How to Turn Shoppers Into Customers

As consumer-driven market sets the pace for buyer’s experience, your dealership is pressured by three major forces – technological, social and economic. The amount of change caused by those forces leaves most dealerships in the constant “catch-up” mode. Even though there are Industry leaders in the dealer world today, as a whole the retail Automotive Industry is several years behind of what consumers expect. According to the recent research by Capgemini Group – 21% of consumers would prefer to purchase their vehicle from an entity like Amazon*. Among other things it means a segment of consumers prefers a different route on their journey of buying a vehicle. If the industry remains status quo, over the next few years this number will grow, as the much talked about Gen Y group continues to expand its influence on the market. Older buyers have had many disappointing experiences buying a vehicle in the past and have lowered their experience expectations. In many cases younger buyers have no expectations since they have no point of reference. This represents a challenge and an opportunity.

The challenge lays in identifying the touch points on the map of the shopper’s journey. Those touch points represent shopper’s interaction with your dealership online, on the phone and in person. The interactions turn into moments that matter to your shoppers. As those moments accumulate and create impressions the sum total of them, good, bad or indifferent, will determine whether or not the shopper will become your customer. The process of mapping the shopper’s journey is based on looking at what it takes to buy a vehicle vs. what it takes to sell one. For too long automotive sales training has focused on sales techniques that in many cases create more sales resistance with current shoppers.

Does your dealership’s training program focuses on the overall buying experience? Are your processes built around each touch point on the shopper’s journey? If the answers are “yes” you are on the right path. If you are not sure, you may want to take a step back and look at your shopper’s journey from their point of view. What you might find is there are more touch points than you think and the moments that matter are often overlooked.

Recently ADG introduced Proactive Selling System®. This innovative sales approach does not rely on techniques or trick of the trade, but rather it is built on sales methodology which focuses on understanding how shoppers process information and events throughout their journey. After extensive research and development process in May of 2014 ADG registered Proactive Selling System® with US Patent and Trademark Office. The methods are designed with one benefit in mind and that is to create an environment, where your shoppers buy more from you. ADG works with dealerships mapping out the shopper’s journey and creating a culture of moments that matter. Contact ADG at 952-937-9222 with questions regarding mapping your shopper’s journey.

www.zdnet.com/auto-industry-revamp-as-a-digital-business-work-in-progress-7000029402/