Aston Martin delivers luxury experiences powered by Data Cloud.

Aston Martin Lagonda, a symbol of British luxury and performance, is on a mission to be the world’s most desirable, ultra-luxury British performance car brand by fusing technology, time-honored craftsmanship, and beauty into every product and customer experience.

Car and driver data was fragmented across six systems and 150 dealerships. 

Aston Martin customers expect ultra-personalized luxury experiences from the moment they enter the dealership. To provide these luxury experiences, Aston Martin employees must be empowered with knowledge of what makes every shopper unique — their purchase history, their birthday, and their preferences, like whether they’d rather receive a WhatsApp message or an email.

Details make all the difference between selling to a stranger and building loyalty. But with over two million customer data points, employees didn’t know if a shopper was coming in to test drive an Aston Martin DBX or Vantage — or even if they were a repeat customer. Without the ability to consolidate warehouse, ERP, Databricks, and CRM data into one unified platform, Aston Martin couldn’t truly understand the needs and preferences of its customer base.

The missing piece? A unified platform that consolidates data, streamlines sales and marketing operations, and provides Aston Martin with a single, comprehensive view of each customer. This would empower employees to impress customers with the right car models, colors, and fabrics that appeal to their preferences as they enter the dealership.

Data Cloud and Automotive Cloud improve customer loyalty. 

Data Cloud creates a unified customer profile on the Einstein 1 platform across marketing, commerce, and service. This helps Aston Martin better understand customer traits and predict buying patterns. For example, website engagement captured by Data Cloud’s web SDK allows Sales and Service Cloud users to identify the most loyal VIPs by providing “customer star ratings.” High star ratings indicate a greater likelihood of repeat purchases, guiding sales teams to prioritize their efforts effectively.

Data Cloud also helps Aston Martin use lookalike modeling to identify profiles with the potential to become “star customers.” It identifies customers with similar purchase and engagement behaviors, allowing Aston Martin to target those customers with high-touch experiences that lead to brand loyalty.

Automotive Cloud gives Aston Martin’s team members and dealers a complete picture of every customer’s sales and service interactions, from the first dealership visit to the latest launch event. This holistic view includes detailed information such as car renderings, dealership visit histories, and communication records, enabling Aston Martin dealers and support agents to deliver tailored luxury experiences effortlessly.

MuleSoft unifies Aston Martin’s customer data across various enterprise systems. 

Aston Martin now uses MuleSoft to launch and integrate both new and legacy software systems and applications seven times faster. Previously, it could take up to four weeks to set up an API and build new system integrations. Now, Aston Martin can build APIs in just two to five days, allowing the company to build 45 APIs in just six months.  

MuleSoft also ensures customer data remains current across all systems. For instance, if a customer updates their information in the Aston Martin mobile app, MuleSoft automatically synchronizes these changes across all systems, maintaining data accuracy everywhere. With MuleSoft and Data Cloud, Aston Martin can now consolidate all of their data, including its warehouse management system, ERP (Infor), Databricks, Marketing Cloud and Tableau, centrally managing, governing, and securing all APIs to ensure customer data is up to date across systems.

Commerce Cloud streamlines parts replacement to get customers back on the road.

Keeping customers engaged post-purchase also means anticipating their part replacement needs. With connected cars like the DB12, dealers will automatically receive notifications about parts that need to be replaced — before they become an issue. Dealers can proactively submit a request through Commerce Cloud for next-day delivery, getting customers back on the road quickly. 

Salesforce on Alibaba Cloud helps Aston Martin stay compliant in China.

Doing business in China is different from other parts of the world. To launch its newest model, the DB12, in China, Aston Martin needed a solution that would help support the country’s increasingly strict personal data protection laws. With Salesforce on Alibaba Cloud, Aston Martin can now deliver its 360-degree view of the customer in China while keeping sensitive data within the country and staying compliant with local regulations. 

China’s market is also unique in the way businesses and consumers communicate. Integrating Sales Cloud and Partner Relationship Management with widely used apps like WeChat and WeCom gives Aston Martin’s team members and dealers a more comprehensive view of customers. 

Next: AI will help dealers engage customers with post-purchase customizations.

Buying a car is just the beginning of the Aston Martin customer journey. The company wants to keep customers engaged during the wait between ordering and receiving their car. 

Einstein Copilot for Marketing will make it easy for dealers to create marketing campaigns with personalized content, like pictures and videos of the customer’s car in production. Users can ask Copilot to “generate an email campaign for all new Aston Martin DB12 drivers.” Einstein can even recommend a bundle of customization options, helping dealers upsell features throughout the manufacturing process. 

Consulting partner Arlanis Reply helped Aston Martin launch Data Cloud fast. 

Aston Martin teamed up with Salesforce consulting partner Arlanis Reply to successfully implement Data Cloud and Marketing Cloud. With hands-on guidance and best practices, Arlanis Reply helped Aston Martin expedite the go-live process and begin using Data Cloud in just four months — 20% faster than the standard implementation. This resulted in less money spent on development and continuous innovation post-launch.

With Arlanis Reply's support, Aston Martin has refined its marketing segments, particularly on social channels, to improve the cost-per-acquisition rate and create personalized user experiences based on customer interests and behaviors. The company can also send customers a personalized email or text with Marketing Cloud that includes content based on their interests and purchase behaviors.

The Einstein 1 platform is at the heart of Aston Martin operations, creating a comprehensive 360 view of customers across dealerships and systems. With Salesforce, Aston Martin can unify its customer data, engage luxury customers, and earn brand loyalty with the world’s #1 AI CRM as it evolves into an AI Enterprise.

“The value of Salesforce is the ecosystem of everything working together,” said Kent Packman, Salesforce Solutions Architect at Aston Martin. “Plus, it’s fully expansible, which means if there’s something else you need, you can build it.”