Second DrivingSales Canadian Dealer Forum inspired dealers to go the extra mile
It had been years since Eric Jonker, General Manager of Jonker Honda in Langley, B.C., attended an automotive conference.
But when DrivingSales announced it was hosting its second Canadian Dealer Forum in Vancouver on June 20-21, Jonker said he had to check it out.
“I feel like I get stagnant in my day-to-day scope of what I do and see and it’s good to branch out and get your juices flowing,” said Jonker in an interview with Canadian auto dealer.
Much like the DrivingSales events in the U.S., the Canadian Dealer Forum is designed for dealer principals, general managers and other executives looking for ways to continually improve their operations and efficiencies.
A big draw for Jonker is that he could stay in his backyard to get quality content instead of travelling down to the U.S.
“It’s relevant to us that it’s Canadian content,” he said.
The conference offered a blend of big picture thinking, tackling topics such innovation and social trends, along with breakout sessions that had more actionable content.
Dan Waldschmidt motivated the audience with his tips on running a successful business.
‘Disruption’ a hot topic
The conference kicked off with a rousing keynote presentation from Jared Hamilton, who tackled the topic of disruption and what it truly means.
When dealers ask Jared Hamilton if Tesla is disrupting the auto industry, the founder and CEO of DrivingSales has a definitive answer.
“Tesla is in no way shape or form the death of the auto industry,” said Hamilton. “I’m not saying Tesla won’t be a viable competitor,” he continued, “but they are not this gnarly disruptor.”
Hamilton said the word “disruption” is often thrown around, especially by marketers to talk about competitors. But that’s not what true disruption means, said Hamilton.
“A truly disruptive company will lead to the death of the incumbent,” said Hamilton.
Disruptive innovation tends to come from the bottom, entering the lower end of the market spectrum, said Hamilton. Larger companies who may occupy the same market space often ignore them at first.
Hamilton said we’ve already seen countless examples of disruptive innovation in the auto industry.
When Henry Ford entered the transportation industry, horse-drawn carriages were the primary way of getting around. Though Ford did not invent the automobile, he introduced it to the masses with the Model T.
For a while cars and horse-drawn carriages coexisted, but the need for the latter diminished, and then cars took off. They were already entrenched in the marketplace and carriages simply could not keep up.
It was Japanese carmakers who then disrupted the domestic auto industry, followed by Koreans, and then more recently, Chinese and Indian companies like Tata Motors.
Circling back to Tesla, Hamilton doesn’t want to downplay its influence in the auto industry.
But as Elon Musk’s vehicles are not cheap or mainstream, Tesla fails to pass the test of “disruptive innovation,” said Hamilton. Rather, the company is more of a case of “sustaining innovation,” that will shake things up but won’t result in the death of the auto industry.
The power of influence
Dr. Kate White from the Sauder School of Business at the University of British Columbia talked about associative and dissociative influence, and how they are powerful forms of advertising.
The most common kind of influence is associative, said White. Associative influence is all about positive traits that can be influential. It works well for products that dictate social status — like cars. Historically, Volvo pegs itself as a safety expert, which conveys trust, while BMW positions itself as an efficiency expert.
The less common type of influence — and sometimes the more innovative approach — is dissociative. It’s about companies showing consumers how they are different from competitors or other brands, said White. This strategy works well if you are targeting different segments, and you create a sub brand to show that it differs from the brand, she added.
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