ATLANTA -

So much of our daily life is filled with interconnected digital experiences, and more so when making a purchase. Tools, software platforms and services create a highly connected digital ecosystem, which can facilitate a positive experience throughout a car buyer’s journey, while also delivering the transparency consumers desire.

Creating a digital ecosystem is key to developing a customer-first approach and maintaining positive relationships — and ultimately, reaping increased profits.

Understand Digital Ecosystem Benefits

Individual solutions solve specific problems for specific people — finding leads, managing relationships, reviewing documents, getting signatures and more. When solutions operate in silos, car buyers and dealership staff end up bearing the brunt of frustration.

But together, these solutions help solve the bigger challenges. A digital ecosystem provides many benefits, including simple transactions, easy collaboration between individuals and the office, insight into revenue-generating activities and allows dealers to meet customers where they are and deliver a custom experience.

As car dealers think about creating this digital ecosystem, they should remember to stay focused on the customer and establish a customer-oriented process; it’s all about building and maintaining customer relationships.

Build a Digital Ecosystem that Exceeds Customer Expectations

During the pandemic, consumers have learned they don’t have to sit at a dealership for hours, and automotive e-commerce is here to stay. The experience a dealer delivers matters now more than ever, and an effective digital ecosystem paves the way. Car buyers don’t care about what tool they’re using on a dealer’s website; they’re just trying to get the car they want for a fair price as easily as possible.

Start by preparing the dealer sales team. It’s imperative to lean on dealership staff, and to ensure that all employees are all-in. Process is key here and becomes more important than technology. Digital retailing is a must-have; wise dealers will invest in employee development and offer new types of positions and tasks. Technology integrations offer employees the ability to learn new skills and provide career development opportunities — and ultimately, they'll sell more cars.

To promote buy-in, communicate why diving head-first into digital is beneficial. Emphasize the efficiencies of technology solutions on both time and money, from digital marketing all the way through to at-home delivery. With targeted digital marketing, employees spend less time on leads because fewer unqualified leads come in. The more they know about a ready-to-buy shopper, the less time it takes to close on those high-quality leads.

Help salespeople understand the flexibility and convenience for the consumer, as well. When a customer is put in control of how they buy a car, salespeople reap the benefits of an instant connection to nurture and grow. Train staff on communications tools, encouraging them to give each customer a choice in how they want to engage.

Use Customer-First Approach with Digital Tools to Maximize Relationships

While the adage “the customer is always right” has a lot of truth to it, there is no denying that flexible customer solutions have been a make-or-break factor for years. From booking flights to getting a vehicle valuation, digital tools are everywhere and consumers expect choices.

Buying a car is a major purchase, and businesses must leverage processes and tools with a customer-first approach. Autotrader recently rolled out a new product with that thought process in mind, launching a tool to better engage private sellers and buyers on its site. In partnership with Blinker, the new user-authenticated communication experience enables buyers and sellers to communicate via a secure platform, so both parties can easily and securely communicate to plan their transaction.

Communication tools like chat, video chat, virtual walkarounds, Skype and FaceTime are critical for dealers. These familiar conveniences have been critical to helping dealers through these challenging times. By engaging shoppers the way they want to, salespeople can move the research phase of the car buyer’s journey forward and optimize the experience. 

Leveraging an efficient dealership digital ecosystem with a customer-first approach requires some planning, but the payoff can be exponential. Whether a dealership is well-versed in digital tools or just getting started, it’s important to evaluate available technology to ensure it’s serving a dealer’s needs and optimizing the customer experience.

With the right functionality, a dealership’s digital ecosystem can seamlessly guide customers through the sales funnel, close deals with more efficiency, improve consumer relationships and ultimately, grow the bottom line.

 

Erin Lomax is vice president of operations for consumer marketplace and Autotrader at Cox Automotive