Successful automotive sales professionals tend to excel at needs discovery. With a few friendly, direct questions, they can find out why a customer was drawn to a particular car or truck or help them find their ideal vehicle: How many kids do you have? Any pets? Commuter or adventurer?

As the digital marketing director for the 14-store, Sussex, N.J.-based Nielsen Automotive Group, Colin Carrasquillo knows a properly executed interview helps turn shoppers into buyers by validating their research and building value in their investment.

But Carrasquillo wants all potential customers, including those shopping online, to have the same opportunity. To that end, he invented Drivesona, an AI recognition engine designed to put online shoppers in the driver’s seat — in more ways than one.

Relevant Experience

Carrasquillo, 33, joined Nielsen Automotive Group in 2017 after earning an MBA and working for a digital marketing agency, then North Jersey Federal Credit Union. Tasked with updating and optimizing Nielsen’s digital marketing strategy, he soon discovered shoppers were asking the kinds of questions Drivesona would be built to answer.

“We were identifying, leveraging and testing tools, looking at paid campaigns and keywords. We found they were entering queries, like ‘What’s the best SUV for a family of four?’ or ‘I own a Labrador. What car should I get?’” Carrasquillo recalls. “I thought, holy smokes, there has got to be an opportunity here, a better way people can find a vehicle.”

The better way was an AI-powered interface that did not yet exist. So Carrasquillo decided to build it himself, pulling data from Nielsen’s inventory files and spec sheets as well as publicly available research and reviews from trusted sources such as Edmunds, with whom Drivesona shares an API.

It took years of hard work and patience to create Drivesona, Carrasquillo says, but it was worth it. The platform is driving new traffic and leads to the dealerships and generating new insights into the path to purchase.

“It’s an education. We’re learning about the best markets for our inventory and the dealers are getting a better understanding of who their customers are.”

Ready to Launch

Drivesona (short for “Drive Your Persona”) went live June 16. Users can visit Drivesona.com, tell the system about themselves and compare vehicles side-by-side in less than a minute. If they are ready to make a move, they can pick one or more vehicles and schedule demos.

In an effort to grow beyond Nielsen, Carrasquillo has been offering any interested U.S. dealer a free, three-month, no-obligation trial. To continually innovate, he is talking with developers and exploring paths to F&I, service, a role for agents and more.

“Right now, the sky is the limit,” he says. “This platform can and should become an all-in-one.”

Tariq Kamal is the publisher of AI Dealer News, Auto Dealer News and Dealer Agent News.