Good morning Dealer Elite Members, True Car is back for a second round.....

As I mentioned in my post last week there are big changes coming in the automotive space. True Car has learned from their past mistakes and hopefully has a little more respect for dealerships this time. Their president a former Nissan executive visited the Auto News office last week and was featured on their site this morning.

Here is the link: http://www.autonews.com/article/20120625/VIDEO/306259914/1439/first...

The video is quite interesting and he sound confident that True Car can resume their growth in the US market. The one thing to remember as a dealership or dealer body is that we can influence what happens in our industry if we band together and become vocal about what we believe. Change is possible in the industry, but it is important that we drive the change in the industry. An internet based portal like TrueCar, Edmonds, or Cars should never dictate to us how things should be. We are of course the Dealer body and the ones who do most of the heavy lifting when it comes to customers.

The question is can we change the way customer view us and demand better from our staff every day. When you look at retailers like Apple, Nordstroms and the Four season's it is rarely about price. I know that these sites want you to believe that price will sell more cars. Salespeople and Managers want you to believe that to. I also know that yes we need to be competitive to sell vehicles. The question is are you as dealers going to let True Car or anyone else determine how much you should be allowed to make and how you should treat your customers.

Don't be fooled by this re-boot of True Car, make sure they they understand that it's the dealerships who have the power to make or break them. How many Company representatives really understand retail anyway. Remember that you as dealers hold all the cards and don't let True Car or anyone else turn the car business into Group On. It has never been about the discount anyway, it's about service, customer experience, and truly caring about each and every customer every day.

If you treat people right, and provide a high level of service you will grow your business and create legions of customers who are raving fans of your business as well. Don't be fooled by discounts or internet companies who tell you they are helping you when they are really just another broker with a website.

Before you go down the True Car or other Internet Sales Channels think about developing your own experience and sales channel and setting that Gold Standard for your customers. They deserve better!

I hope this has helped everyone.

I will be doing more posts on customer experience later this week.

Check out this book "The Apple Experience" by Carmine Gallo

Link: Get the book

Make it a great day!

Ian Nethercott

Proactive Dealer Solutions

http://www.bdcexperts.com

inethercott@bdcexperts.com

1 877 452 2753