CitNOW Group, Author at CitNOW Group

Preparing for Q3 – the power of prospecting

With Q3 coming into view, it’s time to consider strategies and processes that will deliver revenue ahead of the September plate-change during the traditionally slower period when consumer thoughts and budgets inevitably turn to summer holidays.

At this time of the year using your customer databases to drive sales opportunities comes into its own, with strategic planning and campaigns delivering tangible results.

New car sales outlook

July and August are typically slow months for new car sales, ahead of the stimulus created by the arrival of the new plate.

The pressures on the new car market are well documented. The transition to EVs outside of the corporate sector, is proving to be a slow burn with affordability often cited as a purchasing barrier.

This has been further compounded by the introduction of the Expensive Car Supplement in April on all new EVs retailing over £40,000, with buyers then facing annual payments of £410 in the first five years of ownership, in addition to VED which was introduced at the same time.

Driving profit through new car unit sales in Q3 will be a challenge, making add-ons more important than ever.

Used car sales optimism

The used car outlook is more positive. The Q1 SMMT sales data showed 2,020,900 used cars changing hands, a year-on-year rise of 2.7% and the best performance for the quarter since before the pandemic.

And used EVs are proving to be an attractive alternative to new models, with Indicata, the used market analyst, highlighting record dealer sales in May on the back of ongoing price stability. They also accounted for 7.5% of dealer retail stock, another record high.

Aftersales opportunities

Meanwhile, aftersales continue to deliver dependable revenues for many dealers with customers returning for scheduled services – especially for retailers with strong service plan penetration – as well as maintenance, repair and MoT work.

Yet aftersales can also be impacted by the summer slowdown with the biannual plate change creating peaks for service anniversaries in March and September and the months immediately following them.

Using the tools and data you have

Having established that new retail car sales will continue to be challenging but opportunities exist for growth in used sales and aftersales, what’s the best way to use the tools and customer data you have to drive additional business in Q3?

We suggest these areas for attention:

Lost customer re-engagement – this works across new and used sales and aftersales, you have all the data you need. Start by targeting records up to six months old and then broaden out to 12 months and longer. It’s also a useful way to update and cleanse your customer database.
Lost sale re-engagement – target new and used sales lost at least 2.5 years ago as these buyers might be considering their next vehicle, especially if they bought from another dealer on a three-year PCP.
Amber follow ups – your aftersales data will provide a rich source of information on parts identified for future replacement from services and MoTs. An ideal opportunity to target brake pad, brake disc and tyre replacements with compelling campaigns and offers incentivising customers to bring their cars back in.
Proactive prospecting – target your new and used car customers who have purchased from you using PCPs. Get in touch before their contract anniversary with campaigns promoting what you can offer them to trade-in and purchase their next vehicle. You know the customers and you know their vehicles; this build sales and aftersales retention and provides a rich source of stock for your used car forecourt.

Release the power of your data today!

We’re here to help. With over two decades of automotive expertise and working with more than 12,000 global dealerships, we focus our investments on delivering clear ROI to our clients.

By leveraging the resources of the world’s largest tech companies, our solutions are scalable, secure and resilient.

From tailored solutions to comprehensive digital transformation, we have the people, systems and expertise to support your business effectively.

Find out more about how we can transform your data landscape and accelerate your sales processes in Q3, contact us today.

Ancaster Group Wins CitNOW Group’s Retailer of the Quarter for Q1 2025

We are pleased to announce that Ancaster Group has been recognised as CitNOW Group’s Retailer of the Quarter for Q1 2025.

Ancaster Group impressed with their year-on-year comparison data, showcasing increased activity, demos, and enquiries.

This award highlights their effective use of CitNOW Group’s solutions and applications to streamline business processes, boost efficiency, and maximise both opportunities and sales. It stands as a testament to the dedication and innovation demonstrated across the entire group.

Key achievements include:

A 22% enquiry/order conversion rate
71% year-on-year increase in CitNOW Sales videos initiated in the showroom compared to the same period in 2023
A 4.6-star customer rating

Congratulations to everyone at Ancaster Group on this well-deserved recognition!

AI in car retailing: applying AI to your car retailing business - Part two

With dealerships starting to make use of artificial intelligence in their operations, CitNOW Group founder Alistair Horsburgh talks to Duncan Anderson, an AI consultant with Barnacle Labs, the builders of bespoke AI solutions for customers, in part two of this Auto Talk special.

How do you think car retailers can make best use of AI?

A good example is the way buyers typically interact with websites to find a vehicle. They might start off saying they want a red MINI with less than 20,000 miles and then typically go through lots of filters and dropdowns to select something like heated seats, which can be laborious. Websites tend to require buyers to know what they need in terms of specification and when they don’t, it can get complicated.

So if they could use AI to just say: “I want a red MINI with 20,000 miles and it’s got to have heated seats.” AI should be able to find the appropriate cars. That simplifies the whole user experience and that’s a big thing.

The typical retailer may have an IT department but will not have programmers, so what’s the best way for them to access AI tools?

I think OpenAI, who’s the provider of ChatGPT, is probably, one of the safest options.

The products they have are high quality. AI is one of those industries where who’s leading is always changing and OpenAI is always at the top of the charts.

It’s good technology and they’re very open about their T&Cs, whereas some other providers are a bit more obscure.

The nice thing about most of this technology is that you don’t need to be an AI expert because you’re just interacting through an API. So, if you want to take some data from somewhere on your website and process it through OpenAI, then all you’re doing is taking your data and then putting it into what’s called a prompt, which is just the message that you send to the AI. And you send that through an API. And then since that’s OpenAI, it sends the message back. So pretty much any software developer worth their salt would be able to build something that interacts through it. It’s straightforward.

What do you think would be good examples for retailers to think about in terms of the practical uses of AI to deliver customer satisfaction in aftersales?

As a customer, I don’t particularly want to be interacting with a person. I want to get my car dropped off and I want the job to be done. To avoid playing telephone tag with customers, AI can be utilised to send me a message saying something needs to be approved or my car’s ready. Much of the process could be automated. It doesn’t require an awful lot of human interaction.

AI is moving fast with the technology becoming increasingly accessible to businesses and individuals. For dealers the key is to identify areas where it can improve the customer journey across sales and aftersales.

To find out more about CitNOW Group’s AI technologies, contact your Account Manager or email to team@citnowgroup.com.