The automotive industry as we know it is undergoing a transition. From electric cars, to ride sharing, to autonomous cars, the landscape is rapidly changing. With consumers demanding convenience, and technology that radically changes the customer experience, we should brace for a decade of disruptive change.

All this change sometimes makes it difficult to wrap our minds around how to identify problem areas and create solutions that solve them.

I recently read about an interesting concept in the New York Times. The author suggests that it’s not only the automotive industry that’s undergoing this change, but our society overall. He posits that once upon a time society had a plan for each of us. We went to school, perhaps to college, learned a trade and then worked at that trade. However, with many jobs now automated, and humans supplanted by machines, there’s no longer a set path for some individuals.

The article suggests that we, both as individuals and a society, need to become changemakers. What’s a changemaker? According to the article, “Changemakers are people who can see the patterns around them, identify the problems in any situation, figure out ways to solve the problem, organize fluid teams, lead collective action and then continually adapt as situations change.”

Sounds like a tall order, right? My guess, however, is that your dealership already has employees with this desire, but it may not have been harnessed. It could be a manager, salesperson, technician, service advisor, or even the porter.

To harness this latent talent pool, you need to build a bottom-up culture. Remember, your employees want to see you “walk the talk.” If you are serious about improvement, everyone should be empowered to make suggestions and initiative should be rewarded. 

Toyota’s famous continuous improvement philosophy relies on practitioners identifying “Muda,” otherwise known as waste, and then “kaizen-ing,” or improving the process. The trick is to get everyone at your dealership to become Kaizen agents. Empowering everyone is simply a matter of accepting ideas, executing them and then recognizing the improvement through visual means that others notice.

Your employees are your most valuable assets. Every employee has a drive inside them to make a difference. Engaging them in this way will get them to be more committed and they will stay longer.

Take the leap and change the culture of your company so that everyone becomes a change agent!

If you haven’t noticed, a revolution is happening in our society. More and more businesses are going paperless. Airlines issue boarding passes via, email, text message or through a mobile app. Sporting and entertainment tickets are increasingly delivered via email or through a mobile app. Most credit card companies and banks send electronic statements and incentivize customers to go paperless. The list goes on.

Why are these companies doing this? Because it saves them money and it’s more convenient for the customer!

How many storage areas does your dealership need to maintain the mounds of documents between sales and service, while remaining compliant? All those signed contracts, repair orders, invoices, etc., add up. And you must put them someplace, protect them from floods and fire. In addition, let’s not forget the rising cost of paper.

I’ve spoken to plenty of dealers and service managers seeking to go entirely paperless in their service drives by the end of 2018. They want the ability to email invoices and receipts and are even looking at installing kiosks in their service waiting areas for customers to arrange their own shuttle rides.

Consumers increasingly use apps to make their lives more convenient. For example, some large hairdressing chains have the option to check-in prior to showing up; in effect, reserving the customer’s place in a virtual line.

Go to Nordstrom, or an Apple store, and buy something. The sales rep can ring up your purchases, accept payment on a mobile device and email you your receipt. This makes the transaction much faster, more efficient and saves the business money. You no longer have to wait for the receipt to print, or for the printer to run out of ink or paper, making the wait even longer!

The future is already upon us. The automotive industry is slowly coming around with technologies allowing some paperless transactions -- but it’s not quite there yet. Eventually, consumers will require these interactions to be done electronically – as that is what they can do everywhere else they shop and receive service. Dealerships will either be ready for that permanent mind-shift or find themselves scrambling to catch up.

Which group do you want your dealership to be in?

We’re failing. Consumers have moved on yet we’re still trying to do the things that we’ve always done. Fast and efficient communication with consumers is vital to maintaining and growing your dealership revenue. However, many dealerships keep hanging on to the old methods they have grown comfortable with: phone calls and emails. While these both are useful and should certainly be continued, these methods of communication simply do not allow customers to communicate as effectively as they used to.

Take a look at these statistics from Business2Community. According to Google, 70 percent of online traffic is from a mobile device. Realizing consumers’ choice of communication methods have changed, Google introduced Click-to-Call. Then more recently released messaging on mobile sites for consumers to communicate with businesses via text messaging.

Facebook has also enabled text-based communications in ads. In fact, most major retailers now have some sort of text-based notifications – from delivery services such as UPS and FedEx texting delivery updates, to airlines texting flight status updates and enabling boarding passes via text, to online retailers texting order status updates.

Do you really think all these major businesses would spend the time and money to implement and use texting platforms if they didn’t think customers would use it, and are not seeing results? No. There was plenty of testing, planning and focus groups involved. In the end, text messaging won. In fact, if your dealership turns on texting on your business page, you will see that the CTA for customers is texting… not phone calls.

Join the party and take the lead with customers at your dealership. They want to communicate through text. But, many dealerships aren’t equipped to correctly handle this form of communication, especially not in a two-way capacity. Yes, there are a lot of compliance and regulatory issues when it comes to text-based communications. But there are excellent services available that can safeguard your dealership and ensure compliance.

You want to communicate with your customers and, quite frankly, they want to communicate with you. Make sure all of today’s communication options are on the table, so that your customers can communicate and do business with you in the most efficient and desirable way THEY choose. As a result, your staff will produce more while doing less.

The way consumers can pay for goods has dramatically changed over time. From bartering, to cash, to checks, to debit cards, all these shifts had one thing in common: More convenience and reduced friction.

Well, what are consumers doing now?

According to an article on Entrepreneur.com, consumers are increasingly choosing mobile payment. Which makes complete sense since 71 percent of all time spent online is via a mobile device. And, according to Google, over 50 percent of all search queries are initiated via a mobile device. In fact, the data in the article suggests that in-store mobile payments will reach $503 billion and mobile wallets are expected to surpass the use of both credit and debit cards by 2020. That’s only two years away. This shift is happening now!

Today’s smartphones have increased security measures with biometric locks such as fingerprint and face scans now trumping passwords or pin numbers. Because of this, consumers increasingly trust their phones to store sensitive information. Apple, Android and Samsung have all integrated mobile wallets, as have many retailers, allowing customers to pay for purchases without ever taking out their wallets.

We may end up in a future where wallets no longer exist. The easier you make it for a customer to give you their money, the more of it you’ll end up getting – and much faster.  Mobile wallets now go far beyond point-of-sale as payments are moving away from POS and into smartphones via the cloud.

Doesn’t it make sense to let a customer give you their money before they get to your store? Our progressive dealers receive as much as 28% of customer payments over mobile, prior to picking up their vehicle. Starbucks and many other retailers already allow this form of payment as it saves time and offers the ultimate in convenience for today’s busy customers. You can even do all your grocery shopping online, pay online and just drive to the store where it is ready and waiting for you. Their staff will even load it into your vehicle!

To make it easy and convenient for customers is why these retailers have implemented online payment programs. Customers want to save time, not spend more of it. But they are willing to do the opposite – spend more money to save more time.

What are you doing to take advantage of this trend in your dealership?

Providing the right experience that attracts and keeps customers can be difficult.

Why?

Well, according to an article on CMSWire, we are doing it backwards. The Toyota Product System, otherwise known as “Lean Manufacturing” advocates that all improvement projects start by reversing the process. What this means is that you don’t start with an introspective look, but start with the customer and work backwards from there towards the dealership.  

The creation of a customer experience strategy should begin by walking in the shoes of the customer. You must go to the place and see for yourself. (Genchi-Genbutsu - Get your boots on and observe the process).

I am pretty sure you all know what a great customer experience FEELS like. For example, consider why Amazon is so popular with shoppers. They make it easy to shop and you can get what you want fast and painlessly. They use a process of working backwards that starts by writing the press release first and then making sure they achieve that.

Disney is another great example. They invented Magic Bands for their parks and resorts. Using the very latest in Radio Frequency (RF) technology, now guests never have to worry about losing hotel keys or venue passes. They can use these bands to enter the parks, unlock their Disney Resort hotel room and buy food and merchandise. These companies know that the better the customer experience, the more revenue generated because, quite simply, it’s easy.

Take a few minutes to consider the customer experience at your dealership. What would make the vehicle service process a smooth, easy experience that is attractive to your customers? What would make them want to return, thus increasing service revenue? Is it having loaner cars available? Perhaps a pick-up and delivery service? What about status updates on their vehicle? Easy communication channels? The best way to find out is simply to ask them!

Rather than looking at what YOU want, or what YOU think makes a great customer experience, design one by reversing this thought process and looking at it from your customers’ point of view. Then adopt technology and processes that make the whole experience less painful, more convenient and… easy.

Do that and you’ll see increased retention, customer acquisition through referrals and an increase in your average repair orders, which is exactly what you should want.

Consumers are all about convenience. The Internet has opened access to instant information and new technology continuously enables consumers to accomplish goals faster, access information more easily and organize their lives -- all without the help of a single live person.

In fact, the most influential new technology may well be voice assistants such as Amazon Echo and Google Home, which were by far the hottest selling technology devices this past holiday season.

These powerhouse companies continue to add functionality and other technology businesses are working feverously to ensure their products can integrate and work with these devices. Consumers can now order groceries, laundry detergent, you name it – all without even looking at a computer screen. Not only that, but they can play music, games or, more importantly, access information instantly without having to touch a keyboard or turn on a computer.

Well guess what -- now, this technology is coming to a vehicle near you.

The 2018 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) saw plenty of announcements about automakers adopting and integrating these technologies. Not unlike the adoption of Apple and Android by OEMs via CarPlay and Android Auto, soon a consumer will be able to schedule a service appointment simply by asking Alexa. In fact, Toyota/Lexus announced that Amazon’s Alexa will be integrated into some of its 2018/19 models.

So why is this important?

Currently, with Amazon Alexa, when you notice you are low on laundry detergent you can simply say “Alexa, order more laundry detergent.” And Alexa will. But how does Alexa know what brand or size of detergent? You set it up in advance. Amazon certainly doesn’t randomly choose what to send you!

Imagine once this technology is integrated into vehicles and is adopted by consumers on a broad scale. What will happen when a customer asks Alexa to schedule a service appointment? How will Alexa know which dealership to make that appointment for? Well, as with the laundry detergent, where Amazon/Alexa was previously notified which brand to order, the customer will have set up a preferred dealership for Amazon/Alexa. Now, when they request a service appointment, that’s where Amazon will schedule it.

My bet is that this will soon be part of the delivery process for sales and service; where you set up the in vehicle integrated voice assistant to identify your dealership as the customer’s preference.

Of course, if you don’t treat the customer right they can easily change that. But, if you do, consumers will have a very easy way to continue to do business with you, make service appointments and receive communications – all without picking up their phone.

There can be no arguing that most dealerships operate in silos. Typically, four exist: New Car Sales, Used Car Sales, Service and Finance. These four departments usually work independently of each other, each with its own revenue and volume goals, yet all are undeniably intertwined. And, as their goals aren’t aligned, the resulting friction costs revenue.

Frequently, to make a deal, heated discussions occur about having the used car manager step up the value of the trade, so the new car sales department can hit OEM and profitability goals. This often kills the used sales ledger and commissions paid from that department. Then used car managers argue with service directors over reconditioning charges. Salespeople are upset because they believe their commission from front-end profit is shifted to the back-end in finance, reducing their paycheck. And while the finance department typically communicates with sales managers to structure deals properly, it also has an edge, with add-ons that can make or break a skinny deal.

How then do you change the mindset and break down the silos?

One dealership in Texas seems to have found part of the answer to this and unified its departments by introducing a new process in sales: salespeople discussing F&I products with customers prior to entering the finance office to finalize the transaction.

According to Automotive News, by simply training its sales staff on available F&I products, providing brief summaries on what the finance manager will be discussing with the customer, the dealership has increased finance revenue by an average of $200 per vehicle.

Why? Because the finance manager has a limited amount of time with each customer (typically 45 minutes to an hour). While the salesperson oftentimes invests much more time in establishing the customer relationship, earning and building trust.

The sales staff, mind you, isn’t selling products, just pre-educating customers, teeing them up for the finance manager thereby creating a smoother process in finance. How does the dealership motivate the salespeople to care about this -- much less complete this process? The salespeople get 5 percent of the back-end gross in commission.

I know of at least one salesperson who got a $100 bonus for every deal that went into finance with a $1,000 back-end. Do you think he was motivated to discuss finance products with his customers while waiting to go into finance -- in that awkward dead-time that inevitably happens after hands are shaken and a deal is made? This seems like a perfect solution to increase gross without much effort, while also changing dealership culture away from silos and into teamwork.

While you may have a couple of star running-backs, you’ll never win the game if the offensive linemen don’t make those blocks and protect them. By breaking down silos, not only will your dealership operate more efficiently, it will also enjoy increased revenue which, by default, benefits everyone’s wallets.

A trending technology is the use of bots in customer service. While bots can certainly help companies manage communications faster, sometimes they fail to provide the correct information and consumers just stop communicating with them, pick up the phone and overload call center phone lines.

Have you ever tried to ask Amazon’s Alexa for information, or to complete a task, just to have it misunderstand you? The same thing happens with bots. When seeking information, customers quickly become frustrated if the bot doesn’t give correct answers, or they end up arguing with a technology that is supposed to make the buying (or information getting) process easier.

However, bots have proven one thing – they are efficient. So efficient, in fact, that they are ruining Christmas for a lot of consumers. A recent article in The New York Times reports that efficient scalpers and resellers are using bots to snatch up in-demand toys faster than any human could ever click and submit, as well as “hot” theatre tickets for shows including Hamilton. In fact, in one case, a scalper purchased 1,000 tickets to an U2 concert in less than a minute.

While bots helped make this nefarious and unscrupulous activity possible, and caused many consumers to miss out on these tickets for Holiday gifts, the one thing this illustrate is just how efficient bots are at accomplishing a fixed task. Given the right programming, bots can make a business incredibly efficient. Think about how long it would take you to purchase 1,000 tickets to ANYTHING – especially when there are ticket limits. The mere activity of searching for tickets, adding them to a shopping cart and going through the checkout process can take anywhere from 5-15 minutes, depending on how fast you can type.

While this example did leave a string of upset people who missed out on buying something, it also proves that bots aren’t going away. In fact, bots are increasingly used by businesses to lessen workloads, increase customer service times and to allow consumers to gather information quickly, without having to call into customer service, tackle a phone tree and wait on hold.

Resellers and scalpers have already figured out how to take advantage of bots for their own profit and OEMS and dealerships are quickly figuring out how to do the same – but in a much more beneficial way for the customer. While chatbots, including Siri and Alexa, are designed to answer questions on a universal level, auto industry-specific chatbots are designed for specific interactions.

Ask Alexa, “What is the warranty on a 2012 Jeep Wrangler?” and she’ll respond with “Sorry. I can’t find the answer to the question I heard.” (Go ahead, try it.) However, a chatbot tailored for that specific purpose, fed knowledge that’s appropriate for questions about its industry, (e.g. various basic warranty issues) would be able to answer this with ease.

Here’s an example that could happen before long:

Customer to service advisor: How do I transfer the warranty on my CPO vehicle that I just sold?

Augmented-Intelligence Assistant to service advisor: To transfer your warranty go to this link and fill out the transfer agreement

Service advisor to customer: Dear Mr. Nath: To transfer your warranty go to this link and fill out the transfer agreement, and please give the new owner my direct dial # (310) 310-3100.

Normally, the service advisor would have to login to the manufacturer portal, search for this process, compose their own message, copy/paste the links, and then send it out to the customer, a process that could take as much as 10 minutes. With the chatbot-assisted model it takes a mere 5 seconds.

Consumers want information when they want it without having to jump through hoops. Consider this reality as you analyze just how effective (or ineffective) your communication is with your customers. Are you providing the right experience and reeling them in, or simply driving them away due to a lack of fast and efficient customer interaction?

You might just find that implementing procedures and/or new technology which offers faster and more efficient communication delights your customers while increasing your productivity and profits -- no more Grinch stealing your future profits!

For some people, it’s family. For others, it’s pets. Others will maintain it’s their career, and some will point to their favorite pastime. Regardless of what anyone chooses, there is a common denominator used to keep up with their passion -- one that has become the center of the Universe for many people -- and that is a smart phone. 

Have you ever watched your customers in the waiting area? I’ll bet most are head down, engrossed in something on their smartphone! Smartphones have become so integrated into our lives that they serve as our primary communication tool -- our calendar, web browser, email provider, and, in many cases, our entertainment center.   

Why? Because as they have become smarter and more powerful, we can now consolidate many things into one portable, pocket-sized piece of technology. And, all is wonderful.   

Until it isn’t.   

Today’s consumers have become used to the simplicity and efficiency technology enables. But, there are always those who make using our phones annoying!   

I once called a dealership and was forced to listen to a 90-second welcome message, (yes really, over one and half minutes) extolling all their virtues and reasons why I should buy or service my vehicle there. There was no way out. I was trapped. And didn’t like it! 

I’m amazed that anyone could sit and listen to that without being annoyed. It would be interesting to discover just how many potential customers simply hang up and move on to the next dealership… the one that answers the phone. I’m sure many consumers just keep pressing 0 to get to an operator and when they cannot, they hang up – that’s business walking out the door just because a message that is supposed to attract customers in fact drives them away. 

When I call Google for support, the phone is answered immediately -- there is no welcoming intro but rather they immediately ask where I need to go. Say, “Technical support” and your call is transferred. Boom! 

In this era of “NOW!” efficiency, Google walks the walk. Ever wonder why Google’s home page is pretty much blank, with just a search bar? Google decision makers know that people aren’t visiting Google’s home page to be sold something, they are there to initiate a search query… and Google doesn’t get in your way, or try to hold you hostage by distracting you. 

Start introducing friction through insane phone trees, or force them to listen to long-winded recordings before they can act, and you may find they choose not to communicate with you.   

Don’t try and force your message on customers trying to communicate with you. Keep it short, keep it simple! 

Are your employees communicating well at your dealership? At most of the dealerships I have visited they are not! 

I see far too many stores that still utilize walkie-talkies or paging systems and while this may seem like a good idea, in my mind it is a “spray and pray” tactic.  Often you will find advisors walking around with their headsets dangling, until someone who has just heard a page says - “Jack, Steve wants to know if the lady has okayed the parts.”  Such interactions completely defeat the purpose of the instant communications. They wonder why their CSI is poor; why staff are never on the same page. 

Internal dealership communication is hugely important. When you seamlessly connect all staff via a desktop or mobile app, CSI and gross immediately increases, along with dealership morale. 

Dealerships have so many communication methods – each employee having a preference – that most fail to communicate efficiently. Think about it. The sales manager pages salespeople to the sales desk. The service advisors run around looking for a specific technician to answer some questions. The business office emails the F&I manager from the office right next door. The general manager receives text messages from the sales desk. You get my point. 

While these certainly are communications, they are happening on such a random, disjointed level that confusion sets in and customers pay the price. How many times a day do you need answers NOW?  Instead I bet you’ve had to put a customer on hold to go search for Joe to answer a question, just to find that Joe is off property at lunch. Now what? This isn’t just a lack of communication – it’s a CSI killer.  

Want to improve CSI? It’s simple: Ensure your entire staff has a standardized process of efficient communication channels, allowing everyone to be on the same page and get questions answered quickly. In addition, be sure to have a record of those communications for future reference. 

Many things are going on at a dealership at any point in time, all of which affect a customer in some way. Sometimes that customer is at the dealership, sometimes they aren’t. Either way, there are plenty of instances where acquiring information quickly can make or break a customer experience. Geographical challenges due to dealership layout can also exacerbate this disconnect, acting as a further roadblock to effective communication. 

If your dealership lacks a centralized communication tool that seamlessly connects all staff via a desktop or mobile app, you will be left wondering why it takes so long to get answers, assist customers and accomplish simple tasks. It gets even more frustrating when that poorly serviced customer takes it out on your dealership with a negative CSI survey. 

Get rid of email clutter and those awful loud speaker pages in your dealership. Instead, implement a communication method that unites your staff and creates more efficient conversations.  

You’ll find the entire staff more productive because they are no longer forced to hunt down answers and can continue working. In addition, morale will greatly improve, and your customers will be happier - which will take your CSI scores to the next level.