The success of your business runs parallel to how well you know and accommodate your customers. Many dealers are losing market share because they haven’t caught on to the shift in customer priorities. What is this shift? According to the research, customers want to buy in a more flexible way. In order to survive, you must understand what that way is and take action accordingly.
So what does the modern customer expect? An omni-channel experience. Customers want to have a personal and flexible experience: be able to ask questions, and buy your product at their convenience, whenever and wherever they are. In fact, 73 percent of customers say experience, the flexibility of any time or place and seamless flow between avenues, is the number one thing they consider when deciding whether to purchase from a company.1
There is no such thing as a linear buying path anymore. Let’s say your customer looks around, goes home and does some research, and then decides to purchase your unit. Great right?! Well actually– instead of easily buying your unit online, at their convenience, because you don’t offer a website checkout, this scenario isn't even possible. You lost a customer because they went with an omni-channel dealership instead. Shoppers are looking for a no pressure, personalized journey: at their time and place, with a frictionless transition from in-store to online and vice versa. If you can’t provide this omni-channel customization, you’ll be left behind. You will lose market share to others who provide it.
The current market conditions no longer leave room for companies to be one or another: You cannot be online or offline, you must be in both places and this combination must be seamlessly integrated.2 If customers can’t buy from you on their terms, they’ll choose a dealership that will let them.
In the dealership world, the demand for omni-channel flow is answered through digital retail and engagement: Meeting the same needs as direct, person-to-person interaction, yet available no matter where the customer is. Whether they are on your website, social media, or physically in your showroom– the service should reflect your dealership in a unified manner.
Through digital retail and engagement, customers can ask questions and move the purchase forward from anywhere. Whether through texting, payment requests, electronic quotes, this custom journey and flexibility is what makes omni-channel so appealing, and why it has become the buyer's new standard.
You may say: “I see the value, but I can’t afford to build that experience myself,” and that’s where a Digital Retail Platform like Transax comes in. This sort of turnkey platform works with any website provider and offers everything you need to move deals forward, no matter where the customer is—and it's at a price point affordable by any size of dealership.
This sort of offering has everything you need. By providing a website checkout, your experience welcomes commitment, and through digital engagement, you can communicate with the customer however they want, send them payment requests, and easily get e-signatures. You allow the deal to move forward wherever they are. Finally, the finance aspect is huge. Transax makes financing easy. Customers can see their credit score, and finance applications can easily be submitted to the right lender, making it simple to get financed deals done.
The current situation is bleak: Dealerships who fail to meet customer’s changing demands are falling off one after another. We all know change isn’t always easy, but it’s inevitable. We’re here to make the transition as smooth as possible and ensure that your dealership isn’t left behind.
Transax is the first and only of its kind, giving your customers an omni-channel experience through digital retail and engagement. We’re a custom solution that extends your exclusive, in-person experience to wherever your customer is. Designed specifically to answer the current market shift, through the personalized omni-channel experience we provide, your customers can commit to your unit whenever, wherever, however.
Now that you know what customers want, and what it takes to be a winning dealership within these changing standards, don’t fall behind, make the shift easy with Transax and become a market share winner today.
If you want to easily provide an omni-channel experience and make more sales, look into Transax. It works with your existing website, is easy to set up, and includes an iPhone and Android app.
Schedule a 20-minute demo to learn more, ask questions, and talk with one of our digital retail specialists HERE.
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1 Source: Experience is everything. Get it right. PwC, 2017
2 How to future-proof your business with virtual & live selling bds, 2021
