The right customer experience (CX) technology is vital to helping dealerships beat competitors. Technology can help remove the friction between consumers and retailers with an improved shopping experience.

Over the last two years, the client and dealer experience has changed as fewer people are involved in each transaction with less staffing at dealerships. However, there is more profit per transaction, and dealers are experiencing higher sales and service revenue than ever before.

The customer experience has also changed with fewer dealer personnel interactions and more opportunities to research the purchase and transact online.

Customer experience technology will help dealers overcome today’s top dealership challenges:

Challenge 1: Your team isn’t effectively managing leads and customer questions.

Time still wins deals: 60 per cent of consumers said timely responses led them to their dealer of choice, according to Digital Air Strike’s 9th annual Automotive Customer Experience Trends Study. Artificial intelligent chat messaging keeps dealerships open 24/7 while engaging with customers and sharing positive reviews, hours of operation, and location in the messaging window.

Chatbots also ask and answer basic questions, schedule appointments, and more. Employees can come to the dealership in the morning with a fully-booked schedule and their customer questions answered.

Fast customer response is what customers demand, and many dealerships fall short of that expectation. Only 57 percent of vehicle buyers say the dealer responded to them within an hour from the initial inquiry.

Challenge 2: You have low inventory and need to get more pre-orders and trade-ins.

According to the 5,000 consumers surveyed in Digital Air Strike’s new trends study, one-third of vehicle buyers felt significantly impacted by the inventory shortage. Vehicle buyers are willing to pay deposits and wait to get the vehicle they want, so dealers need to advertise their pre-order options. Seventy-one percent of vehicle buyers waited up to three months to get their vehicle, and 50 per cent of vehicle buyers paid a deposit of $500 or more, according to the trends study.

Keep consumers engaged through the pre-order process by sending regular communications to update buyers on the progress of their vehicle from the time they placed their order through the build phase and until they take delivery. Use videos to highlight features on the vehicle to build anticipation and keep the customer excited about their upcoming new vehicle.

Dealers can leverage several tactics to increase used car inventory, including incentivizing sales and service employees to acquire vehicles, hosting end-of-lease turn-in events, and social media promotions letting everyone know the dealership

buys cars from customers.

Challenge 3: You’re struggling to recruit new employees.

Dealers have to rethink the old ways of hiring to succeed in 2022. Seventy-nine percent of job seekers use social media during their search, so posting about your open positions and company culture on your social sites will reach an audience actively looking to work.

An excellent social media recruiting strategy also includes sharing posts that emphasize the benefits of working at your dealership and celebrating long-time employees. Hence, job seekers see career opportunities. Also, take advantage of the power of Google by including open positions, employee reviews, and more on the dealership’s Google Business Profile.

More Trends & Tips from 5,000 Vehicle Buyers & Service Customers

Digital Air Strike surveys verified car buyers and service customers every year to help dealers better understand the customer experience and how consumers ultimately select a dealership for their purchase or service. Request the 9th annual Automotive Customer Experience Trends Study to get more information.

Many dealerships already had a problem recruiting and keeping quality employees, but the Covid-19 pandemic has only exacerbated the issue.

The “Great Resignation” also resulted in 4.4 million people quitting their jobs in September alone, according to the U.S. Labor Department. Remote employment has grown exponentially, while candidates for customer-facing jobs have only decreased.

Competition for qualified candidates is fierce while recruiting has become even more of an online affair. Here are five ways to use technology to fill open positions faster:

1. Post Jobs on Your Google Business Profile (formerly known as Google My Business). The average person searches on Google 3-4 times a day. Since Google owns more than 90% of the worldwide search market, your dealership is missing out if you’re not promoting your open positions on your Google Business Profile, which shows up on the first page of Google when consumers and job seekers search for you. This is a great place to promote your open positions, great benefits, and even testimonials from happy employees.

2. Start Social Recruiting on Social Media – More than 55 million companies are listed on LinkedIn, with 14 million open jobs posted. Almost 2 billion users visit Facebook daily. Make sure your jobs are posted across social media – – including on Facebook’s feature just for recruiting, Facebook Jobs. Go a step further and don’t just post your open positions on social media but make sure your feeds include posts that would make someone WANT to work at your dealership. Highlight employees, your benefits, and why someone will enjoy a career in the automotive industry. Encourage your employees to comment on and share the posts to extend your reach and explain why others want to work for you.

3. Use Social Ads to Promote Competitive Positions – Advertise your open positions to active job seekers on social media and get creative with targeting. Use geo-targeting to reach candidates based on demographics, interests, and online behaviors. Include location targeting to promote your open positions to your competitors’ rock star employees and reach younger workers graduating from college or a trade school. Find an outstanding creative and marketing team to design an enticing ad and write eye-catching copy to ensure your ads attract more candidates.

4. Utilize an AI Chatbot on Your Website – Visitors to your website may also be looking for a job. Feature your open positions prominently and in an interactive way by including them in your website chat with links to your open positions and an explanation of all your great benefits. Make sure your chatbot is also linking to your current positions and benefits. With AI, your chatbot can ask/answer qualifying questions and do some of the heavy lifting so your team can step in to reach out to serious contenders only.

5. Protect & Promote Your Reputation as an Employer – More than 70% of job seekers read reviews about companies, and 33% of candidates have rejected an offer because of bad reviews. Make sure your reputation correctly reflects your dealership. Monitor and manage sites like Glassdoor, 38 million employer reviews, and 50 million monthly site visitors. Respond to all reviews and use your responses to good and bad reviews as an opportunity to explain and showcase the benefits of working at your dealership.

Take the work out of hiring by following these five easy steps. Expert marketing teams can get the job done right if your dealership doesn’t have time to monitor and post jobs.

For more information and to request a demo, click here.

Despite strong demand from retail and fleet customers, reduced sales due to the chip shortage limited the sales pace.

How long can demand remain high as inventory remains low?

Join experts, Patrick Manzi, Chief Economist at NADA, and Erica Sietsma, COO at Digital Air Strike, as they discuss the state of the current auto industry, how dealers can fill consumer needs while remaining profitable, and what to expect in the second half of 2021.

You can watch the Facebook Live recording of "The State of the Auto Industry" talk at 10 a.m. PT/1 p.m. ET July 20. Or you can watch the recorded show later. 

Like Digital Air Strike's Facebook page so you don't miss out.   

Dealers are facing inventory and staffing challenges daily, so it's more important than ever to efficiently and effectively showcase vehicles on the lot to get needed trade-ins. 

Digital Air Strike is joining with DrivingSales for a free webinar to show how top dealers are leveraging low-cost, high-impact sites like Facebook Marketplace and YouTube. The goal is to present vehicles to in-market car buyers, engage car buyers first, and keep the communication going until they become customers. 

Digital Air Strike's Chief Strategy Officer Jason Barrie will present creative solutions to today's inventory challenges, along with Nick Price, the vice president of operations at Price Simms Automotive. 

Register now for this free webinar at 10 a.m. PT/1 p.m. ET on July 8. 

Auto dealerships must evolve with technology to meet the changing expectations of consumers during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a Google and YouTube auto expert.

Concierge, “white glove” experiences of video walkarounds, delivery and pickup of vehicles and customized tech options for consumers are not going away when everyone can finally leave their homes safely, said Lissette Gole, the head of industry for Google’s Automotive Retail division, who shared her business strategies during the June 26th Digital Air Strike hosted webinar.

“Dealers need to be utilizing digital retail solutions to save time and improve the customer experience,” said Gole, who has over 15 years of experience in the automotive industry and is amazed at how fast many dealers have changed their tactics. “It’s not business as usual. Things have changed.”

Google signals give insight into how people’s needs and behaviors evolve. Here are four accelerated auto trends Google is seeing:

1. People are finding comfort in car ownership. Many Americans are now rethinking vehicle ownership. There are 15.7 million people aged 25-54 who do not own a personal vehicle in the U.S., and 20% of these people are now considering buying a vehicle, according to Cars.com.

“This means that over 3 million people are now looking to purchase a vehicle,” Gole said. “These are new customers out there in the market shopping right now. This is great news for the auto industry!”

1. People expect to find a deal. Search interest for vehicle deals is at a level comparable to the top year-end sales events and are lasting several weeks. Google Trends shows a 31% search increase in “best car deals,” which is above the baseline for 11 straight weeks. “Truck deals” are seeing a 39% search increase, which is also above the baseline for the same 11 straight weeks.

“We’ve seen a spike of interest from March to June that is similar to spikes typically seen at the end of the year,” Gole said. “There has been a surge in search above baseline for the past 11 weeks. One major contributor is incentives OEMs have placed. These deals have been so significant.”

1. People want the dealer experience closer to home. Auto shoppers are using online videos, such as digital test drives to fill the void of closed dealership lots. There has been a 27% year-over-year growth in automotive watch time on YouTube during March to June 2020, according to YouTube internal data. YouTube is the No. 1 destination for auto purchasers to experience vehicles with video, Gole said.

“Test drives and walkaround videos were the top things shoppers looked for when looking for videos,” she said. “In March, we saw 40% more views in these car videos than the previous year. People are still shopping for vehicles. They’re really doing it by experiencing the videos on YouTube.”

1. People want online buying and at-home delivery. Current auto shoppers are willing to use and purchase a vehicle through digital touchpoints. For example, 55% of current auto shoppers view digital experiences and interactions as good alternatives to visiting a dealership. Meanwhile, 57% of these current auto shoppers said they would purchase a vehicle using an online option, if it was available.

“Many dealers have shifted to digital sales. This has really been seen to be necessary,” Gole said. “This directly correlates with COVID-19, but back in 2018 this was a desire for customers. Today they can with most dealerships right now.”

So now that the pandemic has shown us that people want to research, shop, and buy their vehicles online, how can dealers meet those evolving customer expectations around the auto-shopping experience?

“Even when a shopper is ready to buy, the purchase process is complex,” Gole said.

Dealers have multiple touchpoints to work with auto shoppers online. Here are the three identified touchpoints from Google:

1. Find my car. Shoppers are identifying relevant inventory and offers. From April to May 2020, Google saw a 28% increase in searches around “Am I getting a deal?” Consumer Google searches around deals continue to grow, with searches also including, “Where do I buy?”, “Can I afford it?”, and “Is it right for me?” Dealers need to be highlighting specific inventory and special offers or incentives online as consumers do their research online, Gole said.

“Reach buyers wherever they are,” she said. “The goal here is to really drive more store visits and more in-store sales (if your dealership is open). In-market buyers want to know about in-stock inventory now more than ever.”

1. Kick the tires. Auto shoppers want at-home test drives and dealer visit alternatives. Video plays a strong role in this, and shoppers welcome the online research experience. 45% of auto intenders in the U.S. chose at-home test drives as the most popular alternative to dealership visits. With 57% of these possible auto buyers welcoming an online vehicle purchase option. Online configurators rank high, according to Google survey data. These auto shoppers confirm that the wide variety of in-depth videos from OEMs, dealers and influencers resonated with them, Gole said.

“We know they are very active in video reviews and they spend a long time looking at these videos,” said Gole, adding that videos can be as short as 15 seconds or as long as 30 minutes to an hour, as long as the information is informative and delivers value.

“Dealers need to master their at-home test drives, along with promoting their virtual-buying capabilities and making sure they are available to answer questions,” she said. “Scream at them from the rooftops so they know how to work with you, especially in this new world of concierge service. We don’t foresee this going away.”

Bring the showroom to shoppers with online video. The video doesn’t have to be the highest quality and production, customers just want to see their car, Gole said.

“Vehicle walkarounds are great,” she said. “You can also use video conferencing technology. Bringing that sight, sound and motion helps bring customers to your dealership. The trend in consumers is they’re loving it!”

1. Let’s make a deal. The goal is to reduce friction in the transaction process. The top auto shopper frustrations/pain points with the purchase process include filling out paperwork and contracts for purchasing or leasing a vehicle, negotiating a purchase or lease price and finding the best deal or price, according to Cox Automotive.

“The average time spent at the dealership in the U.S. stands at nearly three hours and has remained virtually unchanged over the last few years,” Gole said. “Digital retailing saves time and improves customer experience. You’re putting the power of the purchase directly in your customer’s hands. Some still want to talk to an associate, while others want to do as much as possible online.”

Auto vendors and partners know that making this pivot to online retailing is not an overnight, easy process. There are many tech solutions needed and available to help dealers so they’re not making these changes themselves.

Digital Air Strike’s virtual retailing solutions, trainings and free face coverings help dealers sell and service safely. Virtual retailing allows customers to research, shop and buy from home using video, AI, and automation plus “white glove” services to survive, thrive and sell during the COVID-19 pandemic. Find out more here.

As more auto dealerships begin to open their doors again amid the COVID-19 pandemic, they need to prepare for the new normal and show their customers it’s safe to do business with them.

Most of the strategies your company adopted during the height of the pandemic will continue as customers will demand extra care and service.

It’s important to share your sanitizing process, safety measures, and charitable efforts during this time on social media, as well as leveraging Google’s free features to showcase that you’re open, safe, and offering great specials and incentives.

To get your dealership ready, here are 10 things you should be doing to welcome back customers:

1. Face coverings/masks. Help your team and customers feel more comfortable during in-person visits by wearing face masks, asking your customers to wear face coverings, and providing masks for your customers who may not have one. You can even offer face masks branded for your dealership. Digital Air Strike can help with this and offers free or discounted face coverings to new clients.

2. White glove services. Continue the concierge services and rigorous sanitization efforts started before the pandemic, including wiping down all surfaces, making hand sanitizer readily available, and removing any shared items from waiting rooms such as remote controls and magazines. Continue offering vehicle pickup and delivery for sales and service to allow your customers to spend less time at your dealership. Some customers may still prefer this instead of coming into the dealership and will appreciate that safety is a priority.

3. Video. Use video to communicate with customers and help them do more of their researching and shopping from home. Create videos that showcase your vehicles, safety measures, and service orders. Digital Air Strike’s Video Logix video technology records and sends videos to consumers and tracks all engagement and interactions so your team can quickly follow up.

4. Artificial intelligence. With possibly less staff and/or staff working remotely, AI can be used to provide 24/7 customer service. AI chatbots nurture conversations, pre-qualify buyers, and match them to vehicles in your store and on your website. It also engages with consumers interested in vehicles you’re selling on Facebook Marketplace, as well as those that text your dealership.

5. Automate your lead response. People are still shopping for vehicles so deliver a response that will make them want to buy from you. Include multiple vehicle options, the ability to explore your inventory, and get pre-qualified. Your follow-up plan needs to be better than ever with the longer than normal buying cycle caused by COVID-19. Ensure your team is following up for six months or automate this process so you are top-of-mind when buyers are ready to purchase.

6. Text messages. Research shows 93% of text messages are read within five minutes, but consumers only open one in five emails they receive. Text messages quickly and effectively deliver your most important updates to your customers’ mobile devices. Response Path Power Text delivers custom messages in bulk to consumers and AI chatbots engage with people who respond. Your team can jump into the conversation from any device, anywhere.

7. Electronic contracts. With pickup and delivery options, customers will also want to continue that online shopping experience with electronic contracts. Make sure this online process is easy and streamlined so your customers have no issues when signing the contract. Keep that service going to assist all your customers, especially when they don’t want to come into your store.

8. Safe scheduling. Offering an online appointment scheduler is key to not having too many people at your dealership. It’s also more convenient for customers and is something that can be done through automation instead of with a team member.

9. Safe servicing. As more customers prefer pickup and delivery options, make sure you have a way to communicate service orders, such as video, and the process your team uses to ensure the cleanliness of the vehicle from pickup to drop-off.

10. Listen to your customers. You have to be able to meet customers’ expectations now. Listen to their suggestions to see how your sales and service can continue helping them in the safest way possible. Remember to survey car buyers and servicers after every visit and allow happy customers to post their feedback on public review sites. Today’s consumers truly appreciate dealerships’ efforts to keep them safe.

For more ways to engage consumers shopping from home, visit https://digitalairstrike.com/virtual-retailing.

It's no secret that DAS throws the best parties! Join us on Sunday, February 16, 2020 for our Client Appreciation Party at The Brooklyn in Las Vegas! You won't want to miss this once-in-a-lifetime event.

- Join sports legends Pete Rose and Brian Bosworth—hear about their notorious time on and off the field in an exclusive “Chalk Talk”

• - Amazing 90s hip-hop concert with Coolio, Tone Loc, and Rob Base—drink, eat, and party with 3,000 top dealers at the event of the year! Learn more!
   
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