Tag: technology

Top 8 Profit Drivers for Today’s Digital Dealer

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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.

 

 

Drive Efficiency with Simple Dealership Best Practices

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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.

Improve Your Dealership’s Digital DNA

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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.

Do you Have What it Takes to be a Forward-Thinking Dealer?

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Forward-Thinkers Know How to Increase Dealership Efficiency 

Modern dealerships work hard to stay competitive. Driving efficiency in your auto dealership is a long game, however, and many business owners struggle to embrace the right mix of new technology without sacrificing profitability. So, what are the tactics that set forward-thinking dealers apart? What makes them so rare—accounting for only 33% of total dealerships?

Watch this video to discover how forward-thinking dealers earn 64% higher net profit (vs. static dealers), but also increase dealership efficiency and deliver the ultimate customer experience.

Adopt the mindset and tactics that bring major operational gains. Get your copy of The Forward-Thinking Dealership ebook.
Get it Now

 

Source: 2022 Cox Automotive Forward-Thinking Dealership Study

An Easier Lease Process with eContracting

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Leasing can be an attractive option for car buyers who enjoy the bells-and-whistles of a late model car but seek to keep their payments in check. Cox Automotive forecasts an overall lease penetration rate of 29% for 2021 – and the rate is often much higher for many top brands. So, handling lease deals is a task every dealership’s back office faces regularly.

The problem is that lease contracts are not as standardized as their retail counterparts and preparing them manually can be a complex and difficult process. Fortunately, lease contracts from many major lease providers can be handled electronically.

Here’s what to look for in an eContracting provider for lease deals:

  • Forms and Calculations – Choose an eContracting solution that provides the specific lease forms and custom calculations for each lender, to help ensure that each lease deal is includes all of the correct forms and is calculated accurately.
  • Lender Certification and Verification – Each lease deal needs to be certified by the lender on the eContracting platform before signing to ensure that the contract is handled properly and that every calculation is correct. Doing so helps avoid errors that could lead to re-contracting.
  • Accuracy and Completeness – Real-time error display working in sync with lenders can help improve accuracy in funding, while close collaboration with each lender makes it possible to have a live funding checklist to further take the legwork and guesswork out of the process.
  • DMS Integration – DMS integration helps minimize data re-entry required for lease deals.

The right eContracting solution should align the dealership’s workflow for retail and lease contracts and create a more efficient process across the board. Going digital with the lease contracting process can help make those transactions faster and more efficient for dealership staff and lease customers.

Digital Contracting with Dealertrack uniFI has DMS integration for lease available across many top DMS providers. Click to learn more and see the list of available DMS integrations!

14 Reasons to Start eContracting Now

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As more and more dealerships adopt eContracting, you might be wondering if now is the time for your dealership to look into getting or using an eContracting solution. The fact is, there’s no good reason not to use eContracting today for the growing list of lenders that currently accept it.

When you adopt and use eContracting with your current lenders, you benefit from more efficient workflows, fewer returned contracts and faster funding from those lenders. Each time an additional lender joins the platform, you’ll be ready to expand those efficiencies in your daily transactions.

Here are some of the many ways your dealership can benefit from using eContracting today:

  1. Move away from the hassles and costs of paper contracts – Using less paper in your contract process means less printing, copying, faxing, toner cartridge replacement, shipping and paper files.
  2. Make your contract process more efficient and customer-friendly – Streamline your workflow with a single electronic deal jacket, integrations that reduce data re-entry, and a smoother contract review and signing process for your customers.
  3. Improvements to your bottom line – Investing in eContracting can cut contract in transit time so you get funded as fast as the same day, and also save on printing and shipping costs.
  4. The convenience of electronic signatures – “Sign and tap” functionality allows buyers to sign one time per signing session and pre-fill all subsequent signatures with just a tap
  5. Faster funding from lenders – eContracting includes features that increase accuracy, which helps reduce the need for re-contracting and allows lenders to review and fund more quickly.
  6. Optimize your contracting workflow – The right eContracting solution should allow your dealership the flexibility to develop eContracting processes that support the way you do business.
  7. Submit and store contracts securely – The security features built into eContracting can help keep data safe within the dealership, in transit to lenders, and after the deal is completed.
  8. Cut down on data re-entry – Integrated technology systems allow customer and deal information to flow more smoothly from lead to contract with less duplicate data entry.
  9. Submit a complete deal that includes aftermarket products – A complete eContracting solution should give your dealership the ability to create and digitally submit service contracts to aftermarket providers and aftermarket sales contracts to lenders.
  10. Extend the convenience of digital retailing to the in-store experience – Support your dealership’s digital retailing initiatives with eContracting technology that meets customer expectations for a seamless online to in-store process and a speedy shopping transaction.
  11. Increase customer satisfaction – The number one frustration for car buyers is negotiation and paperwork according to Cox Automotive 2019 Car Buyer Journey research. Digital review and signing of contracts can save a customer 45 minutes at the dealership.
  12. Make lease deals easier – eContracting helps standardize lease contracts and align them with your dealership’s workflow for retail contracts to create a more efficient process across the board.
  13. Reduce contracts in transit – Overcome cash flow roadblocks with an eContracting process that can get your dealership funded faster.
  14. Offer customers flexible signing options – Have your customers review contracts and eSign from anywhere.

Dealertrack has the fastest growing digital contracting lender network. Find out how we can help you experience the benefits of eContracting today.

Why eContracting and Digital Retailing Go Hand-in-Hand

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More and more dealerships are seeing the value of digital retailing for bringing in customers from a variety of online sources to help counter declining retail profit margins.

Consumers are definitely shopping for vehicles online. Recent research by Google/Kantar TNS found that 92% of car buyers now research online before they buy. Today, 76% of shoppers are open to the idea of buying completely online, according to the Cox Automotive 2020 Digitization of End-to-End Retail Study.

Dealerships are utilizing a wide range of digital retailing initiatives. On one end of the spectrum, there is the all-digital deal. This is where customers complete the entire deal online – including the eContract – and receive remote delivery of their vehicle to their location.

However, most dealerships currently use digital retailing to give customers the opportunity to start their deal online and then transition smoothly to complete their deal in-store. Research shows that 83% of consumers want to do one or more steps of the purchase process online, so even when the plan is to engage customers in person at some point in the deal, it’s important to have the technology in place to continue the shopping experience they prefer.

Allowing car buyers to do their research online can also add to a dealership’s profitability, as 63% of shoppers are more likely to purchase aftermarket products if they can learn about them on their own time before finalizing their vehicle purchase.

How does eContracting fit in with digital retailing? It’s a logical step in the purchase process, extending the convenience of technology-enabled car shopping to the contract review and signing stage of the deal.

With digital retailing in place on your dealership’s website and third-party websites, here’s some of what your customer may have done online before they walk in the door:

  • Select and reserve a vehicle from your inventory
  • Figure their car payment
  • Calculate the value of their trade-in
  • Research aftermarket options and add-ons
  • Complete a credit application
  • Submit an offer on the vehicle

After the car buyer has filled out their information online and taken steps to complete their purchase, would it make sense to print out paper contracts for them to sign at the very end? Of course not!

At a time when consumers are accustomed to a high level of convenience and efficiency from online shopping, eContracting features such as mobile contract review and sign-and-tap help meet those expectations as they complete their vehicle purchase at the dealership. And for customers who wish to to do more of their purchase process online, remote contract review and eSigning provide the flexibility for them to sign from anywhere.

Click to discover how Digital Contracting with Dealertrack uniFI complements your dealership’s Digital Retailing initiatives.

eContracting and Data Security

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Dealerships collect a significant amount of personally identifiable information (PII) about their customers in the process of selling them a vehicle and arranging financing. Information including the customer’s name, date of birth, place of residence, employment information, phone number, email address and social security number can all be at risk of misuse when not properly handled and secured.

The vulnerability of paper documents

Many people tend to associate data breaches with electronic transactions, but paper records can actually be much more vulnerable. Companies have been fined thousands and even millions of dollars for exposing printed customer information in ways that include:

  • Mailing letters with social security numbers visible through the envelope window.
  • Faxing sensitive information to an unauthorized individual.
  • Leaving customer files on public transport.

Paper document mismanagement isn’t always so dramatic. It can include letting paper records sit on a printer or copier or out on a desk where unauthorized people could view them, or putting files in a dumpster when they should be shredded. Even sending documents by mail or via a delivery service can increase the risk that a paper file may fall into the wrong hands.

eContracting security

Federal legislation that applies to eContracts, including the Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce (E-SIGN) Act, includes provisions that electronic transactions must be conducted through secure channels to protect sensitive information. The law requires that digital information be securely archived, indexed, and retrievable in a timely manner.

Access to a dealership’s eContracting solution is password protected and limited to authorized dealership personnel. The system encrypts all contract and customer data, and it flows securely and directly into a lender’s Loan Origination System (LOS).

Contract packages are stored in a secure eVault with multiple backup systems to protect the data and keep it accessible when needed. In cases where paper is required later, authorized representatives of the lender or dealer can easily export the eContract documents and print them without requiring the customer to re-sign.

The system also ensures that only one “authoritative copy” of the eContract can exist at any time. This security measure prevents fraud and potential misuse that can come from multiple contracts for the same deal.

Your dealership’s compliance protocols should include practices that encourage secure handling of customer data regardless of whether it’s on paper or stored digitally. The security features built into eContracting can help keep that data safe within the dealership, in transit to lenders, and after the deal is completed.

Find out more about how Dealertrack Digital Contracting helps secure and streamline your contracting processes. To learn more about regulations around data security, download the 2024 Dealertrack Compliance Guide.

How econtracting can improve your dealership’s bottom line

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When a dealership is considering a switch to electronic contracting from traditional paper contracts, it’s important for them to figure the value they’ll receive from modernizing their processes.

Some paper contract expenses are easy to identify:

  • Paper, ink, toner
  • Maintenance of copiers and fax machines
  • Shipping costs and related materials

Then there are the expenses related to the time the process takes. 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.

Doing the math

A Savings Calculator can help dealerships estimate their projected savings using digital contracting.

Here’s how the calculator works:

Let’s say a dealership has an average of 200 contracts each month with an average loan value of $18,000. Their floorplan rate is 3% and it costs them $15 for overnight shipping and $2 to prepare basic ancillary documents on paper for each deal. Their contract in transit time using paper contracting averages 5 days. Plugging these figures into the calculator, we find that using eContracting for all their contracts would save them $4,879 per month, which adds up to $53,765 per year.

Interested in seeing how your dealership’s numbers add up? Use our Savings Calculator to find out.

Selecting a cost-effective eContracting solution

To maximize cost savings, it’s important for dealerships to choose a solution that doesn’t trade one type of expense for another. If an eContracting solution requires that a dealership purchase expensive equipment or pay a transaction fee for each contract they submit, it will take a lot longer to see a positive return on the technology investment.

An eContracting solution should maximize efficiency and time-savings so that the dealership staff has the capacity to work with more customers. That means a solution that requires less data re-entry and includes functionality to catch input errors and missed signatures to cut down on re-contracting is ideal.

Digital Contracting on Dealertrack uniFI is hardware-agnostic so it can be used on any device including tablets, touchscreens and laptops. And, there’s no transaction fee for dealers. Take into account the savings of submitting all deal documents to lenders instantly and getting funded as fast as the same day, and that’s the ROI dealerships are looking for.

Find out how quickly your dealership can start saving with Digital Contracting on Dealertrack uniFI.

Improving On Your Paper Contracting Workflow

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When it comes to switching from paper contracts to eContracting or digital contracting, some dealerships have a hard time letting go of the workflows that they are used to. Even when they realize that their paper contract workflow is full of disruptions, inconveniences and expenses, it takes a mindset change to make the switch.

Let’s take a look at some of the ways a digital contracting workflow improves upon the paper process.

A place for everything and everything in its place

With paper contracting, you have piles of paperwork that must be printed as multiple copies and kept organized in paper deal jackets.

Digital Contracting on Dealertrack uniFI is designed to integrate with your DMS to minimize data reentry that can lead to errors.  It makes the contracting process more efficient by placing all documents in a single electronic deal jacket.

Need to add the customer’s drivers license? Just snap a photo on a mobile device and upload it to the deal jacket. Is the customer purchasing F&I products? Those contracts are in the deal jacket as well. Not sure what documents the lender requires? There’s a live funding checklist to make sure they’re all there before you submit.

Let’s not do this again

How often does your dealership end up re-contracting due to a missed signature or a calculation error? There are manual ways to make sure your contracts are complete and accurate before you submit them – we’ve heard of a dealership that had three different managers review each deal package. But that’s a time-consuming and expensive method to ensure that the contract is correct and ready to be sent to the lender.

With digital contracting, a real-time error display alerts you to any mistakes as you enter data. A verification step ensures that everything is signed before you submit the full package to the lender. No need to have your managers take up valuable time checking and double-checking, which makes them more available for customers.

Fast-forward to the good part

Test drives: fun. Taking delivery of a new car: exciting! Signing paperwork: heavy sigh.

So many steps of buying a car are legitimately positive for customers. However, when a car buyer is faced with a seemingly endless series of papers to sign, it can leave them frustrated and less than excited about their purchase.

But digital contracting smooths out the contracting stage and makes it feel like less of a chore for your customers. Contract review and digital signing can be done on whichever device works best for your process, either in-store or remotely. And sign-and-tap functionality to auto-fill signature fields leads to a faster signing process and helps ensure that you never miss a signature. That gets your customers to the best part of the purchase that much more quickly and helps maintain those positive CSI scores.

Want to know more about how Digital Contracting on Dealertrack uniFI can enhance your workflow? Let us show you!