New App speeds up check-in process, virtually eliminates damage claims & increases upsell opportunities

LONG BEACH, California -- March 19, 2018-- --myKaarma, a software company that helps

dealerships communicate better with their customers at every stage of the service process, from check-in through payment, today announced the release of a new app feature that enables simple video walkarounds for auto dealer service departments. The video walkaround app feature is the simplest way to record any damage to a vehicle, speed up the check-in process, virtually eliminate damage claims and increases upsell opportunities.

The app feature is very user-friendly and allows service departments to inspect vehicles in a more natural way. The service advisor opens the app, turns on the video, walks around the vehicle and, when any damage is found, it’s recorded on the spot. The advisor simply taps the screen, the app adds a photo of the damage and pops up a list of tags such as dent, damage, scratch, etc., so the advisor can quickly identify and tag the area of damage for future review. 

The videos and pictures are then uploaded to the cloud and chronologically stitched together, creating a free-flowing video that pauses for three seconds on each picture, allowing the customer to view as desired. Any area of interest is clearly marked with a circle, highlighting the area of damage so it can be clearly viewed.  

The app can also be used by technicians, customized on an individual basis to include labels such as oil leak, battery, alignment, tire damage, etc. According to Ujj Nath, myKaarma Chairman and CEO, dealers are seeing a lot of success in authorizations when these technician videos and sent to customers prior to calling for approval.

“The customer receives a text with a link that opens to a screen where they can view the pictures and videos from the walkaround. These videos help uncover additional revenue through damage inspections and the transparent process builds customer trust and confidence. Our dealers are also enjoying tremendous results by improving the vehicle check-in process with integrated video check-in reports that virtually eliminate damage claims,” said Nath.

For more information, or to schedule a product demonstration visit www.mykaarma.com,  stop by booth 1047 N at the 2018 NADA show in Las Vegas, NV, March 23-25, or click here to schedule an appointment at NADA

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About myKaarma:
myKaarma is the communication and payments platform of choice for the nation’s top automotive manufacturers and groups alike—enabling a consistent high-quality service experience for their brand’s customers. Service departments enjoy an average lift in dollars per repair order (RO) of 37%, a 50% reduction in voicemails left with advisors, a 100% reduction in authorization disputes, a 33% decrease in loaner car days, and an increase in CSI scores.

myKaarma's platform backed by its “crazy good” customer service gives dealers the ability to offer their customers 21st Century technology through digital conversations and smart payment systems. myKaarma was named as an official communications and payments partner for Mercedes-Benz USA.

Do you think retail is changing, or do you believe that continuing to do the same thing will allow you to prosper as you have for decades? Certainly, the auto industry disruptors must be a wake-up call, at the very least. But is it enough of a wake-up call? We’re watching entire industries pretty much go out of business or forced into radical change because of companies that come in and offer consumers better and more convenient experiences. Look at the entertainment industry: Amazon, Netflix, and YouTube are now major production companies that create original content.

This content is winning Oscars and have put all the “classic” content producers into radical change mode as their old business strengths have become weakness. Amazon is such a powerhouse that its foray into the grocery store industry has become a full-on attack, with the acquisition of Whole Foods. Now, it’s even dipping its toes into the banking industry. And we have already seen their experiments with the auto industry; is “Amazon Auto” going to become reality sooner rather than later?

Where does it end and why are they continuously able to accomplish these things? Well, some businesses, especially those that have been around a long-time, get a little too comfortable and complacent in their position - until it’s too late.

This is causing retail chains that were staples not so long ago to shed off some of their retail locations. Rite-Aid just transferred 1,651 stores to pharmaceutical and retail competitor Walgreens. Times are tough in retail and industry disruptors are finding customer experience holes and taking advantage of them with lots of funding.

In fact, it’s such a hot topic that Bloomberg recently came out with a retro video game challenging people to keep a retail shopping mall alive. Want to play it and see how you do? Go ahead right here.

While not impossible to win, it is certainly challenging by all reports. But that’s the point, isn’t it?

The retail industry is experiencing the most fundamental and dramatic change since the industrial revolution. Technology helps just about every area of our lives and consumers are voting with their wallets for convenience and efficiency.

Unless you evolve your dealership alongside these retail giants who are, at the moment, winning the game, you might find yourself obsolete. While the retail automotive industry – especially franchise dealers – has been relatively shielded by franchise laws, that may not always be the case.

It will inevitably be consumers who decide whether the rules stay the same or change. Uber and Lyft are already changing the rules, it won’t matter if franchise laws exist when personal ownership drops off a cliff because it’s cheaper to buy rides than own a vehicle in an urban area.

Check out the ongoing drop in teen driver licenses being issued in this article. From 1996 to 2015 the share of High School seniors with a driver’s license dropped from 85.3% to a record low of 71.5%, and those are statistics from before Uber and Lyft became household names. Lawmakers will listen to their constituents eventually, so even protection by franchise laws will eventually erode.

Listen and act on your customer demands as far as the customer experience, technology and efficiency… or wait until another company comes along that will. The money is flowing in the direction of the disrupters, not the dealers or retail businesses.

And that should be a pretty big red flag for any retail business. Including dealerships.

Artificial Intelligence tool researches & answers questions, ensures advisors instantly know recall work when a customer texts and enables more efficient responses

LONG BEACH, California -- March 13, 2018-- --myKaarma, software that helps dealerships communicate better with their customers at every stage of the service process, right from check-in through to payment, today announced the release of a new Artificial Intelligence (AI) tool, SmartAssist. SmartAssist powered by AI acts as a personal assistant for service advisors, researching and providing answers to customer questions. It also provides information on previous recalls, assists in setting appointments and ensures advisors save time answering questions for the customer. SmartAssist speeds up communication with customers, enables the service advisor to quickly move on to the next customer without missing anything, improves the overall customer experience and service department profitability.

If a customer texts the service advisor to schedule a service appointment, the screen automatically populates with the customer’s VIN number and available appointment times, which can be sent to the customer with a simple click. No need to type a long reply. It will also pull up quick answers to monotonous questions, any outstanding recalls and suggest a reply that can be sent to the customer, saving the advisor time and ensuring they are on top of every opportunity to present context driven answers.

“Wouldn’t it be great if your service advisors never had to click on ten links to find a simple answer? With SmartAssist they can simply concentrate on taking care of the unique needs of their guests, type less, respond more easily, limit the need to do ‘research’ on each vehicle and instantly know what recalls a customer needs whenever they communicate with you,” said Ujj Nath, myKaarma Chairman and CEO.

The myKaarma software runs on mobile phones, desktops, and tablet computers. It has two main features: service customer communication and payment. Both of these products unite text, voice, and email into a simple conversation. All dealership’s phone lines for service are bundled into one phone number, ensuring that communication from the service department is easily identifiable to customers.

With myKaarma, service advisors can send texts—while at their desk—through their mobile phone, including photos and videos of recommendations for the customer to review. It is then a simple process for customers to approve work, and they can even pay their bill through the app. The online payment feature also streamlines customers’ pickup of vehicles after service. In addition, myKaarma helps eliminate all paperwork between advisors and controllers.

All communication is logged within the platform for future reference. When a service advisor is on break and the customer needs to get in contact, myKaarma “follow-me” technology sends the message to the service advisor’s smartphone, allowing them to reply even when not at their desk, while capturing the message in the cloud. Or the service advisor can delegate the message to another service advisor to handle. Instead of struggling to connect through phone tag, the advisor can update and get authorization from the customer in minutes.

When the customer’s vehicle is done, a payment request is sent to that customer through the app with a cash repair invoice, allowing the customer to verify repairs and pay on their smartphone tablet, or PC, without logging into a website.

According to Nath, the addition of SmartAssist makes myKaarma an even more effective tool for auto dealer service departments. “It’s like having a personal assistant research and answer client questions. Easy questions, hard questions, and everything in between,” said Nath.

For more information, or to schedule a product demonstration visit www.mykaarma.com, stop by booth 1047 N at the 2018 NADA show in Las Vegas, NV, March 23-25, or click here to schedule an appointment at NADA

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About myKaarma:

myKaarma is the communication and payments platform of choice for the nation’s top automotive manufacturers and groups alike—enabling a consistent high-quality service
experience for their brand’s customers.

Service departments enjoy an average lift in dollars per repair order (RO) of 37%, a
50% reduction in voicemails left with advisors, a 100% reduction in authorization disputes, a 33% decrease in loaner car days, and an increase in CSI scores.

myKaarma's platform backed by its “crazy good” customer service gives dealers the ability to offer their customers 21st Century technology through digital conversations and smart payment systems. myKaarma was named as an official communications and payments partner for Mercedes-Benz USA.

Does anyone remember when some car dealers didn’t think websites were valuable? It really wasn’t that long ago. Now, every car dealer from the largest to the smallest independent has one.

Even some manufacturers didn’t feel like they “needed” to own their own name on the Internet. Take the epic battle Nissan had with a gentleman who owned a computer company named Nissan Computers. That battle lasted a decade, but you know what happened? Nissan eventually lost and now what remains is an eternal testament to the story and, even after spending millions of dollars, Nissan doesn’t own its own domain. Don’t believe me? Go to Nissan.com, I’ll wait.

Technology has certainly changed consumer behavior. 15 years ago, buyers would physically visit 5.6 dealerships before they became an owner. Today they physically visit 1.2 dealership before buying. Virtual online shopping, vehicle selection, price comparison, dealership comparison, even financing is now the normal process. Customers only need physically visit the dealership to do a final test drive and sign the paperwork to legally complete the sale.

Want another story? A gentleman named Eric Weaver recently penned an article on LinkedIn sharing his frustration about trying to convince clients concerning the importance of the digital transformation. In that article, he shared a story about how in 1999 he spoke to the NADA audience trying to convince dealers about the importance of e-commerce. After many boos, debates and objections from dealers who did NOT want transparency, he ended up talking some of them into the first online test-driving scheduling system.

Some forward-thinking auto dealers are taking chances with new business models, technologies and processes in the early stages of development, such as video email, paperless documents

AI and chatbots and are doing really well with it. But, for the most part, industry experts place auto dealers at least 5 years behind every other retail business in existence in terms of adoption of technology and listening to consumer demands.

The problem is that this hesitation to adopt technology impedes progress and opens the door for industry disruptors. We have only ourselves to blame for disruptors such as TrueCar, Costco Automotive, even CarMax and the fixed price model. New disruptors like Blinker, Fair, and Carvana, are now looking to meet the new customer desires of today.

Had we earlier adopted technologies and processes that make car buying an easier process, there never would have been a pain point and those disruptive companies would not have seen a need. Meaning they probably never would have come into existence, much less raised the financial seeding that they have.

Want some interesting statistics? According to Weaver, 78% of businesses reported that digital transformation will become critical within 2 years, 74% are concerned about new disrupters entering their industry and 10 out of 13 industries believe that digital disruption will affect their industry in the next 12 months.

On the plus side, he shared a McKinsey study which reports that those companies who embrace digital transformation are expected to see increases of over 50% to their bottom line in the next 5 years!

For those dealers playing the “wait and see” game, time is getting short and the consequences of waiting are getting greater. It’s no longer a matter of “if,” but only a matter of “when.”

Embrace technology, recognize its value and you will increase efficiency and better satisfy consumer demand.

One of the most pressing technological and ethical questions across most industries – including automotive – is when Artificial Intelligence (AI) and robots will replace humans. Enter AI, and suddenly everyone thinks of Skynet, from the Terminator!

Certainly, humans are afraid of losing their jobs to robots, which are great at repetitive tasks based on a set of rules and code.  But AI and robots aren’t something we, as a society, haven’t already encountered. In automotive manufacturing robots dominate assembly lines. And, artificial intelligence is making decent inroads at integrating itself into our lives via in-vehicle navigation systems, not to mention voice assistants built into our smartphones and various in-home technology.

The truth is that, while AI and robots may replace some jobs, they will also create new opportunities and careers.

In the early 1900s, John Philip Sousa predicted that the invention of the phonograph would lead to the demise of music.  If we reflect on the impact of the phonograph, it has been wide ranging, such as preserving digital replicas of music that otherwise may have been lost forever. This has allowed music to be popularized beyond the concert halls it was originally played in, even leading to social revolution of the 70s and hip-hop in the 90s.

Ironically, all of this came from an invention created by Edison to get rid of stenography and to make business communications more accurate.  Also, as Clayton Christensen espouses in his book The Innovator's Dilemma , inventions initially target applications that are niche-based, but eventually, as the invention matures, and price-performance and reliability improves, they find large scale use. However, this is hard to predict.  

When AI matures it will be one of the biggest disruptive forces ever unleashed on mankind. And, like every other disruption, will have unpredictable consequences.  This disruption will surely affect the drivers for Uber and Lyft, and governments shall have to play a role in the resettlement.  

That being said, in the end, like the effect of the phonograph, the far-reaching consequences of such disruption will create new industries and new employment that will far outnumber the jobs it takes away.  Unfortunately, the transitory period will be painful, and governments and philanthropists will have to plan a way out for the displaced.  The capitalistic system that we work in will continue to develop this technology because all the incentives by which these companies are measured are enhanced by AI.

Just like “coding” is all the rage right now, in-demand skills will always shift with technology. Robots and AI aren’t the end of society. While they might cost some jobs, they will also create more by necessity.

The key to success isn’t standing around worried about losing a job, but rather determining which skill sets you should consider adapting to our ever-changing world. Just as society has done many times in the past.

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.