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When we think about the future, our thoughts tend to focus on advances in technology. And at Cox Automotive Experience—a virtual event with the goal of helping dealerships find a new way forward—you’ll learn about the latest technology trends and how today’s dealerships are already benefiting from tomorrow’s technologies. As we transition into 2021, many experts agree that multimedia capabilities, flexible payment platforms, and process automation are the trends most likely to transform the automotive industry in the coming year.

Multimedia Capabilities  

Service, maintenance, and repair have always been about trust. Emerging multimedia technologies make it easy for dealerships to develop that trust, improve the customer experience, and make it easy for the customer to say “yes” to their recommendations. Express Multi-Media, a new tool from Xtime, enables dealers to easily capture walkaround and inspection videos, then send them to consumers. By helping vehicle owners visualize the need for service and understand the rationale behind a recommendation, dealerships can increase repair order volume and amount.

Flexible Payment Platforms 

Visit any website or walk into any brick-and-mortar shop and you’ll see that people have changed the way they pay for things. Especially when the economic outlook is questionable, as it likely will be in 2021, vehicle owners need more options for how and when they pay for service. A new service solution from Xtime aims to meet that need. FlexPay, through an integration with Sunbit, enables dealers to offer flexible service financing that help consumers pay for service over time. And when consumers are less worried about their budgets, dealerships earn additional dollars per repair order.

Process Automation  

Automation, and the ability to eliminate unnecessary tasks, has always been a primary goal of advancing technology. For profit-minded dealerships, few goals could be more important than increasing efficiency and doing more with less. New additions to the Xtime suite of service tools are helping dealerships do just that. Within Inspect, Common Operations is reducing technician downtime by combining the most commonly sold operations into a single catalog. Within Invite, Special Order Parts Marketing is reducing special-order parts inventory by providing automated email and text communications to consumers notifying them that previously out-of-stock parts have become available.

Naturally, technology will play a major role in the way dealerships move into the future. To avoid falling behind, your dealership will need to keep up with the latest technologies. You’ll have the opportunity to get up close and personal with these tools and trends at Cox Automotive Experience, a 10-day virtual event featuring demos, drop-in conversations, and even special offers from Cox Automotive brands. Click Here to schedule your demo today.

 

With six stores and a large customer base, Eide Automotive Group found it difficult to deliver personalized, meaningful marketing messages at scale. 

The dealership looked to Automotive Marketing Platform powered by VinSolutions to streamline their marketing efforts and reach customers with the right messages at the right time. Download the case study to learn how Eide uses Automotive Marketing Platform to:

• Sell more cars and acquire more trades
• Secure service revenue
• Personalize and Simplify mass email marketing efforts
• Ensure successful sales follow-up with comprehensive CRM integration
• Maximize return on marketing investment

 

See how Eide Automotive Group sells more cars with Automotive Marketing Platform.

 

How to Create Your Game Plan for an Optimal Digital Sales Process

 

The digital car buying experience has arrived, and it’s here to stay. That means dealers must adapt their processes to meet new digital and hybrid sales scenarios. But implementing a fully digital sales experience can be a significant undertaking for your dealership.  

That’s why we’re here to help. This playbook will give you the strategies and tools you need to create a solid game plan for successfully implementing digital sales. Topics covered include how to:  

• Lay the foundation for success  
• Become more efficient and effective   
• Measure what matters  
• Brand it and expand it 

 

Ready for next steps? Download The Workbook for Implementing Digital Sales.  

 

 

How to Shift Your Mindset and Adapt to the Digital Sales Model

 

The digital car buying experience has arrived, and it’s here to stay. If traditional, in-person car shoppers are the only customers you’re prepared to sell to effectively, you stand to lose a growing number of potential buyers who demand a more modern way to buy. 

But adapting to a new sales model takes a shift in mindset. This ebook will cover key considerations for preparing your dealership for a digital transformation, including:  ​

• Adapt to the 3 Modern Sales Scenarios
• Let Your Buyers Take the Wheel
• Put Personalized Service First
• Turn Your Website into a Salesperson

 

Want to learn more? Download The Playbook and The Workbook for Implementing Digital Sales.

 

Convenience has truly become a currency — or at least a deciding factor on where currency is spent. Your customers demand ease and digital interaction throughout the service experience, and you need the efficiency that brings to your service department. Let’s explore some opportunities for that win-win situation.

Appointment Scheduling

Customer Convenience:

Today, people tap their phone to execute on their needs – from ordering a pizza to booking a flight. They don’t especially appreciate picking up their phones to tap numbers and make a call. To create a fully digital customer experience, start with online appointment scheduling that includes professional and consistent menu recommendations and incorporates recalls and declined services.

Shop Efficiency:

The right automotive appointment scheduling software will help you maximize your service department’s potential by giving you control over shop capacity and facilitating visualization of shop availability. Also consider technology that makes your BDC agents more effective, putting all the information in front of them they need with the right functionality to book appointments with a high show rate.

Service Pick-Up and Delivery Options

Customer Convenience:

In a recent Cox Automotive COVID-19 Impact Study, we learned that customers prefer the ability to choose service pick-up and delivery options when they schedule their appointment online, and it will impact their service choices moving forward. Of those that have tried it, more than 90 percent were satisfied with the experience, and 91 percent said service pick-up and delivery will be a key criterion in deciding where to service their vehicles moving forward.

Shop Efficiency:

In addition to providing a safe, digital, five-star experience for your customers, service pick-up and delivery options give you opportunity for additional revenue. Currently, only about six percent of dealers are charging for the service, which suggests service pick-up and delivery could be a new source of revenue for 90-plus percent of dealers. More than half of the 1000 automotive customers who participated in the Impact Study stated they would be willing to pay $20 for the service.

Service pick-up and delivery can also help you fill less desirable service appointment times. The 8 a.m. time slot demand becomes less relevant when customers can have their car picked up at 2 p.m. and returned to them without interrupting their schedule.

In addition, the convenience of service pick–up and delivery can help you attract new customers and retain them.

Flexible Payment Solutions

Customer Convenience:

Nearly two out of three Americans don’t have the funds necessary for a $500 car repair.1 However, when you provide the right options, they can keep their vehicle on the road — 76 percent of customers say that they are more likely to make a purchase if given a simple, seamless payment plan option.2

Provide your customers with a consistent presentation of your service financing options at every digital touchpoint so they know this option is available to them when it comes time to make the repair decision.

Shop Efficiency:

When you provide your customers with financing options that make saying yes quick and easy, you’re getting the opportunity to drive additional service revenue. To decrease downtime in your shop, look for a solution that is connected to your service lane technology, so you don’t have to use separate systems to facilitate the financing.

Summary

When you create the digital service experience your customers want, you’re also creating opportunities for your dealership. Explore the efficiencies you can develop for your dealership with Xtime, now with Rideshare powered by Lyft, FlexPay, and Service Pick-Up and Delivery, an Xtime and Clutch integration.

1 Bankrate.com

2 Business Wire

 

Thanks to recent advances in artificial intelligence (AI) technology, dealers can now use customer data to improve the car sales process. AI gives dealers key insights into individual customer interests to better personalize the buying experience and to build a larger sales funnel. But because AI is relatively new to automotive retail, there is much to learn from other retail industries that have been successfully using this technology for several years.  

In this white paper, you’ll learn how retailers in a variety of industries are using AI to:  

• Personalize product offerings  
• Uncover buying signals  
• Improve customer satisfaction  
• Streamline the shopping and buying process  

Learn how your dealership could drive better results with AI.

Are you asking your staff and vendors the right questions about CRMs?

If you’re in the market (or even thinking about being in the market) for a new dealership CRM, you know there are lots of factors to consider. But understanding and evaluating all those factors is easier said than done. In the Key CRM Considerations guide, you’ll learn strategies for CRM evaluation that help ensure you find the tool that is right for your business.

The guide covers the importance of knowing your customers, your providers, and yourself when choosing a CRM, covering key considerations including: 

• Technology requirements and integrations 
• Process compatibility 
• Data and insights 
• Service and support

Get the guide to learn how to research the right CRM for your dealership.

With all of the unique challenges your dealership might be facing today, from reduced staff, to selling by appointment only, to being without a cleanup department, it can be really difficult to manage each day in the dealership and prioritize what is most important. 

With a few ideas, reports, and best practices gathered from the VinSolutions team and dealerships across the country, however, you can quickly identify and act upon your top opportunities. By prioritizing customers, responding appropriately, and optimizing your data for future success, you can spend time taking action that actually matters to your business – now and in the near future.  

Who are the #1 customers right now?  

One of the most productive tasks you can do for your sales team is to identify which leads are top priority right now. While fresh internet leads and those customers who have visited the showroom are certainly important, consider prioritizing a different group of customers: those who are responding to you.  

Customers who are actively engaging with you are much more likely to be ready to buy, so you must make sure you’re not letting these customers slip through the cracks. But if you’re working with a reduced staff, you might be missing valuable text messages and emails being sent to salespeople that aren’t working right now. It is important that you have a plan to monitor for these easy-to-miss messages.  

In VinSolutions Connect CRM, there is a report that will enable you to quickly and easily do just that. The Unanswered Email and Text Replies report automatically delivers you a list of unanswered communications, which you can prioritize based on the date the communication was received. In this report, you’ll also be able to see the age of the lead, which can help you quickly sort out who is most likely to be ready to buy based on how long ago they made their last purchase.  

Your goal should be to keep this report clean – to get this list to zero every day or maybe multiple times a day. If your customers are contacting you, they are likely contacting your competitors as well, so it is critical that you get back to them quickly. Set times for yourself to review this report daily, whether in the morning, in the evening before you go home or multiples times throughout the day. You can also schedule the report to be automatically delivered to staff you designate at times you designate. If you need help getting that set up, contact your Performance Manager.   

How should I respond to shoppers?  

With more and more of your customers shopping online, complimentary coffee and popcorn in your showroom are no longer the best ways to show your appreciation. That means that the way you respond to inquiries from customers is more important than ever.  

Even so, many dealers still default to cookie cutter responses to leads, such as, “Hi, my name is Kevin. When can you come in?” If your customer asked you if a vehicle had heated seats and remote start, they probably aren’t going to be very satisfied with that reply.  

You still need to win the race to respond to customers; speed is critical. But you can’t sacrifice speed for quality. Always take the time to read the lead and answer customers’ questions. Ignoring your customer’s questions doesn’t exactly send the message that you care. And on top of that, you’re wasting the precious advertising dollars you spent bringing those leads if you’re not going to respond in a way that a customer expects.  

What can I do now to set my dealership up for future success?  

Understandably, many customers want to wait to make a purchase until they can come into your dealership for a more traditional buying experience. It is important to give those customers confidence they are priority.  

You can do this by creating a special list of customers to contact when the dust settles. In the Customer Notes section of the Customer Dashboard in Connect CRM, you can label customers with tags (such as #priority) that you can quickly search. You can also make these notes using the Connect Mobile app.  

To get to your list of labeled customers, simply type the phrase you’re using to label customers in the Customer Notes field of the Advanced Search in the Customers menu. From there, you can select all the customers you’ve tagged as a priority and create tasks for a phone call or email right in the CRM – all with just a few clicks.  

You can then title the tasks in a way that lets your staff know the word track to use. You can even build a phone template, that includes a full script specific to the tag you’ve applied – whether it includes messaging about incentives, new delivery options or new hours. This is something else your Performance Manager can help you with if you need more ideas.  

For more information and to learn more about the Urgent Active Leads report, watch our on-demand webinar, Key CRM Actions to Maximize Current Leads.

  

Want to find a better way to connect with your customers?

Texting is the #1 channel for customer service preferred by customers in the United States. A technology solution that enables texting creates opportunities for better customer communication across your business.

This infographic will cover:

• The state of business to consumer SMS and MMS texting
• The advantages and opportunities that texting customers through a CRM creates
• Interesting data about average customer response times and the effectiveness of texting

Fill out the form to download your copy of the infographic and start improving your business’ customer communications.