Joris van Engelen standing in front of a car in a Dusseldorp showroom.

Customer journeys: innovation
at Dusseldorp driven
by Joris

Joris van Engelen is a young online content marketer at Dusseldorp | BMW MINI ALPINA. He initially studied entrepreneurship for several years and then gained experience as an entrepreneur in content marketing and design with his own company, creating websites and videos. Joris is passionate about branding and customer interaction. To further develop himself in this field, he joined Dusseldorp, where he could fully apply his talents.

Vev is mainly used worldwide by small entrepreneurs. However, increasingly, larger organizations are also discovering how valuable Vev can be within their company or institution, for both internal and external use. One such larger organization is Dusseldorp, a family business since 1909 that started with the sale of two-wheelers and later four-wheelers. Dusseldorp is now the largest BMW dealer in the region and also the main importer of Alpina, with dozens of branches.

Increasingly, larger organizations are also discovering how valuable Vev can be

Test drives coordination

As a marketer, Joris has a wide range of responsibilities that he takes under his wing. Besides new initiatives, he also tries, together with his other marketing colleagues, to improve existing processes within the company. In doing so, they look at opportunities for internal time and cost savings, but above all for an optimal experience for customers. A specific challenge Joris recently faced was the coordination of test drives across all distributed branches, an essential part of the customer experience at Dusseldorp. Joris explains, "A major challenge was the communication with all branches, especially regarding the test drives with the new MINI Cooper at each branch. Ideally, you would want a live overview of this at all times." His initial solution was to use an Excel sheet and occasionally a planning tool, but these methods did not fully meet the requirements.

“A major challenge was the communication with all branches”

a person is stamping a Alpina logo on a piece of leather .

Solution with Vev

The search for a more effective tool eventually led him to Vev. Joris shares his experience enthusiastically: "When I went looking for a ‘test drive scheduling tool,‘ it was quite a search before I was satisfied. I tried about ten other planning tools before I found the right one, but it was all worth it: what a great tool Vev is! It matched exactly what we needed. Thanks to Vev, we can now easily schedule test drives per branch, the design is very beautiful and you can personalize a lot." His innovative approach led to the creation of a special page on the Dusseldorf website where customers can schedule their own test drive at a branch of their choice. "Then I sent a customer mailing including the Vev page link, which works really perfectly!"

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“Thanks to Vev, we can now easily schedule test drives per branch, the design is very beautiful and you can personalize a lot”

a group of people are sitting at a table in front of a coffee and tea wall .

Petrolheads as ambassadors

Dusseldorf's marketing activities consist of a sophisticated mix: from sponsoring various events and being the 'Official Automotive Partner' at the football club AZ, to making optimal use of social media. In various (social) media campaigns, the Dusseldorf ambassadors play a prominent role: well-known, appealing people who represent the brand and give it extra meaning. Joris says, “You can also see our ambassadors as influencers, the collaboration with these people offers various opportunities that strengthen each other. Most have been car enthusiasts all their lives, so their relationship with Dusseldorf feels really authentic.“ The marketing strategies at Dusseldorf continue to evolve, with Joris emphasizing the importance of digital presence and interaction with the customer through various platforms. Dusseldorf has also become more active on YouTube, where campaigns with high video quality featuring the ambassadors run. Dusseldorf also supports local communities through its own foundation.

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“Most have been car enthusiasts all their lives, so their relationship with Dusseldorf feels really authentic”

a man wearing sunglasses is standing next to a car .

Drifting on ice with customers

Looking to the future, Joris is excited about the new possibilities that lie ahead: “We plan to make a lot more video content and work much more with data, so that customers have to search less on the website, allowing them to get their questions answered faster.“ He is also involved in developing customer-focused events such as summer and winter experiences. Customers can then make guided trips where spectacular car activities always take place, such as driving convertibles in Italy or drifting on natural ice in Sweden. Joris: “For those events, a colleague (Event Marketer) is responsible, I am then mainly present to support and create content. Such a cool experience!“ But also the more traditional golf days, which are designed to forge deeper bonds with customers, continue to be organized.

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“We plan to make a lot more video content and work much more with data”

a white car is parked on a snowy road in the woods .

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