It was a pleasure to attend this year’s Automotive Management (AM) Live event held at the NEC in Birmingham last week where we were able to collaborate and share fresh insights from some of the industry’s key players.
This year’s talks spanned a wide range of topics from Artificial Intelligence and the digital experience to Agency and of course, the consumer experience.
For those of you who weren’t able to attend, we’ve shared our key takeaways from the event below.
AI is quickly revolutionising every part of our day-to-day lives and the automotive sector is no different. We, like many organisations, are optimising elements of automation using artificial intelligence within the car-buying journey, but Retailers are taking note of the pace at which AI is evolving and questioning at what point it will integrate with (and potentially overtake) their sales teams.
The key is not to replace your salespeople but empower them to take advantage of these tools, so they have more time to commit to their customers. It was shared during the conference that AI is set to give agents 2.5 hours of extra time a day, through time saving and conservation efforts. Retailers and manufacturers should be looking at ways they can train their people to use AI to their advantage, to enable them to invest more time in delighting consumers with an experience they’ll want to return for.
Surfacing reviews is a great way to build trust and transparency with your customers. By having them visible on your website and at key parts of the buying journey, can increase conversion rates as well as customer loyalty.
However, it's not just about surfacing reviews, it's also about replying to them, both the negative and the positive. By responding to all reviews across all platforms, including the likes of Auto Trader, Glassdoor, Trust Pilot and Judge Service, you’re also able to increase your SEO performance.
There’s also value in personalising the responses to each review. Jardine Motor Group confirmed they are always keen to contact any Retailers who have received a negative review, so that they can personalise their responses and ensure the customer feels heard and valued. Likewise, they also give members of their HR teams visibility of reviews so they can use them to influence training programmes. Having said that Retailers should take note that any changes to their reviewing strategy will not produce results instantly. It may take some time for the algorithms to reflect your efforts, but consistency is key.
So many of the leading Retailers we spoke to are now looking at their vehicle data more than ever to influence their stock decisions.
It’s important to remember that every consumer represents a different vehicle and therefore the experience must be tailored towards that vehicle type. Electric vehicles for example have a whole host of different aftersales opportunities associated with them, for example, software updates, battery maintenance and more. However, most inventory systems aren’t equipped to indicate at a glance what vehicles are electric, ICE or hybrid.
Ensuring you have an up-to-date inventory management system where you can tag your vehicles so they can be easily located allows you to tailor experiences to that customer. For example, if you’re able to easily identify which cars are electric models then you can set up campaigns directed to those customers for maximum impact.
With stock levels still tight, car values deteriorating, and the persuasive concept of online car-selling platforms like We Buy Any Car thriving, Retailers are finding themselves in competition for part exchanges. Dealers should be looking at avenues other than just services to entice valuations and vehicle upgrades, particularly with the increase in EV demand where it’s assumed the aftersales opportunities are less prevalent.
Recall and service updates provide the perfect opportunity to upsell to customers. But there doesn’t always have to be a reason. By establishing a consistent line of communication with the customer, checking if the vehicle is still the right fit for them and their situation hasn’t changed, you’re able to increase a consumer's propensity to upgrade (or downgrade in this current climate). Being proactive with your outreach efforts will increase brand loyalty and increase sales.
Thank you to all those involved in putting together such an informative event. We look forward to attending next year!
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