Digital Dealer
Business Development Centers and the Internet
By Forrest Scott
Without question the Internet and it's effect on the retail automobile industry is on every retailer's mind. Some are worried. Some are not. However, one thing is certain, it has everyone concerned.
As dealers and their managers scramble to adjust and adapt to what appears to be a radical retailing change, the question as to where the BDC fits is certainly an appropriate question. With the Internet growing as it is, I believe the BDC will become increasingly important. Careful and timely management of Internet leads is crucial. To survive in this highly competitive arena your people will need to respond quickly. Whether we like to admit it or not we must realize that the average salesperson does a poor job when it comes to follow-up. While a salesperson on the floor may survive with poor follow-up skills, this is not the case when it comes to Internet leads. To be assured that the Internet leads are being managed properly it would be wise to assign this function to specific individuals who are properly trained and committed to the process. The BDC is an ideal location to house your Internet staff. I recommend you separate the Internet sales staff from the current sales staff. While many of your customers may turn into Internet browsers and ultimately buyers, not all of your customers will.
The purpose of locating the Internet staff in the BDC is control. We must have total control over the process. Tolerating anything less can only lead to lost Internet sales. Equally important is the fact that the BDC should be looking to utilize the Internet for a variety of its communication needs. The reason: it's free. When properly run, the BDC is capturing e-mail addresses for everyone the dealership comes in contact with. Naturally everyone does not have an e-mail address. However, when they do, you no longer have to pay to communicate with them. As an example of this benefit, imagine the next time you do a direct mail promotion, if you have e-mail addresses for 50% of your database you could cut your bill in half. Dealerships are spending thousands of dollars communicating with their customers and prospects. How much of this will you or could you save?
I have visited many dealerships where the BDC (if they have one) and the Internet staff are not in the same area. As a result they have experienced much of the same frustrations experienced on the sales floor. Many managers have told me of incidents where customers have stated that they requested information over the Internet from the dealership with little or no response. Consider the fact that the Internet can generate a significant amount leads and it's easy to see why it can be difficult for a sales manager to effectively oversee this function. Also, what happens to the information obtained from these leads? Some of the Internet leads are from people who are truly too far from your store, and in some cases the lead turns out to be from a child. In these cases, we are not concerned with capturing data. However, most of the leads are from good people who could someday be your customer. With this in mind, wouldn't it be wise to retain this data in the BDC for future follow-up?
An example of how this could work for you: I have a client who does retain this data, as well as data regarding almost every person who enters the dealership (nobody's perfect). Recently, their manufacturer came out with a special program. After scanning the data we determined that there were approximately 275 potential customers. Non-buyers who had either visited the dealership, called the dealership or Internet leads relative to the product that the manufacturer announced the program for. The dealership launched the BDC on a mission to contact every one of them, either by phone, e-mail or both if possible. In the first day the BDC made over 20 appointments. The goal was to set 10 percent. That was accomplished in less than a day and a half. Why? The answer is actually simple. The dealership contacted people who would have purchased had the deal been sweeter. When the manufacturer came up with the program, it was all the dealership needed to get them back. What is so unique about this? What is unique is that the dealer had the data, and was able to retrieve it in a timely fashion. Instead of hoping the customer would read about the program, get interested again and come back to their store, the dealer took a proactive approach and woke the customer up. The payoff was great. Please note, we didn't go to strangers. We went to real people on whom we kept what has turned out to be extremely valuable data. While this is not my first experience with this type of marketing, it was for this client. It's fun to see the minds go to work when they realize the wealth of information they now have and the fact that they can get at it. More importantly, are you ready to compete against a dealer who is capable of this type of marketing? It was free for them. What would it cost you to get 20 to 25 deals? By the time this dealer's competition could advertise this program and get the message out, these customers will be sold.
The BDC and the Internet can work extremely well together. In fact the goal is to find them on the Net, communicate with them on the net and convert them from shoppers on the net to loyal customers by seeing the value of dealing with a dealership that is concerned with building and maintaining long term relationships.
Forrest Scott is president of Dynamic Marketing Strategies Inc.fscott@dealeronline.com
