In the retail world today, consumers have grown accustom to quick, easy, and digital processes. Take Google and Amazon as examples – these companies provide easy, engaging, and mobile shopping experiences that allow consumers to make purchases in just seconds. Even companies who mostly sell in-store have adopted digital trends to create an easier buying process for consumers. Lowe’s, for example, invested money in an augmented-reality feature for its mobile app that allows consumers to search through product inventory and view how the product looks and fits in their home, letting consumers make a purchase decision before even entering the store.

Now picture the digital processes in your dealership today. What do they look like? What type of digital experience does your dealership give its customers?

Your customers’ first interaction with your dealership is most likely through your website. Odds are they saw digital marketing, digital inventory and pricing, online chat and lead forms, and other digital information that started their vehicle buying experience. But what happens when customers come to your dealership to test drive the vehicle they viewed online? Are they experiencing the digital processes they’re accustomed to? Or are they experiencing a lot of paperwork, time left by themselves, the back of computer screens, and long wait times between steps of the sales process?

Let’s break it down. Today’s typical vehicle sales process takes anywhere from two to six hours to complete. That means, even though your customer has instant access to your dealership’s inventory on the website and they come into the dealership knowing exactly the vehicle they want to purchase, they still end up…

• Waiting for the vehicle to be found in inventory.
• Waiting to test drive the vehicle.
• Waiting to start and negotiate the deal.
• Waiting to complete the finance and insurance processes.

Not to mention they may have to repeat their information two or three times to different people during the process. Now, what would these processes look like if they were digital? Below are a few ways you can implement digital processes throughout each department in your dealership.

Sales Department:

• Conduct a digital meet and greet using a tablet or mobile device.
• Research available inventory right on the lot.
• Discretely alert your manager when they are needed without ever leaving the customer.

Finance Department:

• Electronically submit the deal to finance so your customer doesn’t have to wait on information being re-keyed.
• Present warranty and after-market products electronically with digital brochures and videos.
• Allow customers to sign electronic documents.

Fixed Operations Department:

• Automatically alert the service advisor and sales person when a customer arrives on the lot.
• Greet the customer by name with a digital greeter board that includes specific service specials for that vehicle.
• Capture details electronically during the walk-around, including images.

The End Result

These are just a few areas where you can implement digital processes into your dealership. When moving to a more digital dealership, you will enhance every aspect of your daily work for the better. You will create a seamless transition for the customer from online to in store and give them a better overall experience. You also will develop more efficient and accurate processes for your dealership that saves you time and money every day.