Automotive News Canada - December 2023 - S11

BEST PRACTICES 2023
11
is right under dealers' noses
a month, Williams said. Yet
that's less than a third of the
dealership's sales volume.
" So, it shows you some
really unique opportunities
to build, " Williams said. " OK,
now we need to put a plan in
place because our portfolio
of customers ... shouldn't it
be a recurring source of business
full of deals every single
month that we can literally
put in the bank? "
Mining that loyal client
base is just as important, if
not more, than securing conquest
business, said Sean
Harms, vice-president of
sales and marketing operations
at Capital/Cornerstone
Auto Group, based in
Saskatchewan.
" Us as dealers have to
work on loyalty more and
spend more on investing
in loyalty, " he said. Capital
Auto Group operates 14
dealerships - three in
California, two in Winnipeg,
one each in Calgary and
Edmonton and seven in
Regina - as well as a collision
centre and a glass outlet.
Norm Hébert, president
of Quebec's Groupe Park
Avenue said his group has
spent $500,000 to $750,000
developing customer relationship
management (CRM)
software to serve its 16 dealerships.
" Our
goal is how can we
build something that's on
top of all those [individual]
systems that's brand-agnostic,
that's agnostic to all the
systems, that we can then
start to mine and develop, "
he said. " It's extremely painful,
but we're at a place now
where we say, 'OK, we actually
know who our customers
are and who are the ones
that drive value.' "
Volkswagen Canada has
been experimenting with
email campaigns to its customer
base to see which
responds to which promotions,
Rajasingam said. That
work is under way, but the
challenge, he said, is to
shift that information
down to the dealer network.
" If
you think of the
value of [customer lifetime
value], if you had that
value from the manufacturer,
would you do things differently
on the sales floor? "
Rajasingam said. " I think
that's the opportunity we
have. We are not there yet,
but we've also invested
heavily in calculating this
highly complicated ambition. "
-ANC
The audience of the Automotive News Canada Retail Forum heard that mining a loyal client
base is just as important, if not more important, than securing conquest business.
PHOTO: GIANCARLO PAWELEC
1981 to 1996, with current age ranges of
about 27 to 42.
Interacting with customers through
an app " has never been faster, more
comfortable and cost-efficient. "
AWIN customers download the app
from the App Store via a dealership
website, said della Busa, adding that
Mobile Dealer clients pay a monthly
subscription fee of $375 to $575 per
dealership, depending on the size of
the group. Such costs are easily offset
by the ability to reduce other marketing
costs, della Busa said.
Clients have been known to generate
10-30 leads per month, della Busa
said.
Some dealers were skeptical that
prospective buyers would install the
app, he said. Some buyers won't use it,
but della Busa expects most will.
In the first week after AWIN
announced the app on Oct. 11, there
were 1,000 downloads. The number is
expected to grow substantially over
time, della Busa said.
Buyers " download the app because
they're in the market for a vehicle, "
he said. " It's really a one-stop shop for
everything that starts with AWIN. "
Because clients and prospects voluntarily
download the app, features
such as push notifications comply
with Canada's anti-spam legislation,
he said.
Nadine Barhouche, marketing
manager with AWIN, said the group
chose Mobile Dealer in part because it
was the only app that could integrate
across the company's dealerships.
Buyers can access information on any
cars in the group's inventory.
" It's very focused on the consumer, "
Barhouche said.
The first phase for AWIN is to get
customers and prospective customers
to use the app and not just download it.
Critical elements of the second
phase have not been finalized but will
include leveraging the platform to
send push notifications, Barhouche
said.
To ensure a local dealer retains a
competitive edge, his company does
not sell the app to competitors in the
same geographic area, della Busa said.
- ANC
Automotive News Canada - December 2023

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