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
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.
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 whyDealer.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.
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.
Corwin Automotive Group, a 12-store group headquartered in Fargo, North Dakota, has been a user of VinSolutions Connect CRM for years. The group has continued to rely on Connect CRM for its sales success because of several key features:
CRM process customization
Personalized, intuitive reporting dashboards
Dedicated Performance Management consultation
Intuitive user interface
Download the case study to learn more about Corwin Auto Group’s success and why one member of the team says, “Connect CRM creates the urgency needed to sell more cars and be more profitable.”
For more than a decade, Ken Nelson Auto Group has relied on VinSolutions Connect CRM to keep track of valuable customer data and assist salespeople with day-to-day tasks and contacting new leads. It’s been an invaluable tool, made even more essential by the robust reporting dashboards and the dealership’s partnership with their Performance Manager.
Download the case study to learn more about Ken Nelson Auto Group’s success and why one member of the team says, “All the information a salesperson could need is all in Connect CRM.”
In the automotive industry, service satisfaction has become an important driver of success. When vehicle owners enjoy the service experience, they reward dealerships with their dollars and their loyalty. Dealerships working to improve service satisfaction, however, face an age-old, uphill battle against common misperceptions about unnecessary repair recommendations and high costs. Most vehicle owners don’t understand what’s happening under the hoods of their cars, so they need you to help them.
To improve transparency and build trust, bring vehicle owners under the hood, virtually. Advances in technology have made it easier than ever for your service advisors and technicians to show any problems they find to customers while educating them on why a recommended repair is needed after a multipoint inspection. Picture- and video-based communications introduce unparalleled levels of transparency in dealer-customer conversations about needed repairs. These media-rich messages help customers see and understand problems and, therefore, the reason behind additional service recommendations.
Because media-rich communication is so common in other areas of their lives, your service customers love the experience of receiving pictures and videos from the dealership. When they’re given the information (and the images) they need through their preferred communication channels, they make decisions more easily. Data shows that the simple practice of using multimedia, especially video, resulted in a 24 percent increase in ASR conversion rate.
Because photo- and video-based communications increase the likelihood of a service recommendation being approved, they also make it easier for your dealership to make money. In fact, according to Cox Automotive data, when dealerships send multi-media messages, their close rates improve by six percent for messages with pictures and by 26 percent for messages with video. Data shows that dollars per repair order also increase, with 54 percent of consumers willing to pay more for service when pictures or videos are offered. That translates to a 70 percent increase in the average dollars per repair order.
With transparency and trust improving so drastically, and profits increasing so dramatically, it’s no wonder that dealerships are adopting this technology at a rapid rate. According to Cox Automotive, the number of dealers using multi-media messaging almost doubled between the third quarter of 2020 and the first quarter of 2021. In just the few months between the fourth quarter of 2020 and the first quarter of 2021, the volume of repair orders being processed with multi-media also increased by 39 percent.
Additional service recommendations are critical to your dollars per RO and it’s a struggle to overcome the knowledge gap between your team and your customers. With a limited understanding of mechanical problems, many vehicle owners need help to understand the need for repairs. Increased transparency is the most effective way to overcome this age-old problem and build the trust of customers. To succeed, your dealership needs to virtually bring its customers under the vehicle’s hood with picture- and video-based communications that educate them while alleviating their fears.
Download our eBookto learn more about how your dealership can improve retention and increase profits by implementing a digital service experience.
Ready to see how better technology leads to loyalty and revenue? Book an Xtime demo here.
From the uncertainty of the pandemic to today’s inventory shortages, recent industry challenges have made anticipating staffing needs incredibly difficult for dealers. As you search for the right staffing balance at your dealership, virtual assistant technology can help you bridge the gap and boost productivity, without sacrificing customer experience.
Every Customer Counts
More and more car buyers are using the internet to engage with dealerships. According to the 2020 Cox Automotive Covid-19 Consumer Impact Study, 64% of shoppers want to complete more of the purchase process online compared to the last time they purchased a vehicle.
They use your website to search for cars and browse inventory. And when they’re ready, many of them want to initiate contact using digital tools—on their own timeline. In fact, a third of internet leads come in after hours, according to 2021 Cox Automotive Data Analysis. This trend is good for business, but hiring enough staff to sort through all these contacts is expensive. At the same time, you can’t afford to let any lead slip through the cracks.
Virtual assistant technology uses CRM artificial intelligence, machine learning, and data provided by your dealership to answer customer questions about inventory availability, vehicle features, and more. It provides two-way communications in real-time via text and email, around the clock, to help guide customers along the buying journey. And, it always ensures that each customer receives the same personalized responses they’d get with a member of your staff.
Time is Money
Even when your dealership is fully staffed, having salespeople chase after bad leads is just bad business. For many dealerships, generating leads isn’t a major issue. It is qualifying leads and finding serious shoppers that presents a real challenge. When your team spends its time inefficiently following up with low-quality lead after low-quality lead, high-quality leads that are likely to convert are more easily missed. This process is expensive, inefficient, and costs your dealership profits.
Virtual assistant technology like Vinessa™ Virtual Assistant maximizes dealership productivity by engaging and qualifying customers using real-time automated responses. It integrates with your dealership’s CRM to capture all customer communications in one place. And, it provides qualified leads to salespeople by scheduling appointments and creating tasks in the CRM, so your team can focus on the customers closest to converting.
Technology that Maximizes Your Team
You can never replace the value that your people bring to your business, but you can use virtual assistant technology to bridge gaps and boost productivity in a cost-effective way, without sacrificing customer experience.
Learn how Vinessa Virtual Assistant can boost productivity at your dealership today.
Your service walk-around process has surprising profit-producing potential. Join Don Baxter, Performance Consultant Manager at Xtime, as he discusses how a defined walk-around process can generate higher profits and offer an elevated customer experience.
When you asked your sales team to be a lean, mean car sales machine, you never envisioned the lean, mean inventory shortages that have persisted in automotive sales in 2021. AutoForecast Solutions predicts that there will be 1.5 million fewer vehicles available in North America this year—a problem not even the best sales teams can solve. As you move away from traditional sign-and-drive sales strategies, consider implementing the following practical sales approaches that benefit the current state of the industry.
The Pre-Order Approach
You don’t have to have a car on your lot in order to sell it. Your team can still take sales orders, not unlike the pre-orders so many other industries (the tech industry, in particular) have made so popular. Instead of focusing on the lack of inventory or the long wait times, train your sales team to sell cars as built-to-order opportunities that empower buyers to create new vehicles according to their exact specifications. This approach creates excitement to buy and gives your customers a more personalized car-buying experience that’s worth the wait.
The Pre-Owned Approach
Your dealership has likely already seen the benefit of shifting from selling new inventory to used inventory, but so has every other dealership, which only compounds the inventory shortage challenge. As your sales team shifts its focus to sell more used vehicles, it’s important to find creative ways to source pre-owned cars. Start by reviewing your dealership’s past sales and service customers to find those who come in for frequent repairs, those who may have equity in their current cars, or those with lease terms coming to a close. This strategy can help you increase your pre-owned vehicle inventory and create new sales customers.
The Service-to-Sales Approach
Your service department is also a great place to find pre-owned vehicles that people want to buy. Train your sales team to pay special attention to those service customers who come in with highly sought-after makes and models, and be proactive about making offers to these customers. Leverage your CRM to find upcoming service appointments that can tip off your team to potential new buyers and sought-after acquisition opportunities.
Conclusion
Even in a lean inventory environment, your lean, mean sales machine can still churn out sales—it just has to be a little more creative in its approach to sourcing and selling cars. To learn more strategies for thriving in the current state of car sales, check out our free Lean Inventory Playbook.
Lean Inventory Playbook: A practical guide for aligning dealerships strategies with inventory shortages
