There have always been some hidden tips and tricks regarding the good relationship a business can build with its customers. The online world has given you the opportunity to get in touch with them, get to know each other and understand their needs better.
But what happened to the physical interaction and what can you do to make the customers you interact with, more engaged with your brand? Especially in the ride sharing industry, there have always been some hidden gems that not all have found, but we are assuring you that Bolt Romania is doing some great job in their industry and invited Andreea Magraon, head of marketing at Bolt, to talk about them on our podcast: The Marketing Innovation Show.
Two of the main publics a ride sharing business has are drivers and riders. Both of them are crucial to maintain satisfaction, and we believe Bolt Romania is doing a great job at this by the way they engage in the online and offline world. Being a market with big players in the middle, the core value of Bolt is providing affordable rides to the passengers, but also a good salary for the driver.
They came with a great idea of making Bolt a friendly brand and to communicate this in every possible way they can. From the app, to the online world and also to the campaigns from inside the car.
So, what we did was to try to make Bolt a friendly brand. It was very important for us to make Bolt a friendly brand to the riders and also for the driver. Basically, we communicated through different campaigns, we had back then different campaigns with giveaways in the cars.
Giveaways in the cars
If you want to make the most of the experience a rider can have in your ride-sharing, organize a themed giveaway, just like Bolt did in a couple of their campaigns. For example, the Halloween campaign, when drivers offered the riders free chocolate. This campaign was very successful, having results from real people: I remember my friends that were taking Bolt rides and they were writing on the WhatsApp group: Hey guys, Bolt just gave me chocolate!
So basically, different campaigns in which people can talk about the brand and remember us. We didn't forget about the drivers which are basically a big important part of our business. And we also had different campaigns with that, such as top driver kids. Also, everything to keep them engaged and close to us.
Every campaign that is taking place in the cars from Bolt, are present on social media, as well, because Bolt Romania is always integrating this into their communication strategy: What I want to also mention is that social media is a big important part of our strategy, we communicate directly with the riders and drivers. We are keeping funny, personal human language, because usually, people want to communicate with humans, of course, not with brands.
An important part of the social media integration in every outdoor campaign they had, was creating Safety Festival, a movement that aimed to raise awareness on the importance of wearing a mask. Only by posting a picture on Instagram with the hashtag #safetyfestival, would provide the users free rides with the Bolt cars. Not only they engaged very well with their customers but also participated in finding solutions for the pandemic situation we are facing.
We admit, one of the best ideas we saw implementing on the global warming situation, was Bolt’s campaign, launched on 21st of September, on Zero Emissions Day. Partnering up with Volkswagen, Bolt created a special category in their app, in which the users could call for a test drive of the new model from Volkswagen, ID.3 1ST.
It was one of the coolest campaigns I've worked for, because it was also linked to our green plan, in which we launched a campaign during the zero-emission day, which was very cool, because it was linked to this green message.
In case you ran out of ideas upon the campaigns you want to implement on your B2C business, we are sure that our article will give you a taste of the creativity Bolt is putting away, and will help you structure a great communication strategy. Here are some great tips & tricks that Andreea was happy to share with you, during the episode from The Marketing Innovation Show: Firstly, you need to figure out what you want to communicate, by structuring your strong values. In Bolt’s case, there is a lot of emphasis on the word affordability, and everything they do is centered around this main message. Secondly, target the audience for your product: who are your buyers, your clients, your users.You need to create a message for every group you want to communicate and this will only happen if you know your public very well. Thirdly, pick the channels you want to use, in order to get in touch with your audience in the most effective way. Social Media and the online world will give you lots of opportunities to be where your audience is present, so make sure to wisely pick them! Budgets are also part of your strategy, make sure you have anything planned so that you will not have to spend more on unpredicted situations. Last but not least, test! An approach that works for Ukraine, or Poland doesn't necessarily work in Romania. You should play, you should test. Because this way, you will learn how to promote your brand or your product better.
And also, if you ever need a piece of advice regarding your next campaigns or your future strategy, don’t hesitate to contact us by booking a 30-minute online meeting.
This article is inspired by the conversation Andrei Tiu and Andreea Magraon had on one of the episodes from Marketiu podcast - The Marketing Innovation Show.
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