Digital Dealer - February 2018 - 45

BEYOND HELPING DEALERS MINIMIZE, IF NOT REVERSE, THE TREND OF
LOSING $406 PER NEW VEHICLE RETAILED, THESE METRICS WILL HELP YOU
CREATE UPWARD MOMENTUM IN NEW VEHICLES AND BEYOND.
successfully in today's
more efficient and hyper-competitive market.
With the New Year
underway, it's a good time
to think about how we can
best position ourselves
for better success in the
months ahead. Here are
three new vehicle metrics
that will be critical towards
your success in 2018 and
beyond.
PERCENTAGE OF
FAST- MOVERS BY
MODEL - The easiest

way to turn your inventory
faster is by stocking the
fastest turning model/
trim/color combinations.
For example, a Chevrolet
dealer should understand
that a white Chevy Malibu

ROI for online advertising.
The benchmark: Aim for
maintaining 65 percent of
your inventory with lower
market days' supply than
the model line average.
PRICE TO MARKET
RANK - It's not uncom-

mon for dealers to brush
off the merits of market-based pricing in new
vehicles. Dealers will say,
"I don't want to get caught
up in the race to the bottom. I'm just pricing at full
MSRP less rebate." Unfortunately, today's shoppers
see it differently. They
expect the right car and
the right price, or you lose
the opportunity for their
business. Progressive
dealers use their inven-

THE EASIEST WAY TO TURN YOUR
INVENTORY FASTER IS BY STOCKING
THE FASTEST TURNING MODEL/TRIM/
COLOR COMBINATIONS.
1LT turns 4x faster than a
Blue 1LT. This laser focus
on fast movers in each
model line-when you
place an order or make
a dealer trade-is a big
step towards minimizing
holding costs and the
extreme discounting that's
required to move the
distressed merchandise.
Plus, there's another benefit: Fast movers attract
five times more attention/
interest from online shoppers, which drives higher

tory situation and market
insight to drive pricing
decisions. The approach:
Given the vehicle's market
days' supply and inventory
age, where does the vehicle deserve to be priced
relative to competing
units? For example, if you
are the only dealer in the
market with a particular
model/trim/color combination that has demand, the
vehicle doesn't need to be
priced $1,000 below the
next lowest priced vehicle

in the market. Conversely,
if there is a 220 market
days' supply on a particular model/trim/color combination, you better not be
priced $1,000 higher than
the market average price.
VDP ENGAGEMENT
- Vehicle Details Page

minimize, if not reverse,
the trend of losing $406
per new vehicle retailed,
these metrics will help
you create upward
momentum in new vehicles and beyond. Your
vehicles sell faster, your
inventory turns quicker,

IT'S NOT UNCOMMON FOR DEALERS
TO BRUSH OFF THE MERITS OF
MARKET-BASED PRICING IN
NEW VEHICLES.
views still matter. But,
more and more, the clicks
consumers make on the
VDP itself offer a higher
correlation to the vehicle's
eventual sale. In the coming months, dealers will
have greater opportunity
to better understand specific engagements-clicks
on photos, video views,
checking availability, calculating payments-that
indicate genuine interest
in a vehicle, and whether
it's growing or staying the
same. A first step: Assess
how well your current vehicle pricing/re-pricing and
customer engagement
strategies account for
VDP views and activity.
They say hitting "Rock
Bottom" is a wake-up call
that something you're
doing is not working. Perhaps the best part is you
can only go up once you
hit the bottom.
Beyond helping dealers

and you provide your F&I
and service departments
more opportunities for
business.
I call it the "wheel of
fortune," and the more it
spins, the better off you'll
be irrespective of market
conditions in the year
ahead.
BRIAN FINKELMEYER
is the Director of Business
Development for Conquest
at vAuto. In this role, he is
responsible for all aspects of
vAuto's New Car business.
Prior to vAuto, Brian spent
18 years with Nissan North
America in a variety of sales
leadership positions. He
is a routine presenter and
author for various automotive
trade publications. His topics
focus on the importance
of increasing new vehicle
inventory turn by having
the proper inventory mix,
strategically pricing based on
age and supply, and insights
on maximizing effectiveness
of dealers marketing
investment. EMAIL: Brian.
Finkelmeyer@vauto.com

D I G I TA L D E A L E R . C O M

FEBRUARY 2018

45
http://www.DIGITALDEALER.COM
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Digital Dealer - February 2018
