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How Auto Companies Work Successfully With Data to Improve Follow-Up Speed

The automotive industry has many ways that it can leverage big data, with analytics and data collection platforms that bring in more information than dealerships have ever had access to before. However, simply owning the data is not enough to make a meaningful difference for your car dealership. You need a solid strategy on how to work with this information to drive sales, improve customer satisfaction and increase productivity. When you use data successfully, you can address common dealership pain points, such as increasing the lifetime value of a customer and following up with leads.

Automating Lead Follow-Ups

Do you know how long it takes for a lead to go cold? You may have only minutes to reach the prospect before you drastically reduce your chances for a response. Once you're past 30 minutes, it's even more unlikely that you'll hear back from that person.

The sales team has a lot of tasks to handle throughout the day. It does not take much for someone to overlook a phone call, email or social media message and miss that critical window.

By using data-driven automation, the customer relationship management tool or sales enablement platform tracks the time between follow-up responses. The Hendricks Automotive Group leverages CRM solutions throughout the dealership to automate key processes. Some systems can automatically send relevant content based on what it knows about the lead, or it can push a notification to the sales team to ensure a response.

Serving Digital Ads to Visitors

The way that a car buyer consumes content is drastically different today than it was 10 years ago. However, this shift also gives your dealership more ways to reach your audience without directly engaging with them before they're ready.

An emphasis on the customer experience means that dealerships need to look at the full customer relationship, rather than taking every opportunity to present sales options to them. Building brand awareness and adding value is critical at this part of the funnel.

You can leverage your website visitor data to serve a specific ad campaign to leads that visit your website. This campaign should focus on deepening the relationship through useful content and guiding them to the right car selection for their needs.

These ads act as a passive way of following up with prospects who have not engaged with your dealership directly. They will not be ready to buy yet, but you keep your dealership in their minds as they get closer to the time where they make a purchase decision.

For example, Mazda used retargeting to improve their car sales value by 98 percent compared to the offline average, and drive a 20 percent engagement rate.

Targeting Specific Households to Reduce Ad Spend Waste

Another innovative way to leverage car buyer data is to dynamically serve television ads to households who are most likely to buy a particular car model. You do not need to purchase widespread ads that may waste your advertising budget due to a lack of interested buyers.

Instead, you can put together multiple data sources to determine which households have the right characteristics that could lead them down your sales funnel. While some trial and error is an expected part of this process, reducing the costs and unproductive viewership is a great way to optimize your campaigns.

Predictive Analytics

Big data also makes it possible for some dealership platforms to make predictions on when leads are ready to close the deal. Predictive analytics uses machine learning algorithms to process data and draw conclusions on the likelihood of a sale from an account. A panel at the 2017 J.D. Power AMR went in depth on this topic from the angle of audience-based planning and buying.

You benefit in several ways from a solution that offers a peek into the statistically likely future. The sales team focuses their manual follow-up efforts on leads that need a helping hand to make their final purchase decision. Those that have longer to go in the process may get automated follow-ups or act as lower priority prospects. The sales team optimizes their time and can proactively address potential buyers as the system indicates their readiness.

Expanding the Customer Profile Through Data Integration

Each department in your dealership holds valuable data that can lead to increased productivity and sales, from finance to service. When the data is siloed away, it is impossible to get a full view of a lead or a customer. Data integration removes the barriers and brings the information together for a 360-degree view.

You can further enhance the customer information by leveraging third-party data sources. Auto shows and test drive information can increase your understanding of potential buyers. Understanding customer behavior on a macro and micro level becomes less challenging, and the insights you gain are key to improving sales and follow-up.

Reaching Customers at the Right Time

The time between prospects deciding that they want to make their purchase and then finishing the process may not be long. You want your dealership to be the one that they think of when they come in to look at cars and sign the papers. A data-driven sales approach allows you to follow up at precisely the right moment, so you get their attention. Walser Automotive Group says that they "win with our database," as its strategy relies on the available data to capture buyer interest.

Dealerships have to contend with a lot of factors when they try to reach potential buyers. A data-driven strategy is necessary to stay on top of all the follow-ups that you need during the buyer journey so you can maximize the customer value and be their choice of car dealership. When everything falls into place, you can make a customer for life. Experian's commercial data services offer your dealership another way to get important buyer information.

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