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Make Your Move: Be a Forward-Thinking Dealer

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Why wait for your customers to tell you the make and model they’re interested in buying, or even whether they’re ready to buy?  

On the new road to the sale, successful dealerships aren’t waiting around for customers to make the first move. They’re proactively reaching out to customers with personalized messaging and offers, thanks to cutting-edge technology that lets them identify shoppers’ interests and intent. 

Make the First Move 

By using both your CRM and automotive intelligence technology, you can gain valuable insights into online shoppers’ interests and intent based on their browsing behavior. With these insights, your sales team can make the first move in the dealer-buyer relationship to give your dealership a competitive advantage.  

If you feel like your dealership is being too forward, don’t. Today’s top dealers are implementing these technologies and sales strategies to improve the car buying experience for their customers. In fact, 38% of dealer loyal customers purchase their vehicle after initial contact from the dealership, according to recent Cox Automotive research.  

Predict the Purchase  

According to the 2020 Cox Automotive Car Buyer Journey, two out of every three U.S. car buyers shop at Cox Automotive sites, including Autotrader, Kelley Blue Book, and Dealer.com websites. That is a lot of consumer data! And it all flows into VinSolutions tools, which in turn deliver insights to dealers that identify which customers are most likely to buy. VinSolutions Connect Automotive Intelligence also predicts the exact make and model each customer will purchase, ensuring you have all the information you need at the exact moment the customer needs a car dealer.  

With this information in hand, your sales team can reach out to customers with confidence. In fact, when consumers are classified as “ready to buy” by Connect Automotive Intelligence, they are 15 times more likely to buy, compared to consumers with inconclusive Buying Signals. * 

Being a forward-thinking dealer isn’t being presumptuous about shoppers. It uses data-driven technology to give your customers what they want and move the sale forward.  

To learn more about how to become a forward-thinking dealership, check out our ebook, Sealing the Deal: The New Rules of Engagement, to learn more about the best practices and tech tips for a modern car sales environment. 

Get The Ebook

*Source: VinSolutions Connect Automotive Intelligence Data predictions for 30 days prior to purchase in Aug 2020–Feb 2021. 

Turning Customer Data into More Opportunity

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At Mile High Acura, in Denver, Colorado, turning customer data into new opportunities has yielded great success. With the help of VinSolutions Connect CRM and Connect Automotive Intelligence, the dealership is able to better manage tasks, analyze customer data, and capitalize on every sales opportunity with the help of a few key features: 

  • Personalized customer insights 
  • Integrations with other dealership solutions 
  • Ongoing support from a VinSolutions Performance Manager 

Download the case study to learn more about how Connect CRM with Connect Automotive Intelligence has helped Mile High Acura thrive. 

Sealing the Deal

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Best practices for engaging customers in a new sales environment.  

Instead of following the same scripted, step-by-step car sales process that’s been around for decades, today’s shoppers are forging their own unique path to the sale. But with nearly as many paths to purchase as there are shoppers, how does your sales team engage customers and close deals?  

This guide, Sealing the Deal: The New Rules of Engagement, will show you best practices and technology tips to help you stay in step with today’s shoppers. You’ll learn how to: 

  • Build and maintain brand awareness 
  • Identify customer interests and buying intent 
  • Make personalized offers 
  • Leverage data to retain customers  

Download our ebook and learn the new rules of customer engagement.  

2021 Cox Automotive Service Industry Study: Parts Shortages, Staffing Concerns Hold Back Dealership Service Departments

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  • Cox Automotive study reveals dealership market share up to 34% with another 66% of the service market still up for grabs, translating to $214 billion in potential revenue.
  • The majority of dealerships say the service department is not fully staffed, and 80% expect labor shortages to worsen.
  • 9 in 10 vehicle owners who schedule their service visit online are highly satisfied with the experience, but awareness of this and other digital features is still a barrier.

MISSION, Kan., October 11, 2021 – Despite current headwinds and market conditions, dealership service centers remain resilient and continue to be among the most preferred service providers. According to the 2021 Cox Automotive Service Industry Study released today, 34% of consumers prefer dealership service centers, a 1 percentage point increase from 2018, and ahead of general repair shops. And while this is great news for franchise dealers, there is still a majority of the market dealerships aren’t capturing – translating to $214 billion in potential revenue.

Dealership service centers are the most preferred because of their existing relationships. In fact, 55% of consumers say it is because the dealership knows their vehicle. On the other hand, dealerships continue to combat the perception they are overpriced and expensive. The top barriers to returning to the dealership are not only cost, but also location according to consumer rankings, all of which makes way for what owners consider easier and more convenient options, like general repair shops. On top of that, nearly 1-in-4 consumers also say their dealership service visits take longer than expected, adding to their frustration.

Dealerships Working Against Operational Challenges

Exacerbated by the pandemic, service departments cite part delays from manufacturers (58%) and finding or hiring the right technicians (45%) as their top operational frustrations, and both can directly impact the consumer experience, including the notion that service departments take longer than expected. On average, dealerships cite a decline in the consumer satisfaction they deliver, with only 55% of dealers believing satisfaction has improved in the past 12 months (down from 71% when surveyed in 2018). Specific to staffing, 57% of dealership respondents say their service department is not fully staffed, and 80% expect these labor shortages to continue or worsen in the future. The majority (60%) also say the service technician is the top role they plan to grow this year, so there is a focus on investing in this area of the business.

“The industry is ripe for transforming the consumer experience,” said Tracy Fred, vice president of operations for Xtime. “Despite a challenging marketplace, opportunities exist to better leverage digital tools to deliver on and even exceed consumer expectations, while also offsetting some operational challenges. Elevating the entire service experience with a consumer-first mindset and the use of technology can help raise overall profits, capture additional market share and help mitigate the frustrations service departments are currently facing.” 

Opportunity Exists to Better Leverage Digital Solutions to Improve the Service Experience

Dealership service centers offering digital features have a more positive outlook. Of the dealers saying the experience has improved in the past year, ridesharing, progress tracking, online cost estimates, mobile check-in, and other digital services. Not only are they offering these conveniences, but they have the added benefit of meeting consumer demand for a more digital service experience.

Car owners particularly want the ability to schedule their appointment online, and it seems the dealer is striving to meet consumer needs there with 74% of dealers offering this option today. Of those owners scheduling online, 91% are highly satisfied with the experience; however, a third of consumers are unsure if their service provider offers this feature, which is consistent with the 2018 Cox Automotive Service Industry Study.

Consumers also want to review and approve repair estimates online (67%) and access their vehicle service history (66%), which according to those surveyed are among the most critical digital features a service center should offer and provide an added level of transparency and convenience to the service experience.

Top Performers Excel Across Efficiency and Consumer Experience, Helping Boost Profits

Top performing service departments have a consumer-first mindset and use technology to enhance the experience by offering digital tools and convenience-focused services, like rideshare and reviewing and approving repair orders online. Nearly all top-performing dealers surveyed (99%) agree that improving consumer experience is an important focus moving forward.

“Consumers continue to stress the importance of a digital experience, and dealerships must evolve and offer flexibility by enhancing online capabilities,” said Fred. “Meeting consumer demand for convenience by considering new service lines like ridesharing also can help combat location as a barrier. These same services can also be leveraged as new staffing strategies to allow your existing staff to focus elsewhere.”

About the 2021 Cox Automotive Service Industry Study

The 2021 Cox Automotive Service Industry Study included 2,502 consumers in the U.S. from ages 18-75 that have had at least one service visit in the past 12 months, and 529 franchise dealers with decision-making authority over fixed operations. For the complete 2021 Cox Automotive Service Industry Study, visit https://xtime.com/content/guide/service-industry-study/.

About Xtime

Xtime is the leading end-to-end software solution that drives consumer loyalty and revenue for automotive dealers in each stage of the service process. With easy-to-use technology and industry experts, Xtime helps dealers meet changing consumer expectations. As an advanced, connected solution that provides exceptional support, Xtime is committed to helping dealers deliver the ultimate service experience. Through transparency, convenience, and trust, Xtime Spectrum — comprised of Schedule, Engage, Inspect, and Invite — facilitates more than ten million service appointments monthly. Xtime is a Cox Automotive™ brand.

About Cox Automotive

Cox Automotive Inc. makes buying, selling, owning and using vehicles easier for everyone. The global company’s more than 27,000 team members and family of brands, including Autotrader®, Dealer.com®, Dealertrack®, Dickinson Fleet Services, Kelley Blue Book®, Manheim®, NextGear Capital®, VinSolutions®, vAuto® and Xtime®,are passionate about helping millions of car shoppers, 40,000 auto dealer clients across five continents and many others throughout the automotive industry thrive for generations to come. Cox Automotive is a subsidiary of Cox Enterprises Inc., a privately-owned, Atlanta-based company with annual revenues of nearly $20 billion. www.coxautoinc.com

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Media Contact:

Brenna Buehler                                                              

949-473-6595                                      

brenna.buehler@coxautoinc.com      

Connected Technology Boosts Dealership Sales

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What happens when the technology that ties everything together—your Dealer Management System—integrates with your CRM? You can expect better data, better deals, and better days ahead.

Dealertrack DMS, backed by the power of Cox Automotive, is designed to fully integrate with a full suite of digital technology solutions, including VinSolutions Connect CRM.

  1. Drive Better, Data-informed Decisions – Deal Sync shares deal info bidirectionally between Connect CRM and Dealertrack DMS in real-time, creating efficiencies that result in higher profit potential.
  2. Reduce Redundant Work – When you integrate your CRM and DMS, you can reduce the number of keystrokes and busy work resulting in fewer data entry errors, mismatched customer info, and extra work for your accounting, sales, and service staff
  3. Connected and Certified – Unlike other DMS platforms, Dealertrack is hassle-free, without hidden fees, so you can continue to work with more than 180 leading Opentrack certified technology providers.
  4. Never Go Alone – With 96% client satisfaction and more than 10 years of dealership exp., a dedicated PM helps you reach (and exceed) profit potential while driving full DMS utilization.
  5. Precise Deals, Fewer Headaches – Eliminate differences in cash and equity allocation and get more accurate deal info direct from the data in your DMS.

When you streamline your dealership technology, you win. Your customers and your staff win, also. In fact, the only thing you miss out on are extra steps, manual workflow, duplicate data, and (likely) extra, hidden fees charged by your vendor.

EXPERIENCE THE UNEXPECTED FROM YOUR DMS
IT’S TIME THE TECHNOLOGY AT THE CENTER OF YOUR DEALERSHIP SERVES AS A CATALYST FOR SUCCESS.
SCHEDULE A DEMO TODAY TO SEE HOW DEALERTRACK DMS CAN MAKE AN IMPACT ON YOUR BUSINESS.

 

Case Study: Why VinSolutions Is This Auto Group’s CRM of Choice

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For dealerships, long-term success is all about finding sustainable competitive advantages. Sometimes those advantages come in the form of a unique business model, a favorable physical location, or an all-star salesperson. Other times, a technology tool or auto dealership software can provide a competitive advantage.  

But in order to work, that technology must have clear, sizable advantages of its own over the available alternatives. Tim Dahle Auto Group and its director of marketing, Mark Winters, have implemented VinSolutions Connect CRM and are leveraging its clear product differences to create competitive advantages of their own.  

Flexibility and Adaptability 

Tim Dahle Auto Group’s commitment to Connect CRM was born out of experience. As part of a larger technology consolidation initiative, the company moved several of its stores off of VinSolutions. But many internal users expressed frustration with the new platform. In particular, employees were frustrated with the new platform’s lack of customization and flexibility. Basic, important processes were difficult or impossible to complete, including creating and changing CRM processes, setting up email and text campaigns, and managing workflows.  

And so, the group re-implemented Connect CRM. Now back with VinSolutions, the dealership has complete control over the experience customers have after their initial contact. The dealer group can now administer its own workflows, create and change CRM processes, and set up text and email campaigns. The flexibility has provided important benefits to dealership employees and to the auto group’s many customers, who now enjoy a better customer experience.  

A CRM with Advantages 

Like all companies, Tim Dahle Auto Group will continue to look for competitive advantages wherever they can be found. For now, the group is happy to have found an auto dealer CRM that helps win deals through its differentiation.  

Download the full case study to learn more about how Tim Dahle Auto Group is driving success with Connect CRM with Connect Automotive Intelligence using its innovative, productivity-boosting features, including:  

  • Platform and process flexibility 
  • Customizable CRM workflows  
  • Cox Automotive data network and consumer insights  
  • Ongoing support from an experienced Performance Manager

Case Study: Tim Dahle Auto Group

Download The Case Study

Tim Dahle Auto Group

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With extensive experience working with numerous CRMs, Mark Winters, Director of Marketing for Tim Dahle Auto Group, understands the advantages that VinSolutions Connect CRM has over other providers. More importantly, though, he also understands the competitive advantage that VinSolutions gives his dealership within the market.  

Specifically, Mark points to key technological differences and a superior approach to customer service as the reasons for VinSolutions’ superiority, including:  

  • Platform and process flexibility 
  • Adaptable CRM workflows 
  • Data-driven insights 
  • Regular support from Performance Management 

Download the case study to learn more about how Connect CRM with Connect Automotive Intelligence has helped Tim Dahle Auto Group thrive.  

Survive the Cookiepocalypse: A How-To Guide

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The retail automotive industry has been through a lot in the last few years—a global pandemic, an economic crisis, and a historic inventory shortage. As it always does, the industry came out on top and is in a surprisingly profitable period. But don’t breathe too easy, because the next big challenge is already on its way — “the cookiepocalypse!” Don’t be fooled by the deceptively sweet name — the cookiepocalypse has the potential to upend the way your dealership currently connects with customers. Fortunately, there’s a sure way to protect your business from digital disaster, and it’s already in your possession — your own data.  

What is the cookiepocalypse?  

By now, you’re probably familiar with the concept of cookies — the little bits of data websites deposit onto your computer as you browse the internet. Cookies can be used for a variety of purposes, from streamlining your web browsing experience to tracking your search and shopping history. Cookies are especially important to advertisers because they are essential to target relevant audiences. But cookies also have a downside. Many argue that by tracking users undetected, they violate people’s privacy on the internet.  

Caught between its lucrative advertising business and its commitment to privacy protections, Google has announced that its Chrome browser will stop allowing third-party tracking cookies beginning in 2023. Other less popular web browsers have already started the process of phasing out third-party tracking cookies. That’s welcome news for privacy advocates, but it has many digital marketers preaching doom and gloom about the future of targeted advertising, earning the 2023 date the calamitous name of “cookiepocalypse.” 

What can your dealership do?  

Many of the advertising technologies you’ve invested in rely on third-party cookies to track, find, and reach consumers. As a result, the disappearance of third-party tracking cookies could have disastrous impacts on the effectiveness of your digital ads. Without cookies, you’ll have a harder time reaching your audiences, personalizing their experiences, and connecting online and in-store experiences, especially through retargeting.  

Your dealership advertising will also become much more expensive.  

That’s bad news for both dealers and car buyers because personalization doesn’t just lead to more profits, it also leads to a better shopping experience. Bret Towne, Senior Director of Enterprise Data Products at Cox Automotive recently discussed the importance of personalization in approaching car shoppers. 

“When visitors get personalized experiences, whether it’s personalized specials or listings, we see a 4 times increase in automobile leads, deal pencils and digital retailing. We see a 3.3 times increase in trade-in deals, and a 216 percent increase in conversion rates for those visitors. You want to personalize your digital storefront and make it as relevant as possible for that consumer.”  

With third-party cookies on their way out, dealers need to be prepared with new ways to engage consumers as they arrive at their websites. Given the current level of reliance on third-party cookies, the transition will be no easy task for most dealerships. Fortunately, the solution is something you already have — your own first-party data, which is now more valuable than ever before. Your dealership doesn’t need a third party to track and store a shoppers’ interactions with your company, and it’s easy to use that information to continue personalizing the experience for that limited set of customers.   

Augmenting First-Party Data 

While it’s about to become the next-best alternative to third-party tracking cookies, first-party data has limitations for most dealerships. Because it can only show how a shopper has interacted with their specific dealership, it gives a fairly limited view of that consumer’s interests and intentions. To be truly useful, dealers need the ability to gather, cleanse, and act upon shopper data, and they’ll need a broader view than their own data can provide. That’s why Dealer.com has developed cookie-less personalization technology. 

Bret Towne explained at a recent industry-wide event, “Dealer.com has been looking to solve this cookie-less problem for a long time now. We’ve been collecting over 26 billion key digital online activities that consumers are engaging in every single year, all in first-party cookie, with zero third-party cookie reliance. We also have a proprietary technology that’s allowing us to stitch together cross-platform first-party cookie activity. We’re able to reliably stitch together all of those digital signals about consumers that gives us a very holistic view about what those consumers are interested in, what level of in-market readiness they are, and ultimately, we can make predictions about what they’re going to do next.” 

It’s easy to see how dealerships that learn to leverage and supplement their first-party data will have a competitive advantage as everyone is weaned off of their reliance on third-party cookies. On the vendor side of this transition, Dealer.com is in a very strong position to enhance your company’s ability to personalize the shopping experience as you move increasingly further away from third-party cookies.  

How Does It Work?  

There’s a clear reason for Dealer.com’s strong position as the industry transitions into a cookie-less world. It’s part of the end-to-end Cox Automotive ecosystem that allows the company to make connections no one else can. At a recent industry event, Noah Lee explained the exclusive process in detail.  

“When somebody comes to the website, we recognize their device ID or IP address or the internet provider they’re coming from and we query our database to say, ‘do we know anything about that shopper?’ We have that info if they’ve visited Autotrader or Kelley Blue Book or if they’re in VinSolutions. And with our unique website solutions, we can show them vehicle- and customer-specific data.” 

More important than how it works is that it really does work. Personalized experiences increase engagement and that’s not going to change with the death of the third-party cookie. Dealers are going to continue to need the ability to learn about consumers and use that information to predict behaviors and customize the buying process. Cox Automotive is doing that today without the use of third-party data, and the technology will become a lifeline for dealers following the phase out of third-party tracking cookies. 

“When dealers have this identity capability powering their digital storefront for personalization,” explained Lee, “they personalize at a rate of 58 percent of visitors. 58 percent of visitors then get personalized experiences to drive up engagement. When we see that dealers aren’t using this technology, only 24 percent of website visits are being personalized. And what’s going to happen when the third-party cookies fully deprecate? That 24 percent will drop down to nearly nothing.”  

Finding a Future Beyond Cookies 

The cookiepocalypse may be on its way, but by now, your dealership is ready for anything. You’re already more prepared than you know for the death of third-party cookies because, in the form of your own first-party data, part of the solution is already in your possession. By adding Dealer.com’s cookie-less personalization technology and its vast universe of shopper data, you’ll have all the tools you need to continue powering your advertising, personalizing the sales process, and making profits. With the power of a powerful automotive advertising agency like Dealer.com in your corner, the cookiepocalypse might not be so apocalyptic after all.  

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Learn How Top Dealers are Thriving

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Implement the secrets of high performers so you can work smarter, not harder, for more profitable and more efficient fixed ops.

In every industry, there are top performers who separate themselves from the pack by achieving results that go above and beyond what others manage to accomplish. But, they also separate themselves through their daily actions, by differences in the way they approach operations. These discerning dealers are thriving — and they’re sharing the secrets of their success.

Instead of staying stuck in a rut of past practices, these dealers are investing in fixed ops improvements, like service pickup and delivery and enhanced multi-media solutions.

Take an in-depth look at how some savvy dealerships managed to thrive during a down economy to become both more profitable and more efficient.