Process change is often a scary idea in the automotive F&I industry. When dealers make the vast majority of their front-end revenue in the F&I department, changing any part of the F&I process is often interpreted as risky. Potentially disrupting current revenue and profit margins with a process change causes many managers to have instant … Read more
How would you feel if you always had a green light in front of you as you drive? Could you make it to work ten minutes earlier? 20 minutes earlier? How much time would you stop wasting every day? Every week? Every month? What if you applied the green light scenario to reviewing lender decisions … Read more
Are you on the CDK DMS platform? We all know how important it is to keep our data clean. Your CDK DMS needs to be the #1 source of clean data. When looking at digital retailing platforms as a CDK dealer, it’s vital to make sure any vendor has full writeback and extract capabilities. What … Read more
First, let’s break down E-contracting into the core elements. Bank docs Proof of identity Income proof Credit history Proof of residence Ancillary product docs Rebate qualification docs DMV docs New vehicle information Trade-in information Proof of insurance Tax docs Down payment Sales tax (state, city, county by street address) All these docs have to be … Read more
When we order from Amazon or other online retailers, we don’t even consider where it is being shipped from. We have confidence that once we approve the sale, it will show up at our door. Automotive retailing is undoubtedly different than getting the latest kitchen gadget delivered, but the consumer emotions are the same. Most … Read more
Truth be told, I like beer! Usually, automotive and beer don’t mix, but just like everything in the technology age, some things apply across the board. So, the best place to get a fresh beer is at a local brewery. That’s where this idea was generated as I found myself thinking about how ordering food … Read more
Ecommerce jumped 32.4% this year due to the Covid-19 pandemic. It was projected to “only” jump 18% until the pandemic shifted consumers’ buying habits. Ecommerce will reach 14.4% of all retail sales in 2020 or $794.5 billion in sales. Projected growth is anticipated to slow in 2021, but customers are projected to continue to drive … Read more
Shoppers are looking for the least friction possible when shopping on your website or VDP’s. How easily and quickly can they start the buying process once the buying trigger goes off in their brain? Traditionally, dealers have just collected leads and then moved the customers to the showroom for the in-person workflow. In today’s new … Read more
When you drop the baton in a relay race, you lose. You often get the same result when the handoff between your Digital Retailing platform and your showroom is dropped. One of the most significant issues that create this dropped baton is when the Digital Retailing platform doesn’t integrate with your showroom platforms. Without integrations, … Read more
Do you allow customers to pre-order the hot new releases? Are customers willing to pay more for this privilege? What would happen if you allow all your customers and website visitors to “pre-order” the vehicle they desire directly from the VDP’s of your website? Suppose you think about digital retailing the same way you think … Read more