Automotive Retail Industry- Six technologies that will facilitate change

Consumers in the automotive industry have been asking for changes. Changes that can improve how they will shop, how they buy, and most importantly their overall experience and satisfaction.  Car dealers understand the changes their customers want and truly recognize the opportunities being created.   Showroom shopping, online browsing and customer relationship management abilities are becoming more congruent.  The six pieces of technology are positioned to speed up the historic change currently happening within the automotive retail industry.  Car buyers are a powerful segment, with a strong voice.  Dealers are wise to consider adoption these ideas sooner, rather than later.

Let’s list the six pieces of technologies here. First is Real-Time Search, for example, Google, Bing, Twitter, Facebook. Customers benefit is having access to real-time content which will help shoppers confirm a smart decision much faster.  Second, Geolocation Service which is GPS- style functions within mobile phones, social channels, and smart phone apps. Customers will benefit because they will have an opportunity to create better relationships with dealerships while having fun.  Third, Mobile Video, customers will benefit because it is very convenient. Shopping is what they want and where they want it. Forth, HTML5. Gives opportunity to improve online experiences, adding rich applications, video, animation, Flash, and Silverlight.  Customers will experience shopping online more robust as new content delivery methods emerge.  Fifth, Social centralization, direction of car dealer social networks and the value-added services they will provide automotive professionals.  Customers will benefit from the rapid increase in the sharing of best practices which is about to overcome the retail industry. Competition will increase as the bar is raised to prove a better, more impressive shopping experience. Last, Number six, is Social CRM.

The entire CRM segment will be shaken up in 2010.  Customer benefit will be greater communication and information flow with regards to items such as vehicle service and care care will become more important as ownership continues to increase.

Dealer Website Basics

AutoXloo sees this as a four-step process in order for your dealership to have a profitable website.

1. Attract traffic to your website

2. Convert the traffic to solid leads.

3. Turn leads into sales.

4. Leverage current happy customers to generate referrals.

AutoXloo Helps Leverage Existing Customer Relationships

The long term success of your dealership depends on effectively finding new customers and managing the relationships you have with your current customers. And it’s important to understand the dollars behind the previous statement. Most marketing experts agree that “it costs five times as much to get a new customer as it does to keep an existing customer”.Because of the large financial commitment and the fact that a vehicle is an integral part of your customer’s day to day activities, developing an ongoing dialogue with your existing customers can be a very effective way to cement a strong relationship and ensure that your dealership is the preferred dealer of choice when it’s time to buy a new car. Don’t underestimate the power of customer referrals! Don’t be out of site and out of mind with your existing customers. Make sure they have every reason to refer friends and family to your dealership.

So what kinds of emails do your customers find valuable and look forward to receiving from you?

Service reminders, coupons and new model unveiling are well received and very effective methods to improve your relationship and increased traffic to your dealership and your dealership website. Make customers feel important by remembering their birthday. Track lease anniversary dates and start a conversation with them about their next vehicle several months before their lease expires. How about doing a targeted emailing to your customers on Christmas specials, back to school sales and tax return blowout sales to generate greater interest in your dealership.

A commitment to having an ongoing conversation with your current customers is easier today than ever before. And can be critical to the ongoing success of your dealership. This ongoing conversation can be done through a combination of email, direct mail, and phone calls and probably should be a blend of the three. And cost is no reason not to have regular contact with your customers. With today’s inexpensive online email campaign tools and automotive crm software choices, coupled with a creative approach to implementing campaigns, you can nurture existing client relationships, build trust, and generate additional revenue for the dealership.