Page 6 - MIADA-Q2 2020-Draft 061420_Neat

The

Digital Revolution

is Upon Us

By Gil Van Over

An unspoken truth is that vendors have successful solutions to many This digital road relies heavily on video
sometimes a drastic, calamitic of those pieces. conferencing capability. These dealers are
using a mixture of Facetime, Skype, Go To
action has to sideswipe a Many dealers continue to use the “Road to Meeting, and Zoom. It is also susceptible to
process to speed up the the Sale” model to sell and deliver a vehi- fraud, identity theft, and Safeguards risks.
evolutionary process. The cle. Each step has its own set of processes
and compliance requirements. Vendors are The new process looks something like this.
calamity known as COVID-19 working to digitize each step on the road to
is acting as an agent of the sale. These vendors still primarily rely 1. Attract the Lead
revolutionary change in upon the consumer traveling to the dealer- The dealer still advertises via the usual
ship to initiate and conclude the vehicle sale.
dealer’s sales processes. methods, and generates a number of leads
Today’s reality, though, is that consum- from these channels. When the customer
The congrats messages on my two year an- ers are being bombarded and conditioned submits a lead, the assigned salesperson
niversary are starting to fill my Linked-In with messages from the likes of fast food or BDC employee contacts the customer
mailbox. I released Automotive Compliance companies offering online shopping and to set an appointment. If the customer is
in a Digital World around this time in 2018. delivery, to our doctors conducting assess- hesitant to come to the dealership, then a
One of the consistent themes in the book is ments via video conferencing. This may remote sale appointment is secured.
that dealer sales and F&I processes are in an change once the pandemic slows, but it
evolutionary transformation from analog may not. 2. Present the
to digital. An underlying suggestion in the Vehicle
book is that this evolution began more than Some dealers are testing an approach in
25 years ago when I worked on a project at a reaction to the prevalent stay at home or- The first option in presenting the vehicle
major captive to move from paper contracts ders and seeing some encouraging results. is to demonstrate the features and benefits
to laser-printed forms. I spoke with a few such dealers and com- for a chosen vehicle via a video conferenc-
piled their processes. ing service. Consumers who are brand
Today’s reality, though, is that consum- loyal, or are already sold on a particular
ers are being bombarded and conditioned The Digital Road to model, may select this option. Other con-
with messages from the likes of fast food the Remote Sale sumers are like my six-foot-tall friend who
companies offering online shopping and told me, “I have to test drive the vehicle to
delivery, to our doctors conducting assess- These dealers have historically been near make sure I fit.”
ments via video conferencing. the bleeding edge of digital processes, and
are probably better positioned than many For a touchless test drive, the salesperson
An unspoken truth is that sometimes a to implement the “Digital Road to the Re- goes to the customer. The vehicle is sani-
drastic, calamitic action has to sideswipe a mote Sale.” One dealer reports that to his tized, then the steering wheel and seats are
process to speed up the evolutionary pro- surprise, even some of the more seasoned wrapped in plastic. The salesperson (wear-
cess. The calamity known as COVID-19 is sales people are embracing this new pro- ing disposable gloves) parks the vehicle in
acting as an agent of revolutionary change cess, citing the example of a senior citizen the driveway, leaves the keys in the cup-
in not only dealer sales processes, but in al- sales person who sold two cars in one day holder along with a spare pair of rubber
most every aspect of our lives. shortly after implementing this option. gloves, exits the vehicle and stands at least
six feet away. She then calls the customer
The Dawn of the To be sure – I am not suggesting that 100% to come out and take a test drive and waits
Digital Retailing of future sales will use a remote sale op- for the customer to return. Another dealer
Business Model tion. I am not even predicting that a ma- I spoke with is considering using a Bor-
jority of future sales will be via remote rowed Car Agreement for the test drive.
You are a witness to the dawn of the digi- delivery. Heck, it could be like the electric
tal retailing age. There are a lot of moving vehicle option – attractive to some people, If possible, the salesperson conducts a
pieces in today’s digital process, and some but limited in actual useage. touchless appraisal on the potential trade

4 | MIADA MISSISSIPPI DEALER Q2 2020