Category: Trends & Insights

At a time when more of the shopping, buying, and relationship building is taking place online, dealers are taking stock of their digital technology portfolio. Cox Automotive forecasts that half of all car buyers will engage with at least one digital tool during the purchase process—which could mean more profitability for your car dealership business. Paired with award-winning support and data continuity, backed by the security of an experienced partner, dealers are setting the stage for success with the following list of profitability drivers:

1. Performance Management

There are few experiences worse than signing a contract and watching a vendor disappear before the ink has had a chance to dry. A true dealership partner should be available when you need them (and often before) to see your business succeed. They should set performance benchmarks and goals — and then hold your team to them.

 

2. Five-Star Support

When you’re working with a trusted partner, having a good support system there when you actually do need it to minimize interruptions should go without saying. However, you should say it, and demand it, before you sign a contract. Take a look at the average response rates and customer satisfaction scores of any potential vendor you’re considering. Emergencies happen; what can you expect when things go south?

 

3. Easy-to-Use Technology

Complicated interfaces, multiple logins, a lack of available training resources, and redundant data entry are like the four horsemen of the apocalypse to your retention strategy. If you want to improve the morale of your staff, invest in technology that is easy to use and helps your people focus on building better customer relationships.

 

 

4. Digital Signing and eSignature Templates

Maximize time savings for both your employees and your customers with the flexibility of technology that allows for digital signatures and digital document signing. Go one step further with technology that allows your team to save their most frequently used documents so they can quickly and easily pull these up for eSigning whenever they need to finalize a deal.

 

5. Digital Payoff and Lien and Title Release

Faster title payoff and lien and title release give your dealership the opportunity to turn inventory faster and save on holding costs. Normally, this process takes 18 or more days to complete,1 leaving your dealership in limbo as you await the title or lien satisfaction documentation. Cutting this down to as fast as four to six days would not only reduce your holding costs, but it would also speed up your cash flow.

 

6. In-State Registration & Title

Today, more than 30 states are electronic registration and title (ERT) enabled – and most of the remainder have plans in the works to catch up. Using a technology solution for reg and title to process motor vehicle transactions from the dealership’s office is a boon for productivity and CSI scores.

 

7. Cross-border Registration & Title

Showcasing inventory online and using technology to facilitate the deal process means that out-of-state customers have been increasing each year. Having technology available to guide the dealership’s back-office staff through the myriad taxes and fees that vary by the customer’s state, county and municipality helps improve deal accuracy and make deal completion faster, easier, and more customer-friendly.

 

8. Save Costs and Speed Up Cashflow with eContracting

Dealertrack data shows that the average time in transit for paper contracts is five days. In the meantime, holding costs accumulate and cash flow is halted. When you switch to digital contracting, your dealership saves on physical labor and hardware costs such as printers, paper, shipping, and related materials. Plus, you could realize funding as quickly as the same day you submit your deal documents.

Your brick-and-mortar business isn’t going anywhere. But the digitization of the industry is bringing the consumer to you in new and exciting ways. Prepare for car dealership profitability with the precision tools, processes, and the right mindset to achieve success.

 

Set your dealership up for success today. Ask our team of experts for advice—learn more.

 

Sources:

1Based on average industry timeframe for vehicle title release and vehicle payoff process of 18+ days, as determined by 2022 Dealertrack data.

 

 

In the quest to stay compliant, competitive, and profitable, dealerships are investing heavily in technology to increase efficiency. But technology alone won’t build a more efficient business. Your managers, frontline employees, sales staff, and back office rely on workflows, data, and training to make their day-to-day work faster and easier. Consumer buying habits continue to impact how technology aids every touchpoint along the way. Building an efficient dealership takes the right technology, tools, and people processes to thrive. Not to worry, though. Taking a multi-faceted approach doesn’t mean your tactics need a major readjustment. As you continue to grow, you can leverage the following dealership best practices to drive efficiency.

Harness Rapid Connectivity with Integrations

There’s nothing less efficient than the frustrating pause, stop, start of technology that doesn’t connect. When your data flows seamlessly between your CRM and your DMS—and then into the Reg & Title or F&I process—you not only save time and become a more efficient auto dealership, but you also keep your staff from jumping ship. The efficiency that comes from being able to push critical, secure information from one (previously siloed) step of the buying process also has an additional perk: a happier customer. This is important because the 2022 Cox Automotive Car Buyer Journey Study revealed buyers are more frustrated with the amount of time required to complete this process than in the previous year!

Digitize Your Back Office to Make Cash Flow More Efficient

Improvements to your back-office processes optimize dealership efficiency but also address slow cash flow, staffing shortages, and untapped trade-in opportunities fueled by digital retailing. Consider a trade-in titling solution to build ease and efficiency into the bedrock of your business. A digital titling solution can shorten the time for vehicle payoff and title or lien release. That means faster inventory turn and faster cash for you.

Use Technology to Cut Out Manual Processes and Workflows

You’ve probably heard this before, but it’s worth repeating that manual data entry is a time-suck. It’s not just inefficient, though. Faster deals lead to happy customers, while fewer paper forms reduce errors. So where should you start? Integrations between your DMS and Registration and Titling software help dealers save time by reducing the amount of information their staff needs to key in, ensuring their credit applications and contracts are accurate, and speeding up the contracting stage. (Dealertrack DMS integrated with Dealertrack F&I ensures up to 75% of data fields are pre-filled in credit applications.) These steps save you and your customers time at the point of sale, but there are other ways to reduce pesky manual tasks that chip away at efficiency.

Leverage Partners to Roll Out New Technology

Last, but definitely not least, when introducing technology to your team, you should do everything you can to reduce the overall loss of productivity caused by stress, anxiety, and frustration your staff endures. But you should never take this on alone. Having a trusted partner in your corner who advocates for change, ensures all team members are secure in their knowledge of the technology, and builds dealership operational processes that help you succeed is worth its weight in gold.

The automotive industry is complex—but building dealership best practices like the above into your technology investment strategy doesn’t need to be. You should look for vendor partners who can step up to the challenge with a proven track record for success. After all, your people, processes, and customers depend on it.

Find a technology partner backed by experience and a proven track record to bring efficiency and ease into your everyday business. Learn More.

This might be a familiar scene in your dealership: your customers have just test-driven their dream car, checked all the cool features, and are living on cloud 9. Then, out come the piles of paperwork with the long-winded contract review and tedious signing process, which ruins the vibe and the positive feeling they had about your dealership. However, you can keep their excitement and your dealership CSI scores going strong by speeding up the process with the right digital solutions.

With digital contracting, electronic signature, and remote signing, you can say goodbye to paper contracts and let your customers sign on the dotted line without the paper shuffle, and from the comfort of their couch. All this saves time upfront since customers can fill out fields, sign once, and then simply tap after that, and later on because it reduces the risk of errors.

GO DIGITAL TO SAVE TIME AND MONEY

Digital retailing and online credit applications let your customers build and customize their dream ride and their deal terms, and apply for financing from your website, while digital menu technology helps buyers select aftermarket and F&I options with ease.

Digital service invoices make life easier for you and your customers since they can be sent via email or text and customers can see exactly what they’re paying for. And everyone loves the convenience of online payments, whether it’s for parts and service, F&I products, down payments, or vehicle purchases.

Instead of drowning in title work, electronic title and registration streamline the process, reducing paperwork and the likelihood of errors.

Implementing these enhancements into your dealership’s digital DNA significantly improves dealership customer experience, streamlines operations, and boosts efficiency, providing your business with a surefire way to thrive in today’s competitive market.

Learn how Dealertrack’s solutions can deliver the exceptional dealership experiences your customers have come to expect.