SPSS - UK Customers

Avis Europe plc

Leading car rental group leveraging IBM® SPSS® predictive analytics software to enhance insight into customer activity and achieve more profitable email marketing campaigns

“We are now better at sending the right emails to the right people at the right time. This new targeted approach with IBM SPSS Modeler helps Avis cut email marketing costs almost by half and, hence, maximise revenue.”
- Chris Parker, Direct Analytics Specialist, Avis Europe

Country: Europe, Africa, Middle East and Asia
Revenue: €1,313.08 million (for year ending 31 December 2008)
Employees: 5,960

SPSS Solutions
IBM® SPSS® Modeler data mining workbench

Business Impact

Ability to segment customers reveals where to focus marketing spend
More accurate targeting leads to reduced email marketing costs and maximises revenue
Cost of email marketing as a percentage of revenue has been reduced by 42%
Improved insight into customer activity drives loyalty by enabling timely, relevant and personalised communications

Industry: Car rental
Problem Solved: Improving insight into customer activity
Function: Customer profiling and segmentation

Avis Europe is a leading car rental company in Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Asia, with a network of more than 2,800 locations. Approximately 86 per cent of Avis Europe’s revenues in 2008 were generated in the five major markets of France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom.

Brand leadership, service differentiation and cost effectiveness are part of Avis Europe’s strategic focus and ‘We Try Harder’ philosophy. For the Avis customer, this translates into quick, professional services, a high quality vehicle at a reasonable price, and targeted communication to help loyal customers access promotions they find most relevant.

Challenges

Avis Europe sought to identify the factors driving its direct business - particularly customer inquiries and rental bookings through its e-commerce channels, which represent the greatest revenue opportunities.
The company realised that improving insight into customer activity would reveal important data which could be used to segment and target customers more effectively.
Annually Avis Europe sends approximately 18 million emails to its subscriber database: its goal is to achieve a high degree of relevance by customising each and every email each individual receives.

Solution
Avis Europe turned to SPSS, an IBM Company, to create targeted and cost-effective email campaigns and build customer retention through timely and relevant contact.

The car rental group selected IBM SPSS Modeler data mining workbench to develop customer profiles and segment its data more accurately.

As a result of using IBM SPSS predictive analytics software, the cost of email marketing as a percentage of revenue (CPR) was almost cut by half in 2009 compared to 2008 figures. This offers a significant impact across the 18 million emails broadcast from Avis Europe each year.

According to Chris Parker, Direct Analytics Specialist at Avis Europe, “We are now better at sending the right emails to the right people at the right time. This new targeted approach with IBM SPSS Modeler helps Avis cut email marketing costs and, hence, maximise revenue.”

“The Customer Segmentation project allows us to keep in touch with our large database using cost-effective email, but with all the benefits of a one-to-one relationship because we now have a clearly defined picture of each customer,” said Parker. “The ability to identify and stay ahead of customers’ ever-changing activities and needs is key to Avis’ competitiveness in the market, and one of the biggest benefits provided by IBM SPSS predictive analytics software.”

“As the project is rolled out across Avis Europe it will add essential insight to our one million email subscribers, in our main European markets,” Parker concluded.

Interested in Avis Europe? Download the PDF

Customer Success Stories

Avis Europe plc