Digital retailing has moved from the passing fad phase and we are currently seeing it progressing into the mainstream at a much faster rate than expected. People do have questions on how ready they are to embrace this model and in a set of articles we are going to address some of those questions and our view point at Tagrail.

We keep hearing many different view points during our product presentations.

Are my customers ready for an “omni channel” or “living room to showroom” approach? Is it worth the ROI for the dealership? What technologies are real and what are just hype? How do I prioritize?

When it comes to purchasing a vehicle, customers are used to spending 5 to 12 weeks on research and then purchase offline. We have all seen the customers start journey with one vehicle and one dealer in mind and end up buying a totally different vehicle from a totally different dealer. Till date, there were not many tools to flip this customer journey paradigm.

How do we intercept the customer early in the research and drive him to a decision at my dealership? The current approach is to throw a bunch of advertising dollars online and hope it does a catch all on the customers who are in the market. Every advertising dollar that is spend by the dealership goes waste if it cannot convert the customer arriving at the dealer websites or the showroom. As per the NADA report, a dealership spends close to $630 per new unit sold. Have you ever thought of customer acquisition cost and conversion ratios vis-a-vis the advertising spend?

Our answer to the ROI question is that if your digital retailing tool does not allow you to cut the advertising spending and at the same time increase your online leads and conversion, it is probably time to do a rethink. The technology that you are using may not be the real deal and you are just adding yet another spend.

It’s a Lead. It’s an Up. No, It’s a “Super” way to Sell!

What can a digital retailing tool do ?

With the use of digital technology and real time integration with existing dealership providers, customers will able to control everything from monthly payment, down payments, terms and even interest rate, traditionally the job done by a sales consultant. Customers can choose warranty and protection items without the hard sell from an F&I manager. A Picture paints a thousand words, but a video can show a thousand pictures. By providing the right digital assets from the F&I providers, customers can do a cost benefit analysis of adding an option and see how it affects their monthly payment. This creates an online experience that resembles the in-store experience.

It’s not about competing on just one level. Successful dealers are able to meld the digital with the physical in order to drive sales and create long lasting customer relationships. It takes more than flashy signs and slick interiors to attract the customers to your showroom.

The most important thing is how your dealership can stay ahead of the game online and how your prospective customer can see you and differentiate you from the competition. The speed at which the transaction can be completed is one of the major pain points for the customers and digital retailing simplifies that process.

Dealerships have the advantage of the physical presence and at some point in car purchase there will be a customer visit. This is where the online journey and physical journey have to meet. Can your customer start the journey in the living room and continue in the show room or vice versa? Does your digital retailing tool merge with your sales process? Who gets the up and Who gets the Close? Or Does it matter at all in this new experience.