DCS: Leveraging Digital Solutions

Shopper behaviors and expectations have changed. The car buyer journey no longer starts and ends at the dealership. It begins online, and in many cases, modern shoppers can complete the entire purchase process without ever visiting a dealership. In fact, over 70% of consumers now begin their buying journey online, with the majority of them wanting to complete the entire purchase journey online.

While this type of modern shopping experience is certainly convenient for customers, it can be difficult for dealerships trying to deliver the highly personalized purchase process modern shoppers expect. With little face-to-face interaction, how can you know what shoppers want, what motivates them, and what will bring them back?

This guide will take you through the modern shopper journey to help you understand the pivotal role that digital storefronts, digital marketing, and digital retailing play in personalizing your shoppers’ experience. It will demonstrate how these solutions can be used together to significantly enhance your business operations, online presence, customer engagement, and sales conversions. More specifically, this article will outline how these digital solutions can help you better understand your shoppers:

Information Gathering: During the initial research phase, your customers will go online to visit dealership sites, view photos, read articles, and compare their options. With a world of information at their fingertips, modern shoppers know exactly what they want and every detail of information about their prospective purchase, making them extremely educated and informed buyers.
Decision Making: Most of your customers will make up their minds about what they want before they ever visit a dealership. In fact, modern shoppers worry less about proximity to a dealership and more about the quality and amount of information they can find online, even if they find that information at a dealership website that may eventually involve some amount of travel.
Dealership Interaction: When it’s finally time to reach out to a dealership, shoppers want a seamless online to in-store transition. They’ll often reach out to dealerships via digital channels first, including email, text, and online chat. At this point, shoppers have progressed far enough down the path to purchase that they will reach out to you as buyers, rather than inquisitive shoppers that may or may not be interested in making a purchase.
Customization and Expectation: Most modern shoppers expect personalized interactions, customizable options, and high-quality customer service. When it comes time to visit a dealership, modern consumers will travel as far as they feel they need to find the specific inventory and features they want. This means that personalization and customization must happen in the first phases of the buying journey when shoppers are gathering information online.
Pricing and Negotiation: Shoppers want access to information about pricing upfront, and they expect dealerships to be transparent and fair by posting prices on their website. Modern shoppers no longer want to engage in lengthy in-person negotiations because they already know the best price they can get from their online research. If they can’t find a competitive price on your digital storefront, shoppers will move on to the next dealership website.

Awareness: Which car is best?

Pain Points

Modern shoppers want as much information as they can when making a major purchase. At the same time, the sheer amount of information available online can leave shoppers feeling overwhelmed, making it even more challenging to make an informed decision.

Dealer Solutions

Digital Marketing: By leveraging digital marketing strategies, dealers can present personalized ads to shoppers still trying to decide whether or not to buy a car. A well-timed personalized ad can make your dealership and inventory stand out at a time when shoppers may be feeling overwhelmed.
Digital Storefront: During the awareness micro-moments when shoppers may be in information overload, a well-organized, interactive digital storefront can give them detailed information and the tools they need to narrow down their decision. These may include comparison features, videos, virtual tours, and reviews about which car is best. All of this can bring a vehicle to life online, so your shoppers can make a more confident decision.

In addition, utilizing a DMS platform can also help connect you to your shopper more efficiently:

A DMS provides comprehensive data of your inventory, enabling you to list the best suited cars for your shoppers based on availability, popularity, and consumer trends.
A DMS, when integrated with your Digital Storefront, will save you the time and effort in manually adding inventory to your website, as it will automatically populate new inventory to your website.

Consideration: Is this particular vehicle right for me?

Pain Points

As shoppers begin to decide which vehicle is right for them, most want a personalized car buying experience with options to customize their vehicles and purchase the way they want—whether online or in-store. A lack of personalization options at this stage can be a big deterrent for modern shoppers.

Dealer Solutions

Digital Marketing: Personalized email communication, based on actual browsing behavior, gives shoppers the relevant information they want about vehicles they’re actually interested in buying. It also ensures timely communication from your dealership at a time when shoppers may have doubts and crave additional information and options.
Digital Storefront: Your digital storefront can provide personalized content and recommendations, based on actual behavior and preferences, helping shoppers visualize whether a car is right for them. By giving shoppers comparison tools, they can easily view multiple models and features, empowering them to make an informed decision that they can feel good about.
Digital Retailing: By presenting a variety of online payment tools, including calculators and financing options, you can help shoppers feel good about the affordability of their purchase. You can also offer online evaluations for trade-ins to help shoppers understand their budget better and determine whether buying a new car is a feasible option.

Financial Assessment: Can I afford this car?

Pain Points

Most modern shoppers want to complete as much of the car buying process as possible online, and they frequently express frustration with a lack of clear and transparent pricing and financing options. Without the information and tools to determine affordability or facilitate a financial assessment, shoppers feel a deep sense of distrust for dealerships and will look for other shopping options.

Dealer Solutions

Digital Retailing: Online digital retailing tools allow shoppers to explore different loan types, interest rates, and payment terms. This information isn’t just convenient to customers, it helps them determine the affordability and feasibility of their purchase. Customizable payment plans can help shoppers tailor their payment plans according to their budget constraints and preferences. And providing instant online assessments of trade-in values further empowers shoppers to understand the affordability of their new car.

This may be the most crucial stage for your shopper. As a dealer, you can also help affirm the accuracy of your inventory using a DMS platform to ensure that the pricing information displayed online is always correct and up to date.

Dealer Interaction: Where should I buy it?

Pain Points

When it comes time to pick an actual dealership, shoppers expect a seamless transition from online research to in-store experience. Unfortunately, many experience inconsistencies and find that dealerships don’t know anything about them or the work they’ve put into their purchase, leading up to that moment. This lack of consistency and overall dealership awareness can lead to dissatisfaction and lost sales.

Dealer Solutions

Digital Storefront: A well-designed, easy-to-navigate digital storefront provides a positive first impression and user experience that trusts your dealership. By providing extensive details, images, and videos of your available vehicles, you can help customers make informed decisions on where to buy and get to know your shoppers to ensure a seamless experience from online to in-store.
Digital Marketing: Optimizing your search engine optimization (SEO) efforts for local search ensures that your dealership will appear in local search results. SEO can bring more educated and ready-to-buy buyers. In addition, having a tool to monitor, collect, and amplify online reviews will ensure your dealership is putting its best foot forward for online shoppers.

A dealer’s DMS helps provide inventory visibility to the shopper in this stage by enforcing real-time inventory updates, ensuring customers see accurate availability and location information. This helps shoppers decide where to buy a vehicle of their choosing.

Decision Making: Am I getting a good deal?

Pain Points

When it comes time to make a final purchase decision, your customers want to know that they’re getting the best deal possible. They also don’t want to spend a lot of time at your dealership. They want the process to be fluid and fast, without a lot of lengthy back and forth.

Dealer Solutions

Digital Retailing: Vehicle valuation and payment calculation tools can help shoppers to know that they’re getting a good deal on their new purchase. These tools can also streamline and simplify the path to purchase for many shoppers.
Digital Marketing: Notify your shoppers about price discounts and deals on vehicles they’re interested in buying. This builds trust and transparency between you and your shoppers and fosters a sense of urgency and the feeling of securing a deal. Consider implementing price watch features that allow shoppers to monitor price changes on specific vehicles, further reinforcing the idea that they’re getting a deal when prices decrease. You can also send personalized email notifications about discounts, promotions, or price changes on vehicles to keep your dealership top-of-mind.

The Essence of Digital Storefronts

Digital storefronts are more than mere websites. They’re online platforms designed to mirror the in-store shopping experience. They allow shoppers to browse, research, and make purchases seamlessly, and they offer interactive and immersive shopping experiences at any time, from anywhere.

Digital storefronts offer more than just a convenient place to buy a car. They are shaping modern consumer behaviors and expectations. They extend your dealership’s reach beyond its physical location alone, helping you adapt to the ever-increasing consumer preference for online shopping (remember, 70% of consumers want to finish a majority of their buying journey online). They also ensure that your shoppers have access to your dealership around the clock, so you can stay profitable and competitive in a changing retail landscape.

A responsive website that offers intuitive navigation with your dealership’s unique branding for a cross-device, cross-locational experience.
User-friendly interface that provides shoppers with detailed information, comparisons, and reviews to determine which car is best.
Interactive content, including virtual tours and videos that bring vehicles to life online, offering a comprehensive view and fostering confident decisions.
Lead management system to efficiently track, categorize, and provide alerts, so you can cater to shoppers’ needs in real-time.
Third-party advertising to magnify your reach across premier listing platforms and streamline bulk postings on automotive classified websites.

Robust analytics provides valuable data and insights to help you optimize your website operations and enhance the customer experience.
Digital retailing integration gives your shoppers the ability to search and view inventory and process payments online.
Online financing tools that give customers all the information they need about pricing and financing so shoppers can take the next step toward purchase, right on your website.
Detailed vehicle info, including customizable window stickers, rich visuals and videos, and detailed history reports to ensure that every vehicle shines.

The Essence of Digital Marketing

As a dealer, digital marketing helps you break through barriers, not just by increasing the reach of your marketing efforts and the sheer number of people who see your campaigns, but by naturally attracting and engaging customers who are more qualified. Consistent online interactions through digital marketing help you to foster trust and encourage customers to come back, leading to repeat sales and better brand loyalty.

In essence, digital marketing allows you to promote your inventory online, amplify your brand presence, and target potential customers with precision. By using a suite of online strategies aimed at increasing awareness, including SEO, email marketing, and social media management, you can engage prospective buyers. You can personalize their experience while increasing awareness of your dealership.

Search engine optimization (SEO) allows you to rank higher in search results and build brand recognition online. By making strategic changes to your website copy, including adding keywords that shoppers search for, you can increase visibility on search engines and drive more traffic to your website.
Search engine marketing (SEM) ensures that your dealership ranks among the top search results online. SEM works quickly to bring more shoppers to your website and build your brand through pay-per-click ads that appear in search results pages.
Email marketing empowers you to follow up with leads and stay invested in existing customer relationships by delivering personalized emails. Whenever a shopper or existing customer undertakes a specific action on your website, you can send an automated email to keep them engaged.
Social media management helps you capture the attention of potential customers as they scroll through their social feeds. It can also help you promote your brand by engaging with shoppers on their preferred platform.

The Essence of Digital Retailing

Digital retailing plays a pivotal role in facilitating seamless online transactions. As part of your digital storefront, digital retailing allows shoppers to complete the car-buying journey online, from conducting initial research to finalizing financing. It mirrors the convenience and personalization of e-commerce in other industries.

Adopting digital retailing is essential for modern dealerships, as it streamlines the sales process and caters to the growing demand for online transactions. Perhaps most importantly, digital retailing gives shoppers the kind of experience that aligns with modern consumer preferences.

Essential Digital Retailing Tools

Digital retailing tools enhance satisfaction, expedite sales, and foster long-term relationships with your customers. Make sure that your digital retailing experience includes the following essential features:

Online financing options that streamline the online to in-store experience for a smoother and quicker sales process when shoppers visit the dealership.
A payment calculation tool helps potential customers estimate the cost of purchasing a vehicle or related product, including monthly payments and financing options.
Comprehensive inventory information that includes the most exciting price possible on the website, as well as details and images that help shoppers picture the reality of making a purchase. Reminder, having a DMS platform can help connect comprehensive inventory data to your shoppers more accurately.
Searchable inventory that includes fields for key variables such as the purchase price, down payment amount, interest rate, loan term and any additional fees or taxes. The more comprehensive the inputs, the more accurate the estimate.
Links or information about financing options, such as different lenders or in-house financing programs.

Streamlined Operations: Integrating various digital solutions can help you streamline operations by ensuring that different systems work seamlessly together. Connecting your DMS to digital solutions will also improve operational efficiency. This integration reduces manual effort, minimizes errors, and saves time, enabling the dealership to focus more on customer service and sales.
Enhanced Customer Experience: Integrating digital solutions allows you to better understand your shoppers, so you can align your strategies with customer interests and expectations. You offer a smoother, more personalized customer journey that builds trust, encourages repeat business, and increases customer lifetime value.
Data-Driven Decision Making: Integrated solutions provide a wealth of data and insights across different aspects of your dealership, allowing you to adapt to changing customer needs and industry trends. By analyzing this data, you can make informed decisions to optimize inventory, pricing, marketing strategies, and more, ultimately driving increased sales and profitability.
Enhanced Customer Lifetime Value: By building relationships with customers and addressing their needs throughout their journey, dealers can increase the Customer Lifetime Value (CLV). Having all these digital solutions allows for better customer relationship management, personalized communication, and tailored offerings, encouraging repeat business and upselling.
Enhanced Cross-Channel Consistency: Whether a customer interacts with your dealership through your website, social media, or in-person, integrated solutions ensure consistent messaging and branding across all channels. This consistency strengthens brand perception and trustworthiness in the eyes of consumers.
Improved Inventory Management: Inventory is one of your most significant assets. Integrated solutions can offer real-time insights into which cars are being viewed the most, which models are likely to sell quickly, and which ones might need promotional efforts, leading to faster inventory turnover and improved cash flow. To pair with these digital solutions, an integrated DMS will also provide better management and an overall backbone to your inventory operations.
Brand Building and Reputation Management: Consistently meeting customers’ needs and expectations throughout their journey enhances the dealership’s brand image and reputation. It is key to solicit positive feedback from your customers and have them voiced online.

As consumer behaviors and expectations continue to evolve and the buyer journey continues to shift online, your dealership can deliver the personalized, convenient experience modern shoppers expect. By integrating digital storefronts, digital marketing, and digital retailing, you can overcome common shopper pain points at every critical juncture and stage of the buying journey. You can also deliver the modern buying experience they expect, while helping to steer them toward a purchase decision with your dealership.