Digital transformation is seeping into every industry and every business you can imagine. Your car dealership is not immune to this phenomenon either, so you shouldn’t ignore it. On the contrary, you should embrace technology and the possibilities it offers.
The use of technology in car dealerships has the potential to enhance both internal operations and the overall consumer experience. However, current market trends and consumer behaviour dictate that dealerships must adapt their processes to the new car purchasing habits.
So, in this article, we break down the benefits of using technology to grow your dealership business long-term.
Ways Technology Can Help Advance Your Car Dealership
It Can Help You Match Customer Evolution
Car buyers are increasingly embracing a digital-first approach to consumer goods and services. For example, in the past, prospective car buyers walked into the dealership and chose the best car; today, they start the journey online.
Statistics show that compared to last year (2021), twice as many dealers believe their consumers undertake all aspects of the vehicle purchase process online.
To this end, technology and automation solutions can help you match your customers’ needs better and faster than your competitors. Employing the right technology can help your car business handle customer inquiries, provide the information they’re looking for via their preferred medium of interaction, and make the purchasing process more straightforward.
It Can Provide Premium Experience to Car Buyers
Standing out in a crowded automobile market can be tricky. There are many car sellers, so what can distinguish them apart if they all offer similar services and products? It boils down to exceptional customer service.
Indeed, providing timely and accurate customer service can boost your customer satisfaction and increase their loyalty. Studies demonstrate that 89% of individuals want a quick response to their initial inquiry, and they use customer service as criteria when deciding which company to buy from
However, dealerships that rely on customer service agents cannot respond to prospective buyers whenever they contact your business.
Thanks to conversational AI chatbot solutions like DealerAI, customer service can now be available 24/7. By tapping into intelligent automation technology, your potential customer can book a test drive or service appointment and request more information about vehicles and promotions without needing a human agent to intervene.
It Can Reduce Your Car Dealership’s Operating Costs
This leads us to the next important factor, which is cost reduction. The average dealership’s yearly operational costs exceed $4 million, which can cripple your business.
The good news is that technology and automation of specific business functions, such as customer service or car financing, can benefit your dealership business considerably. For example, the salaries of customer service agents alone can be significant, but customer service automation solutions can help you optimize your costs.
It Can Boost Your Car Dealership Staff’s Productivity
Operating a car dealership requires you to deal with customer inquiries daily. But staffing your customer service and sales desk with agents to handle all these queries is unproductive.
When you hire people, you want them to bring value; however, on average, 65% of sales reps spend time on non-revenue generating activities.
Nevertheless, today’s technology can help reduce workload and untie staff’s hands, letting them focus on more critical tasks. For example, tools like DealerAI collect analytics as part of the conversation with the prospect, which your team can then use to understand buyers’ behaviour better and design more nuanced marketing campaigns.
It Can Boost Your Staff’s Productivity
Tools and the manner auto dealerships operate are directly influenced by technological advancements. Car dealerships must now adapt to an increasingly digital customer profile and compete in the automotive industry by driving operational costs down, which automation and technology can help you do.
At DealerAI, we want to give you complete control of your dealership business. Our state-of-the-art AI-powered chatbot solution will amaze your customers, slash your HR costs, automate repetitive queries, and help you convert website traffic into profitable deals.
It’s time to take advantage of technology to take your dealership business to the next level—request the DealerAI demo today!
See How DealerAI Can Boost Sales and Revenue for Your Dealership