Car Dealership Guy’s Post

Customer retention is the lifeblood of the dealership: But it’s getting tougher and tougher for dealers to achieve… I recently spoke to Brice Englert, Founder and CEO of TradePending, to discuss insights from competing with car buying giants like Carvana, how consumer loyalty is shifting in the age of hybrids, and the strategies they are using to secure more valuable trade-ins. Top lessons learned from Brice: 1. The name of the game is retention. – Retaining customers is becoming more difficult but it’s vital for dealers. – Not only does retention boost sales, it also leads to more trade-ins – a critical source of inventory for dealers. 2. An uphill battle. – Companies like Carvana and CarMax are eating up market share, making it more difficult to build relationships with customers. – Independent shops are also taking a bigger piece of the pie. Franchised dealers went from owning roughly 50% of the service market to just 30% in 2023. 3. Differentiation = more retention. – Personalized communication, like video calls with service advisors, is a great way to establish strong relationships. – Dealers must also be transparent on things like pricing and trade-in values. 4. Solving customer and dealer pain points. – Consumers and dealers value cars in vastly different ways, causing friction during the trade-in process. – Dealers need tools that allow them to understand what the consumer wants. – Consumers need transparent explanations of how their car is valued and where they can get a good offer for their vehicle. 5. What can we expect in the next 10 years? – In 1950, salespeople sold an average of 12 cars a month. In 2023, the average is still 12. – Dealers will have to use new technologies, like artificial intelligence if they hope to boost those numbers. – Manufacturers are also becoming more involved in the sales process, leading to more standardization and creating more conflicts with retailers. The full episode is live! Stream it now - Youtube: https://lnkd.in/dJHrU5m8 Spotify: https://lnkd.in/dQumNAgJ Apple: https://lnkd.in/dzBid2RM