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How to address the challenges of a changing sales environment

There is no doubt that retail margins will continue to experience pressure as more dealers offer online transparency around the transactional elements of a purchase: vehicle sales prices, financing terms, conditional trade-in values, and F&I products and pricing. That means operational efficiency will play an increasingly important role in helping dealers achieve their desired PRV. … Read more

The retail automobile industry is in interesting times

Amazon and other behemoth online services have taken a heavy toll on the country’s retailers. But dealers have been largely immune. That’s because state franchise laws largely restrict manufacturers from directly selling to customers. Having said that, there are signs of a few manufacturers shifting to a more European-style shopping process with “internet only” models … Read more

How digital is changing the car buying landscape

For most people, buying a car is still an emotional decision. The emergence of the numerous online car buying and building tools won’t change that. What is changing is how, when and where shoppers do their research and negotiation. Car buying going forward will be much more transactional in nature and less of an impulse … Read more

Make your website the top salesperson

The average car buyer spends nearly 15 hours shopping for a vehicle, and most of that time – about 9 hours, is spent online. Dealership websites are the first dealer contacts for nearly half of vehicle shoppers, and almost 40 percent of all buyers went only to the dealership where they made their purchase. Also, … Read more

Trust is the new currency of today’s business

As online sales grow as a percentage of total retail car sales, creating a feeling of trust on your website will become increasingly important. Here’s why. When we trust an organization, we do business with them whenever and wherever it makes sense without questioning it. If we don’t trust an organization, we look for alternatives. If … Read more

Less Choice Can Be Good For Sales

Even though we now have the capacity, via the Internet, to research vehicle listings endlessly, it doesn’t mean digital marketers can assume that the more choices they offer, the more likely shoppers will be able to find just the right car. You can see evidence of the more-is-better approach in many car buying websites that … Read more

Online F&I – the next step in the digital revolution

One of the main drivers behind the online retailing revolution is the growing number of car buyers who are losing patience with the time spent at the dealership in order to close the deal. Consumers have become increasingly adept at researching models and negotiating the sales price online. That leaves the F&I process as the … Read more

Time Has Come Today

For years, car buyers have put up with a sales process that takes hours on end and wasn’t particularly customer-friendly, so what’s driving the recent movement towards online car buying? Were car buyers of the past that much more tolerant than today’s buyers? I think the change is less about a change in tolerance levels … Read more