There was a lot of thought provoking content presented at Kijiji’s DealerTalkX 2018 event, held in Calgary, Montreal and Toronto this year — but the news of a new dedicated platform to help consumers — and dealers buy and sell cars was a highlight for many dealers.
“You have been asking for an alternative — and now you have it,” said Leanne Kripp, Head of Autos at Kijiji Canada, after dealers witnessed a demo of the new Kijiji Autos platform in Toronto, Ont. “Are you ready to join us on this journey?”
It’s clear that dealers have been eagerly awaiting a platform like Kijiji Autos, which provides car shoppers with the opportunity to search for cars in an environment that is both simple and intuitive.
News of the dedicated automotive marketplace, meant to help Canadians find new and used vehicles online, was met with loud cheers and a standing ovation from attending dealers.
The site was created to meet consumer demands for a more convenient, simple and personalized shopping experience. It does this with its user-friendly interface and seamless integration, and by offering key features such as advanced price analysis and dealer ratings and reviews, to name a few.
The site preview was revealed in Toronto and Montreal, and was praised by many dealers in attendance.
“The thing that I really liked (about the conference) was the unveiling of Kijiji Autos, because as an independent dealer, a lot of our customers aren’t going to Kijiji to look for a car,” said Kamran Khaden, Bell Auto Inc. “They are there to look for shoes, shirts — anything. So now that they (Kijiji) made a platform strictly for cars, it really helps differentiate.”
It’s clear that dealers have been eagerly awaiting a platform like Kijiji Autos, which provides car shoppers with the opportunity to search for cars in an environment that is both simple and intuitive. When Kijiji reached out to dealers to better understand their priorities, almost 80 per cent said they wanted an improved customer experience.
“Kijiji did a great job,” said Stephan Lee, marketing advisor at Scarboro Mazda. “The site looks great, it makes sense from the consumer side of things and I’m excited to see what happens.”
Speaker highlights
Kijiji Autos was the highlight of a strong event that also featured engaging speakers with valuable information and insights to share. Doug Lipp, President of G. Douglas Lipp and Associates and author of “Disney U”, was one such example and he was a big hit with dealers.
A keynote speaker at all three conferences, Lipp explored some of the business tactics that worked for Disney — including something he calls the Disney Four Keys: Safety, Courtesy, Show and Capacity or SCSC. These keys were described as the company’s recipe for bringing to life the “happiest place on Earth.”
“Very few organizations at a leadership level have elucidated the essence of how do we run our business. Everybody has a vision and mission statements,” said Lipp in an interview with Canadian auto dealer. “They all have these fuzzy words on the walls that say integrity and quality and honesty and blah, blah. But when you talk to employees about, ‘Okay, those are really cool words. How do you bring them to life?’ Most don’t know.”
The keys are part of a long-term business mindset that involves treating employees as guest number one (showing compassion, respect and interest in the employee from day one and onward). In the long run, Lipp says this can help dealers reduce turnover of employees — or rather, reduce “churn” of employees and customers, which can ultimately help a dealer’s bottom line.
Cassie Broemmer, Vice President of Business Development, CarWars, was another popular speaker. She provided an insightful, educational and interactive session that left many dealers surprised by how their dealerships managed incoming calls from potential customers.
“Phone calls are more important than ever,” said Broemmer. “We know one of the quickest ways a dealership can boost revenue is to improve on phone processes.”
More and more consumers are using their smartphones for research and other vehicle-related information — and this has led to an increase in dealership phone calls over the years. In 2013, only 30 billion calls were made to dealerships, whereas in 2018 that number has jumped to 73 billion.
“Teach your sales teams how important it is to schedule an appointment, because they’re busy too,” says Broemmer. “You want to make sure that when they set an appointment you’re setting them up for success.”
In the long run, Lipp says this can help dealers reduce turnover of employees.
Broemmer appeared in both Calgary, and then Toronto where she was joined by Mike Haeg, Vice President of Automotive at Car Wars. Haeg was also present in Montreal, Que.
Other speakers that took part in this year’s DealerTalkX event include Philippe Bertrand, Co-founding partner and Chief Growth Officer of illuxi and Amplio Strategie, millennial influencer Kelly Lovell, CEO of Lovell Corporation, Lance Schafer, General Manager, Product and Technology, LotLinx, Inc, and Ron Jackson, Head of Analytics at Kijiji Canada.
Organized by Kijiji, Canada’s largest online classifieds site, the theme of DealerTalkX 2018 was “The Agile Dealership”.
