F&I and Showroom, December 2015

Technology 22 F I and Showroom December 2015 between the F I manager and the customer Over at the New Strategies for Online Retail That Keep You in Control session MakeMyDeals Burgiss warned that customer satisfaction and the quality of a dealers digital presence are inextricably linked According to the executive dealers online arent competing on inventory and price they are competing on authenticity So instead of saying that were going to sell a car like a book or computer were going to use the concept of connecting with the person to create a relationship and build trust and then were going to sell the car he explained And that idea is connection commerce He warned that traditional elements of a dealerships website like payment calculators and lead forms wont interest customers because youre asking them to go first in the relationship We have to create a safe zone for people to trade information with each other about how theyre going to buy the car and thats what will speed the process up build the trust and then youll get higher closing rates and make more money he said Video World One of the digital elements panelists and presenters alike recommended for winning over customers was video In fact on Industry Summits closing day there was a full session dedicated to creating video content called Using Online Video to Increase F I Product Sales Led by Protective Asset Protections Rich Moore the session highlighted some startling stats 64 of consumers are more likely to buy a product after they watch a video about it and using video on a landing page will increase conversions by 80 However according to Moore most dealers arent taking advantage of this powerful tool Its my firm belief that the first dealerships that go out there and become evangelists as to why our products are good and why consumers should have them is going to hit a home run he told attendees We dont have anybody in the industry right now who is really getting out there and beating the drum for us Moore recommended that dealers make videos explaining each F I product in laymans terms as well as videos addressing common objections to products But his real focus was on customer testimonials You need to create customer stories Moore explained When do you ask the customer to tell you their story When theyve had the benefit of using the product Profaizer also recommended video testimonials during Digitizing the F I Experience That came as no surprise since 88 of consumers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations from friends according to a study from BrightLocal Were selling these products because consumers find a lot of value in them she said We should share those testimonials with other consumers so that they feel good about that buying process when they get to the F I office Thorpe however warned that customers who watch videos about F I products might come to a conclusion about them before getting to the dealership They come in prepared to say to our F I manager Hey I saw your video I dont want the service contract What does the F I manager do at that point he asked Tracking Results Panelists also touched on a valuable byproduct of the digital dealership experience analytics Unlike brochures electronic menus and website content accumulate data about customer engagement That data in turn can help dealers do a better job marketing themselves and their products In the new age of F I when more of this information is being pushed forward in the process and on the dealers website specific to their products you can measure the clicks that a customer makes and engagement while they research the products online versus what they buy Reed explained So this is a whole new dynamic that the F I industry has been fortunate to use he added As you make it a more digital experience youll learn a whole lot more about your business It was this capability that had panelists feeling optimistic about the future of the F I office despite its reputation for being behind the times and producing low customer satisfaction ratings I think because of the data we have available to us today were no longer driving blind RouteOnes Mason said Unveiled at Industry Summit MakeMyDeals self penciling tool allows buyers to structure their deals MaximTraks Jim Maxim Jr calls on dealers to standardize F I product margins before regulators do Impact Groups Mark Thorpe says moving F I product info online might hurt not help F I product sales