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Catering for connected consumers? Get yourself connected!

Successfully deploying advanced technologies is increasingly important for meeting the requirements of the ‘connected consumer’, writes Tim Smith, Group Strategy Director at GForces

As ever-increasing numbers of consumers take to the web in search of new products and services, the Internet – together with its associated digital media, tools and devices – has fast become the key marketing medium for car retailers and OEMs. To market themselves effectively in the digital space, brands need to connect with online audiences, both to reinforce their corporate identities and to promote their products and services.

A host of different digital marketing services is on offer to automotive retailers, from dealer management services and online auctions, to SEO and social media. Only by employing a total approach to digital marketing can brands benefit from access to the comprehensive range of marketing services necessary to deliver highly targeted and compelling campaigns.

There’s no doubt that digital is an essential component of a retailer’s marketing and sales strategy, and the ‘digital dealership’ in particular may well come to surpass consumers’ traditional forms of interaction with automotive brands and products. The challenge for retailers and manufacturers online is to connect the dots of a customer’s purchase and ownership journey, first piquing consumers’ interest with effective marketing to generate leads, then converting these leads into sales, before finally maintaining a lasting retailer-customer relationship to deliver aftersales services and further sales in the future.

Total Digital Marketing

Digital strategies need solid foundations upon which digital tools can be based and integrated, helping retailers connect the ownership journey. These interconnected technologies are helping dealers fundamentally change the way they represent themselves online via their digital dealerships.

The approach taken must cater effectively for the rapidly growing use of smartphones and tablets, sales of which are predicted to outstrip sales of desktop PCs for the first time in 2015. More than 40% of web visits now originate on mobile devices, and data from GForces’ own clients shows that in the past 12 months alone, visits from mobile and tablet devices have increased by around 10%.

Responsive web design is particularly important to the modern digital dealership, and has significant benefits over traditional non-scaling platforms. A responsive website offers consumers increased usability and the same experience, whether on a traditional desktop computer, laptop, tablet or smartphone.

Catering to the needs of these connected consumers, responsive web design focuses on enhancing the user’s experience. For the retailer, the benefits begin with the ease of maintenance of the site itself, as everything runs off a single domain, and SEO benefits are also accrued as any redirect issues are eliminated with a single URL. General Motors has migrated more than 160 of its franchised dealers in the Middle East across to GForces’ responsive-design web platform, ensuring that all of its dealer websites benefit from a uniform solution and enhanced customer usability, all structured to be fully market-specific.

Videos also play a significant role in connected consumers’ research and purchases, and incorporating rich media assets into websites can significantly help retailers market their products effectively. Home pages that include video are 53% more likely to be on the first page of a Google search, and research shows that videos can keep visitors on a site for up to two minutes longer, on average.

The addition of 360-degree videos of vehicle interiors and exteriors can supplement or potentially replace online image libraries, offering customers a dynamic in-showroom experience from the comfort of their own home, or while on the move.

Such technology also enables potential customers to conduct their research out-of-hours, which is especially important given that as much as 30% of dealer website visits occur during this time. Progress in out-of-hours contact still needs to be made; even in the mature retail environment in the UK, only 5.5% of the Top 200 dealer groups currently operate a 24/7 contact service. Enabling consumers to search on their own terms is a vital component in connecting customers with the products they desire.

Television has long been the missing link in retailers’ digital marketing. GForces has entered an exclusive partnership with Sky Media to utilise its revolutionary AdSmart service, which for the first time in UK TV history allows national channels to offer highly localised, targeted advertising. The service shows how traditional marketing methods can be enhanced by technology to deliver a highly targeted approach consistent with the ethos underpinning modern digital customer engagement.

Connecting the conversion process

Until retailers and manufacturers sell cars online, leads are the main online currency in the automotive world – the more leads a retailer can generate, the greater the chances of selling vehicles. For time-poor and easily distracted online shoppers, providing relevant information is crucial to minimising the on- to off-line disparity, and the more information that retailers make available, the less reason consumers will have to leave the site in order to find the details they require.

Partnering with the best technology and service providers in the industry ensures that retailers are provided with the widest range of high quality tools available in the market. Third party products can be integrated into a digital platform, adding value to the retailer’s web presence and the interactions it supports. Experience shows that conversion rates can double when consumers read a complimentary review. New car configurators and trade-in valuations also help to connect the various elements of consumers’ online experience.

Finance calculators for car loans and motor insurance can help to keep visitors on retailers’ sites for longer and enable potential customers to quickly work out the affordability of a particular model, enhancing the user experience and improving the chances of a sale. Due to Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) guidelines, car retailers in the UK also need to ensure that the financial products and services they offer are completely transparent, so demonstrating this online is increasingly important. Finance calculators can convert as much as 30% of enquiries to sale when used effectively.

Replicating the showroom experience via a digital dealership is not simply a matter of good quality imagery and plentiful information – automotive retailing relies on effective communication between dealer and customer. Today’s connected consumers expect rapid responses to enquiries, and retailers need to consider a number of different contact options such as phone, contact forms, 24/7 live chat and even bespoke video, to ensure the browsing and enquiry experience is as responsive as possible.

With so many digital marketing options at their fingertips, it’s more important than ever that retailers train their staff effectively. It’s the application of people, process and technology that enables retailers to increase the speed of change in their business and help new systems to deliver outstanding results. As customers take control of the purchasing process via innovations in the digital dealership, sales teams’ behaviour must adapt accordingly. Only by fully understanding both the practical mechanics of the new platforms, and the implications and potential for driving sales, can retailers get the buy-in from their employees necessary to truly maximise their digital marketing.

Coming full circle

Fast responses to enquiries – on- and offline – are equally important when carrying forward the customer relationship into the aftersales arena. According to independent research commissioned by GForces, 42% of customers said they would take their service business elsewhere if an enquiry was not answered within four hours. Reinforcing the value of online interaction, 62% of consumers would prefer to book a vehicle service or MOT without ever speaking to a retailer’s aftersales team over the phone.

This is an area where forward-thinking retailers and manufacturers in the US have led the charge for the digital dealership. Of the Top 50 retailers in the US, 64% have an online service booking facility, versus 45% in the UK. The US has far more advanced retailer-manufacturer digital relationships, but the UK is catching up quickly and brand-wide network solutions, such as those recently instigated by Vauxhall, are becoming increasingly common.

Indeed, such is the maturity of the US model that consumers are now able to complete the purchasing process entirely online. The UK market is following suit, as the technology to support the purchasing decision, such as finance, trade-in values and credit checks, becomes ever-more sophisticated. Buyers in the UK are now reaching the point where they’re confident to purchase big ticket items online, and manufacturer-backed trials such as ‘Fiat Click’ have already tested the possibilities for online fulfilment.

Aftersales is a core part of automotive retailers’ business, not to mention a significant source of profit. With so much focus on new car sales, it’s easy for retailers to neglect aftersales, but with overhead absorption rates of over 50%, aftersales is more important than ever. Integrating digital communications platforms to increase service-bay utilisation and meet customer expectations is vital for generating revenue and retaining customers.

As an example, one of GForces’ clients received 72 service enquiry forms in the three months before going live with online service bookings. In the first three months of this year, that same company had increased online bookings for servicing and workshop work to more than 250.

Successfully deploying advanced technologies is increasingly important for meeting the requirements of the ‘connected consumer’. The evolving challenge for retailers is to make the most of the advanced web-based marketing tools now on offer, while also training their staff and adjusting their processes to use make best use of the leads that result.

Tim Smith

This article appeared in the Q4 2014 issue of Automotive Megatrends Magazine. Follow this link to download the full issue.

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