Car sales have changed drastically over the past few decades. In the past, cars were sold through dealerships that employed aggressive sales tactics to pressure customers into buying a car. Today, customers are more informed and savvy than ever before. They do their research online and often know exactly what they want before stepping into a dealership. The traditional methods of car sales are no longer effective. In order to stay competitive, dealerships need to evolve and adopt new strategies. They need to focus on providing a great customer experience in their digital storefront and offering a wide selection of options. The car sales industry is changing, and car dealers need to be equipped with powerful tools as follows, or else they may be left behind.
1. Digital Retailing Solution
A digital retailing solution is a tool or platform that helps businesses manage their online sales and operations. It can include features such as order tracking, inventory management, customer relationship management, and accounting. Although a large majority of dealers have some form of digital retailing strategy, only a third of them use it in the showroom. This is a big opportunity that is being missed out on. Salespeople can use online analytics tools to avoid having to rekey information or ask questions that have already been answered. This is because the data is right in front of them.
2. Artificial Intelligence
Many dealers overlook the importance of artificial intelligence (AI) and by doing so sales teams are missing out on important technology. Machine learning-powered AI applications can save time by automating tasks and streamlining workflows. For example, AI can help create targeted lists of customers more likely to buy a new vehicle. Smaller sales teams can use AI to generate qualified leads faster by automating monotonous tasks that are usually very time-consuming. This can free up valuable resources that can be used for other tasks.
One of the most significant areas impacted a lot by AI is car photography to such an extent that it takes the effort out of training staff and understanding photography best practices. It is important that vehicle images show the right angles, have the correct light balance, are straight, and have accurate color corrections. No matter whether pre-owned or brand-new inventory, these little things can mean a lot when it comes to making a good first impression for buyers. Initially, you may find it difficult to implement but AI technology has simplified these efforts With the touch of a button and walking around a car using a 360-car photography app, you will get it all done in just a few minutes. This technology for vehicle photos also helps avoid having photos rejected by search engines because of poor image quality, overlays, and dense text.
3. Dealer Management System
If you want to increase your sales, you need to have quicker lead response times, more personalized customer communications, and a faster buying process. However, just having the right tools isnโt enoughโyou also need to have good data entry procedures and be consistent in using them. Your employees will get tired of using multiple systems that donโt communicate with each other, so when youโre considering upgrading to a new DMS or CRM, make sure that data transfer between them is seamless.
4. Shopping Intelligence
Shopping intelligence tools are designed to help shoppers make more informed and smarter decisions when shopping. By providing shoppers with access to data and information that they wouldnโt otherwise have, these tools can help shoppers save time and money, and make better choices overall.
If you know what your customers are doing online, you can sell them vehicles more easily. Sales associates can use shopping intelligence tools to see what websites potential customers are looking at, including Vehicle Display Pages, the cars theyโre considering, and trade-in value estimators. This information helps salespeople provide relevant, timely information that speeds up the purchase process. You should integrate these tools into your CRM (customer relationship management) system so you can set up alerts and task assignments when customers start browsing for vehicles.
5. Equity Mining Tools
There are many ways to find new opportunities using data from your CRM system. One well-known method is called equity mining, which involves looking for sales and service customers who might be interested in new products or services. However, there are other ways to use CRM data to create targeted marketing and sales lists. For example, you can create lists of customers who were unable to obtain financing, who have made appointments to come back at a later time, or who have shown interest in your products but have not made a purchase. To get the most benefit from these methods, it is important to integrate them with your CRM system.
Sean Toussi
If you have any questions or comments regarding this article, please email Sean@Glo3D.com
Glo3D.com Content Team,
AI-based, Digital Merchandising.
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