The Western Canadian Dealer Summit was popular with sponsors who liked the idea of reaching a larger group of dealers
If you build it, they will come.
The sponsor support for the first-ever Western Canadian Dealer Summit was solid, and the sponsors we spoke with said the first event met their expectations.
Sponsor support is critical for the provincial dealer associations who have the need to create high value learning opportunities for their members, but often have limited funding. Sponsors are happy because it’s hard to meet face-to-face with dealers, particularly dealer principals and senior managers who typically attend these events.
21ST CENTURY PRODUCTS
For Rita Giachini, Vice-President, Business Development with Canadian Black Book, the Western Canadian Dealer Summit is an opportunity to thank dealers for their ongoing support over the last 50 years.
Gichini says Canadian Black Book is adapting to the market with new products for dealers that reflect the changing way they consume information.
One of the company’s new products is called CBB Connect, an app which enables users to scan VIN numbers and upload the values automatically onto their smartphones. Giachini says the app has been popular with dealers.
“The new wave generation recognizes the potential for having this tool available to them anytime, anywhere,” says Giachini, adding a user can scan a VIN right from the floor of an auction.
Another CBB offering, its Lead Link tool, helps dealers solidify leads for customers who visit a dealer’s site by capturing relevant data so that dealers can contact them.
MAKING CONNECTIONS
The Western Canadian Dealer Summit is all about connecting with dealers and developing trust with them, says Graham Line, Vice-President of Business Development with Search Optics.
Line says his company jumped at the chance to become one of the event’s main sponsors because it believes in making personal connections with its customers. “In the end, if you cannot connect on that level, what is the point of doing business? That’s fundamentally what we believe in.”
Although dealers understand they need to embrace digital marketing, really mastering their digital presence is not an easy task, especially because Google changes its algorithms constantly which can really change a dealership’s search results. “The problem with digital is that it’s not a lever you just throw forward and pull back. You have to look at your strategic objective and then tactically execute on a regular basis,” says Line.
As a digital marketing agency, Search Optics helps dealers with their search optimization and can help them manage and measure their data, as well as offering advice on converting leads to sales.
STAY IN TOUCH WITH DEALER ISSUES
For Doug Decksheimer, Vice-President and Chief Marketing Officer with Rifco National Auto Finance, dealer events help vendors hear first-hand about some of the biggest challenges dealers are facing.
Decksheimer says that dealers are in a technology transition and are starting to focus more attention on digital and mobile. Knowing this means that Rifco can transition its products accordingly.“You don’t have to be the cheapest, you just have to give them what they really need,” says Decksheimer. “This business is really about speed.”
Business has been good, says Decksheimer, adding that Rifco has been growing steadily. “The future is still bright but you have to be really good at what you’re doing.”
TURN SERVICE INTO SALES
Bob Austin, Director, Business Development for iBeam introduced dealers to its first operational program within CADA 360 to offer support and incentives to the service department. The new program, which has already made a soft launch into Ontario over the last couple of months, will now be rolled out into Western Canada and the rest of English-speaking Canada.
“What we’re trying to do is help every dealership increase their ROI and turn their service department into a selling department,” says Austin, noting the new CADA 360 program is an industry first.
Austin says iBeam will help dealers set attainable targets for the service department where there is opportunity for growth.
To market the program, the associations will mail out information to all CADA members, and provide demos and webinars to show dealers how the program can impact their stores. “All of the feedback we’ve gotten from the dealers has been positive. It’s been very well received,” says Austin.
MASTERING BIG DATA
Lynn McNeill, Senior Vice-President at PBS Systems Inc., says the summit did a good job of combining forces to create a super conference. McNeill says at events like this dealers are challenged with new ideas and new approaches. “How can I do this better, how can I do this more efficiently?”
One aspect McNeill says requires greater efficiency is big data mining and how to best to leverage it.
Enter PBS software, which McNeill says is trying to make its software more comprehensive, easier to manage and more affordable, so that dealers are able to organize the data properly for their existing customers and find ways of being accountable for it — even for ones who walk in and don’t purchase a vehicle.
To help dealers do this, McNeill and his team emphasize the importance of ongoing training to best build functionality. “The training component is particularly important, particularly with change management. I think dealerships are starting to see that they need to train staff in all areas,” says McNeill.
PARTNERING WITH DEALERS
“No one wants a vendor anymore, they want a partner,” says Brian Senich, National Outside Sales Manager, with Kijiji Autos.
Senich says the Western Canadian Dealer Summit helps him learn about the future challenges dealers are facing so that his company can adapt its offerings.
And one of the areas where Senich believes dealers require that support is in mobile, a growing platform that can no longer be ignored. Senich says people’s expectations are increasing — but their attention spans aren’t. “What I’m going to bring back to the dealers and my colleagues at Kijiji is that mobile is growing so fast so we need to make sure we’re on top of that game for our clients and our partners.”
