When chat becomes conversation

DMT DEVELOPMENT SYSTEMS GROUP INC. HAS ROLLED OUT A NEW SYSTEM THAT TAKES CONVENTIONAL ONLINE CHAT TO THE NEXT LEVEL

When Glen Demetrioff mystery shopped U.S. dealers through their chat functions, he wasn’t too impressed with the online customer experience.

“We found the majority of the time the people behind the keyboard of those [chat] providers didn’t really pick up on some of the keywords that a real salesperson would,” says Demetrioff, President and CEO of DMT Development Systems Group Inc., in an interview with Canadian auto dealer at its Markham offices.

Demetrioff vowed to find a better way to make chat work, just as the Winnipeg-based company had done with its popular eLead management tool, RAPID! Response. He even looked outside of the automotive industry into the retail space to see who was doing chat well.

After two years of research, development and a pilot program in dozens of Canadian dealerships, DMT released its new online conversation tool.

DIGITAL! Interview connects prospects online directly to a salesperson on the showroom floor — all in real time.

Unlike typical chat programs that connect a customer with a call centre employee who collects customer information for follow-up, DIGITAL! Interview connects leads right to the floor of the dealership.

“We don’t call our product a chat product,” says Demetrioff. “It’s a conversation tool. Chat is for quick little texts here and there,” he added. Based on the pilot program, full length conversations often lasted as long as 20-30 minutes.

DIGITAL! Interview replicates the conversation that would happen when a prospect walks into a dealership. The only difference is that it’s done electronically.

As soon as the customer engages with the chat function, DMT’s Canadian-based concierge team will gather some information from the contact, including their name and email address, before notifying the sales staff via email or SMS about the lead.

Whoever is available and jumps on the chat request first takes ownership of the opportunity, says Demetrioff. The concierge will then transfer the customer to the salesperson, and the conversation goes from there.

It’s hard to effectively integrate chat functions into automotive dealerships, says Demetrioff. And as someone who sold cars for eight years, Demetrioff knows that showroom traffic trumps everything.

“People with heartbeats come first,” he adds.

That’s how the company came up with its model.

We found the majority of the time the people behind the keyboard of those [chat]
providers didn’t really pick up on some of the keywords that
a real salesperson would.
— Glen Demetrioff, President and CEO
of DMT Development Systems Group Inc.

The product was designed to work on any modern device, with no app to download. “As long as you can receive a text, it works,” says Demetrioff. Salespeople will be able to transfer from one device to another, without disrupting the conversation while maintaining the same functionality.

DIGITAL! Interview is even equipped with what Demetrioff calls the “tool box” salespeople would need when a prospect walks into the showroom. Assets are pre-loaded into the system and include brochures, GPS driving directions to the dealership and photo and video capabilities, all of which can be pushed out during the conversation.

The salesperson has full visibility throughout the conversation, and will know when the customer is viewing the assets.

Once the conversation is over, the customer can opt to receive a transcript of the conversation, helping to build trust and transparency. Transcripts can be reviewed by general managers and dealer principals for performance and to ensure the messaging to customers is up to scratch.

Salespeople can also opt to send a customized thank you note to the customer to solidify the relationship.

Any information about the prospect gathered during the conversation will be automatically loaded into the dealership’s CRM tool, Demetrioff adds.

The company says its new system works best for dealerships and salespeople that are proactive.

“We know this product won’t work for everyone because not all dealers want their salespeople to ‘chat,’” says Demetrioff. “But that’s okay. For those who want to engage consumers and actually have the ability to influence — well this is a perfect opportunity. What salesperson doesn’t want to speak to customers?” he adds.

And if it’s after hours — that’s okay as well, says Demetrioff. Any eager salespeople can respond to the chat any time, provided the dealership has enabled the system so that it can be pinged after closing time.

“We become an extension of the dealership,” says Demetrioff. “However you want to operate, however you want to engage consumers online, we can do that.”

Feedback based on the pilot program has been great, adds Demetrioff. “We’re breaking the boundaries that have been there before.”