BLOG Let digital do the heavy lifting this Christmas

For many carmakers and franchised dealers, the festive season can herald an uplift in new and used car enquiry levels.

Faced with re-runs on TV or potential arguments with the in-laws, many consumers pick up their mobiles and seek refuge in virtual showrooms.

However, the seasonal flurry of online retail activity also brings a unique blend of challenges for dealers, as the increase in leads will be coupled with reduced opening times and most sales staff absent on annual leave.

To make matters worse, consumers really don’t like having to wait for a response – we recently identified that the period from enquiry to purchase has fallen from 16 to just six days since the start of the Covid outbreak.

There is a concerning additional dynamic for motor retailers as we approach year-end. Over recent weeks we’ve observed a softening in used car demand.

Maybe customers have reached their limit and are simply unwilling to part with the premiums currently being requested?

Given this confluence of factors, now is the time for retailers to rethink digital strategies for Christmas, and to ensure 2022 starts with real momentum.

First and foremost, dealers need to get ‘ahead of the enquiry’ – in other words, do everything they can to manage and make the most of each customer interaction before those interactions manifest into tangible leads.

Dealers have a wealth of data available to them, and digital best practice dictates that those who manipulate the data most effectively will reap the rewards.

But how do you balance a significant volume of leads with the potential softening in demand?

The answer is to let digital automation do the heavy lifting, maintaining a tailored line of communication with prospects and with little or no intervention required from the sales team until closer to the point of sale.

That’s valuable at any time of year, but particularly over the Christmas season when staff are in short supply.

If the current dealer sentiment is correct, many of those consumers enquiring about used cars over recent weeks will not have bought because of high prices.

If the time comes to reduce used car prices, digital tools can ensure those prospects who baulked at the high RVs can be alerted automatically and notify them if new stock arrives that matches their original search criteria.

Implemented properly, digital automation can deliver more presents than Father Christmas, and transform the productivity of enquiry management into 2022.

Jeremy Evans is managing director at Marketing Delivery