The future is digital for automotive retailers across Finland, as consumer expectations drive long term transformation.
The land of 1,000 lakes is also the land of 1,000 automotive retail interactions. From super high-touch to virtually hands off, the Finnish car-ownership landscape is varied. Consumers are highly digital literate, ready to self-serve anywhere and on the go; and they can also be ultra-traditional demanding slow-serve, one on one experiences. The key to unlocking it all is harnessing the right technology for the right job and the right person.
Digital enables an Experience-First mindset.
Most consumers in Finland, including me, are digital first. We prefer to visit websites to browse and buy online, and that includes researching, enquiring about and buying or servicing our vehicles. Of course, purchasing a vehicle is a more complex buy than groceries or books, but the expectations of an exceptional, stand-out experience are no different. In fact, they might be even higher as the investment is so much more. Bottom line, the first expectation is for a fast and tailored response to an initial enquiry. And moving on from this, I want, customer-centric communications, delivered to me in a way that best meets my needs, and that means served digitally.
This could include the option to self-serve things like test drive times and locations, vehicle pick up and servicing options. I want a seamless, efficient, and personalised experience which enables me to have as much, or as little, interaction with the automotive retailer as possible.
An omnichannel experience is the most powerful way to meet the demands of all consumers in 2024. In Finland, we tend to see a north/south divide in consumer preferences. This is a generalisation, of course, but consumers living in the south tend to be keener to use digital services than those in the north, where visiting the dealership and desk-side chats are still crucial to converting sales and customer retention. The critical thing is to be able to recognise and understand what, where and to whom we are tailoring our service and offers, so we meet, and exceed, customer expectations.
Leaning into customer preference and having a truly 360-degree view of each customer is the fundamental principle of the Experience-First approach.
A quality response from the get-go.
Consumers form vital first impressions from their first interaction with an automotive retailer. If they’ve made an email enquiry, will the reply arrive swiftly and answer their question? If their first interaction is the test drive, will they receive a warm welcome, and be taken on a suitable route in a clean car? This first response sets the scene for the type of service they are likely to receive in future, and if customer expectations aren’t met, the risk is they will go elsewhere. Delivering a stand-out first impression may sound like common sense, but it is not an opportunity that is always capitalised on.
That’s a big challenge for our industry, but it’s also a huge opportunity for those ready to make the, often marginal, improvements needed build stronger customer relationships and increase revenues.
One of the reasons that dealers are failing at the first interaction is that they don’t yet have the right tools – like the ones in the Keyloop ecosystem – in place. The right technology makes it much easier to meet respond to customer demands, meet their expectations and hold on to the data to ensure we can deliver again. Technology can also help measure and monitor performance on the sales and service floors, helping drive accountability and trust across the business.
Seamless communications.
Silos are a common problem in all kinds of organisations, not just in automotive retail.
But from a customer perspective, having to repeat the same information to different people and departments feels unnecessary and frustrating. Gaps and duplication can lead to problems and miscommunication, and that adds up to poor customer service. When you can easily see what the interactions have been with a customer, and know what is currently important to them, you can give them a much better experience – whether you are in sales, finance, or the service department.
The reality is that many automotive businesses treat information from a vehicle perspective rather than from a customer experience perspective. They still treat and serve the car, not the person. An Experience-First mindset means putting the customer at the heart of every touchpoint, transforming those that are not fit for purpose, and joined-up, useful, human data that focuses on individual is crucial to achieving this.
Personalisation is key.
Increasingly, personalisation is seen as a deal break breaker, and it can only be achieved when you’re giving the right responses using the right data. Right from that first interaction, the more you can do to understand the customer and provide them with what they are personally interested in, the better. This means having joined up data, that provides as complete a view of the customer as possible, from whichever channels they are using. Then you can deliver a standout experiences that build loyalty.
More and more, we at Keyloop are working as strategic partners with our customers, helping them to really think about and understand what consumers want and need. We sit down together with the dealership or importer or factory to look at what questions they should be asking, and how they can understand the information they have to be able to deliver positive outcomes for the customer and their business.
Keyloop is much more than an IT solution.
Our platform forms an entire ecosystem that helps to unit different teams, such as management, IT, and sales, across automotive retailers. It helps align departments enabling them to achieve common business goals, even though their functional responsibilities are very different.
These conversations can be extremely powerful, and by asking the right questions, we often cast new light onto challenges, help teams think about what they want to achieve, and open minds to new possibilities. And our customers are seeing positive outcomes as a result.
Keyloop is much more than an IT solution. Our platform forms an entire ecosystem that helps to unit different teams, such as management, IT, and sales, across automotive retailers.
Pit stop tyre changes and steamy bookings.
Of course, a personalised experience doesn’t necessarily mean high-touch – convenience can be just as important. As we all know Finnish people are the sauna people, its where we go to charge and contemplate. And if during that time we want to book a car service or test drive on our smart phone, then why not? Being able to book whenever and wherever means in the sauna too!
As I’ve already mentioned, consumers in the south are less likely to go straight to the dealership when looking for a new vehicle – they are looking for ways to be more efficient. They appreciate ways to streamline servicing, such as booking a time online, and being able to hand over the vehicle without queueing or a time-consuming interaction. Many would rather have a locker PIN that enables them to drop off their keys securely and pick up the courtesy car keys at the same time.
The customer preference for not wasting time is so strong in some southern areas that workshops are looking for ways to cut the time it takes to swap winter and summer tyres for customers while they wait – like a Formula 1 pit stop. Shorter times means shorter queues, customers are happier, and more can be served in a day, making it a win/ win tactic. Literally every second counts. By contrast, in the north, we find that customers like to take things at a more relaxed paced. Here automotive retailers focus on building strong relationships that extend to the next generation, with children and grandchildren also being loyal to the business.
What we’re really talking about here is giving the consumer has the power to do the things when and how they want to – offering them a self-service model and modifying workflows to make this possible for them.
Our role at Keyloop is to help build, optimise, and automate the dealer ecosystem, helping our clients to create and deliver more customer-centric experiences.
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