Are you using Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) to grow your business? I’ve spent my career connecting advances in technology to business, and partner with dealers every day to help them use today’s tech to increase revenue and decrease wasteful ad spend. These dealers have figured out that AI and ML can help them identify people in their markets who are actually shopping for a vehicle online, and generate personalized marketing based on shopping behavior. The result? Sky-high ROI that can be measured with insane precision.

Think this technology is just for the big guys? You’re wrong. Any dealer, regardless of size, can partner with a qualified vendor and grab more market share. Don’t believe me? Read on for real-world examples of how dealers are leveraging advances in technology to adapt their business and win with car shoppers.

Here are three real examples of dealers leveraging AI / ML to grow their business.

1. Cultivating new opportunities inside and outside of their database.

Philips Chrysler Jeep Dodge Ram, in North Central Florida, is next to The Villages, one of the biggest and wealthiest retirement communities in the world. You would think that would be a boon for business, but the dealer group had issues identifying opportunities right next door.  And there were previous customers in their database who had not purchased or serviced with the dealership in the previous 36 months they had lost to competitors.  The dealership knew it needed to go a different direction to compete.  Instead of traditional marketing, they looked for a vendor partner that leveraged technology to provide insightful data and competitive insights into the online shopping behavior of all of the shoppers in their DMA.   They added a vibrant ML component to parse their data, uncover the intent and intensity of shoppers, and help them market through the right channel at the right time.  With these new insights, the dealership launched a precision - targeted campaigns that generated over 300 sales for a 62 percent conquest ratio.

2. Reach shoppers with competitive intelligence

Keating Auto Group, with 18 stores across Texas, saw the shift in consumer behavior and the impact on their data.  Like the rest of the dealer community, their access to data was largely due to the fact that today’s shoppers go online where activity and intent are hidden behind devices.  Unlike the rest of the dealer community, they enhanced partners with AI and ML technology solutions to transform their ability to garner competitive intelligence.  The group received a daily list of shoppers who were active in the market and were then able to pair online behavior with an actual shopper. Salespeople leveraged this competitive intelligence to proactively engage shoppers and lead them along the sales journey. The ML application also let the group know when previous customers were out there shopping again so salespeople could proactively reach out. The investment in ML paid off. Collectively, the group generates more than $1 billion in revenue and sells more than 25,000 vehicles a year.

3. Create personalized shopping journeys for more sales

David Maus Toyota, in the Orlando, Florida area, has grown sales by using AI/ML to engage shoppers according to their preferences, serving up only those makes, models, trims, and offers that match each shopper’s wish list. By refocusing ad dollars on the right shoppers and creating personalized customer journeys through digital engagement, the dealership was able to increase sales 150 percent over a nine-month period – even in a down market.

As the fourth-quarter moves on, and talk of a downturn in the market amps up, the importance of leveraging AI and ML continues to grow. You can’t afford to waste ad dollars on window shoppers. You need to know who is actively shopping in your market and what they’re shopping for, then go after them with personalized marketing that brings the sale home.  You can do it with AI and ML.

Now is the time to partner with a proactive vendor on the cutting-edge who can give you a huge competitive advantage in a down market. The shoppers are out there. Isn’t it time you got your fair share?