Shift Magazine - February 2020 - 12

Power Your Automotive
Ecosystem with a
Connected Digital
Strategy
Marianne Tappy

Chris Hodges

marianne.tappy@autodatasolutions.com

chris.hodges@jdpa.com

SVP of Digital Strategy
Autodata Solutions

VP of Customer Experience Solutions
J.D. Power

Today's car shoppers are demanding an Amazon-like experience. Frictionless shopping for
everything they buy - regardless of value - is what consumers have come to expect, and they are
demanding the automotive industry deliver the same.
A successful digital retail program is not just about
improving or expanding a dealer's website. It's about
meshing the wants and needs of three core groups:
OEMs, dealers, and of course, the end consumer. It's
about identifying the car shopper's journey and creating
a seamless experience online, offline and everywhere in
between.
Luckily, not all is lost. Integrated digital retail is still young in
the industry, and now is the time to hop on board. Setting
up a truly integrated shopping experience takes time and
thought. By embracing a digital strategy today, you still
have the time to perfect your approach before your
competitors can.
Here are a few of the challenges to consider as you set
up, or improve upon, your integrated digital strategy.
It's like the Wild West out there for dealers
There are simply too many choices. Knocking on
dealers' doors 50 times a day, providers pitch website
improvements, ecommerce platforms, sales automation,
social media management, video marketing and data
analysis. They all claim to be experts and promise dealer
success.
It's exhausting. How can dealers possibly wade through
all the vendors when they have the more immediate and
important job of selling vehicles? It's no wonder that

dealers and their OEMs are unsure about which solutions
will work best in partnership with their own familiar
processes.
Forecasts predict dealer digital spend will consume 74%
of their budgets by 2023. This amounts to a significant
amount of money that should be used efficiently.
There's a disconnect between OEMs and dealers
It's time to find a universal language. As OEMs and
dealers get a handle on their digital options, contradictory
efforts have become an issue. As both parties get a handle
on their digital options, contradictory efforts have become
an issue.

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While dealers are overwhelmed by choice throughout the
vast vendor offerings, they also don't want to be
pigeonholed into digital programs from OEMs that offer
only a single solution. It's not a one-size-fits-all industry,
and dealers want their choice of the most innovative
solutions, already vetted and ready to go, from the
expansive digital landscape.

Offering dealers transparent and versatile options gives
them consistency yet the choice they desire and removes
contradictory spend. More importantly, it frees up dealers
to do what they do best - sell vehicles and manage their
dealerships.

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Sources: www.insideradio.com/free/borrell-auto-industry-continues-to-radically-reshape-marketing/article_e32cec08-d045-11e8-bad9-7b55b06613f5.html & www.coxautoinc.com/market-insights/2019-car-buyer-journey-study

Let
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con
say
than

http://go.autodatasolutions.com http://www.insideradio.com/free/borrell-auto-industry-continues-to-radically-reshape-marketing/article_e32cec08-d045-11e8-bad9-7b55b06613f5.html http://www.coxautoinc.com/market-insights/2019-car-buyer-journey-study

Shift Magazine - February 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Shift Magazine - February 2020