December can be one of the most profitable months for dealerships. To keep your dealership ahead of the holiday competition, make sure your dealership keeps customer service and employee spirits positive. Change up some of your marketing strategies, decorate your website, and get your showroom looking a lot like Christmas.
The classic formula for success in the auto retail world is changing. Margin compression is forcing dealers to rethink their strategies, and selling more cars to make more money simply isn’t working anymore.
Customer advocates are a powerful profit-maximizing tool for your dealership. Loyal customers can be your strongest sales representatives through spreading the word about your dealership’s reputation. Potential customers tend to trust their family and friends the most when deciding where to buy a car. For this reason, your dealership should take any steps necessary to gain more customer advocates and retain loyal customers.
Developing skillful employees will only make your dealership stronger and more successful. Proper training will allow your teams to hire and retain top talent. Stay up to date on the different technologies and expectations of millennials entering the workforce to ensure your dealership provides the development talented team members are looking for.
Many changes within technology around us cause consumers to behave differently, which in return creates a difficult environment for the auto industry to prosper. In some ways, all of these changes are making our industry stronger, more disciplined, and helps us shift focus where it needs to be—the customer experience.
Dealerships face shrinking margins today more than they have in the past. There are many new ways to sale cars, but in order to avoid margin compression, dealerships should invest time and money into selling cars more efficiently. Try changing your sales processes, scrutinizing the revenues and costs from each of your departments, and increasing the speed of used car sales.
Margin compression, the gradual decrease in the difference between cost and profit of new and used cars, is becoming a serious problem for many dealerships.
Technology can improve customer service, marketing strategies, dealership operations, and drive up profits. In an increasingly digital world your dealership should get the most out of its technology and put it to proper use. After all, innovative technologies make auto dealers’ jobs easier.
Margin compression is an on-going issue for today’s dealerships. Learn 7 Solutions to Margin Compression with our Infographic.
In today’s world dealerships tend to be male dominated. However, there are considerable returns dealerships can receive by investing in a woman’s experience working in the auto industry. Women make up nearly 80% of car-buying decisions, and most women prefer to speak with a car saleswoman.
According to the inaugural Car Buyer Journey study commissioned by Autotrader and conducted by HIS Automotive, as of 2016, more than 60% of the car buying process happens online today. For many people, the entire car shopping process, minus the test drive, happens online as the millennial generation is placing more emphasis on digital communication.
Women are becoming a more powerful demographic in dealerships. Providing women with a helpful experience both online and in store will help your dealership sell more cars to women. After all, women control nearly 85% of car buying decisions.
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