The Next Generation Automotive Dealer

Since the initial inception of the automotive dealership showroom, it has been said that the trick to selling cars is how you guide potential customers through the process of buying a car. For years, this very important step in the process was done via the telephone. As with all good things, new inventions come about, technology changes and the introduction of new ways to do business such as the introduction of the Internet, and emailing now affords consumers a whole new way to communicate. Because of this, the sales process changed and things became a little slower to complete. Dealers were not able to identify customer needs as quickly and as a result could not as easily help the buyer understand the car buying cycle.Now that cell phones and PDA’s have become common place, Honda Los Angeles Dealers offers constant communication and access to information online available 24/7. We are starting to see an even greater reliance on electronic communication. The current generation is heavily into things such as Instant Messaging and blogging. The use of instant messaging for most people has helped to bridge the gap between consumers and dealers. By allowing consumers to move at their own pace through the buying cycle online, dealers still keep in communication with customers and have the chance to gather information about the consumer and what their interests are.Consumers have seen this as an opportunity and now dealers such as Audi Seacoast and Ford New Hampshire have the challenge to either accept the change or fall behind in the race to keep consumers on board. Many dealers are now starting to implement features such as Live Chat on their web sites to allow sales personnel to engage in conversation with consumers while they are online shopping. Consumers can ask questions while dealers provide the details that consumers are looking for. This allows dealers to draw consumers in and still have the possibility of getting that ever sought after “Internet Lead” that every dealer so desperately wants.Some dealers are adjusting better than other in the internet leads race. Technology allows Southern Maine Chevrolet Dealers to respond to these customers through auto responders and template emails. Dealers have quickly learned that speed is of the essence when trying to convert an internet lead into a sale. He who responds first has a greater chance of closing the deal.The dealers that learn to adjust with the times and understand the usefulness of today’s technology will gain an extreme advantage over the dealers who choose to look the other way. Consumers are more savvy with want they want in an automobile as well as how the shop for one. How they shop will be forever changing with the latest technological advances.As with any new technology, there are concerns about the costs and maintenance of systems such as this, but as dealers are finding, these solutions are very low cost and easy to implement and can easily allow dealers to compete for these Internet- savvy prospects.