By: Stephanie Morris, Marketing Content Coordinator
You may be asking yourself, “how can I run my dealership like Amazon?” Automotive dealerships and Amazon seemingly offer completely different products, with Amazon offering everything from clothing to groceries and dealers focusing solely on new and used cars. But, when you delve deeper into the overall goals and processes of Amazon and car dealerships, they want the same thing: new business. By utilizing your CRM and equity mining solutions, you can begin to run your dealership like Amazon.
Amazon boosts shopper satisfaction with their popular “suggested items” feature. Amazon tracks the products a shopper has viewed or bought and makes product recommendations based on that information. By showing shoppers other available items, Amazon increases the probability that the consumer will add products to their purchase. Forty-three percent of Amazon’s sales occurred due to features like the suggested items offering.1
“…use stored information to match the customer to similar vehicles on your lot – and potentially granting them with lower monthly payments.”
Your dealership’s equity mining solution can act as a “suggested item” machine. A customer’s information within your equity software can include basic contact information as well as the make, model and year of their current vehicle. The equity software can then use stored information to match the customer to similar vehicles on your lot – and potentially granting them with lower monthly payments.
Consumers typically want the latest and greatest – whether that’s the newly released iPhone X or a newer model of their Honda Accord – consumers are always looking for an upgrade. If your staff can show a customer that they can get a newer car with more bells and whistles at a lower monthly payment then your team is demonstrating their knowledge of the customer’s interest, thus giving your dealership a better chance to win the sale. The goal of both Amazon and a dealership is the same – to sell the right product to the right person.
Amazon prides itself on user experience, and their methods to improve customer satisfaction – not only with the product purchased but also with the process. The retail giant does this by various means including storing contact and payment information to simplify the check-out process. Your dealership’s CRM can replicate this ease-of-use – even if the shopper is not the one using it. By containing detailed customer information, a good CRM can streamline and simplify the sales process for your sales reps. More information in your CRM means your sales reps do not have to fill in fields and search for data while waiting on a customer.
“The more that is known about a shopper, the smoother the shopping experience.”
The more that is known about a shopper, the smoother the shopping experience. Amazon provides a customer profile which records all of the customer’s purchase history. This helps the shopping and checkout process. In order for interactions to feel individualized and human, workers must be well informed.2 Your dealership CRM should be able to allow information to be updated as people move, trade in cars, buy new ones for other members of the family, etc. Any of these changes should be updated in the contact record, making the process for low funnel shoppers much easier.
With a CRM and equity mining solution capable of these Amazon-like features, dealerships can transform their customer’s buying experience. To start implementing a smoother car shopper experience in your new or used car dealership, call 877.421.1040.
1.http://www.businessinsider.
2.https://www.fastcodesign.
