There was a time many years ago when the only way you could look for a new car was to go to a dealership and see which cars they had. This was good in some way, as you could get in the cars and take them for a test drive. However, if you are just looking for styles and to see what’s available, then it could mean a long day traveling around.
Now, with the Internet at everyone’s fingertips, there are more dealerships going online as well as having physical showrooms. Let us look at how car dealerships are moving into the digital space.
Dealership Websites
One of the most obvious ways that car dealers can get themselves online is by having a car dealer website. This can be a one-stop shop for people to check out the dealership before they head down to take a look at the cars.
With the website, customers are able to see what cars the dealership has, the specifications, and also where the dealership is. With the majority of people now checking out a company’s website before they go any further, this is the ideal approach for car dealers to take.
Websites are now becoming more interactive and immersive. This gives dealers the opportunity to create virtual showrooms where customers can walk around cars and even see inside the vehicle. This gives customers a greater idea of the cars they may want without having to travel to the dealer first. It also allows the dealership to display more cars than they would be able to display on the forecourt.
Sharing of Information
Sharing information between dealerships is something that hasn’t always been available to customers. This reluctance to share data has caused issues with customers who may want to find a specific car. With the digital age making everything accessible to customers, they now have a much wider choice than ever before.
To keep up with this, car dealers are going to need to share information so that customers can see what is available across all of the dealers’ separate showrooms. Research has shown that customers want to have a good experience with any new purchases. If they find a dealer isn’t able to help them with their query, then it makes them less likely to move forward with a purchase.
Personalised Experience
A customer’s experience with a brand is made up of various elements. These can include ease of using the website, customer service, and answering questions promptly. However, one of the most important aspects is the personal experience. Customers are more likely to make a purchase if they feel that they are getting tailored offers and recommendations from the company they look at.
To achieve this, dealers can look at a few ways to personalise their deals for customers. One way is to send emails that have different deals for each customer or for certain demographics. They can also start posting different deals on social media that are aimed at certain demographics.
Dealerships can also use AI to help learn their customers’ needs and how best to serve them to their customers. One advantage with AI is that it can quickly take all of the data collected and analyse it. It will then give you a report on what deals to give to certain customers.
Improving Customer Service
Bad customer service experiences are one of the biggest problems customers talk about. This is because they will often want to resolve an issue or try to get information as quickly as possible. As a company, customer service needs to be as good as possible.
To improve your customer service, think about how you can best serve your customers. With a large number of people now using social media, this is a great opportunity for businesses to be more approachable and answer questions faster.
The faster you can reply to direct messages or other queries on social media, the better your customers will feel about their experience. It is also important to be as helpful as possible and to direct customers to the right place if needed for more information.
Another way to improve customer service is to embrace the latest technology and software so that the team can deal with any question. This could include being able to video call customers or other interactive ways that can serve the customers better.
Conclusion
Customers are now more able to choose where they spend their money. This means companies need to go above and beyond to help give customers what they need.