Cross‐channel: Feu Vert chooses Generix Group to deploy its digital strategy

Feu Vert is one of the leading car equipment and maintenance companies in Europe, with around 450 auto centres across the continent and 6 million customers, 1.5 million of whom hold a loyalty card. Under its “La Patte de l’Expert” slogan, Feu Vert is developing new synergies between its e‐commerce website and its auto centres and galvanising the customer journey. “Feu Vert has begun deployment of its digital strategy. We are rolling out this cross‐channel strategy across all our own‐branch and franchise centres,” explains Pascal Fraumont, Communication and Marketing Director at Feu Vert. “Our website receives 15 million visitors a year, so digital represents an incredible opportunity to grow our business in the highly competitive automotive industry. The web is a real springboard for innovation. We introduced a new service in late 2013, whereby all products purchased online, including tyres, are now available for collection from an auto centre within two hours. This logistics capability is what makes Feu Vert stand out from the competition, with an added‐value service that offers an enhanced customer experience over traditional online sales. We deliver on our promise: to provide low‐cost, high‐quality, fast, local vehicle equipment and maintenance solutions to each and every motorist. We understand the importance of being accessible across all channels, and how this cross‐channel presence can boost outlet footfall. Our goal is to provide our customers with the support and guidance they need, irrespective of their entry point.”

Consumer behaviour is changing rapidly, and these changing practices are being driven by consumers themselves. Around 80% of motorists go online before visiting a store, and 20% use their smartphone to find information while in‐store*.

“Consumers have access to a wealth of information and are truly hyperconnected. Their primary concerns are speed and cost,” explains Vincent Claisse, Head of Digital & e‐Business at Feu Vert. In his view, the key to developing cross‐channel loyalty is understanding the customer journey. “We strongly believe that a personalised relationship is vital to customer satisfaction. We need to develop a clear picture of our customers by understanding their buying habits. This, in turn, will enable us to offer a high‐quality customer loyalty programme (loyalty area, coupons, special offers, etc.). We send out up to 15,000 welcome packs a week.” Generix Group is an important part of Feu Vert’s digital strategy, helping the brand to manage its cross‐channel engagement activities.

Generix Collaborative Customer (GCC) is a cross‐channel platform developed specifically for retailers. It connects the existing back office (ERP, BI, etc.) with all front‐office applications (payment, websites, mobiles, cell centres, social media, etc.), allowing retailers to perform promotion, loyalty and sales actions in real‐time and in a consistent manner.

As a CRM expert, Generix Group has provided Feu Vert with its GCC Loyalty service, to optimise the conversion of consumers into loyal customers. This is achieved by offering more bespoke advantages, and a real‐time, cross‐ channel programme to earn and use loyalty points.

“We are delighted to be able to use retailer technology to boost our cross‐channel digital strategy and create value for our customers,” adds Vincent Claisse. “The initial results are already promising, with the average spend of loyal customers up 20%.”