Introduction
Automotive dealers have always needed to differentiate by delivering distinct customer experiences. And now, making those experiences personalised and seamless must be the focus for retailers across the Benelux region. This starts with the all-important first contact, but it is not always as simple as it sounds. Digital technologies have dramatically changed the dynamics of the automotive customer journey, and there is still opportunity to be taken.
Get it right from the start
Automotive businesses must harness multiple communications channels
As we all know, today’s customer journey takes place across a range of different channels, online and in-person (retailer visits, phone calls, website forms, chatbots, WhatsApp, Messenger, Facebook, Instagram, SMS, email and more). Consumers will use their preferred channel or – just as likely – a combination of channels how, when, and where is most convenient to them. And they expect to be treated as a recognised and valued individual across every channel, picking up the conversation wherever it was left off. If they need to repeat information or explain again, then their journey – and their experience – is broken.
Whilst dealers across our region are harnessing the power of these technologies and using the data from platforms like the Keyloop DMS to join them up, there is still too much left to chance, and too many breaks across the systems.
Automotive dealers are leaving too much business on the floor
Even though we know how important the first touch point with an automotive retailer is for a consumer, and what a golden opportunity this is for retailers to get future business into their orbit, there is still far too much wastage by dealers across the region. A slow response (or worse, no response – it happens more often than you think) will result in them losing interest and moving on to another dealer, or even another brand. And when loyal customers try and contact their dealership, say to make an appointment to get their car fixed or to test drive a new model, they’ll try once, twice, maybe a third time. But if they’re responded to too slowly, the likelihood is they will look for help elsewhere.
The “horror” story below is, I fear, all too common across Benelux:
Recently, a mid-sized dealership told me that on average they are missing around 1,500calls a week. 1,500 business opportunities missed. They recognise the importance of getting this managed, as they knew they are losing business (and causing their customers frustration) simply because the systems are not in place to get back to customers in a timely manner. This is basic stuff, made even easier with the application of smart technology solutions. How can automotive retailers deliver an exceptional experience to customers, if they are not welcoming in those customers in the first place?
When we talk to automotive businesses about Keyloop, they all recognise the importance of the first-communication contact point, and the value creation that comes from getting it right. They know that technology can help them solve this problem, and that Keyloop’s Experience-First blueprint provides the roadmap for retailers to address their multi-channel communication challenges.
To build trust and create lasting relationships with customers, brands need to:
- Respond promptly
- Personalise the interaction
- Make sure that the conversation is truly omnichannel, with no cracks in the flow.
A personal, prompt, and engaging response encourages the consumer to keep talking to you – this is the foundation that relationships are built on. And research confirms that a personal response makes a consumer more likely to come back to buy their car from you. The more a retailer delivers across every sales touchpoint, the more they can bind a customer to their brand.
Think omnichannel instead of multichannel
Being multichannel offers consumers lots of different communication routes but being omnichannel connects all these routes to make the experience and journey seamless. It doesn’t matter which channel the customer uses, even if they switch from one to another, they will be recognised at every touchpoint. Their journey may start with a website visit, then a phone call, then a WhatsApp, back to the website again, all done to convenience the consumer.
Taking the Experience-First approach manages this complexity and makes sure that every response you deliver adds to a positive, consistent, and seamless customer experience.
Customer journey touchpoints are evolving
Digital transformation presents retailers with an opportunity to transform each touchpoint into an excellent customer experience that meets today’s consumer needs, builds trust, and keeps customers loyal. This is even more important in markets like the Netherlands, where consumers are forward-thinking pioneers and expect brands to offer a great website and plenty of online services. Here are just three examples of what we are seeing.
Today’s consumers are highly likely to have researched online before contacting a dealer, so they often know exactly, down to detailed specs, what they are looking for. This is a shift in the retailer/consumer relationship, with dealers having to focus on meeting the expectations of research online, purchase offline” customers. Websites and apps need to be informative and intuitive, and dealers need to be ready to answer increasingly sophisticated consumer questions.
Many customers want to enjoy the convenience, and hands-off nature of self-serve. They prefer to book their vehicle service online rather than having to phone the workshop; they like to be alerted to repairs via video on WhatsApp or text; pay online and even collect their keys via a key safe. And when this happens seamlessly and without issue, consumers see this as experiential, which is even more valuable to them than a high-touch, person rich experience.
The power of 360-degree information
The experience-led economy relies on data. So, automotive retailers need to make sure all the data they have is being properly captured, managed, and used effectively to make the omnichannel experience as intuitive and personalised as possible for the customer.
When you have a 360 view of the consumer, every communication can be made personal, relevant, and timely, enriching the experience, and making it seamless throughout – from initial contact to vehicle replacement and beyond. This is why Keyloop’s active data core is continually updated, managed, and added to so that retailers always have the latest and most accurate information to work from.
Adding value through collaboration
Our partnership ecosystem is big in Benelux, which enhances our ability to accelerate change for those dealers wanting to offer new and better options for consumers. Our DMS enables data to flow to and from selected OEM and partner applications – we only choose best-in-class partners to connect with, those who offer the best functionality and security for our customers.
For example, dealers and workshops can now use our planning tool, which is a significant improvement on the old-school board on a wall! Our partner collaboration now helps retailers plan workloads and sales progress much more effectively. And because it connects with the DMS data using APIs, every time a vehicle’s details are entered onto the planner the DMS is updated seamlessly too meaning records are always complete and up to date – for example, the technician working on the vehicle can easily check its history or find out what the last interaction with its owner was.
Mobility trends are shifting
EV adoption is growing for varied reasons
In the Netherlands, where they are keen to stay ahead with innovation, 2023 vehicle sales were 1.1% diesel, 30.4% petrol, 37.1% hybrid, and 30.8% electric, and Brussels – where so many people drive company cars – is also EV rich. Like so much of the world, Benelux does have an issue with charging points and grid capacity, but that is being actively addressed. For example, the Brussels Capital Region has made it mandatory for every car park in Brussels to have an EV charging point by 2025.
Automotive retailers have an important part to play in facilitating the inevitable dominance of EVs, by considering how they fit into the charging ecosystem and how they can support their customers with new methods of mobility, new models of vehicle ownership and so on.
Consumer thinking about mobility is changing
It’s interesting to see that today’s consumers don’t necessarily mean cars when they talk about mobility: they are looking at bikes, and mobility passes for diverse types of transport, too. Big cities like Amsterdam, Brussels and Antwerp have partly banned diesel vehicles, so you must park your vehicle at the edge of the city and then use alternative transport to come into the centre.
The mobility landscape is evolving fast, and this is something dealers should be thinking about and strategising for right now. How can you influence local and regional policy? What can you offer in terms of mobility consultancy services? How can you approach mobility to differentiate your business from competitors?
Taking a strategic and adaptive approach across Benelux
The open Keyloop platform and its active data core helps automotive companies to adapt their approach to Experience-First region by region, and retailer by retailer, to make sure it’s meeting the right needs in the right places, and at the right time.
As I have said, the Netherlands is a forward-thinking market, really advanced, and always ready to be early adopters of innovative ideas and solutions. On the other hand, the pace of change is slower in Belgium. So that’s two different challenges: to stay ahead in the rapidly evolving markets, and to encourage companies in more traditional markets to move forward with us.
This is why we collaborate with our customers to make sure we are filling (and anticipating) any opportunities for them. For example, Dutch car importers and retailers Pon are one of Keyloop’s biggest customers in the region, We are having strategic meetings with several of our customers, often on a yearly basis And these are no longer only about pricing or contracts, but about how to develop synergies, share what’s happening with each other, and see how we can meet their evolving needs in the months and years to come. The development of these strategic-level relationships is crucial to us as we move forward with Experience-First across the region.
Because Dutch people are early adopters, and often digital-first, we already have close to forty approved retailer partners in our ecosystem in the Netherlands, all connecting with Keyloop solutions, using our open APIs to provide market-specific solutions.
This kind of future thinking, mapping the right strategy and right technical solutions and adaptations to the right geography is key across our region, and Keyloop’s Experience-First blueprint, is enabling us to have the kind of conversations and deliver the kind of solutions dealers of today want.
Read the full whitepaper here.Â
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