Automobile Industry is one of the key contributors to a country's GDP. Post covid-19 there has been a sudden increase in car sales but the sales process is changing with changing times and much faster than expected. Systems and processes are shifting from physical to digital and so are the sales process. In this article, we will touch on key points which a car dealership should focus on defining the sales processes online post-covid-19.
1) Generate Enquiries Online: Car dealerships should be equipped to generate online enquiries through both Organic and Inorganic sources. For organic sources, the dealership should keep posting content on its website and social media accounts providing relevant information to be the customers. For Inorganic sources, dealerships can focus on target segments and keys words popular in their vicinity. Sometimes sponsored articles also help in generating goodwill about the dealerships. Lastly, the dealership should be listed in Google search with the correct contact details and address. Dealership Management System should be equipped to capture online enquiries as a separate source of enquiry.
2) Solo Test Drives: Car dealerships should be equipped to maintain a scheduler for tracking online test drive requests from the customer along with the customer's home address, contact information and preferred date and time slot. Post covid-19, customers should be offered solo test drives and this also inculcates trust in customers.
3) Customization with Accessories: Dealership should be able to promote accessories package online giving the customer and details about accessories and price. If possible, the customer should be able to visualize his car online with the selected accessories
4) Quotations and Negotiations: The biggest point for making car sales online is the quotations and negotiation. Even though prices are standardized for most of the items, the on-road price of a new vehicle varies from dealer to dealer if you negotiate well. This is the primary reason why customers still visit 1-2 dealership to negotiate and to confirm the prices and offer applicable for the month. Dealerships should be able to transparently showcase the prices and monthly offers to customers online. Its time for dealerships to offer additional incentives to customers who are booking online as it builds trust for the dealership on the internet and also saves manpower and other costs.
5) Online Financing Options with Documentation: More than 80% of car sales in India is through finance and without online financing options, it will break the customer journey from online to offline. Nowadays OEMs and Bank Aggregators are showing online financing options and customized EMIs based on the customer profile. This helps the customer explore all financing options sitting at home and he can easily take the decisions online. To offer these options, the dealership should have to tie up with either a bank aggregator or OEM for providing the finance solutions. Customer should also have the option to upload all documents online and track the loan approval status.
6) Delivery of Vehicle: This can be a value-added service, if the dealer can showcase the real-time status of the vehicle to the customer like invoicing done, insurance done, registration is done, accessories fitted, ready for delivery and scheduled delivery date. This gives the customer sense of transparency and also will help in building trust in the dealership.
7) Connected Vehicles: Connected vehicles is the new normal and all the vehicles sold through dealership should be pushed for having the OBD tracking devices. These devices improve the lifetime earning of dealers and they can actually track when is the service due or when on-road assistance is needed by the customer. This feature will help dealers to connect with the customer without actually disturbing him day-to-day. At present, only OEMs can only track the details of the OBD device fitted in customers vehicle, but there will be ways around the same in future.
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