Engagement

Hey there! Keeping users hooked on a non-transactional platform is no small feat. But at mobile.de, they’ve cracked the code: leveraging FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) to keep engagement high and drive serious leads to dealerships. Arina, a CRM expert, broke it all down: how feature-based retention loops and carefully timed messages make users act fast before they lose out.

What You’ll Get in 5 Minutes:

• ✨ Why FOMO is a game-changer for CRM in a non-transactional business

• ✨ The CRM metrics that actually matter at mobile.de

• ✨ How retention loops turn browsers into buyers

mobile.de: More Than Just Listings

mobile.de isn’t just a place to scroll through car listings, it’s Germany’s #1 online vehicle marketplace, pulling in over 20 million active users every month. But unlike traditional e-commerce, mobile.de doesn’t handle most of the transactions. It connects buyers with dealers, making lead generation the big goal. Their CRM game is all about keeping users engaged and nudging them toward making that first contact with a dealer.

mobile.de has been around since 1996, starting as a simple listing site and evolving into a full-blown engagement platform. Over the years, they’ve sharpened their CRM strategies, using behavioral data to keep users coming back.

CRM Success at mobile.de: What Moves the Needle?

Arina shared the four key steps in the user journey that determine success:

1. Visit Session – Getting users onto the platform.

2. Engagement – Encouraging actions like saving searches or parking vehicles.

3. Consideration – Users showing intent to contact a dealer.

4. Conversion – Users actually reaching out to a dealer.

Since mobile.de doesn’t control sales, they measure success by how engaged users are and how long they stick around. The more actions users take, the more valuable they become.

How mobile.de Keeps Users Engaged

Engagement isn’t just about scrolling, it’s about getting users to interact with key features that make them more likely to convert. Here’s what works:

• Saved Searches – Users get alerts when new cars match their criteria.

• Parked Vehicles – Like a wishlist, but for cars. Users get price updates and availability changes.

• Dealer Follow Subscriptions – Users stay updated when dealers add new listings.

• Vehicle Sharing – People love getting input from family & friends before making big purchases.

An internal study at mobile.de found that users who actively engage with these features have a retention rate up to 5x higher than those who don’t. This proves that engagement isn’t about passive browsing, it’s about taking action.

How FOMO Supercharges CRM Engagement

FOMO is the secret sauce behind mobile.de’s CRM strategy. When users know a deal might slip away, they act faster. Here’s how mobile.de turns up the urgency:

1. Saved Search Alerts with Frequency Options

Users can customize how often they get updates: daily, three times a day, or immediately. If they want to jump on a deal before it’s gone, they know what to do.

• Results: Users who got alerts three times a day had an 18% higher conversion rate to contact a seller.

2. High-Demand Vehicle Alerts

If a car gets parked by a bunch of users, mobile.de lets them know it’s getting snapped up fast.

• Results: Users who got these alerts were 96% more likely to contact a dealer.

To take FOMO to the next level, mobile.de is testing urgency messaging powered with Machine Learning. By analyzing behavior patterns, ML-models can tweak notification timing based on how likely a user is to act.

Next Moves: What’s Coming Next for mobile.de’s CRM?

FOMO has proven its worth, but mobile.de isn’t stopping here. Next up:

• Expanding FOMO messaging across all CRM touchpoints.

• Using AI to predict and push the next best action to the right users.

• Fine-tuning FOMO strategies based on user segmentation.

Key Takeaways

• FOMO isn’t just hype, it’s a real driver of CRM engagement, especially in non-transactional businesses.

• Tracking engagement and retention is more useful than just counting traffic.

• The best CRM strategies loop users back in with personalized, action-driven features.

• Customizing alert frequency and highlighting hot deals dramatically increases lead conversion.

CRM and product teams need to work together, engagement features only work if people actually use them.

About the Speaker

Arina Kotova is a CRM expert with 8+ years of experience in digital marketing, spanning telecom, pet care, and automotive classifieds. At mobile.de, she focuses on data-driven CRM strategies that keep users engaged. Originally from outside Germany, she’s been living in the country for two years and loves swapping insights with fellow CRM professionals.

About the Meetup

Organised by Audrey Mann and Jessica Jantzen, the INSIDE CRM Meetup is a platform for CRM professionals to share insights, strategies, and success stories. It brings together experts from various industries to discuss the latest trends and innovations in customer relationship management.

Disclaimer: This article has been generated with ChatGPT based on an audio transcript and presentation slides from the INSIDE CRM Meetup. The content has been reviewed by the presenter to ensure accuracy and relevance.