Happily ever aftersales: maximising revenue opportunities

Aftersales is a revenue opportunity for dealerships that isn’t being explored as much as it could or should be. Recent research conducted by the CitNOW Group has found that 70% of retailers feel their aftersales teams could be doing more to maximise their revenue. 

Now is as good a time as any to identify performance gaps in aftersales and find easy and quick ways to maximise revenue. Ongoing changes around electrification, challenges in recruiting and retaining skilled technicians, and the rising cost of living are all having an effect. In this blog, we’ll highlight some of the best ways to ensure your aftersales operations are reaching their full potential, based on findings from our own data and trend analysis.

Retailer opportunities for innovation and change 

Our research has found that there are three particularly pressing challenges in automotive retail right now:

• Technician resource: research by the Institute of the Motor Industry has found that there could be as many as 160,000 vacancies across the sector by 2031, and that 16% of these would be for vehicle technicians. That’s why it’s so important to maximise existing technician resource and minimise wasted time.
   
• Consumer spending: amid the rising cost-of-living customers are naturally becoming more conscious and cautious about their expenditure. For example, Nationwide Building Society research has found that almost half of consumers have put off repairs to their cars because of pressures on their finances.
   
• Business overheads: the cost of doing business has gone up, from equipment purchasing to energy prices and everything in between. The pressures this puts on budgets across a retailer’s operation makes it harder to find the money to invest in staff training, stock and infrastructure.

It’s for these reasons that many retailers – as our recent research and trend analysis has uncovered – are evaluating changes they can make. They’re exploring innovative ways to increase revenue and customer retention, including optimising technician and advisor time; proactively encouraging regular maintenance appointments; and using technology to drive efficiencies for the aftersales team. 

Small changes, making a big difference 

To underline the difference that these changes can make, our recent research looked into aftersales data to see how some retailers have been standing out with exceptional performance.  

The best-performing retailers have found substantial gains in conversion rates of red repair work improving conversion by 11% quarter on quarter during 2023, to an average conversion of 62.7%.  Similarly, they have also improved technician utilisation rates, where technicians are able to get more jobs done each working day. The top-performing locations improved their technician utilisation from 84% to 92% on average in just 12 months: for an average retailer, this means completing up to 377 more jobs per workshop, per year. 

All of this makes a material difference to the bottom line, and if the average retailer were to perform at these levels, could mean an estimated extra £124,825 in service and red work opportunities. 

Unlocking success: How top performers achieved results 

How were these retailers able to generate such huge savings and efficiencies in practice? Consistently delivering superb aftersales performance starts with technology and using the solutions at your disposal to the best possible effect. Three practical and effective ways that we recommend include: 

• Benchmarking: using solutions like REALinsights to evaluate current performance allows you to understand where there are challenges and opportunities to focus on. That way, you can measure your operation against other retailers in your dealer group – as well as wider industry averages – and give yourself realistic goals to work towards.
   
• Monitoring: establishing standards and objectives for aftersales teams and staff can both clarify responsibilities and boost performance. CitNOW Workshop and RTC can help here by tracking eVHC completion rates (connected to the corresponding video) so that time spent per vehicle can be analysed.  

The same principle can also be applied to sales advisors and pinpointing when they should contact customers for the best chances of success. For example, we’ve found contacting customers on Mondays results in a 31% conversion rate, against just 19% on Thursdays. It’s also important to record decline reasons accurately, helping with training and business proposals, and to take advantage of upselling opportunities.   

• Utilisation tracking: working out technician throughput rates allows you to fill in any gaps and maximise their productivity. The starting point of this process is to ensure systems, data and processes are integrated (such as scheduling, part pricing and tyre costs); assign tasks to technicians based on skills and experience; and put the right lines of internal and external communications in place. 

In summary

It’s vital to set realistic targets for improving your aftersales, and that starts with  understanding your current performance levels in relation to market conditions. Based on this analysis, you can then take practical steps to enhance aftersales revenue through team controls for monitoring, efficient work allocation systems and effective communication. 

To find out how technology enables these changes, and how you can seamlessly join the dots from performance to revenue, explore CitNOW Group solutions in more detail here. 

Mind the gap: sales-driven strategies to identify revenue and performance wins

Balancing stock pricing and lead management effectively are important parts of building a successful dealership. 

A recent study, conducted by CitNOW Group, has underlined the importance of this. Some 91% of retailers feel that a clear pricing strategy is crucial, and 81% feel they’re keeping up with an evolving industry and adjusting prices accordingly. However, a deeper analysis using data from REALinsights, found that 40% needed a change of more than 2% either up or down based on the current market rate. 

In a fast-changing marketplace, fine-tuning pricing and managing leads successfully can make a real difference to speed of sale, customer satisfaction and ultimately your bottom line. This blog explores the key to defining a successful pricing and lead management strategy and highlights four tools for making the most of it. 

Defining your stock strategy  

Evaluating the impact of your stock strategy, and making sure inventory has the broadest possible appeal to customers, involves considering factors such as vehicle age, mileage, desirability, demand, make, model, fuel type, and how long each vehicle has been in stock. All of this information, alongside changing market conditions, helps define the ideal pricing for each vehicle – but taking care of all of this manually can be extremely time-consuming and inefficient. 

This is where automated business intelligence tools, like REALinsights from CitNOW Group, are indispensable in streamlining the stock strategy process. As an example of what is possible, one of our customers who used REALinsights over a six-month period boosted average Gross Profit Per Unit (GPPU) by £250, and reduced average days to sell by up to 25 days per vehicle. The same intelligence has also helped them boost overall sales volume, increase upselling success with products like GAP insurance and paint protection, and gain more repeat aftersales and servicing business. 

At the same time, good pricing should come hand-in-hand with effective lead management, so that customers feel they’re getting a quality experience as well as a fair price. Our research has found that 24% of customers make enquiries outside regular working hours, and yet customers generally still expect rapid responses: a quarter expect an answer within 30 minutes through the same platform they enquired on. Technology can help with this, either through tools like React for lead management, or through innovative means of communication such as CitNOW Conversations, powered by Web1on1, for online messaging. 

Four tools for maximising your stock online 

We know that your ideal scenario is to have plenty of leads coming in all the time, which convert into high volumes of sales, so that your stock continually refreshes and recycles. Many retailers are actively investing in technology to enhance and support their sales processes, and we recommend tools that cover these four areas: 

• Visually appealing assets: high-quality images on listing pages that display both interior and exterior features are vital for engaging customer interest and informing them on key details. Enhanced imagery tools like Auto Imaging can ensure you create the best possible content, and drive excellent first impressions and more compelling online retail experiences.
• Engaging sales videos: these form a powerful tool in giving potential customers answers to their specific queries, as well as a personalised showroom experience from the comfort of their own homes. CitNOW Sales can be used to create personalised connections with customers through tailored communications which build rapport and foster trusted relationships whilst increasing appointment show rates.
• Effective digital communications: responding promptly to customer enquiries with personalised, informative content is crucial to maintaining customer interest at every stage of the sales journey. A combination of video tools like CitNOW Sales and messaging management through CitNOW Conversations can help achieve this.
• Seamless customer experiences: delivering a smooth customer journey from first contact to conversion can put the customer at ease. An all-in-one sales management system like Dealerweb Showroom comes into play once an efficient stock strategy is in place and leads come in. It enables seamless sales operations through smooth integrations into third-party systems for better customer experiences. 

In summary

A customised, adaptable stock strategy is essential for success in the modern automotive retail landscape. This means ensuring that vehicles are presented in the best possible light with high-quality content, and delivering timely and effective communication throughout the sales journey. Tools like Auto Imaging, CitNOW Sales, REALinsights and Dealerweb come together to deliver on these expectations, and help make your bottom line as healthy as it possibly can be. 

CitNOW Group’s range of solutions can make it easier for you to manage your stock strategy, maintain quality presentation and stay connected with customers. Take a closer look at how we can help you.  Find out more here.

Adapting to change: key automotive trends from 2023

As the automotive industry continues to change rapidly thanks to evolving customer demands, environmental concerns, increasing regulations and emerging new technologies, now is a more opportune time than ever for dealerships like yours to remain at the forefront of industry trends.

Knowing what these trends are, and being able to react to them, can be critical for maintaining profitability, maximising the quality of customer service, and growing in the long term. This blog explores the biggest changes of 2023 so far, and what you can do to make the most of all the data and technology at your disposal.

Key automotive trends for 2023 – and beyond

We know that retailers are always looking at how to maximise lead generation and increase sales and aftersales opportunities. Three particular trends associated with this have stood out this year, and the good news is that retailers have been able to use technology to respond in all three cases:

• Used car pricing: it has been a common challenge this year to strike a delicate balance in the pricing of used cars. The ability to track price and market fluctuations has given some retailers a real edge in this area, with tools like REALinsights INstock helping retailers check and update vehicle stock in seconds. Our data has found that INstock users have increased profit by £250 per unit and sold vehicles an average of 25 days faster.
• Personalised touchpoints: this year, Real Time Communications (RTC), part of the CitNOW Group, has seen an increase of 5.5% in outbound aftersales calls to customers. At the same time, CitNOW has been utilised for 4.13% more sales and aftersales videos in the first half of this year compared to the same period last year. Both of these increases demonstrate the importance and value of making a real effort in connecting with individual customers personally and maximising all potential leads.
• New and used car demand: the increase in outbound aftersales activity may be the result of changes in car demand. According to Dealerweb data for the first six months of 2023, new car enquiries are down 3%, while used car enquiries are up 33% and used car orders are up 46%. All this extra demand means simplifying sales and management can be a real time-saver for retailers, and help them make the most of every opportunity. Dealerweb Showroom and REALaftersales are useful here, respectively for ensuring customers get communications through their preferred channels during their sales and aftersales experience, and for managing every aspect of aftersales work from booking to marketing.

Using data to drive profits

In order to make the most of opportunities in a changing marketplace, it’s first important to quantify what you’re doing well, and where you can make improvements. Getting a single view of all activities and performance levels means you can maintain consistent standards, establish clear performance goals, and ensure all your sites have all the tools they need.

For example, Dealerweb Showroom means you can store all showroom customer data in one place, access it through the management reporting suite, and track the progress of business processes against revenue and profit goals. REALinsights can then report on the data inside Showroom and deliver trends and suggestions for change.

Using these insights to find efficiencies not only helps improve performance, but frees up valuable staff time in the showroom.

Likewise in the workshop, if aftersales managers can conduct performance reviews with technicians and service advisors much faster, and senior group members can quickly access KPI information group-wide, then they have much more time to maximise leads and revenue elsewhere.

Getting the best out of digital solutions

The best retail operations in 2023 – and indeed into 2024 – will be those who make the effort to understand individual car buyer needs, and adapt their approach accordingly. Our research has found that for 30% of retailers, providing a hassle-free customer experience is their biggest challenge, but this is where technology can help in smoothing out sales journeys for customers and retailers alike.

One particular area where many retailers have made substantial improvements is in their online listings. Our survey also showed that most consumers (62%) now prefer using dealership websites to research their next vehicle. High-quality digital resources, readily available in online listings are vital, as is getting those listings online as quickly as possible after a vehicle comes into stock. Auto Imaging can help with this, supporting the development of first-class digital content, including images, videos, personalised content, live feedback and background replacement.

In summary

The automotive retail landscape has changed so much in the last few years, and it will continue to do so in the months and years ahead. Responding to these trends is essential for every retailer that aspires to expand, grow, improve service and maximise profitability. With the help of CItNOW Group technology, you’ll be best-placed to realise your potential and gain market share, whatever the future may hold.

Want to discover how to make the most of your digital tools and data? Find out more here.