Used car dealerships can’t afford to be sluggish in responding to customer questions or initiating contracts. With so much stiff competition, they need efficient processes to ensure a potential sale doesn’t fall through. After all, the last thing a dealership wants is stagnant inventory.
Turning to the latest technological advances can be a big step in the right direction for dealerships trying to edge out their peers.
Curious to learn how you can harness the latest innovations to boost your business? Read on to discover common applications that help improve how used car dealerships operate.
Embrace Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Tools
You have to earn the trust of your customers if you want a deal to move forward. You might engage with a customer at the car lot, but discover that you don’t have the right car for them at the moment.
Even so, you don’t want them to leave and never come back; instead, you want to establish a thread of communication that continues. With CRM systems, you can do this.
CRM software lets you communicate across multiple channels, like email and SMS. You can even connect to social media, and you’ll always be able to pull up a phone number easily.
In other words, you can tailor your communication approach to the preferences of a potential customer.
Being persistent with communication is key. With CRM software, you can track all communications and create a customer profile. That way, you’ll be able to know if you’ve made a follow-up call—or let a potential customer know when the car of their dreams is available.
Rely on an Inventory Management System (IMS)
With cars exiting dealership lots and new ones entering all the time, management teams need to keep tabs on inventory carefully. In the old days, this meant manually entering information onto physical sheets of paper.
But even more recent approaches require multiple manual steps to determine how many cars are available—or what competitive prices should be. Dealership managers constantly need to assess the prices of comparable cars at other dealerships, taking time away from other obligations.
Inventory management systems (IMS) make these tasks easier and, in the process, free up employees to tackle other tasks. With an IMS, dealerships can track every vehicle and adjust prices.
IMS systems can use data to suggest prices for vehicles, too. Even better, these price updates can be populated automatically so that vehicle information is always accurate on dealership ads and websites. Moreover, managers can get alerts if inventory is low.
Use an E-Commerce Platform
Yes, there will always be customers eager to do their car shopping in person. However, not everyone has the time or interest to visit a lot and go on test drives. As a used car dealership manager, you need to account for those who shop online.
Setting up a robust e-commerce platform for purchasing or inquiring about cars is vital to your success. You can list pertinent stats about vehicles—how new its tires are, how many miles it has, or its engine size.
Potential customers can browse the available inventory and compare options. With a good platform, you can even let customers learn about financing options and estimate their payments.
Automate Your Financial Responsibilities
The financial component of buying a used car might be the biggest headache. Buyers just want a car—they don’t want tricky math and lengthy loan applications. Automating financing solutions can make the buying process easier and reflect well on your dealership.
With a comprehensive platform, you’ll enable buyers to apply for credit and review loan offers online. You can even set things up so buyers can sign all necessary documents by simply logging into the platform.
This way of handling finances is faster and less daunting than traditional methods, which are time-intensive and cumbersome. And if you integrate a financing platform with your website, customers won’t have to leave your platform to look into options.
Focus on Digital Marketing Techniques
A used car dealership can gain more visibility with the right digital marketing plan. Dealerships want someone looking for a reliable pre-owned car in Atlanta, Georgia, for instance, to land on their website.
Using a combination of paid ads and SEO (search engine optimization), dealerships can put their inventory in front of the right audience. When someone uses Facebook or a search engine, you can target individuals from your geographic region so they see your ads.
The best digital marketing strategies don’t stop at ads alone. Collecting and then reviewing data can help shape your next steps. Use an analytics platform to see how many people are clicking on your ads or engaging with a social media post.
Pinpoint what age groups are most interested in what you’re offering. And then use this data to make appropriate changes, like narrowing your demographic target for an ad or amplifying your efforts on social media.
Make a Technological Upgrade
Used car dealerships can elevate their presence in the marketplace with the help of technological innovations. Focus on making transactions and communication methods easier for customers to access with inventory management systems and CRM software.
Invest in a professional e-commerce platform with updated listings and a portal to explore financing options. You’ll streamline operations and keep your customers happier when you use technology to your advantage!