3. HERE’S WHAT WE’RE
GOING TO COVER
UNDERSTAND WHAT THE CUSTOMER
1 REALLY VALUES
DEVELOP THE PROCESSES TO
2 CONSISTENTLY DELIVER
COMMUNICATE EFFECTIVELY TO THE
3 MARKETPLACE
4. 18 8,000+
MILLION
CAR SHOPPER
MONTHLY VISITORS
INTERVIEWS
5. WHAT CUSTOMERS VALUE
PRICING
ONLINE INVENTORY
EXPEDITED TRANSACTIONS
HUMAN ELEMENT
7. PRICING
?
IS CONFIDENCE IN PRICING POSSIBLE
CLARITY AND TRANSPARENCY
LEASING
TRADE IN VALUATIONS
TRUE COST TO OWN®
GROSS PROFITS
8. PRICING
47% TURN-OFF
CUSTOMER USERS
OF
WANT UPFRONT, TRANSPARENCY
STRAIGHT
FORWARD PRICING
INSTANT
GRATIFICATION
DEALERS ARE
REWARDED
GROWTH IN
MULTIPLES
Traditional MSRP-Only Listings with “Request Quote”
1 Internal Edmunds brand and segmentation study conducted in 2011
10. GUARANTEED PRICING TEST ONLINE
INVENTORY
RESEARCH
PROCESS
GUARANTEED
PRICING
6x
INCREASE
PORTLAND
11. GUARANTEED PRICING TEST ONLINE
INVENTORY
RESEARCH
PROCESS
GUARANTEED
PRICING
10x INCREASE
BALTIMORE
12. ONLINE INVENTORY
FEATURES
PHOTOS
PRICES
SPECIAL OFFERS
DEALER RATINGS
AND REVIEWS
TOOLS
MOBILE
13. TRANSACTION TIME
APPOINTMENT BEST PRACTICES
CONFIRM VEHICLE IS IN STOCK
ASK WHO IS REGISTERING THE VEHICLE
INQUIRE ABOUT TRADE-INs
GATHER CREDIT INFORMATION TO PRE-APPROVE
INFORM YOUR FINANCE & USED DEPARTMENTS OF
THE APPOINTMENT
MAKE SURE THE CAR IS PREPPED AND READY
21. HERE’S WHAT WE COVERED
UNDERSTAND WHAT THE CUSTOMER
1 REALLY VALUES
DEVELOP THE PROCESSES TO
2 CONSISTENTLY DELIVER
COMMUNICATE EFFECTIVELY TO THE
3 MARKETPLACE
23. Thank You
(310) 309-6300
JEREMY ANWYL
JEREMY ANWYL
JPA@edmunds.com
JAnwyl@edmunds.com
RALPH PAGLIA
rpaglia@gmail.com
rpaglia@edmunds.com
JOHN GIAMALVO
jgiamalvo@edmunds.com
Notes de l'éditeur
And at Edmunds.com we see a lot of these car shoppers (about 18 million per month). Not only do we see what they are looking at online, but we are constantly talking to them outside of our web site. <CLICK TO ADVANCE TRANSITION>To date, we have talked to over 8,000 new and used car buyers and we want to share with you today what we have learned.
Place a big value on Transactional PricingThey want full visibility into available inventoryThey want the time spent at the dealer substantially reduced. They 4+ hours spent is viewed as a complete repudiation of the online process. 90 minutes has been successfully tested.The Human element is still key to consumer comfort during the transaction. They have indicated that a “point” person in the process or a one contact person process is much more favorable that an obstacle course of management levels.
To satisfy these consumer values, the challenge for dealers is to develop a process and consistently deliver on it, time and time again to gain reputation for it.
Not only have consumers indicated value in transactional pricing, but clarity in fee and other charges before coming in.Dealers need to be prepared to efficiently detail leasing options as they are now available and popular again.For those who want to buy with a trade in, consumers would like a fair expectation of what should expect for their trade. Adding to the popularity of “online trade in valuators”True Cost to Own… we see this become ever more important when the price of fuel exceeds $4.00 per gallon. And with many manufacturers now offering hybrids and electrics, consumers want as much visibility into total costs of owning that vehicle as possible.Gross Profits.- Dealers have traditionally been resistant to this amount of visibility thinking it may hurt gross profits, however, the contrary is true. I know Jeremy has analyzed that dynamic for a long time.
The #1 turn off of a dealership is not getting exact pricing when requested. The #1 Gratification for the consumer is immediate validation, here is the car, and here is the price you saw.When that goes into the marketplace, contacts to that dealership rise in multiples.
3rd Party Validation
So, what do consumers want to see before committing to this process?:
We have heard from other dealers that they handle this within the appointment scheduling process. From them we have gleaned some best practices— #1-6 <pull these into the story>If it’s for a mini or SUV with 3rd row, be sure to mention you have a children's area or facilities.
Our editorial group published a great article for car shoppers that shows everything they need to prepare ahead of time to expedite the process. We have turned this into a checklist that you can send (as is) out to your customers before they come into the dealership. What dealers who have implemented a good process have told us is “these are sales, we can only screw it up!”
What we have seen at Edmunds, is just how important human interaction can be.
Other than those directly visiting your dealership website, there is no better way to get in front of a potential car buyer than when car research is top of mind. 3rd party sites (like Edmunds) provide car shoppers with specs, photos, pricing, dealer inventory, etc. and have many products available to connect car buyers with specific dealerships.
Reviews on an authoritative automotive site, like Edmunds.com, it has been reported, carry the most weight with consumers. But “review sites” like a Yelp, and local search result pages like Google are also important.
Commenting timely on EVERY review and assuring they contain the MOST relevant customer satisfaction message is critical. Smart shoppers will appreciate your commitment.
