TADA Auto Dealers Innovation Series covered changing technology, consumer behaviour and preferences
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Change is happening and dealers need to face it head on, attendees were told at the latest instalment of the Auto Dealers Innovation Series conference held by the Trillium Automobile Dealers Association.
This jam-packed day long conference is aimed at decision-makers who are looking to adapt to changes in technology and innovate in the digital space.
Words of wisdom
Dealers started off the day with a dose of inspiration from Bruce Croxon, a former “Dragon” from the hit CBC reality TV show Dragons’ Den.
Croxon, best known as co-founder of Lavalife, shared how the company rose to success and also how it was able to overcome obstacles. Croxon’s family also runs the NewRoads Automotive Group in the Greater Toronto Area.
While Croxon admitted he’s had his share of failures, he’s always tried to stick to his core values of teamwork and open mindedness. He’s a big believer in the performance management system, in which businesses note four or five tangible goals they want to achieve in a year that will help them achieve a three-year vision, and use bonuses as a reward.
“I believe cultures are the things that get you through the ups and downs,” said Croxon.
He also acknowledged we are in a profound period of change in which everyone is connected via their smartphones — and there’s data galore. “It’s an unbelievable time to be a consumer,” he said.
For the car business, changes in technology have shifted the power from the dealer to the consumer, said Croxon. Consumers now have the power in that they don’t need information from dealers or need to put up with poor service, he said.
While that might sound scary, Croxon said there has never been a better time to build a personal relationship with a consumer, even if it’s not in person, by taking advantage of technology.
Croxon also invited a surprise guest onto the stage — his father Noel and a past president of TADA — to further inspire dealers on how he started with nothing and ended up with a multi-million dollar dealership empire.
Transparency and technology
A dealer panel tackled topics such as price transparency and the impact of technology on the car shopping experience.
Michael Cirillo, Co-Host of The Dealer Playbook Podcast & President of Flexdealer and moderator of the panel, said a third of the people who show up at the dealership are ready to buy and are not looking to spend time negotiating with the dealer on price.
Though technology has changed the way customers might connect with the dealership, the panelists said there is “still a dance” that occurs during the sale.
“We’re trying to find ways to tighten up our process but I hope we never lose that showroom to showroom, shaking hands, meeting them, meeting their kids, giving them a coffee,” said one of the panelists. “Selling a car is still challenging. It’s still a tough business.”
Be where your customers are
Erin Elofson doesn’t like the term “social media.”
Instead, the Director of Financial and Automotive Services at Facebook Canada wants dealers to think of social networking platforms like Facebook “purely as a business tool” to bring people into their showrooms.
With 22 million Canadians scrolling through their Facebook newsfeeds multiple times a day, that’s a lot of potential customers and opportunities to connect with them, said Elofson.
Facebook can help dealers target the right people, serve them powerful ads that don’t interrupt their activities on the site, and measure impact.
And if the ad provides relevant content, it’s going to be effective, Elofson added.
“Good ads on Facebook are going to be good ads,” she said. What makes a good ad in a magazine can also be a good Facebook ad.
Smart marketing
Canada Post knows all about navigating through time times. The direct mail provider is looking for new ways to turn its business model around.
But that doesn’t mean marketers should scrap direct mail marketing in favour of digital marketing, said Mike Badour, General Manager of Business Development — Direct Marketing at Canada Post.
What Badour argued is that direct mail is still relevant, especially when it’s combined with digital.
Badour cited a recent neuroscience study that showed direct mail outperformed digital marketing on ease of understanding. Direct mail also helps drive action, according to the study.
What’s more, an ethnographic study found direct mail has longevity, even amongst millennials, of which half are collecting their mail five times a week.
The best strategy — and Badour’s key message — is to provide an omni-channel marketing experience in which physical and online marketing work together.
Stay tuned for the next instalment of Auto Dealers Innovation Series.
