Jessica Stafford is now the new senior vice president and general manager for Autotrader, parent company Cox Automotive announced Monday.

And in her new post, Stafford will be leading Autotrader through a “dramatic transformation” in 2018, she said by phone last week.

It’s a revamp that will aim to offer “an even better experience” for consumers and the industry.

“We’re going to deliver some true price confidence that we feel sets us apart in the marketplace, and drive even more of those confident shoppers to the most relevant dealer listings,” said Stafford, who most recently was VP of marketing in the Media Solutions Group at Cox Automotive.

“And to get a little more specific, we’re considering this kind of a relaunch of an all-new Autotrader,” Stafford said. “We’re redesigning our experience to be elegantly designed with features that are going to give shoppers a very consistent and simplified experience, from one device to the next and throughout their shopping process.”

Autotrader is also working behind the scenes to reprogram its algorithm, with the goal of sharing more relevant and personalized results to consumers, while bringing the dealer a more ready-to-purchase shopper, she said.

 “And we feel like that’s going to come together in a more modernized search that drives relevance, it drives speed,” Stafford said.

In fact, testing of new products so far has shown potential for more than a 25-percent increase in speed with getting consumers to the right car. That helps foster a confident consumer who is ready to make a purchase.

“And we feel like that’s going to deliver more value than ever to our dealers,” Stafford said.

‘Strong leadership skills, business acumen’  

Stafford has been with the company since 2007, when she was hired as an associate manager of digital marketing at Autotrader.

She has since risen through the ranks of marketing positions, eventually working as VP of marketing for the group that includes Autotrader, Kelley Blue Book and Dealer.com.

As part of the move, Greta Crowley — a 2017 recipient of Auto Remarketing’s Remarketing & Used-Car Industry’s 40 Under 40 awards — will take on that role previously held by Stafford.

“With more than 10 years of experience leading the marketing team, Jessica has been instrumental in establishing Autotrader’s position as the most complete online car-shopping and buying experience,” said Brian Geitner, president of the Media Solutions Group at Cox Automotive, in a news release.

“She is highly respected at Cox Automotive and within the industry, and her strong leadership skills, business acumen, passion for employee culture, creativity and constant drive to challenge the status quo will continue to help drive the business forward,” he said.

Stafford earned recognized by Auto Remarketing inaugural 40 Under 40 honoree in 2015, and was a Women in Remarketing honoree this year. She was recognized as one of the Rising Starts by AdWeek, as well.

Goals as Autotrader’s leader

As she takes on the role of senior VP and GM of Autotrader, Stafford’s goals for the company involve continuing momentum, innovation and speed-to-market.

“From a goals standpoint, we’ve got some big momentum going on the Autotrader side right now … I think for me, product innovation is key. And we’ve got great plans in place that are a lot of excitement coming in 2018 for the Autotrader brand,” Stafford said.

“But the key to that product innovation is the speed that we can bring these solutions to market and to our clients. With all of this planned in 2018, we need to keep momentum going,” she said.

“The marketplace overall is changing so rapidly that I think the pace at which all of us bring new solutions to the table is key. And of course, I think that we’re positioned really well to do that across all of Cox Automotive, and particularly with the Autotrader brand kind of at the center of a lot of that,” she said. “And utilizing the tools and the data and the information we have across these Cox Automotive brands to make the Autotrader experience that much better for both consumers as well as our clients – manufacturers, dealers alike.”

Additionally, Stafford has efforts planned around audience, ones that involve “aggressive marketing” and remaining on a “pro-traffic” course.

“Coming from my previous role leading marketing, for a while here, we will continue that momentum of investing the dollars to get the right people to Autotrader, to connect them with the right cars and the right dealers,” Stafford said.

“What we sell at Autotrader is our audience, and so that value attribution is No. 1 for us.”

Another goal is “really getting out into the marketplace with clear value articulation and attribution for what Autotrader delivers back to our clients.”

Stafford said that one item that distinguishes Cox Automotive, given its tools and connectivity.

“But specifically with Autotrader, it’s going to allow us to do things that no one else in the industry can do and really prove that value back to our clients,” Stafford said.  

“I’m excited to get these new products out there quickly, continue to invest in audience to drive the most quality buyers to our clients’ lots, and also make sure that we’re delivering a clear value attribution of that activity.”

Digital retail plans

A piece of the Cox Automotive strategy is its digital retailing program. And Stafford plans to have digital retail as an area of Autotrader’s focus.

The parent company, she said, has a “unique” opportunity to improve car-buying for both consumers and dealers.

“And while we believe that the overall car-buying experience is good, we know that consumers, shoppers, are consistently telling us that the amount of time at the dealership that it takes, the general process overall, the negotiating the deal, is still something that gets in the way,” Stafford said.

“And so we’re focused on fixing that. And we want to improve the current model,” she said. “We’re not blowing it up, but we’re going to make it more seamless and more connected to make that experience better for both consumers and customers, and feel like digital retailing is one of the answers to that in 2018.”

Behavioral analysis in digital marketing

Her background in other fields certainly will be useful in that digital retailing part of the equation.  

She got her start on the agency side of the marketing business, including time working with clients in telecommunications, hospitality and retail.

Within that work, Stafford focused a great deal on ecommerce and digital marketing.

“It’s fascinating to see the optimization and opportunity to give customers an experience that is relevant and personalized to them based on their online, and sometimes offline, behavior,” she said. “And then give them a seamless buying experience.

“And I think in the automotive space, it’s taking us a little bit longer, because of the ecosystem we have and the type of purchase that a vehicle is, to get there,” she said.

“But we’re getting so much closer now to being able to give both the dealer and manufacturer side of our business as well as our car-shopper consumer side an even more seamless experience by leveraging online and offline behavior, to give them added value by targeting them and understanding where they’ve been and where they’re going” she said, and then using that online behavioral information to offer suggestions on vehicles that could fit them.

For example, what they searched for or TV shows they watch.

It’s about using the “intelligence behind using data, behavior and information to produce a better experience,” she said.  

Stafford saw this in industries in which she has worked, but says it has taken some time to make its way to automotive.

However, the car business is starting to see some of the same trends, with more pieces of the shopping process – even talking to a salesperson – going online, she said.

It’s using intelligence to determine what a consumer might like based on behavior, something Stafford acknowledges “used to be creepy.”

For instance, you share something on social media — then get targeted with ads based on the content of what you shared.

“Nine, 10 years ago, that was still new to us as consumers … very quickly, our industry, from a digital marketing standpoint, has moved into that’s expected,” Stafford said. “Consumers expect you to know about them and pick up on that by just behaviors that they do, not even active behaviors.”

For instance, determining a consumer’s interest based on the shows he or she watched.

Or, she added, say a consumer is shopping for car seats and bought diapers. That could indicate the shopper has a family and might be looking for a three-row SUV that can fit two car-seats, for instance.

Autotrader is able to scientifically produce such insights on the backend and then with its peer brands at Cox Automotive, can provide “that experience on Autotrader that really delivers on the value that consumers expect these days.They want to be targeted that way, everything from a purchase of a pair of shoes to a car.”