide launch - with the aim of revealing the new design at the Geneva International Motor Show in the beginning of March - I can only say today, a few months later, how these plans were upset by Covid-19, and how our priorities have consequently shifted. The GIMS was cancelled at short notice, and the introduction of our new brand design was suddenly only our smallest challenge - which we solved pragmatically with a digital introduction, together with the virtual world premiere of our latest concept vehicle, the BMW Concept i4. The rest is ubiquitous: the cancellation of all major events followed, and at the end of the first quarter no stone was left unturned and a large part of the plans we had made for the year collapsed.

 Safety First.

The most important thing was, and remains, the health of our families, associates, customers, visitors, partners and other peers. The specially created competence team within BMW Group reacted quickly, with great care and appropriate measures, so that we are able to pursue our daily business as well as possible. For sure, the general conditions have radically changed, especially when it comes to moving all our meetings into digital space or wearing masks on a regular basis. And of course, one topic is in every discussion we have, directly or indirectly affecting all ongoing projects: Covid-19. I think it is fair to say that we all, both in our professional and private lives, entered a state of emergency within a few days and - at least for most of us - on an unprecedented scale. In addition to the special focus on the health and safety of each and every one of us, it soon became clear that this exceptional situation requires a special way of dealing with each other. In such unparalleled times of uncertainty, it is all the more important that corporate values are lived even more strongly than usual. The more the corporate culture is embodied by everyone, the higher that sense of solidarity and cohesion becomes in such a crisis. For me and my team, I have noticed a need to pay even more attention than usual to internal communication and the flow of information. Particularly in these constantly and rapidly changing conditions, it is essential that information and signals are communicated as quickly and effectively as possible. On the one hand, this has something to do with transparency and appreciation - two values that are firmly anchored in our corporate culture. On the other hand, this is the only way to reduce the uncertainty within the teams and avoid errors. It also ensures that everyone adapts as quickly as possible and keeps a high performance culture. 

 Actions required.

When it comes to brand communication and customer management, one thing quickly became clear: we need to react quickly and comprehensively. We can't just carry on like before. Firstly, because the pandemic is unfortunately developing dramatically worldwide, business as usual and joyful messaging could have seemed largely inappropriate and ignorant. Secondly, there were and still are varying degrees of restrictions on public life around the world, which of course also had a strong impact on the customer experience. For example, in almost all affected countries a physical visit to our dealers’ showrooms was suddenly no longer possible. Thanks to a large team effort we developed various measures at short notice and structured them according to a 3-phase plan. Measures for the acute crisis, for the recovery phase, and for getting back to business addressing a “new normal”. A big challenge has been the different developments of the overall situation across all regions, which means that all marketing activities have to be designed and implemented specifically. Measures for the acute crisis include, for example, an adjustment of global social media messaging in the direction of #flattenthecurve, #staysafe and #stayhome, but also a new infotainment format like "BMW Today" in order to maintain the communication of products and services with our fans and customers, even without physical visits to our showrooms. In addition, a large number of short-term solutions for the digitization of the customer journey were developed, ranging from enabling our dealers to conduct digital consultation and sales talks via live streaming, to additional digital sales solutions including contactless vehicle pick-up or delivery at the request of the customer. For the recovery phase we have produced content under the motto #vorfreude or #joytocome. We want to spread optimism and confidence here, based on our brand’s core value, "Joy". On social media we have so far received highly positive reactions to the way we’re dealing with the situation. Our international social media channels have grown faster than the average in recent months and we were the first car brand to reach 27 million followers on Instagram. On the one hand, of course, this has to do with the worldwide increase in media consumption, but it also shows that our content is appropriate and reaches users. In addition to these communication activities, BMW has also taken its social responsibility seriously in many countries, with a wide range of tangible activities in the area of corporate social responsibility. For example, vehicles for medical and frontline workers have been made available in many countries, and protective masks have been donated to local organizations and institutions. 

Never waste a good crisis.

Even though the situation represents one of the greatest social and economic challenges for all of us, it is part of my personal attitude to gain something good from every situation and look optimistically into the future. As already mentioned at the beginning, the current situation forces us more than ever to rethink and question projects, contents and activities. What is indispensable in view of the current situation, and especially in the post-Corona era? Take the eSports sector, for example. Here we had planned to intensify our activities anyway, which we did by kicking off our partnerships with five of the world’s leading League of Legends teams a few weeks ago under the mottos “united in rivalry and “united at home”, showing how sports entertainment can continue to thrive and play a key role in these challenging times. Or look at our physical events and shows as another example. Here, too, the current situation forces us to think about innovative formats and how we can compensate for the lack of physical presence by using virtual features and channels. So in the planning of our #NEXTGen event, we have completely reoriented everything and I am confident that we will create an even greater experience given these circumstances – so stay tuned for more! In addition to that, it is inevitable that in the current situation even long-standing and cherished activities and projects, which until a few months ago were considered untouchable and set in stone, are being radically questioned. Of course this is critical under certain aspects, but even here it can have the effect that in certain decision-making processes one can sometimes jump over one's shadow, and ultimately be forced to make good decisions for the future, however hard this decision might be. Our overall strategy will of course remain unchanged. That being said we will continue to align our activities along the two bookends "Brand Iconization" and "Further Development of Customer Experience & Interaction". In the future, we will continue to take a clear stance with the brand, take a stand on social issues, and give our customers and fans relevant companionship. Nevertheless, under these difficult conditions it is all the more important to focus on sales-enabling brand and marketing measures - in my opinion this is not only an obligation but also a great opportunity. For this reason, I can also see one thing in the current situation: Confidence. And a lot of drive. With the right team approach and brand strength, we can and will handle this with our usual spirit at BMW. I am sure of it!

All the best,

Jens Thiemer