Whitepaper Bonus Chapter: The Next Generation of Automotive Customer Experience

A new world vision is a gamechanger for automotive retailers

In a rapidly changing world, it is imperative that Spanish automotive retailers adapt to the needs of their high-expectation customers. Adoption and agile use of technology sits at the heart of future success. Today’s retailers must swiftly pivot to customer demand, personalise interactions based on demographics, geography and desire and offer the kind of standout experiences Spanish consumers have come to expect in their day to day retail interactions. It’s all about relevance.

For the automotive industry, embracing the future means having new tools, strategies, and fresh approaches if we are to collectively enable the delivery of what we at Keyloop call Experience-First.

Like our industry colleagues around the globe, Spanish automotive retailers are seeing the old world fade and the new world becoming a sharp reality. It isn’t just vehicles and sales channels that are changing, consumers are changing too. They are already benefiting from new technology and infrastructure in their day to day lives, and what they want today can often, be delivered tomorrow. As digitalisation continues, other sectors are increasingly delivering seamless customer journeys, raising the bar for customer experience. Which means our customers now have new world expectations of the automotive industry: seamless service, deep personalisation, and real time responses. In short they expect the kind of stand out experience they receive across all their retail interactions.

Automotive retailers that don’t evolve and stay relevant to their customers risk falling behind, as even the smallest of frustrations or disconnects may see previously loyal customers voting with their feet.

The power of relevancy and personalisation

For dealers to sell and service more vehicles they need to be focussing on the right audience using the most relevant channels, and this means obtaining a better understanding of marketplace data. This is particularly important in Spain, where there can be a gap between the hyper-modernity of the city and traditionalism of more remote areas.

Spain is a large country, with much of the population concentrated in the big cities. Those who live in the country often have a quite different profile and behaviours to those who live in Madrid, Barcelona, Sevilla or Valencia. A recent example with one of our retailers highlights this. They sent their customers a marketing email and video upselling repairs and servicing. They had almost no response and, on further investigation, discovered that they were targeting customers in remote towns and rural areas, and these customers only checked their email once or twice a week, making this attempt at engagement irrelevant. The pace of digitalisation is not the same everywhere – which is why the customer experience must be personalised.

I believe many brands should be more focused on relevancy when it comes to their marketing campaigns.. For example, a brand promoting electric vehicles (EVs) to people living and working in our larger cities may not have considered that EVs could be better for people in the smaller cities. . In fact, city customers use public transport during the week, and at the weekend may use their cars for long journeys. Until the charging infrastructure covers more of the country, an EV is unlikely to be the right choice. On the other hand, in smaller cities and towns with plenty of charging stations, and smaller distances to cover, EVs could be a much better option for customers wanting to commute locally and maybe visit a nearby beach at weekends.

Retailers can exceed customer expectations and build long-term relationships by being relevant to the market, and to their customers. This means staying in step with, or ahead of, market trends and movements and maximising the right technologies at the right time to best deliver against customer needs and expectations.

Staying relevant in 2024 and beyond

For automotive businesses embracing the new world, the first priority must be to map out the customer journey, including all its necessary variations by brand, channel, and location. Through this process, you can also identify the pain points, which represent opportunities for improvement and for increasing relevancy. With each solution you put in place, the smoother the customer journey becomes.

At Keyloop, we work with new world retailers to help them hyper-personalise customer experiences, harnessing the flexibility of our platform, data, and apps to engage and serve individual customers with what they want, in the way they want it. This needs a complete understanding of the customer, from demographics to needs and preferences.

The better the data a retailer has, the more complete the picture is, helping to deliver relevancy and value at every touchpoint in the customer journey according to their needs and expectations. 

Reducing time to market is a game-changer

The ability to respond rapidly to changing consumer needs can set retilers apart from the competition. The flexibility and open architecture of the Keyloop ecosystem evolves in line with dealership needs, continuously adding value to the customer experience as fresh solutions emerge. 

It used to take a lot of development – and time – to integrate a partner solution into a DMS. The work we have undertaken to reconfigure our platform means we can quickly connect different manufacturer and partner apps and solutions.  This gives automotive retailers the flexibility they need to respond to today’s market trends and changes, and swiftly address pain points in the customer journey.

New world customers don’t want old world service 

Recently, the red oil warning light appeared on the dashboard of my smart, connected car. Naturally, I used my app to book a service with the dealership. This was an excellent experience – quick and convenient. But when I took the car in, the workshop found that the problem was with the warning light and that my car didn’t need oil – or servicing – at all. A waste of their time and mine. 

Yet, because my car is connected, the OEM could see the full status of my car, which means that this wasted morning needn’t have happened. The dealer, just like the OEM, should have been able to see my car’s status on their platform, and be checking it and interpreting the data before I brought the car in. This way they could have picked up that the light was faulty, and that the car still had plenty of oil. I could then have arranged to have the warning light fixed next time I brought the car in. 

It is this kind of disconnect that automotive retailers can, and must, avoid if they are to retain customer loyalty. In a world where consumers expect excellence it only takes one mistake or inconvenience for them to look elsewhere. This is no different when it comesservicing a car. Even in Spain, where people tend to have their car fixed at the place where they bought it, new world customers will not remain loyal if they experience old world service.  

By using OEM vehicle data, dealers could make significant improvements to the customer experience across the entire lifecycle of the car, from pre-sale to resale. Businesses that can connect and streamline their services using new world digital tools can deliver seamless customer journeys. Yet we still have OEM systems that are not integrated into dealer platforms, as brands remain protective of their data. We need a more open approach to data sharing within the industry, so that dealers can make those valuable connections. 
 

Experience centres not sales floors 

As choices become more complex for consumers, automotive salespeople will need to be equipped to help them to navigate all the possible options available.

In the old world, the choices were simple, and options were limited. Manual or automatic, petrol or diesel, new or used. Now, as well evolving powertrains, we are seeing new ownership and use–models emerging, such as more flexible leasing, rentals, and pay-per-use options. New world sales teams need to be able to help customers find the right solution for each customer’s mobility needs.  

The evolution of the dealer to become a mobility consultant working in an automotive experience centre is one of the most significant changes that we will see in the new world of vehicle ownership.

Supporting them with Experience-First tools and technology is key to that evolution. It’s helping them to personalise service and deliver relevancy at every touchpoint of the customer journey in order to drive sales, build relationships and create enduring consumer loyalty. 

Key Takeaways

Rapid Evolution is Key  

Dealerships must drive digitalisation and continue to evolve to deliver the kind of new world experiences modern consumers expect.  

Stay Relevant  

Deeply understanding customers, reading the data to know where they are, who they are and what they want, is the key to unlocking customer relationships and improving margins. Lose sight of this and customers will vote with their feet.  

Join the Dots  

Ensure you are taking full advantage of the data to get a complete view of the customer and their vehicle. Anticipate needs, offer the right aftercare services, respect everyone’s time, and you will win loyalty.  

Build Relationships: Don’t just Sell  

It is no longer enough to simply sell a car. Retailers must guide consumers across the car ownership lifecycle, becoming trusted advisors working in experience centres.