We all understand the vital importance of selling add on products to the bottom line of dealer groups. We also know that it can be a bit of a juggling act for the sales teams to sell the car, the finance, the GAP, the Paint and Fabric and so it goes on.
AutoComms, through its order to delivery platform AutoBuzz, has identified that there are a huge number of buyers who are waiting for delivery of their car that are still in the market for these products.
In fact, almost half (48.7%) of the 1,000 car buyers in a six-month period expressed a clear interest in additional products after the car had been ordered. This represents a huge upsell opportunity for retailers to improve their add on penetration and generate significant additional profit.
Mind the GAP... and the Paint and Fabric
The team at AutoComms Solutions is able to track buyer activity on the AutoBuzz platform to see which products and services they’re specifically looking at after they’ve ordered their new or used car. This insight shows that it’s possible to improve penetration on the highly profitable GAP and Paint and Fabric products given that over 10% of all buyers regularly looked at these products on their personalised WelcomeHub or microsite that is sent to them while they wait between order and handover.
The platform automatically alerts the sales team to this activity so they can contact them to convert what are now hot prospects for these products into sales.
Service plan opportunities are vital to aftersales retention
Dealer groups will also be encouraged by the fact that this newly published research shows that just under 20% of all buyers who are waiting for their car post order are actively interested in service plans, with multiple page visits being made.
Given the pressure on overhead absorption, being able to individually identify customers who are looking to commit to their servicing and maintenance at the retailer will be a vital tool to drive up aftersales loyalty and contribution.
Accessories are a key driver of add on engagement
Accessories are the most popular products that customers engage with on their individual WelcomeHub delivered by the AutoBuzz platform, with 37% of buyers actively researching and engaging with the likes of dashcams, boot liners and roof bars.
While retailers will recognise that the profits from these products are not as strong as GAP, Paint and Fabric and Service Plans, by helping customers to personalise their cars it will drive up their engagement with both the car and the retailer, with the likely improvements in Customer Satisfaction Ratings.
It will also help to reach the manufacturers’ parts purchase targets, which is vitally important to the brands.
Timing is everything
Ingram Sanders, co-founder of AutoComms Solutions, explains how the research highlights that it’s at the early stage of the order to delivery process that customers are most likely to be excited about their new purchase and to buy additional products or services. It’s a case of “make or break” by getting in early using the system alerts on customer activity.
“We can see that engagement with the communication that AutoBuzz delivers to customers once they reach the order to handover stage of the buying journey tends to be at its peak towards the start. More than 86% of customers engage in the first email post-order, 55% of those customers immediately accessing more information on products and services via the AutoBuzz platform,” he says.
So, by having this unique insight for the first time via the AutoBuzz platform, retailers can direct their sales teams to exactly the right customers for add on products and services.
“For individual businesses that have integrated with the platform, this means well-informed, more satisfied and higher value customers who are adding more products and services to their new order. For AutoComms Solutions and the wider retail automotive industry, it means genuine, unique and proprietary data insight into customer behaviour in this crucial stage of the car-buying journey,” adds Sanders.
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AutoBuzz automates communication to each and every customer, keeps them excited about the prospect of a new vehicle and drives up revenue by presenting profitable products and services at the right time while the customer waits.
Get in touch today to arrange a demo and find out how it would work for your automotive retail business.
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