How Volkswagen’s Customer Affinity Program Overcomes Product “Challenges”

I hate Volkswagen. No, I take that back. I loathe Volkswagen.

Now, mind you, when I purchased my 2000 VW Passat seven years ago, I was in love with it. The sunroof, the luxurious leather seats, the Tiptronic transmission, the deep blue exterior – I was in heaven. I felt like I was driving a truly magnificent piece of German machinery.

Then, two years into my ownership of my beloved chariot, and, coincidentally, at the end of my warranty, things started to go wrong. The check engine light came on. I took it in to be fixed. They turned the light off and told me nothing was wrong. It came on again the next day. I took it in. They turned it off and told me nothing was wrong. Rinse and repeat for five straight years.

I’ve had the secondary air pump replaced three times and it needs to be replaced again. The dealer’s current explanation for the check engine light’s annoying glare (and deafening beep if I accelerate quickly) is that I drive in puddles, which is causing water to get in the pump. I told them if their cars couldn’t withstand the rain, I’d be better served investing in a goat to transport me to work every day.

Curiously, there is one thing that has prevented me from pushing my car into the sea. It arrives in my email inbox every month and despite my addiction to deleting emails, I don’t delete it. Rather, I open it up and read every piece. It’s the monthly VW newsletter from my local dealer, rife with articles about the newest 2008 Passats (“offering more value than possibly another any European sedan,” I am pleased to read) coupons for oil changes and tips on where to find the best fall foliage.

I love this newsletter. I’ve read every one, top to bottom. I click on every link, poring over the articles on engine upgrades, photos of the newest models, and pieces on where to go whitewater rafting. I mentally calculate what it would take to trade my car in for a new Jetta or Toureg. Temporarily, I forget how frustrated my car has made me, how I routinely beg friends and family to steal my car in the night, how I’ve denied the car its overdue inspection sticker for the past three months. Every month, I want a new one, a better one, one that will whisk me away to the best theme park in New England.

I’m no stranger to custom publishing. We create customer retention newsletters just like this at King Fish Media. In fact, our work for Compass Bank just received a MIN award for integrated marketing. I know this is all created for my demographic. But, working for a marketing firm, I usually feel I am immune to marketing methods in my personal life. I’m surprised at how powerful one piece of communication, so carefully crafted, so compellingly put together, can make me want to take another drink from the tainted water fountain. But, it does. It’s working. Quality, relevant content delivered to the right person can clearly have a magical effect. VW has created its own private media channel for me and for my fellow VW owners, using custom content to help build a high-affinity relationship for customer retention.

So, now it’s only a matter of time before I walk into my local dealer with a problem and walk out with a beautiful new solution. For two years, anyway.