Originally published in Swedbank’s private banking client magazine “Fookus”.

Looking to buy an electric car? The bold-lined sporty Chinese SUV Aiways U6 would be a trendy choice. Want to go for a test drive? Sure! Just schedule a time at Euronics and the car will be prepped and ready for you. Enjoyed the ride? Great! Get all the necessary steps of the purchase process done on the manufacturer’s website and the car will be delivered to your doorstep.

At first glance, the above story seems to be a bit off, to put it mildly. But this is actually already the reality in Germany, as this is exactly how this specific Chinese car can be purchased over there. And there’s certainly no shortage of interest since one Euronics store sees around 40 test drives a week. 

According to the French consulting company Inovev, the percentage of Chinese electric vehicles in European new electric car sales will grow from the current 6% to a couple dozen percent by 2030. That’s about a million cars per year. 

Changes in the sales model and Chinese car brands are some of the biggest new trends in the European car market. This time, Raido Toonekurg, the chairman of the board of automotive software company Modera, will share his expert opinion on what the European car market has got coming in the next few years. 

Here come the electric vehicles

There’s no turning back when it comes to the rule of electric vehicles. This trend is led by a combination of factors. Firstly, a change in people’s thought patterns where an environmentally friendly car is now a conscious choice. Secondly, the rules and regulations set forth by legislators, and thirdly the decisions of car manufacturers. 

The European Union’s decision to only allow the sale of cars and vans that create zero CO₂ emissions from 2035 is both a clear sign and an assurance to manufacturers as to where to direct their focus from hereon.  

The permission to sell new cars with an internal combustion engine after 2030 does however leave the door open in case not enough lithium needed for batteries can be mined by then, but this does not affect the trend. 

According to Raido, big manufacturers have taken a clear direction towards electric vehicles, and they’re ambitions are great. 

Volkswagen Group, which includes Volkswagen, Audi, Škoda, Seat, Porche and many others and sold a quarter of all the new cars in Europe, has promised that by 2030, 70% of all the cars they sell are electric vehicles. Stellantis, which includes Peugeot, Fiat, Citroën, Opel, Jeep, DS, Lancia and Alfa Romeo and owns about a fifth of the market, is aiming to reach a full 100% by the same time – an ambition shared by the Renault Group with a 10% market share. 

Currently, manufacturers are actively trying to turn their entire selection electric. Raido is certain that this will be achieved within the next two to three years. 

Chinese electric vehicles – a rising trend

Last year, the most sold models of electric vehicles in Europe were Tesla Model Y and Model 3 with a combined market share of 8%. There really are no outstanding leaders on the market at this point. 

On a global scale, Chinese manufacturers have taken a solid lead. Chinese BYD Auto sold over 1.8 million electric vehicles last year and is a clear global leader with a 20% market share. You should memorize the names of their three most popular models Song, Qin and Han, as BYD is looking to bring these models to the European market this year. According to Raido, Chinese electric vehicle manufacturers have finally gotten over the hump, making the increase of their models in the European market one of the biggest trends. 

The selling points are strong. High quality when it comes to both durability and driving range, as well as appearance and the design of the salon. Of course we can’t forget the price as Chinese cars tend to be cheaper especially in the more low-cost price range. At the same time, a Chinese car falling in the average car price range in Europe, usually comes with several premium-class features. 

Although, thus far, the most sold electric vehicles in Europe belonged to Chinese companies, but were initially under European brands such as MG and Polestar as well ask Lynk & Co, now more and more fully Chinese brands like Aiways, NIO, XPeng, BYD and others are finding their footing on the market. 

The consulting firm Inovev believes that it’s quite a conservative expectation that in seven years every fifth electric vehicle sold in Europe will be by a Chinese brand. 

Car from the web and straight from the manufacturer

The rise of Chinese electric vehicles will also change the traditional sales model. Carlos Tavares, the head of Stellantis, has said that if European manufacturers want to stay in competition, they need to find ways to cut costs. One way is to reduce the share of the price given to resellers.

An upcoming trend is buying cars straight from the manufacturers. In Sweden, Mercedes has already started with this model and many other European countries are following their lead. For example, the same decision has been made by BMW and Stellantis Group. Resellers will enjoy the pleasure of organizing test drives along with some compensation, but the buying and selling will happen between the manufacturer and the consumer. 

Some Chinese brands who don’t have an effective cooperation agreement with European resellers are trying out new ways of selling. This is where the story described at the beginning of this article falls under – customers looking to buy an Aiways car can take a test drive at an Euronics store in Germany. 

Although 40 test drives a week per store is not a small number, in the end, what counts is still how many of those drives turn into actual purchases. It would probably be naive to expect a strong reseller-type sales approach from Euronics. Since it’s yet to be determined how significant of a role reseller’s marketing approach plays in finalizing a sale, companies like Toyota, Kia and Renault are still continuing with their existing sales model for now. 

From a buyer’s perspective, it really doesn’t matter whether they’re checking out their choices on the manufacturer’s or reseller’s website and who they end up finalizing the deal with. As a trend however, it’s worth mentioning that the entire car buying process from picking out the model and putting together the ideal fit, to finalizing the leasing and buying contracts, will become increasingly more digital. 

Decreasing importance of owning a car

The time when a kid would work and save money to make their dream of owning a car a reality, is now in the past. Owning a car, or really anything material is not as important to young people anymore and their focus has shifted on being more environmentally friendly. At the same time, the actual need for a personal car is also declining.

A short term rental is easy and becoming even more simple. Numerous car rental companies are making it very convenient to rent a car. Some companies can even deliver the rental car at your doorstep by managing it remotely. These fast developing solutions are also reducing the need for a second or third family car. 

There’s an increasing selection of 4‒6 month rentals. For example, Modera, whose system includes various car sellers, is currently developing an easy solution to rent a car for a few months. 

Delivery service keeps evolving. We’ll see an increasing number of cars that are bringing things right to our doorstep. 

Raido Toonekurg believes that these trends will not drastically reduce the need for new cars however, at least not on a global scale. Big countries such as China and India are just getting started with owning their cars and driving. 

When will we see self-driving cars?

There’s been a lot of talk about self-driving cars, but at one of the most influential technology exhibitions CES, held at the beginning of the year in the USA, big car manufacturers shared a clear message that no great breakthroughs are expected in that area in the next few years. At this time, everyone’s focused on developing electric vehicles and changing their sales models. Autonomous vehicles will evolve where they’re used in a limited area and on specific trajectories. 

On a higher level, where artificial intelligence is driving a car in general traffic without the need for human interaction, there are still many unanswered questions even outside the technology. For example, a programmer would have to install the right choice in the artificial brain in a situation where, in case of an inevitable accident, the car would either hit an 8 year old kid or an 80 year old person. Who’s going to make this decision? Who’s going to be responsible for the end result in that case – would it be the manufacturer? Manufacturers are not eagerly rushing into situations full of potential lawsuits and court cases. 

Exceptional infotainment

Let’s end on a lighter note however. Thus far, trying to navigate the touch screen of a car has proven to be much less enjoyable than tapping away on your smartphone. Luckily, there’s reason to believe this is about to change. Finally, car manufacturers have started to focus more on making the info and entertainment systems in the cars easier and more intuitive. 

What’s going to happen with the prices? 

Currently, the price difference between electric vehicles and cars with internal combustion engines is the smallest in the premium-class car range. As a trend, we can see that prices are becoming more uniform in all classes. On one hand, cheaper electric vehicles are entering the market, while on the other hand, the price for petrol cars is on the rise. 

One of the reasons for such increase in pricing are the taxes set forth by governments on cars producing CO₂ emissions. The leasing percentage and insurance payment will also become more dependent on the size of the carbon footprint of the car and the loan applicant. 

The sale of new electric vehicles in the European Union

The light blue bar shows the share of cars running on different types of fuel in new vehicle sales in 2021 and the dark blue bar in 2022. The orange bar shows the percentage increase or decrease in the share compared to 2021. The share of electric cars increased the most and the share of diesel cars decreased.

Electric car sales by country

While electric cars made up 3,4% (731 cars) of all new car sales in Estonia last year, in Norway, it was a whopping 79,3% (138 207 cars). The biggest electric car markets in Europe are Germany (471 394 new electric vehicles sold last year), the UK (267 203) and France (203 122). 

The post New Trends in the Car Market  appeared first on Modera.

In this automotive CRM case study, we find out how City Motors AS was able to increase the efficiency and revenue of their dealerships, whilst improving their customer experience.

Quick facts

• Client? City Motors AS
• What they do? Official representative of Renault, Dacia and Nissan in Estonia.
• Where? Estonia
• Range? 5 dealerships: Two in Harju County, one in Tartu, Narva and Kuressaare

Challenges faced by dealerships

Having been on the market for over 20 years as the official representative of Renault, Dacia and Nissan vehicles in Estonia, City Motors knew the importance of keeping up with current market trends and making sure their dealerships reflected that. The company had been using solutions and products by a reputable company for years, but was starting to realise that one-size-fits-all type of systems meant for a wide range of industries might not be the perfect fit for them.

City Motors was looking for a solution that was created with the specific needs of the automotive industry in mind. They found themselves struggling to keep up with the increasing demands of factory needs, as well as needing a reliable CRM solution to manage leads, customers and relevant data. On top of that, the company was looking for a solution that would allow all of their dealerships to have access to real-time stock. It was also important to create a modern and user-friendly website to accommodate the increasing customer interest in online shopping, whilst reflecting the real-time availability of products and vehicles in stock. 

Finding the perfect fit

On their hunt for the perfect solution to help tackle the above challenges, City Motors decided to give Modera Software a try. Knowing that Modera’s solutions were created specifically for the automotive industry, taking into consideration the special needs and requirements, City Motors was hoping the solutions would be the answer to their problems as well.  

The cooperation started in 2020 and consisted of two phases. The first step was to start adapting the existing processes to Modera’s CRM solution. Much to the company’s delight, the implementation process was fairly easy and the positive impacts of the change didn’t take long to show. The second phase included the implementation of Modera’s Webfront solution, as City Motors was looking for a single system that would be easily manageable and would reflect real-time stock across all of their webpages. 

Smooth cooperation

Thanks to Modera’s thorough knowledge of the industry, the implementation process of new solutions was easy and gave City Motors more confidence in their decision to try a new approach. Not only did the implemented solutions help City Motors in their daily operations, increasing the efficiency across all of their dealerships, but the company was now able to analyze and measure their performance in detail. This helped identify any bottlenecks in their processes and make improvements where necessary. 

Another benefit the company was able to enjoy thanks to the cooperation was the fact that their webpages were running smoothly, whilst providing page visitors with a seamless and user-friendly experience. 

From the beginning of the cooperation, one of the things City Motors valued most about Modera was how flexible and accommodating they were. It took several changes and customizations until the client was fully happy with the look and feel of their webpage, and they highly appreciated the patience and understanding Modera showed throughout the process. In the end, the custom solution created for City Motors was just the webpage they had been looking for. 

Main solutions implemented

To tackle their main challenges, City Motors implemented a number of Modera’s solutions. Webfront allowed them to have a beautiful and professional looking webpage, whilst Salesfront provided the perfect solution to manage stock centrally and make sure that all of their dealerships had a clear real-time overview of the inventory. Modera’s CRM solution helped increase the efficiency and productivity across dealerships, while ensuring customers enjoyed great and highly professional service.

Road to success

After implementing Modera Software solutions, City Motors has been able to improve the efficiency and operations across all of their dealerships. They benefit from a single system reflecting real-time stock, whilst having a reliable website and customer management system. 

City Motors understands the need to adapt to changing customer behaviour and demands, including the possibility for customers to go through their vehicle purchase process online. With a user-friendly website, easily manageable CRM system, and a flexible partner ready to meet any special requirement, the company is now set for all that the ever-changing automotive industry might have in store in the upcoming years. 

The post City Motors’ Road to Success appeared first on Modera.

The automotive industry looks vastly different today than it did a decade ago. The process of buying new and used cars have changed drastically. As automotive industry software solutions, along with other technology have made the purchasing journey more transparent and streamlined. Today’s customers expect an exceptional car-buying experience. And these software solutions can help your staff deliver on this promise – no matter the size of your operation.

What are the types of automotive industry software solutions?

1) Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Software

It is a software solution designed to manage your dealership’s relationships with customers and potential customers. It is important to select a CRM built specifically for the automotive industry, such as Modera Salesfront. With an automotive CRM, dealerships can automate and organize their sales, marketing, and customer service processes. And ultimately sell more cars, which is the main objective.

Automotive CRM software offers numerous benefits. Such as lead management that prevents you from dropping the ball on leads generated online, over the phone, via a third party or through walk-ins. Communication with customers improves drastically as interactions can be tracked through phone, text, or email. Other features available include lead nurturing and generation. Such as the ability to respond immediately to new leads through automatic replies. Every deal of the sales process can be followed thoroughly, without lead leakage, from the beginning to the end.

2) Dealer Management System (DMS) Software

Using a collection of products from multiple software vendors can turn into a nightmare scenario. Using a DMS means a single solution that eliminates these headaches.

To put it in a nutshell, DMS allows a dealership to perform all daily functions in areas of sales, financial transactions, service operations and more, flawlessly from a centralized hub. The integration built into the software allows simplified information exchange between all the operational divisions of your dealership and even with the manufacturer if the automotive agency model is in use. It is a solution where everything is interconnected. Be it the work of the sales department or the preferences of customers. Daily controls become smoother, especially when repetitive tasks are automated.

Benefits of applying a high-quality dealer management system not only helps manage all functional areas of business with one solution, starting from sales to service and everything in between.

But it also helps:

• you improve customer service
• collect and analyze all the data
• improve marketing strategies
• and give you more flexibility, mobility and security.

3) Inventory Management Software

It works best with DMS systems, and is included with most of them. But you can purchase it as a standalone solution too. Inventory management software can help you syndicate inventory to your website and third-party lead providers. It can be used for trade-in programs as well.

4) Website Building Software and Digital Retail

A website that is specifically tailored to your dealership model is a must these days. A generic site built and maintained through WordPress or another universal platform will lack many of the features that make a dealership’s website a user-friendly destination that stands out in the crowd. Digital retail solutions enable an e-commerce like experience on your website where customers can do a lot of the work of purchasing a car online. A comprehensive and easy-to-navigate website will let customers take a peek at inventory, compare prices, explore financing options, making an offer on a vehicle and much more.

Giving customers the best user-experience possible is every company’s first priority. And using automotive focused website building tools for your dealership website is a must to make it happen.

So what should you look for while selecting automotive industry software solutions?

Today’s automotive software offers a unified, fully customizable platform that brings every area of your business under one digital hood. Sales, marketing, service and OEM integrations are all dealt with so transparently that the software itself never gets in the way.

The software should be tailored to fit your business model

No two dealerships operate in the same manner, which is why off-the-shelf dealer software rarely fits the bill. To match the workflows of your team on a regular basis, so the operation is flawless, the platform has to be fully customizable for every department, vehicle make and model, customer type, source of business and market segment.

It should engage the staff

Nowadays, sales processes are tough to manage as they are so varied. The customer is ultimately who matters, when it comes to the journey they take to reach your front door. The right automotive software solution ensures stress-free and workflow-based navigation through the sales journey for both sales personnel and customers. It even includes auto-generated sales report documentation and mobile-ready collaboration for the sales team.

Customer satisfaction is of the utmost importance

How to appeal to the new generation of car buyers? By ensuring you can reach them digitally! When you pick the right software, you will enjoy a tangible boost in customer satisfaction. Thanks to the ability to automatically send timely communication via email and SMS, and the presence of personalized micro-sites through which customers can view the deal on the table and extend their relationship with the dealership well beyond the sale, into after-sales service and maintenance.

A 360 degree buyer view is must

Buying journeys are more complex that ever and hence must be monitored closely. Automotive software solutions provide real-time data on the customer. By keeping an eye on their journey and interactions with your dealership, it offers a perfect opportunity to incorporate a personal touch. Right at the moment they are most likely to engage with you. This level of sales funnel management has never been available. At least not on such scale and within budget for so many dealerships – until now.

Which Automotive Industry Software Solutions to pick?

To sum up, dealerships should look for automotive industry software solutions that can integrate all the required platforms seamlessly, or an all-in-one software. The latter is the preferred option as it is not only cheaper in the long run. But integrating multiple platforms under a single unit could prove to be problematic.

For instance, some features of those platforms might need to be upgraded. Or a few could stop functioning properly due to some particular feature being updated. It is a hassle to fix those glitches and then get the software working again.

Dealerships that use all-in-one solutions report enhanced customer satisfaction. Including customers feeling more valued and in control of the purchasing process. Happy customers mean more sales, positive word-of-mouth, and repeat customers. Assess the needs of your dealership, and choose carefully.

The post Types of Automotive Industry Software Solutions appeared first on Modera.

In today’s extremely competitive industry, it is imperative that your car dealership has a cutting-edge dealership website that can attract customers and retain them as well. It could make the difference between a customer who is merely browsing and the one who wants to actually purchase a vehicle. So if your car dealership doesn’t have a website yet or its not meetind demands of todays customers expectations, it is time to start looking at various automotive website solutions.

Why is important to have automotive focused website system?

The ability to make a sale depends on how much of that time you capture online, and the experience you create for them, when customers visit your dealership website. It should be consistently updated to display the most up to date and accurate information about your dealership and your vehicle inventory. With so many consumers doing a large share of research on the Internet before they even walk into a dealership, an engaging automotive website can be the key to attract, engage, and convert your web visitors into buying customers. Most dealerships however, have some work to do in this category.

Apart from captivating visuals and clear, informative and high quality content, consumers will benefit from:

• Full vehicle detail pages with photos and videos that explain features and specs.
• Accurate pricing information.
• Comparison guides that explain the differences between similar models.
• Trade-in values and information so consumers can get an idea of their budget.

If your current dealership website is not marketing your business the way it should be, it might be time for a redesign. If you want your dealership to become a leader in sales and automobile marketing, an engaging automotive website is the best place to start.

The online experience in car buying process is more vital than ever!

Retail lessons from businesses’ adjustments to the Covid-19 pandemic and related shutdowns have been complex and varied. And have included a focus on making sales with little or no physical contact. A good automotive website solution allows easy communication between dealership representatives and customers. As well as serving as a virtual showroom to get the buying process started. When this happens, the path to purchase changes into a more modern, efficient, customer-friendly approach!

For many years, the all-online car sale was not an option for shoppers, due to the need for processes such as F&I and paperwork to take place in person. This is changing too. The rise of cirtual F&I, accomplished through video chat meetings, has empowered many dealerships that have a sufficient technology integration and staff knowledge.

While this focus on online retail has seen its importance and urgency increase due to the Covid-19 crisis, it should not be mistaken for an emergency measure that will be forgotten when people feel safe congregating in public again. When customers can accomplish dealer interactions online, they reduce the time spent in the showroom. This, in turn, makes those customers feel less pressure, which boosts their experience. People who have positive car-buying experiences enabled by strong online resources may not just become buyers, but satisfied long-term customers who are happy to deal with your dealership for service and future purchases.

What is the best solution for dealership website?

To really stand out you need a website building system that is specific to the automotive industry. To make sure that this is accessible from everywere and everyone on your team, you need cloud-based website content management system that can help to build an incredible automotive website to boost sales and revenue. You can’t function without an online presence these days. Even if you have a dealership website, it must have a proper structure and the correct tools and elements.

Customer experience is of prime importance today. To ensure your customers have the best experience, the website has to be attractive, easy-to-navigate, and have compelling content.

This is where Modera Webfront comes in. To build an automotive website for your company, the smart and most effective choice is the Modera Webfront solution. It has the following features:

• Editors can modify, add or remove content of pages directly while seeing the dealership website from the live site perspective.
• Comparison of several vehicles so the customer can decide which one perfectly fits their requirements.
• Clients can design and build their next car with the Car Configurator feature.
• Create a virtual showroom to present the vehicles down to the finest detail, such as prices, specifications, available options, visuals and marketing collateral.
• Publish inventory, keep it updated, and let visitors find their next vehicle with just a few clicks.
• Similarly, visitors can find accessories and even order them for their vehicle.
• Customers might want to get their vehicles valued for trade-ins, so this feature is available as well.
• Clients can book convenient slots for test drives.
• You can create and manage all type of promotional material – banners, special offers and campaigns. Keep customers updated about what is going on in the dealership with latest news.
• Let customers schedule their service sessions online via a booking form.
• Maintain all data in a centralized format.
• Last but not the least; ensure that your dealership website is visible more via SEO tools.

Dealerships striving to remain relevant among changing market forces can strengthen their position through digital transformation. Automotive website solutions are some of the elements in that transformation and deserve focus. If it has been too long since your dealership revamped its site, this should be a priority. You should emerge from this process with a secure, easy-to-use site that allows customers to browse comfortably from any device and collects data that will improve their experience in the future. Modera Webfront is exactly what you need to accomplish this purpose!

The post Why cutting-edge Automotive Website Solutions are necessary? appeared first on Modera.

The impact due to the Covid-19 pandemic has had a lasting impact among the automotive industry. Even though the economy is slowly bouncing back, dealerships across the nation have been affected by this pandemic in many different ways. In fact, dealership owners and managers had to devise new strategies to attract customers, or they wouldn’t survive. While COVID-19 has played a role in the way consumers make purchasing decisions, the trajectory for the dealership industry has not been significantly altered. The business was already at a crossroads and social distancing has only sped up changes that were already underway.

So what are the challenges in 2022? Let us find out:

Challenge 1: Chip shortage

It has been nearly two years into the global chip shortage, but return to normalcy for manufacturer’s supply chains are projected no earlier than 2023. It means dealerships will have to undergo tough times for 7 more months at least.

According to NADA, new light-vehicle sales have fallen nearly 13% year-on-year. The shortage has lasted far longer than industry experts had predicted. While the vehicle demand has increased in recent months, the capacity to produce semiconductor microchips has not been able to meet demand. Dealerships are now finding it extremely difficult to find vehicles on the lot, let alone have sufficient inventory for customers. Dealership owners need to adjust their strategies for this challenge by focusing heavily on marketing and sales tactics that generate leads rather than closing deals with prospective buyers. 

Depending upon the strategies of the manufacturer, the supply chain issue has played out either by reduced manufacturing, fewer vehicle-options available or stockpiling of semi-built vehicles with plans to retrofit the shells later. However, managing the chasm between customer requirements and available options falls squarely on dealerships.

For example, say some dealerships have informed customers in 2021 that heated seats are temporarily unavailable. Dealers previously needed to know the originally planned compensation – somewhere between $150 and $500 depending upon the market – for such a letdown. And when the popular feature is soon to be reactivated sometime in 2022, dealers have to know how many retrofits will be available, along with the time frame. Managing expectations and delivery so customers might navigate either the need or want of a new vehicle with or without that feature shall be a tightrope walk requiring detailed communication.

Solution for chip shortage

This is a perfect opportunity for dealerships to figure out how to best leverage digital channels over traditional ones to boost revenue despite the low supply of cars available at the dealership.  Dealerships whose inventory mostly features new cars have to remain competitively priced. They also have to continue offering incentives in the form of extended warranties and low financing rates. In fact, they should consider implementing price-matching strategies for new vehicles so they can still compete in the market. 

When faced with increased competition from other car lots, it is not just about price matching your competitors. Exclusive perks have to be offered, such as free pick-up service for those purchasing online. Thus, customers have peace of mind knowing their vehicle has been safely delivered at no extra cost before purchase completion. 

When you provide unique services such as buying customers’ cars or free pick-up service, it gives you an edge over the competition. You provide a more convenient experience for buyers, while encouraging them to come back to your dealership. It is time for dealerships to invest their resources into developing new strategies that set the customer’s mind at ease before purchasing from another dealership. 

Communication challenges change over time. There might be a scenario where sufficient chips aren’t available, so allocation decisions have to be made, with not necessarily interchangeable parts. The unmet need right now is unprecedented.

Challenge 2: Preparing for deluge of electric vehicles

Electric vehicles or EVs have been a hot topic for quite some time now. It is no secret that the world is preparing for a considerable ramp-up in EVs. Governments globally have mandated either better fuel efficiency or zero emissions, while legislation and budgets are preparing the public spaces for charging stations or wireless charging.

Solution for electric vehicles deluge

The dealerships have to prepare equally well for what is about to come. The changes in process are indeed staggering. Dealers will definitely have time to adjust for the huge change in technique and sales skills, but there is a massive infrastructure change going on right now. Be it forklifts to move batteries, new tools to service vehicles, or buildings to safely store the batteries including underground chemical captures in case of fires or leakage. There is this continuous, rolling release of EVs into the prime segments in this industry in big volumes.

Challenge 3: Demand for online sales goes up

With the gradual shift towards online shopping, conventional dealership models are being challenged due to rise of decentralized marketplaces. Dealerships have to find techniques to adapt their showroom spaces and sales methods to meet this demand. It is a must, for more suitable purchasing experiences that can help avoid losing out on crucial revenue streams.

Recent study fund that 64% of shoppers wish to opt for more of the online purchase process, the next time they buy a vehicle. This shows that dealerships need to capitalize on this trend by providing their customers with online sales portals. Dealers have to create apps for mobile devices too. Consumers should be able to buy vehicles and schedule test drives directly from the app, without ever stepping foot in a dealership showroom or meeting with a salesperson.

Solution: How to meet the demand for online sales in dealership?

While online sales will add barriers to purchase for many dealerships, there are some great ways to overcome this challenge. For instance, creating an omnichannel sales presence is a must these days. It effectively combines all of the dealership’s sales channels, to provide a cohesive and user-friendly experience. Dealerships are increasingly tailoring their digital experiences for customers on different devices and making online services available through smartphones, tablets, laptops, and desktop computers. 

They have to offer a lucrative combination of traditional face-to-face interactions with staff members and personalized customer service over phone calls or emails. As a dealership owner, you have to ensure that modern digital options are available. Interactive websites displaying vehicle inventory, alongside pricing details and extensive information about each model line, are very important. This is all the more crucial because most car buyers start looking for cars online before entering showrooms or at some point of the purchase process.  The more seamlessly you can combine these avenues into one single, streamlined platform, the more likely customers will remain loyal to a single dealership. 

Did you know that companies like Mini Cooper have now created augmented reality experiences that can be downloaded to a phone for customers? People can check out all vehicles in the privacy of their home or while at work. They can even walk around them from different angles in the app. Installing an augmented reality showroom for the dealership is very smart idea!

Digital sales channels aren’t the only option available to dealerships. They have to invest in developing online sales call services that potential buyers can initiate over a video consultation with a staff member. This way, your sales staff can answer questions without the customer having to drive to the dealership. Using this approach, even those unable to make it into showrooms will still have the opportunity of being exposed to dealer-provided information about inventory and pricing options. 

Challenge 4: Competition to capture customer attention

Industry giants like Carvana, Vroom, and Carmax, are offering low-cost strategies, along with ease of access. Thus, dealerships find themselves with a lot more competition than ever before. Dealerships need to come up with ways of remaining competitive in the market or risk losing customers at an alarming rate. 

Solution: Learn how to capture customer attention “in dealership”?

Dealerships have to focus on digital marketing and sales tactics to encourage consumers to visit facilities rather than simply purchasing online from another competitor. As per research, individuals who purchase a car from a dealership are more likely to return for a future purchase. Dealerships have to provide exceptional customer service. They have to create a positive impression on buyers, in order to make them repeat customers. It would be best to always prepare your dealership staff with information about warranties, financing rates, or additional services that may interest potential customers. 

Another way to provide good customer service is by integrating CRM software like Salesfront into their business. It lets the dealership be proactive in upcoming deals, rather than reactive, by allowing access to a large volume of information about individuals who visit their lot or express interest through online forms.  Dealership staff can also use this data to follow up with potential customers and schedule test drives when they are most likely interested in purchasing a vehicle. 

Display advertising has also proven to draw leads, as it can be extremely customized and focused on location. Dealership owners need to concentrate advertising efforts on individuals who might fit the target market of their dealership and encourage them to visit in person.

Dealerships are facing constant challenges, but they are working really hard to overcome them, in the midst of a volatile environment. Discovering ways to adapt to changing consumer preferences and expectations, while developing new income streams is very important for long-term success. Be it increasing competition to a lack of inventory due to global shortages, it is imperative for them to be proactive, so they can stay relevant in the market. Dealerships should focus on sales tactics and digital marketing more. While challenges will always exist in the automotive industry, being well informed of trends and preparing your staff for a rapidly changing market ensure survival in an ever-evolving environment. 

The post How Car Dealers can Address Challenges in 2022? appeared first on Modera.

The industry benchmarks for auto retailers’ conversion rates are close to 10%, but large variations are attributed towards lead source, dealer brand, process, and other issues. While some of these factors lie outside of dealerships’ control, dealers have many options available to positively impact dealership lead conversion rates.

So why is the number of dealership conversions really dismal?

One of the major reasons is that salespeople often fail to follow up on leads. They feel the customer didn’t “seem interested in the vehicle”, and thus avoid calling or mailing them. This is how lead leakage occurs. Another issue is when customers visit a dealership, the lack of transparency and pressure tactics often drive them away. Nowadays, with customers test driving fewer vehicles, dealerships aren’t enhancing customer experience to overcome the drop in traffic.

Here are a few secrets to increase dealership conversions

1. Make test driving more convenient

Once a lead is identified, the biggest hurdle is to convince the customer to make an appointment and show up at the dealership. Even if we are gradually headed towards recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic, people are still wary of actually going to a dealership for a test drive.

It is imperative that dealerships identify ways to reduce the inconvenience of taking a test drive, which can be time-consuming for customers. Remember, they have less time than ever to spend shopping for a vehicle. Some strategies to consider would be having a customer’s vehicle of interest ready to go when they arrive. If possible, the vehicle can be taken to their home as well. Proper social distancing measures have to be implemented – dealerships should space out appointments to prevent crowding.

Millenials consider a virtual test drive to be a good enough replacement for a real one. So dealerships should offer virtual test drives on their websites as a potential intermediate step before a customer opts for the real experience.

2. Understand what motivates buyers

Every car buyer has their own unique reason and backstory for purchasing a vehicle. Some reasons why people buy a car from a particular dealership include:

• True value for the money
• Wide range of vehicle makes and models
• Ease of purchase experience
• Quality of salespeople
• Convenient location

Similarly, the reasons buyers often pass up on a sale are:

• The prices are too high
• They plan to switch to another brand.
• Dealership is too far from their area of residence.
• Unnecessary pestering and grilling by sales staff.
• Paperwork taking too long.

When you understand these motivations, it helps salespeople in your dealership to register a better first impression. Skilled salespeople explain the value proposition of a vehicle rather than just quote the price. It is imperative that salespeople share the value proposition of the dealership, and then take steps to alleviate the length and pressure of the sales process which increases the chances of conversion.

3. Don’t skimp on follow-ups

Third secret how to increase dealeship conversions is a simple habit that needs to be implemented to the sales team.

A follow-up communication is a must when customers visit your dealership. Just because you didn’t “feel the vibe” from a customer, doesn’t mean you don’t contact them at all.  Follow-up has a significant impact on a consumer’s decision to purchase. A certain percentage of customers will surely purchase from your dealership after a follow-up. It shows that you actually care about your customers’ specific needs.

To improve follow-up, dealers need to emphasize training, process consistency and accountability. Dealers also need reliable back-up systems to contact customers when sales associates are too busy to follow up. That is why; you need an automotive CRM like Modera Salesfront. It helps to keep tabs on incoming leads, and filters them accordingly, so leads can be segregated and assigned to different members of the sales team.

Follow-up alerts are generated so that lucrative leads don’t slip through the cracks. The software also lets you plan daily tasks, keep tabs on team performance, operate price leads, complete pending jobs, and much more. Using Modera Salesfront, you can share specific information with your team. Gathering personal information like lifestyle, habits, interests, etc. can help build a profile and create a relationship with the customer.

4. Stick to customers’ preferred communication channels

While follow-up is crucial, one the best ways to communicate with a customer is to use a channel they are comfortable with. Salespeople often use their own favored method for contacting a customer, such as calling on the phone, instead of the customers’ preferred communication channel.

A recent study says that the majority of customers who visit a dealership prefer their follow-up to be in the form of an email or phone call. Preferences differ somewhat between generations, with boomers preferring phone calls and younger generations split between phone calls and email.

Using an automotive CRM lets salespeople enter a preferred method of communication. Be it email, text, phone, or “no preference”, it hardly takes a few seconds to pull up a customer record and note the preference before reaching out. This demonstrates a show of respect, and greatly increases the likelihood of a response.

To increase dealership conversions, your sales team needs to truly focus on customer needs, build a rapport, and explain the value proposition of the dealership. Using an automotive CRM helps to automate processes and reports. It clearly shows when the customer was contacted, which processes have been completed, why the sale is being delayed, etc. It is a guide to convert a promising lead into a successful sale.

The post 4 Secrets to Increasing Dealership Conversions appeared first on Modera.

Did you know that the average dealership retains less than 25% of their clients over the average buying cycle? The problem is, if you lose 20% of your clients in a year, you have to add 30% more new clients just to grow 10% in sales. This approach needs to be followed aggressively and consistently, to have effective retention and win back strategy for growth. Remember, it doesn’t matter how many awards your dealership has won for customer satisfaction. Every dealership has clients who decide to buy or service their vehicle elsewhere. It is imperative to stay on top of this problem, or your competitors will soon snag those customers permanently.

Why customers stop doing business with your dealership?

Every dealership has an attrition challenge – attrition is the number of customers who stop doing business with the dealership. Until you identify how many of your clients are no longer actively dealing with your service department or have stopped buying altogether, you can’t begin to improve on that figure.  Identifying the percentage and which clients no longer actively do business with you, is the first step to reducing your attrition rate.

Most people stop doing business with your dealership for the following reasons:

• They are dissatisfied.  Consumers don’t want to wait anymore at dealerships. Be it waiting for salespeople to attend to them, or paperwork to come through, they just don’t wish to waste time at dealerships. The problem is most unhappy customers will never say why they stopped buying or servicing from you – they just leave.
• The client’s situation has changed to the point they no longer can benefit from your dealership. They could have moved or their lifestyle has changed.
• They stop servicing temporarily because there could have been a time when it was more feasible to go to an independent shop or competing dealer. And they never got around to dealing with you again! Once a customer stops dealing with you, no matter how valuable the product or service, they tend to fall into a different buying pattern.

The good news is a chunk of all lost customers didn’t leave for an irreparable reason. You can instantly take action and get a good percentage of those people back. However, you can’t do it using the same old school marketing that hasn’t brought them back up to this point or did not retain them to begin with.

But remember this, when they do come back, they tend to come one of your best, most frequent and loyal customers. They can turn into one of the best sources of referrals. Here are some facts about “unhappy customers”:

• The average dealership will hear nothing from 96% of unhappy clients who had a bad experience.
• Unhappy clients tend to take about bad experiences to least 9 other people. 13% of those unhappy former clients will relate their stories to more than 20 people.
• For every complaint received, the average company has 26 clients with problems, six of which are “serious.”
• Of the clients who register a complaint, up to 70% will do business with your dealership again if their complaint is resolved. That figure goes up to 95% if the client feels the problem was resolved quickly.
• 68% of clients who stop doing business with you do so because of company indifference. They felt their needs weren’t being taken care of.

How to get back lost customers?

1. Ensure that customers “don’t waste time” in your dealership

Customers don’t want to visit keep visiting your dealership multiple times. Earlier, they did so, to check out vehicle makes and models, then scheduled appointments for test drives, completed paperwork, and finally collected the vehicle. But buying behavior and patterns have undergone a drastic change in the last couple of years.

It is time to make the car buying process hassle-free and smooth. Moving a major part of the car buying process online ensures that customers only have to come in during a certain part of the sales process. Modera Salesfront is the ideal CRM software you need to improve conversion rate, while automating processes.

You can monitor and respond to leads anytime, anywhere, while generating follow-up alerts at the same time. Offer customers a comprehensive inventory that is updated on a regular basis – operate price lists, standard and optional equipment, accessories, and technical data. You can even manage the test drive process expertly by updating cars in the fleet, allotting test drives for customers, securing test drive permits, collecting digital signatures, etc. This software lets you fine-tune the process of selling pre-owned cars as well.

When customers try to get in touch with you, they need to hear back quickly, so make use of the pre-configured chat solution. Ensure that customers don’t have to come in for clearing up some confusion that could have been easily resolved online.

2. Adopt a more customer-centric approach

Once you know that your dealership is losing customers, it is time to examine the reason. While there is a multitude of legitimate reasons, why a customer might leave such as relocation, changed automotive needs, etc. your self-evaluation should focus on your dealership’s overall relationship with the customer base.

For instance, do you connect with prospective car buyers online before they visit the dealership? Is the buying process simple and stress-free?  Does your dealership offer a vehicle maintenance plan with customized solutions that are attractive to customers? Enhance your customer experience and discerning car buyers will take notice. Here too, a robust CRM solution can be your savior.

3. Focus on “top lost customers”

When some segments of your dealership’s customer base are missing in action, it is time to sharpen your focus. Track long-term repurchase trends to determine your highest-grossing customers in the last few years. Modera Salesfront can be of great use, as it efficiently stores data, so you can access it, as and when required. It helps monitor buying behavior, so you can target prior car buyers for a customer retention campaign featuring exciting new product offerings, F&I upgrade options, timely service reminders, and other marketing materials. You can easily create personalized and eye-catching offers for customers – these offers can be emailed directly to customers from the CRM software.

4. Give customers an incentive to come back

If customers have strayed, don’t waste time blaming your staff. Instead, focus on a way to make them come back. Consider giving inactive customers a special discount – a lucrative deal goes a long way to entice people to buy.

You can send this campaign directly to inactive customers. Since you are segmenting your audience via a CRM software, you can personalize the message for this specific group. For example, send a promotion via text message or email that says – we haven’t seen you in a while. Do drop by for a special early bird offer or an extended warranty being offered for a limited period.

If you want customers to come back, make sure the promotion is worth their time. Personalize the campaign according to your target audience. Remember, you might not make as much money on the first return sale, but through marketing efforts you can hopefully turn inactive customers into repeat customers once again.

By getting in touch and communicating with the right targeted group, you can rest assured that a certain percentage will immediately start coming to your dealership once again. Regular communication is a must, so you can build a personal relationship. Don’t reach out to them only when you have to boost sales – keep in touch frequently, but refrain from bombarding them with texts and emails.

5. Change the way you do business

Another reason why customers want to spend less time in a dealership is because of the Covid-19 pandemic. They are apprehensive of spending too much time in closed spaces. In fact, the pandemic cause ecommerce industry to boom, as it became the only option to search, conduct research, and buy.

Your target market spends more time on websites and social networks. This is why it is essential that dealerships establish and enhance their presence there. A minimum investment of time and money in social networks can help you gain a larger market share. But you should also make the most of the information you already have about your customers (previous services, vehicle mileage, hours used in the case of equipment, etc.) to offer services they may not even know they need.

A dealer management system (DMS) is a must in this case. It comes with various service marketing features to offer scheduled or preventive services based on the mileage of your customers’ vehicles. You can even offer seasonal maintenance services before holidays. It is imperative that you take a look at your customer portfolio and use this information strategically. Offer these services before they migrate to your competition.

In fact, you can structure a complimentary maintenance plan as well. Remember, it has nothing to do with selling the first vehicle, but it matters when it comes to building relationships. It improves the chances of those first-timers becoming repeat customers. You may not be able to control your customers’ repurchase intentions, but you can certainly influence them. With a dealer-owned promotional maintenance plan, you can bring back customers to your dealership for service requirements.

6. Offer special advantages

For customers these days, it is all about benefits that save both time and money. To ask customers to call or visit the dealership to schedule a workshop appointment is to send them to the competition. It is time to take customer requirements into account, and act accordingly:

• Let customers’ book appointments from their home, office, or anywhere else. The scheduling feature of the CRM software comes in handy.
• If the customer who brought in their vehicle has to go elsewhere, offer alternate transportation in advance.
• The customer can’t come to the dealership for servicing their vehicle. So create a system to pick up, repair, and return the vehicle.
• Use the chat feature in your CRM to answer questions of customers. Provide customers with self-service access to their account information through a customer portal.
• When customers arrive at your dealership for service or repair work, offer a comprehensive vehicle inspection report, totally free of cost. You can use an electronic Vehicle Health Check system to help technicians identify more repair work and generate a report quickly. Provide customers with an informative, easy-to-understand and professionally presented vehicle inspection report. It allows them to better understand the recommended repair work

These strategies not only strengthen the relationship with your existing customers, but they are equally effective for attracting new ones.

7. Track and report sales metrics

If you can’t measure sales metrics, you can’t improve on sales tactics. An automotive CRM software helps the dealership to monitor service sales metrics. It keeps tabs on the number of vehicle inspections, dollars identified and sold per vehicle, sales and conversion rates. Make sure the reason for any loss in sales, is clearly identified. Having access to comprehensive real-time analytics gives you the key insights to increase staff performance, sales closure and profits.

You can use this data to train sales personnel on how to shorten car selling transaction time. They should be aware of this simple fact – don’t make customers wait when the sale has commenced. Customers should only be asked to come in, when a specific part of the buying process can’t be completed online. For instance, if a customer comes in for a test drive, they shouldn’t be made to wait. Or if they have come to pick up their vehicle, ensure the paperwork is in order, and the car is ready!

8. Create a “we fixed it” campaign online

Customers stop buying for a reason. To win customers back, you need to figure out why they left in the first place. As mentioned, a customer leaves most often because they were treated poorly or dissatisfied with the product or service. If you are unsure about what caused them to stop doing business, monitor review sites and social media closely. Consider asking customers to complete a survey for feedback. Try to spot common factors that caused customers to jump ship. Include questions like – did wait times make customers unhappy? Was the customer service lacking?

Once you identify the problem, work to correct it. Once corrected, spin it into a marketing campaign. When customers see that you have admitted to mistakes honestly, they are bound to appreciate it.

For example, maybe a customer didn’t feel important, appreciated, valued or acknowledged by your dealership. However, it is vital to emphasize that your team didn’t intentionally offend or dissatisfy that client. Let your marketing campaign talk about how wait times were too long, guide them how they can complete a major part of the car buying process online, etc.

9. Don’t forget about customers who have moved

If customers have stopped coming to your dealership because they have relocated, or their situation has changed so they no longer can benefit from what your dealership offers, don’t fret! You can still ask them for referrals. They obviously have a great deal of respect and goodwill for your dealership.

By merely contacting them and honestly expressing your concern about their well-being, you position yourself perfectly. If they tell you they no longer can use your product or service, say that is fine. Next, request them to recommend the dealership to friends, family members and associates who can benefit from what you do. Most of them will oblige your request.

10. Leverage expertise

Product quality has improved considerably across the board within the retail automotive industry. Now, it is more difficult than ever to utilize product offerings as a brand differentiator. Dealerships have to think outside the box and seek alternative sources to gain competitive advantage. 

Whether it is by offering a creative form of entertainment while customers wait or honor competitors’ coupons, make your dealership stand out from the crowd, enticing lost customers to reconsider. When you begin campaigns to retain customers and attract new ones, it is necessary to offer a proposal that competes with the offering of independent workshops – price and convenience. Focus on the benefits of being an official dealership; here are a few pointers:

• The OEM’s quality certification.
• Expertise of your technicians.
• Investment in training, speed, customer satisfaction campaigns, etc.

If you concentrate on these issues, it can tip the scales in your favor when the customer has to choose where to take their vehicle.

Don’t wait for customers to arrive at your dealership. Take the initiative, go find opportunities, and stay ahead of your competition. The more connected customers feel to your dealership, the more chances there are of them coming back. Many will start quickly buying and referring again because they never really wanted or intended to stop. So reward them for your lack of initiative in the past – do something special and preferential for them as a “welcome back” reward or gesture of appreciation. Use Modera Salesfront, as it is an incredible way to retain customers, because it reduces “wait time” and speed ups car selling transaction time. Moreover, it helps to customize offers and maintain regular communication with customers.

The post Make Your Dealership Great Again – How To Bring Back Customers? appeared first on Modera.

The auto retail industry is changing rapidly, especially after the Covid-19 pandemic. As a result, dealerships must get creative to meet sales quotas and ensure long-term profitability. But everything can’t be blamed upon the pandemic because U.S. car sales were down 5.8% in December 2019 compared to the same month in 2018, while full-year sales fell 1.3%. It is imperative to know how to speed up dealership car sales, or it will be very difficult to prevent revenue leakage.

5 tips to boost dealership car sales

1. Ask qualifying questions

It is vital to know the needs, preferences, and budgetary limitations of customers, before you start selling cars. This initial conversation is the basis for the relationship building that is crucial for making the sale. It also helps retain customers in the long term. If customers are happy with the shopping experience, they trust your dealership and personnel. They are more likely to buy F&I products and return to your service drive for vehicle repairs and maintenance. Moreover, they will recommend your dealership to others.

Gauge your customers’ individual needs and preferences – ask qualifying questions when they visit the dealership. What brings you in today? What specific vehicle models are you interested in? What features are looking for? Have you ever financed a vehicle before? If so, what were your monthly payments like? 

Nowadays, in-person shoppers visit an average of 2.3 dealerships before making a purchase, so a single interaction could make or break a sale. Yes, every sales conversation is different. Many of these questions may be answered naturally while speaking with car buyers – what they are looking for, or how much they are willing to pay.

It is necessary to avoid grilling customers about their needs and finances. Aggressive sales pitches won’t go anywhere. After getting to know customers on a more personal level, your salespeople will be able to hone in on the exact vehicles and F&I products that match their preferences. This helps improve car sales numbers and cut down on time customers spend at the dealership.

2. Make it personal

Personalization means the ability to customize processes that are unique to each customer. So, you have to meet specific needs rather than focus on broad sales tactics! Buying trends help your sales team to understand preferences of different customer demographics, but you need to treat each visitor as an individual.

Personalized experiences include things like offering product recommendations, special discounts and other incentives for customer loyalty. Focus on the person, not the product. After asking clarifying questions, get to know the person. Why do they need a new vehicle? What will they be using it for? How would a new or used car improve their lives?

These people-focused questions reveal the reasons behind customers’ purchase decisions and help the sales team personalize every aspect of the journey.

3. Focus on sales training

Consumer preferences are constantly changing, so it could be difficult to keep your car sales tactics relevant and impactful. Apart from training new hires, dealerships need to offer upskilling and professional development opportunities. It gives employees a chance to grow. Sales training should cover the following aspects:

• Psychology behind high-end purchases.
• Process of conducting retail presentations.
• Digital retail and sales techniques.
• Basics of sales conversions.

Staff should also be provided regular refresher courses regarding F&I products, loan and lease offerings, and standard maintenance contracts.

4. Use an automotive CRM to track leads

In numerous cases, car buyers aren’t ready to finalize a purchase during their very first visit to the dealership. To help collect, manage and organize customer data, many dealerships have integrated Customer Relationship Management (CRM) tools into their workflows.

One such software is Modera Salesfront. It helps car dealers build more productive relationships with buyers and prospects by storing key information in a secure, centralized format. Using this software, salespeople can quickly access customer records, contact information, and purchase histories to better understand individual needs of buyers. They can follow up on sales leads, generate actionable insights, increase conversions and personalize the experience.

By creating a detailed profile for prospective car buyers, your sales team can identify what vehicle models or accessories a customer may be interested in. Similarly, the F&I staff can identify what products customers are looking for or could benefit from. This improved accuracy can streamline sales conversations and open up upsell opportunities.

5. Have a strong online presence

If you don’t have a strong and active online presence, you could be missing out on easy sales and opportunities to build lasting customer relationships. A dealership website offers customers a way to collect information on vehicle features, prices, and financing options. It helps build trust early in the buying process.

Your website needs to be informative, engaging, and effective at driving sales leads, to have an impact on the bottom line. The content should be updated regularly – it must reflect precise information about your dealership and vehicle inventory. Make sure the web pages are optimized for mobile users to have a positive experience while browsing.

The website should offer real-time pricing info, comprehensive vehicle pages with photos, breakdowns of F&I products, and educational shopping guides. The idea of website optimization is so that online shoppers can locate the dealership, browse inventory, and begin the purchase process.

The above-mentioned strategies, should act as a guide to ensure that your dealership car sales are sped up. An automotive CRM is a certainly a must in the age of digital retailing, so you can efficiently track leads, keep tabs on them, and boost conversions.

The post 5 Tips to Speed up Dealership Car Sales appeared first on Modera.

With every aspect of our lives moving online, car buying isn’t to be left behind either. Nowadays, customers conduct a major portion of the vehicle buying process online, so dealerships have ramped up their digital infrastructure accordingly. However, capturing and managing online leads is quite tough, because there are often several systems that the “lead” must pass by, as is structured in the sales process. A lot of leads get lost, or are not dealt with at the right time and they move on.  It is necessary to ensure no online leads get lost, because every lead you lose, costs you some business, and hampers credibility too.

Here are some of the reasons dealership lose leads and how to prevent them – take a look:

1. Dealers don’t respond to online leads

Customers post a query on your website or fill out a lead form and it goes unanswered, so what happens next? The customer simply finds their answers on a site that is your competitor. Manually following up on online leads can be a tedious task, so sometimes these leads fall through the cracks. But dealerships need to recognize the value of online leads and respond almost immediately or at least within an hour.

Solution:

It is imperative to respond to leads in a timely fashion and take the time to be thorough, helpful, and personal. An automotive CRM software can help to filter leads, segregate them, and follow-up so different members of the sales team can handle them.

2. Dealers didn’t answer pricing questions

Do you advise your sales personnel not to answer pricing questions directly? Do you ask them to instead invite customers to come to the dealership for further details? Even if you diligently follow up on leads, this is where you are going wrong. Not providing a direct answer to customers can put them off.

Solution:

If customers ask for the price of a particular make and model, provide them with useful information right away, or they will go someplace else. Sending them wordy emails or messages to come and visit the dealership won’t help.

3. No pricing on websites

Why do customers like to browse online? It is easy, quick, and flexible. They can conduct research at leisure and compare brands in their price range. But many dealers make it harder than you would expect for customers to get the basic information at the start of their purchases. During the exploratory stage of their buying process, customers browsing online look for quick answers to simple questions.

Solution:

Use an automotive CRM to operate prices of vehicles, depending upon make and model. The ideal solution is to list prices upfront on your website, where the vehicle is showcased, along with its features and other information. Or you could use Automotive focused website builder which is integrated to Automotive CRM, so you have enter and update all the data in only one system and its automatically syncronized everywere (website, e-commerce shop, templates, CRM etc)

4. Asking same questions repeatedly

Answering tedious questions is annoying, but being asked the same question a second time, is incredibly frustrating. If customers are asked to provide the same details after filling out forms or submitting requests (which could take 10 to 15 minutes), it is a given they will feel irritated. For example, if a customer has filled in a lead form for a white Honda Civic, and they are asked about the model and color they want. Or they ask for financing quotes on a 60-month term, just for the dealer to enquire what term they are looking for.

Solution:

Customers want to feel heard, not ignored. If you ask for the same information again, it means you aren’t paying attention to their requirements. Let the automotive CRM filter your leads based on queries, geographical location, and other parameters, to make the task easier for you.

5. Typical, generic responses

You need to be careful while responding to lead forms. Generic statements and vague responses won’t be of any use – customers will move on in the blink of an eye! When every dealer has a similar Vehicle Detail Page and lead generation process, you need to stand out by offering a little more than your competitors.

Solution:

Responses have to feel personal and helpful. It is understandable that responding to similar kind of leads could feel mind-numbing after a while, but using the same generic words and sentences isn’t the solution. Leads should be segregated and prioritized – it is the only way to ensure you can provide customers with proper information.   

How can Modera Salesfront help to capture online leads?

This software does a wonderful job of streamlining your entire operation. It helps to monitor incoming leads and filter them accordingly, so leads can be grouped and assigned to different members of the sales team. Follow-up alerts are generated so no one falls behind on chasing leads that could turn out to be lucrative. The software also lets you plan daily tasks, keep tabs on team performance, operate price leads, complete pending jobs, and much more.

Consumers are happy if dealerships can answer even the simplest questions without a lengthy phone call or trip to the showroom, which gives you the opportunity to stand out like never before.  Your dealership might not fall into these common traps as mentioned above, but there is always room for improvement. An automotive CRM software can help to identify mistakes – you might not even know that you are going wrong somewhere! Your team could be amazing at what they do, but you could accomplish much more with advanced technologies like an omni-channel digital retailing system that makes it easier to track and close online leads.

The post How To Stop Losing Dealership Online Leads? appeared first on Modera.

They’ve spent their entire careers in the digital space of the automotive world. This time, the topic of discussion is the future of digitalization in the world of automotive. Find out how you can make the most of digitalization and get sales growing.

Meet Janek

Janek Prümmel has spent over 14 years in the digital space. His entire career has been in the digital world, working for various companies. Janek eats, sleeps and dreams all things digital.

Highlights from his career:

• Working with Automaster for 3 years
• Spent 9 years with CDK Global
• Working with Modera for the past 3 years.

Meet Siim

Siim Vips is an Estonian entrepreneur with nearly 20 years of experience in the digital world. He co-founded Modera Software. It’s a customer experience digital company for the automotive industry. Siim is dedicated to joining the worlds of digitalization and cars in automotive retail software.

Highlights of his career:

• Co-founder of Bisly – an intelligent building hardware and software company
• Partner at Fugira- a card and identity software. Siim has spent the past 12 years with them.
• Co-founder of Modera Software, which he has been running for nearly 19 years.

A dark horse in the race for digitalization

To give some background about Estonia, it is a small country in Northern Europe. Since breaking from the Soviet Union in 1991, Estonia has been one of the front runners in the digital space.

Not having any IT-related legacy, Estonian companies have been able to embrace innovation. They take advantage of the government support in the digital field. Estonia put its name on the digital map with the creation of Skype. You only need to leave the digital space to get married or to get a divorce in Estonia.

Embracing the digital in the automotive industry

The rule is, the simpler the product, the easier the digitalization. It has been a tall order in the world of automotive. There are both challenges and opportunities when introducing digital to the industry.

Hurdles on the digital journey

One of the key challenges Western countries face, is their long history in developing processes. Countries are still holding on to antiquated systems. This makes it difficult to embrace innovation. To move forward, it’s time to go for the shiny new toy and toss the rag doll to the side.

Since the beginning of 2000’s another challenge is solving master data management. It is important to get the right data out on the dealer website and get it done in the most efficient way.

Sales have been another obstacle when introducing digital to the automotive world. The products are difficult making digitalization a challenge. The processes involve different pre-sales activities, financing, insurance etc. It’s a lot to combine into one digitalized package.

To ease digitalization, marketing and sales have to go hand in hand. On the OEM and country office level this is still proving to be a problem. To get the digital ball rolling, sales, marketing, and production have to become one clear digitalization project.

Another issue companies face is the rotation of personnel. Projects get started with enthusiasm. But when people change, initiative runs out faster than free snacks at the office.

Making moves in a crisis

Many OEMs have been lagging behind when it comes to digitalization. With the outbreak, there’s an urgency to start making bold moves to succeed in the digital future. Otherwise, you will be biting the dust of the innovators.

If you don’t know, what’s happening on the customer level in pre-sales and sales, it’s difficult to plan your moves. You need to guarantee a steady contact with your online sales and retail systems. To survive another outbreak, you must have a solid digital processes in place.

With the current situation and customer trends, the automotive world has to make moves towards digitalization 2-3 years earlier than planned.

Digital trends in the current market

Digital tools have been used in the automotive industry for about a decade. Yet, for many years they were mainly intended for the staff. Since 2010 there’s been a shift to make use of digital tools on the customer side as well. With spending more time online, people are more open to digital innovations.

Before the crisis, only 5% of Modera Software customers were using the online sales functionalities of the automotive retail software. During the crisis, this number skyrocketed to 90%. By now, 95% of the customers are taking advantage of the online functionality. This shows a huge shift from the customer side to make the most of the digital opportunities.

To make the digital space available for everyone, the focus has to be on usability. As the younger generation has basically grown up online, it is not a problem for them. When it comes to older people, companies must make their digital space easy to navigate. By making digital tools and easy to use, they will be embraced by the elderly as well. This way companies won’t lose out on any age groups.

Making the most of automotive retail software

Not all dealers are willing to take use of the digital tools offered. The first services offered to customers online were simple services. Customers could book services and browse catalogs. It’s taken a while for dealers to hop on the bandwagon of digitalization.

For example, automotive CRM systems have been in use from around 2007 in the automotive industry. Yet, it took years for dealers to take advantage of all its functionalities. Once the OEMs pushed their dealers to embrace the new technology, processes became easier, car sales CRM gets adopted.

From company level, introducing CRM to dealerships is vital. To keep track of all the leads and not miss any opportunities, there needs to be a reliable system in place. If a salesman has established a good connection with his contacts and decides to move on, the contacts might follow. If you have a good CRM system in place, you can avoid that risk. Using your tools, you still maintain the contacts and the history related to them.

One of the biggest OEMs established a set of rules for handling leads back in 2012. Since then, there’s been a push for software companies to meet this standard. This means that software companies are constantly evolving their products. It’s up to the OEMs to take advantage of the digital tools offered.

Find out how to generate more leads to your car dealership.

Get to the customers’ level

The days of salesmen waiting for customers to come to the showroom, like kids waiting for Santa, are ending. The buyers have moved online, so this is where the salesmen and digital showroom software need to be as well.

The process of Automotive Retail Software.

People are doing research online, and salesmen need to be ready for more educated buyers. The customers now know what, when and how they want. In ways, this makes the salesman’s job easier, but it also brings on new challenges. You have to manage every step of your digital sales funnel.

In some regions, buyers want to find out everything before contacting the dealership. They already have their minds made up and might question the dealer for final confirmation. This is more common in Northern Europe. Local customers are reluctant to live chat, because they want to go unnoticed.

In Western Europe, dealers should prepare to answer more questions online. There people prefer to get their answers from an actual person. In these regions, salesmen have more power for persuasion.

Let the cover reflect the book

When establishing an online presence, companies must keep their message the same. One of the main problems is the discord between the OEMs websites and the local dealerships. When a customer is looking for something, they need to get the same information on all your platforms.

Try to make the purchasing experience as similar as possible throughout different channels. If the OEMs website uses all the newest digital tools, the local dealership has to have a comparable one.

When a customer visits the showroom, they expect to have the same options as your online platforms offer. Dealerships should have digital tools like configurators and tablets. They help show the customers all the options available. This should include looking up different models, colors, etc. The shopping experience that starts on the OEM’s website has to continue on to the dealership.

Be attractive online

Customers are doing online intelligence work like the FBI. This means companies have to make their accounts attractive. To attract and maintain customers, your message needs to be inviting and visuals up to date.

Since the crisis hit, there’s been a surge in online enquires and people looking to chat via phone or online. The biggest mistake a dealership can do, is ignore those enquires. On an OEM level there’s been a push to get dealerships online. Customers should get an answer in a timely manner.

As people haven’t been able to visit the showrooms, another way to give them a similar experience is to use video presentations. Just because the showroom is closed, doesn’t mean the show is over. Here’s where the online showroom software becomes your opportunity to improve dealership profitability.

Sales in the automotive retail software

With electric cars sparking up the market, digital tools play a vital part in sales and marketing. Customers looking to buy an electric car expect to have a digital shopping experience. They should have a next generation customer experience from browsing until driving off the lot.

Shift in trends in automotive sales

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To manage sales, the first thing is to have a digitalized pre-sales software in place. You must be able to monitor and collect data from your retail network in real-time and tie it all into automotive retail software. This helps you build backend and reporting systems. You can also use this software for vehicle optimization, gamification, etc.

Keep in mind, having the best digital tools does not guarantee success. You have to put them to use.

One of Modera’s biggest clients implemented Modera’s lead management system to their dealer network. But some dealers were reluctant to use the system as a hole. Modera and the importer made the decision to get rid of all manual reporting. This put the dealers in a situation where they had to use the full capacity of the system. This way the importer could get reliable and real-time information from reports. It was a win-win situation as dealers got rid of the tedious task of manual reporting.

Another great example is the automotive CRM case study for Kia Auto.

Impact of the crisis on digitalization

As COVID-19 has impacted all industries, it’s definitely changed the course of the automotive world as well. The need for digitalization has become more urgent. People expect to get all their errands and shopping done online.

The crisis has been awakening for dealerships. There is a rush to move over to e-commerce and move all the sales online. Dealerships have to be prepared for contactless sales in all departments. There will be no turning back from that, so companies who want to succeed, have to establish quality e-commerce stores sooner than later.

COVID-19 forced contactless process

Train online

With dealerships moving into the digital space, it’s time to take training along. Training is a vital part of any dealership’s success. Both sales training and technical training can, in most part, can be done online.

Training videos and manuals should be available online. There will always be a need for classroom training as some things can’t be taught online. However, to make training more time-flexible and convenient for all parties, most of it should be done online.

Where digital wins

In the automotive field, departments have embraced digitalization differently. When digitalization started, the first to jump on board was aftersales.

By now, sales are bypassing other departments in accepting the digital. Companies should embrace digitalization in all departments. This will help make sales and reporting convenient and clear. Guarantee that all departments and systems are connected to each other.

The more sales channels you have, the more important it is to have all systems work with each other. This way all systems display real-time overview of the processes in action. Mistakes due to lack of communication are less likely.

Stepping into virtual reality

Businesses have used virtual reality for about 20 years in the automotive industry. It has proven to be a success in technical trainings, but bringing it to the public has been difficult.

To get a good VR experience, you need a powerful computer and a headset which can put quite a dent in one’s wallet. As long as expensive hardware is needed for VR, it can’t become mainstream. VR can really take the market once you can check into VR from your home with some affordable glasses.

A few years back, Modera launched their first VR prototype.  It gave the user a chance to build user their dream car.

When the customer put the glasses on, a salesperson guided them on the virtual journey. The customer sat next to the salesperson. Once the journey ended, the salesperson made their proposal. To make this experience possible for everyone, there are still technical and political challenges to solve.

Making the digital dream a reality

Digitalization and use of automotive retail software in our industry is inevitable. To make the process a success, the above-mentioned obstacles need to be dealt with.

Companies have to focus on getting the local dealers’ digital tools and data up to the OEMs’ level. OEMs should start by upgrading the process of sharing data with their dealer network. There is no room for outdated pdf and Excel formats. The digital tools are there for everyone, it’s a matter of putting them in use.

Make sure you follow this space where we blog automotive digital trends.

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