You’d be forgiven for thinking that AutoBuzz, the order to delivery communications platform, was developed during Covid-19 to serve automotive retailers that simply couldn’t cope with the huge lead times that the manufacturers were forcing upon their customers.
In that environment an automated platform that talks to the customer and communicates what they need to do next and keeps them excited about the new car they have recently ordered, is a neat fit.
It was recently reported that Jaguar Land Rover has posted improved sales for the third quarter of 2023, partly owed to better supply levels. And, indeed, much of the anecdotal feedback we get in retailers up and down the country is that supply levels are returning, which is good news for the customer.
There’s no denying it, many of our early adopters saw AutoBuzz as an opportunity to meet a need, fill a gap and solve a problem.
What’s been intriguing is how those at the sharp end of automotive retail have developed their understanding of the technology and what it can offer as those lead times have eased and AutoBuzz has remained in place. In reality, the technology that delivers a dedicated, personalised and bespoke microsite for each and every customer the moment an order is placed, was created to manage all kinds of lead times.
In those moments, AutoBuzz targets the upsell of additional products and services; reduced cancellations; and an improvement in customer experience.
As our technology has proven, the order to delivery gap that has always existed in the car-buying journey is full of opportunity and pitfalls, whether it’s across five days or five months.
It’s natural, we’ve discovered, for customers to be far more engaged with additional products and services in the comfort of their own home than in the retail environment when they are confirming an order. Gap insurance, service plans and accessories topped the popularity chart in 2023 among customers in that new marketplace, order to delivery.
Beyond longer lead times, our unique technology is being leveraged to not just ensure that each and every car buyer gets the same first-class communication between the fragile order and delivery stage, but also to enable sales teams to maximise value of each customer as well as reduce the expensive and laborious cost to sales teams of administrating and communicating with a large number of customers over a period of weeks and months.
In the 2024 retail environment, customers want to be able to customise their vehicles, immerse themselves in video content on in-car tech and engage with content on the car they will soon be driving. This is a revolution of the traditional hopeful customer call with the jarring and inevitable ‘sorry, no news’ update.
Moreover, in 2024 retail automotive will become further surrounded by targets – both externally driven from the manufacturer but also internally. Each stage of the car-buying process will be measured against targets and it’s down to the retailers to ensure they are efficient and agile enough to remain on top of those targets. Importantly, niche technology like AutoBuzz will do more than simply improve performance in the journey, it will also enable leaders within automotive to gain visibility on where their business is performing well and not-so-well against those targets.
Crucially though, it will empower businesses to take positive steps before targets are missed in a pre-emptive, rather than reactive, fashion.
What was once necessary to fill a gap, is now being demanded to meet a need: Customers are demanding information, knowledge and engagement all throughout the car-buying journey – being abandoned after committing to the order will cause customer to vote with their feet.
There’s no doubt that longer lead times shone a bright light on the merits of AutoBuzz.
But, as we look ahead at the target-dominated 2024 landscape, what’s been left behind is a far clearer understanding (with demonstrable evidence) of what this lucrative stage in the process can provide if and when it’s leveraged, maximised and automated in the right way.
Innovation never sleeps at AutoComms. Our multi-award-winning platform, AutoBuzz, is embedded at the most forward-thinking OEMs, dealer groups and partner technologies.
And with the buyer journey becoming ever more complex, we are focussed on identifying new marketplaces where customers feel safe, secure and motivated to add additional value-add products to their package.
To explore how AutoBuzz will enhance your customer's buyer experience, get in touch HERE >>
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