Additional observations from key players in the auto retailing industry
In the March issue of Canadian auto dealer, we brought you some observations from exhibitors at this year’s NADA Convention and Expo in New Orleans, not only about the show but some of the tools they’re implementing and also changes happening in the auto retail industry. Here, we continue that coverage with more thoughts and insights from industry leaders.
HOWARD COBHAM
Senior Vice-President,
Dealer Services, GM Financial
“Through the credit crunch of 2008-09, things turned heavily towards extended term financing. The propositions we bring forward from a GM Financial perspective weigh heavily towards leasing — shortening the cycle, getting customers in cars, turning them a little quicker within warranty, providing reasonable payments and ensuring good residual management. Having a strong leasing tool back in the market is really making a big difference. We really grew our leasing share last year and in the coming years we will continue to improve on that, settling it in to a nice, natural level. It will help ensure dealers have a good annuity of returning customers and a tighter buying cycle. It’s a win-win for everyone.”
KENNY MILLS
Senior Vice-President,
Sales, AutoPoint
We’ve seen a lot of excitement around the rebranding from MPI to AutoPoint. Solera Holdings saw value in what we were doing in the marketplace and purchased the company with the intent of making it a global provider of Multi-Point inspections. Dealers spend a lot of time focused on the front end of the business but not a whole lot on the back end. We want them to have visibility in their service department and that is what AutoPoint allows them to do. We provide a tool that works like a CRM on the front end and allows them to upsell to their service customers, to present a report that shows what is going on with the vehicle and highlight any issues or concerns via a non-pressured approach. The dealership should be a friend of their customers and be willing to educate them. At the end of the day it’s about bringing the dealer and the customer together.”
JASON MATTHEWS
Regional Sales Manager,
Rotary Lift
“For the last few years, OEMs have been asking us for ways to enable technicians to work faster, especially with the emphasis on quick service lanes. Rotary Lift’s Shockwave technology is all about making the technician more productive, enabling them to service more cars per day and make more money, both for themselves and the dealership. The system allows the lift to be raised and lowered faster, while laser centering adds accuracy and saves time, meaning the technician can accurately centre the vehicle without requiring a spotter to help them. Additionally, an innovative power unit which runs off 110 volts and requires 3 amps, means you can actually put five lifts on one circuit instead of having a dedicated circuit for each lift, so there are huge cost savings for dealers.”
LYNN MCNEILL
Senior Vice-President,
PBS Systems
“For staff at the dealership it is really important to share information and we drive them through a common interface, so whether they’re a sales or service staff member they can get an entire view of the customer. Our CRM component is really inherent in the software so if a customer is in for service and is looking to buy a car we can talk about it at the same time. A big challenge today is that dealerships are looking beyond the DMS and to specific functions like marketing. We’ve developed a new application program interface that shares data based on the dealer’s authorization so they can use a third party to augment some of the functions currently being performed by the store itself.”
CHRISTIAN SALAZAR
National Sales Director,
DealerFire
Today, the hot word in automotive websites is responsive, so basically you have one website that works on any platform. So whether you’re accessing it from a 50-inch monitor or a smartphone, you get the same user experience. Another trend we’re seeing is that dealers are really wanting to get content on their websites. It’s kind of like building a highway to your website. If you have a dealership in the middle of nowhere with no roads leading to it you aren’t going to sell many cars. Today, what car buyers are looking for most is information on what they want. To often dealers are quick to serve up lead forms and calls to action. What is really important is transparent information. Understand that a customer is not necessarily ready to make a purchase right then and there.”
RYAN LESLIE
Director of Dealer Experience,
DealerRater
“There have been a lot of companies coming in lately that talk about Reputation Management as a service. We feel that the only person that can really manage that is the dealer. People will buy from those they know and trust. That will stay consistent within our industry forever and having reviews that show consistent effort over time to provide great customer experiences builds that trust online. The stores that perform well, perform really, really well. We’ve seen not only a growth in the number of reviews but a growth in the engagement of these dealerships and their staff. Those are the hallmarks of stores that are doing real Reputation Management whereby they are controlling the customer experience by ensuring that it’s great overall.”
DAVE PAGE
Owner,
Dealer E-Process
“Having spent 15 years on the fixed ops side I still think it is something our industry is struggling with. Nobody today that we’re aware of is doing a good job selling the parts that are on their shelves in the parts department. We’re currently working on a platform that will allow dealers to Search Engine Market the parts sitting on the shelves in their inventories. Nobody has really done any advertising on Google from a part number perspective. Imagine being one of the first dealers to show up for a part number search for the technician or do-it-yourselfer that represent almost 50 per cent of the business from a part buying perspective and being where the independents are not.”
