Today’s Buyer Must Experience The Process

Is Your Dealership Share-Worthy?

We all know that Millenials and Gen Z’s are more interested in experiences than possessions. The adventures and fun they share with family and friends becomes part of their identity and helps to tighten the bond and even forge new relationships.  They share those experiences live on Facebook and Instagram, trace their paths on Maps, show everyone what they’re shopping for on Pinterest, and later review their purchases and adventures on Yelp and Google.  But it’s not just the Millenials anymore.  Baby Boomers jumped on the Facebook band wagon a decade ago and have followed suit, opening the proverbial doors to social media, and sharing everything from pics of today’s lunch to the new grandchild.  And, to some extent, active BB’s have become just as intent on new experiences as their younger counterparts, seeking out the new and different.

So, how can auto dealers expand upon the car buying experience, making it more fun and share-worthy to vehicle buyers?

One of the trends forecasted for 2019 is for retailers to create experiences to attract, entice and engage shoppers.  Some of the bigger players have been doing this for years — think Macy’s and the beacons placed throughout their stores in 2014 that track and talk to customers via their mobile devices about displays and products they’re near.  Or for the BBs among us, consider the in-store golf driving range from the 90’s that has evolved into 18 holes at the elite course of your choice.

So, how can auto dealers expand upon the car buying experience, making it more fun and share-worthy to vehicle buyers?  Some might say that test driving your dream car is adventure enough, but is it really?  Especially when the surrounding car-buying process can be so frustrating?   In the interest of standing out in the crowd of car dealers, what can your dealership do to entice younger buyers to choose you for their car buying adventure, improve the process and raise CSI along the way?

Something as simple as a Trip Planning kiosk on your sales floor that would provide important insight and secure lead information from your shopper while delivering fun in the process is a good start.  Skip the Wheel of Fortune and “You’re A Winner” postcards — they’re considered slime-y and don’t deliver any value to your shopper.

Also, think about your website as a satellite sales center.  Buyers can already shop your inventory or build their own new vehicle, apply for financing, and make an appointment to visit.  But that’s not enough today.  You need to close the circle by allowing buyers to write up their offer, select F& I and aftermarket options, and negotiate directly with the desk manager in a way that’s comfortable for them.  It can all be done interactively in real time with Four Square Anywhere.  You can be confident once they’ve built their own deal with Four Square Anywhere their experience at your dealership will become share-worthy in a very good way.

To experience Four Square Anywhere, contact us for a free demo.

 

 

 


Good Advice From Bezos and Murdoch

I was reading a blog post today from Beaconstac about ways to effectively use beacons to track and and feed promotions to customers. If I didn’t know better, I would have thought that writer Sneh Ratna was writing about my own passionate view of changes here, and still forthcoming, not only in retail, but the auto industry in particular. In her September 20th blog she wrote, “Amazon’s CEO Jeff Bezos said, ‘Online shopping isn’t popular with consumers just because their prices are low. The whole experience of buying things online is more efficient and quicker’.”  This is good advice from Bezos and Murdoch that every dealer should latch on to and emulate.

The process of buying online is more efficient and quicker.

Even though you may have to wait a day or a week for your purchase to arrive, at least the purchase is over and your mind can wander to other things, like that new car or RV that you’ve been thinking about. Sneh continued, saying that (retail) stores that have been able to emulate the experience and ease that comes with online shopping are thriving, while others (who haven’t bought in) are struggling to catch up.

While the vehicle sales industry holds a huge online presence, sadly the purchase process remains old school. Twenty years ago, Baby Boomers and Gen X’ers accepted that buying a vehicle from a dealer meant spending the better part of a full day at the dealership, haggling over the price, then waiting for paperwork. Since the Millennials became car buyers, things have started to shift. The old school process doesn’t make sense to this group, and it’s totally foreign to Gen Z shoppers who are now moving into the market. While they can’t wait for the experience to drive a new car off the lot, they have no interest in spending valuable time haggling and doing paperwork. Just give ’em the price and let ’em move on down the road. Which brings us to another powerful point about the future of automotive sales, but we’ll discuss that another time.  For now, consider what Rupert Murdoch recently said about retail:

“What they need is to get a hang of the trends and technology that can catapult them to the top.”

Four Square Anywhere is the solution that provides automotive shoppers with the quick and easy online buying process that they want, while enabling dealers to hold higher grosses and generate more F&I revenue. It’s a win-win for shoppers and those dealers who are ready ‘to get a hang of the trends and technology’ before them.

For a demo of Four Square Anywhere, call 707-867-1615.