The future in automotive retailing is called "omnichannel

Over the past few years, the technical development of the automobile has progressed rapidly - familiar topics such as safety, performance and reliability have been constantly optimized, and new usage and drive concepts have been developed from scratch.

Contrary to the rapid development of the technology in and around the vehicle, the marketing and sale of the vehicles has hardly developed at all. Although isolated trends are being picked up and developed, these are mostly only of a playful nature. A seamless buying experience between online and offline has not yet been offered.

The technology-savvy customer of today, who literally holds knowledge in his hands, is not yet properly understood, although it is easier than ever to understand and get to know him and to provide him with important information.

Conditioned daily by global technology and service providers such as Amazon and Co, customers are becoming accustomed to the convenience and speed of the buying process - while they don't want to give their personal information and preferences countless times, they also want the luxury of smooth and comprehensive advice, where suggestions are made to them and wishes are fulfilled without them having to actively address them - the magic word here is "omnichannel".

New manufacturers like Tesla, who are more of a technology provider than a vehicle manufacturer, are well positioned to win the favor of customers in the future. They have extracted and applied the right marketing strategies from other markets and are now combining them with their advanced technical know-how.

Other manufacturers and especially car dealers will only be successful in this fast-moving society if you also implement these strategies and offer the potential customer a comprehensive buying experience and pick him up both online and offline - will it be possible for long-established structures to develop a comprehensive omnichannel customer experience?  

What is omnichannel anyway and is it the same as multichannel?

Omnichannel is a multichannel approach that combines marketing, sales, and customer care to create an integrative experience - whether the customer engages with the product online or offline, is on the website, blog, social media, or just in the retail store.

It is important to distinguish between omnichannel and multichannel - the difference lies in the depth of integration. Every omnichannel experience is also a multichannel experience, but not every multichannel experience is an omnichannel experience.

Many companies spend vast sums of money to be present on all channels - so in addition to their website, they often have blogs as well as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts. Each of these channels is used to engage with customers, but it mostly fails to provide a seamless experience and is therefore only a multichannel strategy. The different platforms are not connected and the customer is not "recognized" across the board.

The omnichannel strategy pursues precisely this goal. The company knows the customer's path and the various contact points. Marketing, sales, and service efforts can thus be comprehensively optimized and the customer can be provided with a complete offer tailored to his or her needs.

Understanding the car buyer of today

The leading management consultancy BAIN & COMPANY published a study called "The Future of Car Sales Is Omnichannel". In this study, they first examined buyer behavior in the 5 largest markets (China, Germany, India, UK and USA) and came to the following conclusions:

1. 50 percent of vehicle buyers start their search online
2. 4 Times customers switch between online and offline channels and want to move seamlessly between them
3. On average, a potential customer visits the retailer 2.4 times - the retailer retains an important role
4. More than 60 % of customers decide on brand, model and price before visiting a car dealership
5. Approximately 40% of customers are advised by friends and family when buying a car
6. 9 weeks is the process from search to purchase
7. 25% of customers would buy a car completely online
   

To develop a comprehensive omnichannel strategy, it is important to first understand the customer and thus set priorities.

The omnichannel experience in car retailing

What can an omnichannel strategy in automotive retailing look like? With the knowledge gained beforehand, the foundations for such a strategy can be worked out:

Find new ways to approach the future customer:

• Consumers expect more and more innovation and personalization - whether it's buying sneakers online or buying a car - online or offline. Car dealers must therefore get to know their customers better, "pick them up" online and arouse their interest with relevant, i.e. personalized, content.

Today's customer lives in the city - while the greenfield "showroom" was once the place to be for mobility and a full parking lot of vehicles made an impression, today it's the downtown location and personalized sales process that makes an impression.

Small but exclusive showrooms in the city center which, despite their limited size, use innovative technologies to provide an overview and attractive presentation of the wide range of new cars and the entire vehicle inventory. Or to surprise customers with so-called "pop-up" stores in places where they would not have expected the presence of a car dealer - be it in a furniture store or DIY market, at a sporting event or simply in the pedestrian zone.‍

Create smooth transitions between the different channels

• The customer wants to be recognized - the frustration is too great when he has found a vehicle after a lengthy online search, perhaps has already calculated the financing data, and as soon as he visits the dealership, all the effort was in vain because the salesperson has to start the research all over again. After all, 72% of buyers want to save time at the dealership, according to a study by COX Automotive .
  
  The process must be seamless - the customer searches for their car on the website, clarifies initial questions already online, either with a chatbot or a sales associate operating the chat, shares the chosen vehicle with friends and family via social media to solicit feedback and advice, and ends the process with a visit to the dealership, where the sales person in charge can view the customer's entire preferences as well as history - no search criteria, or already calculated financing data is lost.

Gain valuable data and draw qualitative conclusions from it

• If the prospective customer uses all the different touchpoints, be it the website, the social media channel or the retail space as well as the newly created pop-up store, he leaves his virtual fingerprint - this can be used optimally to communicate more effectively with the customer and to create an attractive offer.
  
  Manufacturers as well as retailers must learn to overview and connect the different dimensions and possibilities of the new technologies. If the various channels mesh, a holistic picture of the customer can be created. To ensure that customers really do leave their data behind, attractive incentives must of course be created for them to do so - there must be added value behind leaving their most valuable asset, namely their personal data. Incentives can be either particularly good offers, competitions or interesting information. To this end, the marketing and IT departments as well as the providers of technology and sales solutions must work closely together.
  

The Digital Sales Assistant - an omnichannel platform for the automotive trade

With solutions such as the Digital Sales Assistant 2.0 - course DSA 2.0, it is no longer a problem to build an omnichannel platform for your own business. Simple and effortless, without developing expensive technology and IT yourself.

The Digital Sales Assistant 2.0 is a modular solution that can be put together according to your own needs. The DSA 2.0 consists of the following modules:

In-Store Kiosk:

Using touchscreens, interested parties can find out about the company-wide vehicle inventory, call up vehicle details, and request individual quotes and arrange test drives.

Thanks to mobile touchscreen solutions, the in-store kiosk can also be used in pop-up stores and rented sales areas in furniture stores, shopping centers or DIY stores, for example.

Agent Desk:

A simple, innovative and intuitive sales tool is available for sales staff. It can be used in the classic sales office or independently of the workstation, giving the salesperson the option of accessing comprehensive information about the vehicle inventory either via computer, tablet or smartphone and presenting it to the customer.

The employee is no longer rigidly bound to the workstation and computer, and innovative concepts for sales areas can thus be created. The sales talk can now also be conducted in sales lounges or at the coffee bar and create a welcoming feeling for the customer. ‍

Mobile:

The customer is able to overview the entire vehicle inventory on his smartphone. The DSA 2.0 application is designed according to the latest findings in user interface design and thus meets the high demands of the modern customer. In addition, the customer has further options, such as being able to display the exact location of the vehicle, so that he can directly navigate to the vehicle in the parking lot without having to wander around the entire parking lot beforehand.

Landing Page:

Turn your website into a fully interactive marketplace and increase the number of visitors efficiently. In the future, DSA 2.0 will make it possible to handle the entire sales process via the website. During the process, important data is collected and user behavior is analyzed.

The link between the modules - DSA Analytics

Regardless of which module the customer uses to make contact - high-quality leads are generated at all times, as the prospective customer leaves his personal data and can thus be identified across all channels. In addition, all interactions are merged in DSA Analytics - the dealer thus learns which vehicles, with which equipment details, at which times on the various channels, even differentiated by device, have aroused particularly high interest.

With the DSA 2.0 platform, car dealers can significantly increase their sales activities, reduce costs, minimize downtimes, address new target groups and implement forward-looking concepts quickly and easily.

The development of omnichannel strategies is indispensable

If manufacturers and retailers want to be competitive in the future and also meet the new demands of the discerning customer, they have to adapt to them quickly before they are permanently lost.

The investment in a corresponding strategy pays off in many ways: Not only is the sales incentive greater, but customer satisfaction will also increase in the long term and bind the customer to the company. In addition, sales and marketing costs are reduced through the effective analysis of valuable data. According to a study by COX Automotive, 53% of respondents would buy a car more often if the sales process was tailored to their needs.

The advantages cannot be denied and the costs are manageable.

Contact us at any time so that we can support you in implementing your personal omnichannel strategy. You can reach us at any time by phone +49 (0)30 863 963 59-0 or by e-mail info@dicoso.de.