The pandemic has been a catalyst for innovation as businesses find new ways of doing things to help customers, many of whom are stuck at home and rely more than ever on digital connections with the outside world. Creating a positive customer experience (CX) in a website or mobile app is crucial when consumers are unwilling to step into stores, visit bank branches or walk onto car-dealer lots.

Improving the experience for car buyers and dealers is the goal for TrueCar, the price information site for new and used vehicles. The company has undergone a transformation amid the travails of the pandemic.

“We went through a re-brand last year was impacted quite severely by COVID,” Beth Mach, chief consumer officer of the company, said in this interview with Beet.TV. “We literally launched at the same time as COVID launched. We had to re-assess how we deployed our funds, and how we supported our partners.”

TrueCar’s goal is to be the most trusted third-party source of information about cars, while also helping dealers in their sales efforts.

“There’s a mutual opportunity that’s never been presented to either party in such a holistic manner,” she said. “We’re taking a different tack when we go into ’21, and we’re looking at how we create a relationship and a conversation with people. It’s going to be a fun year.”

Data underpin the company’s marketing programs, helping to provide multitouch attribution and insights into the reach of its campaigns.

“We’re looking at unique ways to look at data sources, we’re also looking to our partners — large and small — to also help us,” Mach said. “There are some incredible companies like IBM Watson that have some incredible opportunities to engage in.”

The pandemic has been disruptive, but it also has been instructional.

“This is also a moment for us as a marketing team can actually look back to those who have been also very innovative in their approaches because of COVID,” she said.

You are watching “Break The Cycle: Making AdTech Better in 2021,” a Beet.TV leadership video series presented by IBM Watson Advertising. For more videos, please visit this page.