Data in the car dealership as the key to success

In times of digitalisation, car dealerships and car manufacturers live on one thing above all: their customers' data.
Nothing provides more comprehensive information about the needs and motives of customers in terms of their willingness to buy. At the same time, all information provides insight into what makes the decision to buy more favourable.
Especially in the used car business, the collection and processing of information and facts can be decisive in determining whether new vehicles or accessories can be sold to the customer at a profit in the future.
Of course, information processing means effort and time, especially at the beginning, but with the right tips on how to sensibly digitalize the value chain in the used car trade, collecting the valuable information quickly pays off. 

Digitisation and the value of data

The facts and figures determine our lives today. Collected information determines whether customers are granted credit and it also determines which products suit customers and their willingness to buy. Everything we know and every customer action is valuable information that influences our decisions and in some ways has a major impact on our quality of life. Experts like Peter Sondergaard of the Gartner Group make a clear thesis about the importance of information and details and describe it as the oil of the 21st century.
The quality of information does indeed determine the performance of our combustion engine, another metaphor Sondergaard uses to describe the Big Data phenomenon.
And he is right, because it is not for nothing that Google, Facebook and Amazon are so successful because of their databases! 

• But what about the information collected at the car dealership?
• Do you carry out regular data analysis?
• Are you making sufficient turnover and profit - or could it be a little more?

With the right car dealership software this is possible!

Because one thing is clear:

If the car trade wants to help shape digitisation, the existing information must be digitised and structured. This is the only way to make it valuable information for marketing and further strategic planning. 

And this applies not only to the new car trade, but even more so to the used car trade. 

The right software for digital data acquisition in the car dealership

A digital tool is recommended for recording all customer-relevant information. This is used to record all data on the vehicle (vehicle management or vehicle management software), the customers and the business relationship. The data recording begins at the point in time when the customer receives an individualised offer and wishes to make a trade-in.

On the one hand, this makes it easier to obtain a good overview of upcoming purchase processes and, at the same time, provides a good overview of the vehicles still available. In addition, quantitative and qualitative parameters help to make sound decisions and initiate processes. 

Also, with the right data processing, the separation of B2B and B2C customers can be better designed. Inappropriate trade-ins or ineffective processes can be quickly identified and with just a few clicks, based on the available information, you can run evaluations and review, price and publish processes.

The databases can be networked so that they also provide an excellent overview of trade-ins and sales across a network of branches or dealers.
In the future, solid used car transactions and the management of the various procedures will only be possible through data-driven processes. It is therefore worth investing in an inventory management system as soon as possible, which will quickly pay for itself through the digitalised market. 

Big Data versus Good Data - with high data quality to more revenue 

Estimates and imprecision can quickly become very expensive. Many car dealerships still enter all details of vehicles and customers manually into systems. Often there is a lack of central storage locations and an interface to which the various employees and sales staff have access. These are exactly the decisive parameters that summarize the collected facts and information about the vehicle in a structured way and make it available in a transparent way. Thus, all details, soft and hard factors, but also photos, vehicle condition and equipment can be archived and retrieved very well. This increases recognition and also ensures a uniform appearance of all advertisements. This is exactly what pays off quickly when selling and offering on the Internet. 

The right tool captures VINs (chassis numbers) in seconds and provides the vehicle data via the vehicle identification number. With data validation, free text fields become unnecessary and offers can be compared much better.

The result: international coverage, transparent and reliable vehicle data and a uniform and consistent presence on the network with significantly better sales and earnings. 

Useful knowledge thanks to precise data evaluation

The data analysis provides more efficiency and drives your sales engine. The pre-captured information and an analysis generates usable data sets that provide direct information about the nature or the sales process. In the used car trade this is optimal and provides more security and speed - for both the seller and the customer!

In addition, your data records are fed with all activities and provide valuable information about customer segments, profitable vehicle segments and purchasing processes. You can set up a benchmark and thus become even more successful.
In addition, you can always see at a glance where you still have potential for optimization. This can be in the trade-in, the purchasing process duration or the margin. The software can always be expanded and can also generate further data that is valuable for you and your trade. 

Why software in a car dealership is promising

These days, it's all about Big Data. These are the people who make the money and decide on success. This makes it all the more important to use this business pillar efficiently and to digitalise the files that are already available in the car dealership. In a short time you will have important market information, which in turn will help you as a valuable basis for further marketing activities and your strategic orientation. 

The software is adapted to your car dealership and is available with an interface to your programs, platforms and dealer management systems. In this way, information can be quickly visualized and transparently exchanged across large parts of the sales process. Important information is not lost on a desktop or in a data archive, but is always available and useful to further individualise and optimise your sales or trade-in process. 

It is not only the quantity of information that counts, but also the quality, which helps you to build up good communication with your customer in addition to the right facts and figures. This increases customer satisfaction and forms a superior assortment for customer retention. Thus the customer is ready to make use of your service again in the future and trusts in your competence, with which you can quickly distinguish and differentiate yourself from the competition!

If you would like to find out more about the potential of your car dealership, book a non-binding strategy discussion here or contact us in a live chat or by phone at +49-561-789845-0.