How technology changes car dealerships?

When in need of information, many people today turn to the Internet. With a simple search for specific keywords, such as ’San Diego car dealership,’ they can find what they need within moments. History, notes, books, clothes, even vehicles – all can be seen and sold. New technologies, including cellular phones, in-store experience, even POS – these have all changed due to the emergence of new technologies.

Today, both new generations and the old are reshaping the car-buying process. See how things have changed and how you can improve the customer experience at your lot.

1. Information dissemination

21st-century customers know what they want. When you see them stomp into your dealership, they usually have a truck-load of information about what they want and need. The odds are that they did their homework by searching for a vehicle online and even know more than your employees. Thou shall not be intimidated by these customers!

Merely invest some time in understanding your competition and especially your inventor. So, instead of being surprised by the educated customers, find a new way to impress them, and always offer more value for the price they are getting. Organize training sessions for your employees and teach your salespeople to use new technologies, such as tablets, in the store. Not many will google something while they are talking to the customers. But your employees may start doing this.

2. New communication methods

The world is in the fourth industrial revolution (a.k.a. Industry 4.0), so we see modern means of communication all over the place. With the invention of the smartphone, and communication apps such as Messenger, Skype, WhatsApp, Viber, etc. the world has changed significantly. Car dealers need to embrace this.

There are many mobile texting apps today, but only one of them is specially designed for dealerships. It is called advantage txt., and it closes the gap between your dealership customers and employees.

Advantage txt is the only FCC-approved and TCPA-compliant texting app designed explicitly for car dealerships and their staff. This app can be easily integrated into your dealership DMS. Do things faster with advantage txt!

3. Social media

For more than ten years now, people are spending a lot of their time on social networks, such as Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, and Instagram. If your dealership still has not realized the power of social media, then you have not been paying attention. In fact, according to the newest Statista data for 2016, “78 percent of the United States population had a social networking profile,” whereas “the number of worldwide users is expected to reach some 2.95 billion by 2020, around a third of Earth’s entire population.” The numbers do not lie.

So, the key takeaway is to create company pages on those social networking websites where your target group (car shoppers) usually spend time. As of September 2017, the most popular social network worldwide is Facebook, with a whopping 2 billion active users. We suggest integrating links to your social media profiles on your dealership website, banner TV in the waiting room, and even on business cards and other ad materials. You can thank us later.

4. New marketing options

In the Internet and Virtual Reality era, with all the possible devices connected to the Internet, such as your TV or your home air-conditioning unit, it is normal for new advertising options to develop. In fact, since customers spend less time in the real world, and more time online – they have developed a particular set of new needs. Electronic video content now satisfies one of those needs.

As opposed to static signage, digital signs and wallboards are gaining popularity due to their very nature: they represent moving pictures. With DS software, you can display special offers, vehicle status, sales boards, and much more right on your dealership TV, or even outside – on digital billboards. The opportunities for improving in-store customer experiences are immeasurable.

Is there an end?

Having all of these new technologies in mind, and the fact that they are widely available, even for smaller businesses, one cannot help but wonder what user experiences in the future will be like. Will VR dominate the future of customer experience? Will there be room for more innovations? We will just have to wait and see.