There is no doubt those waiting times have reduced over the past few months but what retailers have been left with is absolute clarity on just how critical this stage is for the customer and that without robust processes in place, it can take just a few moments for all the sales team efforts to dissolve.

It is, in many cases, seen as something of a waiting game where buyers must accept the order is being processed and there is little else that can be done.

Step in, AutoBuzz...  

AutoBuzz is the automated communications platform that has been engineered to maximise the opportunity between order and delivery by giving every single new or used car customer a personalised, localised customer experience purely between order and delivery.  

Here’s how the AutoBuzz technology is driving up retailer performance in this too-often-overlooked stage of the car-buying journey:  

1. Increased upsell  

All those profitable products and services that sales teams present to car-buyers at point of sale should be consistently promoted throughout the order to delivery stage, but so often they are not and AutoBuzz has proven that this is a missed opportunity. 

On average 70% of customers are actively engaging with products like paint protection and accessories after they have committed to buying a new car, and a further 20% of those active customers go on to buy.  

In simple terms, if 100 customers are waiting for a car to arrive AutoBuzz will increase the value of 14 simply by presenting the right products at the right time.  

 2. Customer experience: Consistently excellent  

The vast majority of automotive retailers would agree that excellence in customer experience is paramount to business success, and they would also agree that this should be the case all the way through the car-buying journey.  

If this is the case, why leave the order to delivery gap to chance?  

A robust communications process means that every customer gets a personalised and localised WelcomeHub to engage with while they wait for their new or used vehicle to arrive. The communication to customers in this potentially volatile stage should not be left to the discretion of the sales team who are no doubt busy with new enquiries.  

AutoBuzz data shows that those retailers using the system have seen 70% improvements in CX scores which has significant financial implications.  

3. Reduced cancellations  

Would it be useful to know which of your customers are most likely to cancel their order before taking delivery? Now you can as AutoBuzz tracks customer activity between order and delivery and determines which ones are behaving in a way that makes them ‘at risk’ to cancellation.  

Just as AutoBuzz can identify those most likely to buy additional products and flag those customers to sales teams, it is also intelligent enough to mark those who are in a negative position so they can be adequately handled before they cancel.  

More than 90% of cancelled orders are already flagged as at risk by AutoBuzz.  

4. Part-exchange leakage 

There is nothing more frustrating than losing profitable part-exchange vehicles in the order to delivery gap. Customers deciding they will take the sale of their current vehicle elsewhere, often to the online disruptors like webuyanycar.  

AutoBuzz now enables customers to re-value their vehicle via their WelcomeHub in the order to delivery gap and can even alert sales teams when customers look likely to defect.  

Keep those profitable part-exchanges in the deal and spend less time at auctions and other more expensive routes to unearthing used car stock. 

5. Sales team efficiency  

There is no doubt that sales teams are under pressure to return to new enquiries once a new or used car purchase is a ‘confirmed order’. From an efficiency perspective it’s very challenging to continue to give every single customer the same level of care and attention because there just isn’t the time.  

In order to be very efficient and effective, sales team need to get a handle on the customers who are either eager to add more products and services to their order and also those who are most likely to cancel. AutoBuzz triages customers based on their activity levels and then empowers sales teams to use their valuable time in the most effective way.  

In addition, AutoBuzz can help to prompt customers to carry out administrative tasks that are imperative to the smooth delivery of a new or used vehicle, such as insuring a new vehicle ahead of delivery.  

If you want to find out more about how AutoBuzz can start to improve retail performance in the above ways, please get in touch with the team so we can set you up a short pilot to showcase the value.