It’s hard enough to get customers to come to your car dealership. So, when they get there, you want to take advantage of every opportunity to sell them a car. It’s very possible your salespeople may be losing deals by walking away to “talk to the manager” or get more information. While this tactic may have worked in the past, it may not work as well today.
Car Dealerships Begin with a Disadvantage
Shoppers start their hunt for cars online. That’s a given, but just how much time do they spend online and at dealerships?
They spend 11 hours online and only 3.5 hours offline, which includes trips to the dealership according to Harvard Business Review. With 87 percent of U.S. customers disliking something in the process per a Harris Poll, customers may already have a negative perception when they arrive on the car lot.
Clearly, car dealerships are at a disadvantage when the customer arrives. It gets worse when the salesperson leaves a customer alone more than once. Wards Auto
quotes a Survata and Talk Shoppe survey that says customer satisfaction drops by as much as 30 percent a when salesperson walks away to obtain more information.
The answer isn’t simply to stop salespeople from leaving customers alone. It’s not just a sales tactic. So, can dealerships do anything to change this and increase sales?
Yes, they can.
Increase Car Sales with Dealership Technology Solutions
Wards Auto recommends dealers provide employees with dealership technology solutions such as a tablet. Having this on-hand allows them to check credit, price trade-ins, get financing approval, obtain prices, and scan a driver’s license. It eliminates the need to leave the customers to talk to the manager.
This process will also prevent overlaps. Customers become frustrated when employees ask for information that the customer had already provided.
Another technology that will help identify the trouble spots is a video surveillance system service. Many dealerships use live video monitoring to protect the lot from thefts and damage. Those same technologies that detect and deter crime can also improve productivity and grow sales.
A video monitoring company like Stealth has a track record of enhancing the productivity of dealership sales and services teams. Managers review the camera footage to see how salespeople move around the lot to interact with customers. They can use the information from watching the cameras to train employees and tweak processes to ensure even coverage across the entire lot.
The footage will help managers find ways to increase the efficiency of the service and operational teams. Video can identify bottlenecks to determine what needs fixing. Solving these issues affects customer service. Happier customers mean they’ll return for any needed servicing and perhaps, their next purchase.
Live remote video surveillance pays for itself in many ways. It deters crime, it helps to minimize damage, it gives managers insight into processes, and it shows the flow of customer and sales person traffic. To learn more about auto dealership security, please contact us today.
