Automotive News Canada - November 2023 - 18

18
* NOVEMBER 2023
TORONTO 2023 RETAIL FORUM
OCT. 23
PANELS 1 OMNICHANNEL MARKETING 2 MAXIMIZING CUSTOMER LIFETIME VALUE
Data struggle
Seeking solutions to
a patchwork quilt of
systems preventing
dealers from providing
the best customer
experience possible
By KELLY TAYLOR
WINNIPEG CORRESPONDENT
OMNICHANNEL MARKETING IS
being hampered by a patchwork
of " archaic " systems that fail to
inform dealers of a potential client's
online experience, according
to panelists at the Automotive News
Canada Retail Forum.
HOST
Jeff
Melnychuk
Editor-in-chief
Omnichannel refers
to technology and processes
aimed at providing
a seamless buying
experience for consumers
whether they shop
online, in-store or both.
Automaker websites
do a good job of
presenting vehicles
but fall down when
presenting an online shopper's
information to a dealer, said Vicki
Poponi, the automotive vice-president
and industry adviser for the
global customer-relations software
provider Salesforce Inc.
She gave an example of a customer
spending time on an automaker's
website specifying the trim
level, colour and options of a vehicle.
Upon entering contact information,
the site generates a lead to
send to a nearby dealership.
" Well, then we just send the [contact
info] to the poor dealer, and
then the dealer [says] 'Hello, Joe
Smith, how can I help you?' instead
that information.
SESSION 1
Omnichannel marketing
" They're just super-archaic in
terms of what's available and their
ability to extract this information
in a meaningful way, " Arena said.
" I think it's way behind every other
industry. "
Laura
Kutlesa
Director of
customer
experience,
Nissan Canada
Vicki Poponi
Vice-president,
industry adviser,
automotive,
Salesforce Inc.
Laura Kutlesa, recently named
director of customer experience for
Nissan Canada, blamed inertia in
adopting software packages.
" I would say all of us would do
things slightly differently than we
do today, because we're constricted
to legacy systems that we're trying
to maximize, and we end up
just plugging new things in to try
to maximize that legacy platform
rather than build something from
the ground up, " she said.
" The challenge we all face ... is to
access that data in an efficient way
while also ensuring that it's clean
so we can deliver on that experience. "
At
the time of the panel discussion,
Kutlesa was senior manager
of customer journey for Nissan
Canada. Her promotion took effect
Nov. 1.
Linda Frey
Vice-president
of marketing,
Policaro Group
Robert Arena
CFO, PAG Direct
Auto Group
of [getting] all this rich information
that's coming along from what the
customer was looking at... that the
OEM can transfer to the dealership
. . . and not drop the ball. "
Robert Arena, CFO of PAG
Direct Auto Group, which operates
five dealerships and a collision centre
in the Greater Toronto Area,
blamed dealership management
systems (DMS) for failing to catch
Linda Frey, vice-president of
marketing for Policaro Group, a
collection of 47 luxury dealerships
in the Greater Toronto Area, said
the solution is employing customer
relations and DMSs with " open
APIs, " or application programming
interfaces, that allow different software
systems to communicate with
each other.
" Certain DMS systems won't
have open APIs, so it's only certain
brands or other systems that can
connect to them, " Frey said. " So,
for example, you could have one
CRM [customer relationship management],
which is one platform,
and your DMS, which is another
platform, and neither are talking to
each other. "
The possibilities to improve
overall dealership performance are
significant. Frey said. If someone
bought a new vehicle, for example,
did they also buy winter tires?
" You have to look at two different
systems to get that, " Frey said.
" You can do that, and we get it, but
it's not efficient. "
Data must be able to be shared across the various systems for
dealerships to be effective at omnichannel marketing, said panelists
at the Automotive News Canada Retail Forum. That's being hampered
by legacy software. PHOTO: GIANCARLO PAWELEC
Arena, the " finance guy, who
looks at return on investment, "
said that while integrated solutions
might be costly, they can affect
returns throughout the dealership,
from vehicle acquisitions to selling
parts and accessories.
" I can guarantee you that
nobody's leveraging omnichannel
or AI or data to push your parts
team to maybe move your tire season
a little earlier into October, " he
said.
" This is what makes us money. "
- ANC
KEYNOTE
ADDRESS
Joe McCabe
CEO,
AutoForecast
Solutions
McCabe: New brands from China might know their
home markets well, but their lack of experience in
North America creates opportunities for dealers willing
to provide local expertise. PHOTO: GIANCARLO PAWELEC
New brands from China
present opportunities
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
BYD, which is already
the highest-volume producer
of new-energy vehicles in
the world, is likely to lead
the charge among China
brands aiming to put down
roots, McCabe said. He
pointed to 77,000 BYD vehicles
sold in Mexico last year
and expectations that the
company will exceed that
in 2023.
Chery, SAIC and Geely
Auto, among others, could
follow close behind. Each
automaker will have its
own unique approach
to inching into North
America, McCabe said, but
they are likely to lean on
either Mexico, California
or Canada to first find their
footing.
But while each new
entrant probably knows
its home market well, the
lack of experience in North
America creates opportunities
for dealers able
and willing to deliver local
expertise.
Automakers in China are
going to " need their hand
held through the entire lifecycle "
and a dealer acting
as " their champion " is key
to succeeding, McCabe said.
Dealers unwilling to step in
early could end up on the
outside looking in.
The new brands are
" going to get into a market
- whether with you or
your competition. " -ANC
KEY PLAYERS FROM CHINA
BYD Auto
* Produces the most electric
vehicles in the world,
outpacing Tesla
* Backed by American
investor Warren Buffett
* Builds the Toyota bZ4X EV
* Expanding into Europe
Geely Auto
* Owns Volvo Cars,
Polestar, Lotus
* Has a stake in Daimler
and Aston Martin
* Launched the Jiyue 01 in
China in October, its first
Chery Auto
by sales volume in 2022
self-driving EV
* China's No. 8 automaker
* Plans to launch SUV
models from three car
brands in Europe over the
next two years and could
decide on an assembly
plant in Europe as soon
as 2024
* Plans a mixture of electric,
fossil-fuel and plug-in
hybrids
SAIC Motor
* Owns U.K.-based MG
Motor
* Has expanded MG's distribution
network to sell
electric vehicles in Europe
through imports
* Partnered with
Volkswagen Group to produce
and sell ICE and
EVs in China
EVs in China
SOURCE: AUTOFORECAST SOLUTIONS, AUTOMOTIVE NEWS CHINA
Automotive News Canada - November 2023

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