CDK Global hosted its inaugural industry conference known as CDK Connect virtually on October 6, previewing new technology and exploring the benefits of the Roadster and Salty acquisitions on the overall modern retailing front.
One interesting conversation stemming from the event comes from a presentation by Roadster’s CMO Michelle Denogean; she kicked off an afternoon discussion around the broader picture of modern retailing, noting that “Modern retail is a term that we use a little bit in our industry, but definitely not as much as digital retailing. And now we are shifting this conversation over to modern retail.”
She said digital retailing in the industry has become synonymous with online retail for many dealerships, and particularly during the pandemic. “Modern retail is the full end-to-end experience,” said Denogean. “It’s every touchpoint that your dealership has, and it’s every system you use to sell.”
Starting with digital retailing, and then building it up to modern retail, Denogean offered an example of Roadster’s latest study, which shows how digital retailing can help boost ROI. It also empowers the customer, makes it easier and more convenient for them to purchase a vehicle online, and allows for a smoother online experience.
However, when asking Joe Lukick, Director of Strategic Variable Operations at #1 Cochran why not all dealers are using digital retailing with every customer—he offered three reasons:
The first reason is commitment: the difficulty with uprooting your systems and everything that is involved with that; the second is control: salespeople and dealership staff needing a sense of control when dealing with the customer and perhaps grappling with changes to the process; and the third is cost—acquiring new technology, and the monetary investment that involves.
“There’s a hand-over-foot right now from a profit standpoint—you know, if it’s not broke, why fix it?” said Lukick. “I think that’s playing into it at least to some degree post-COVID; prior to that, I think more on the first two, and I think it was heavier there.” Lukick expects to see more variances in the landscape of how dealers consider those three buckets.
As for what this all means, Brendan Dougherty, Director of Product Marketing at Roadster, pointed to the fact that modernizing the car buying experience involves making it easier for dealers to sell.
He said a lot of the discussion around digital retailing is about making it easier to sell to the customer to shop online, but there is much more to it—from the DMS system to the CRM/desking tool, document signatures, F&I menus, the complexity of calculating taxes, rebates, incentives, and more.
“All of this creates an incredibly complex experience for the dealership, so really to take this to the next level you have to not only think about the consumer experience, but how to also make it easier to sell,” said Dougherty.
The overall goal is to reduce friction in the digital retailing process, which currently has many “system breakpoints,” as noted during the presentation. For example, when entering data from the digital retailing solution, does it flow into the CRM? Do you have to re-enter desking information? Does your digital retailing solution “speak” to the other systems involved?
At the end of the day there is a smorgasbord of issues that have created frustrations on the dealership side, so ensuring the whole modern retail system works—that all systems are all tied to together, will be helpful for dealers.
Dougherty likened the many challenges dealers are frustrated with as “death by a thousand paper cuts,” and said there is not “one magic silver bullet,” but that changes in the industry need to be made now.
Connecting all the information in one system, and having these various aspects (digital retailing, DMS, CRM, etc.) speak to each other will help make the overall process more seamless and less burdensome on everyone. And while empowering the consumer with more online power may involve some discomfort or added effort on the dealership’s side, the end result should be a win-win for both the customer and the dealership.
