Lithia Motors:
GreenCars.com

“MTO agency provided critical insights into EV buyer’s preferences and smart strategies that we are deploying throughout our online brands.”

—Tom Dobry, CMO, Lithia Motors

Objective

Create a Brand and Customer Experience Strategy for Lithia Motors new EV brand: GreenCars.com.

The Goals

• Develop targeted customer personas that identify their key motivators
• Articulate the Lithia “Green Strategy” as an umbrella to inform all related effort
• Create an enablement roadmap for executing the Lithia Green Strategy

Solution

MTO’s executive brand and research teams completed a robust audit, market research and analysis, and comprehensive strategy to define Green Cars market positioning and develop an enablement roadmap. This project included:

• Audit & Discovery: stakeholder interviews, competitive analysis and review of digital assets, communications and touchpoints
• Onsite Audits of Lithia Dealerships & Competitors: identify areas of strength as as well as opportunities for knowledge growth among staff in terms of EV knowledge and expertise
• Qualitative Customer Research: define & develop electric car and truck buyer personas for deep targeting and messaging
• Search Intent Modeling: illuminate the evolving EV and hybrid nomenclature used by customers online when conducting searches
• Analysis, Strategy & Planning: process and synchronize findings from our internal and external research
• Brand and Customer Experience Strategy: enable Lithia to deliver a compelling narrative and experience that positions their customers’ environmental and social concerns at its core

Results

• Decoded mindset, motivations, expectations, knowledge, and pathways to purchase of “green car intenders”
• Delivered valuable key insights into dealership, online, and competitor customer experiences
• Developed a comprehensive roadmap for successful program launch that was implemented by the company in 2020