Digital Dealer - February 2018 - 47

better use. It installed
heat sensors that could
detect if a person was
present to only provide
heat when someone was
actually in the room. As
a bonus, staff members
were able to determine
if someone was in the
room without knockingno "do not disturb" sign
necessary.
This innovation was
the result of one hotel's
recognizing an issue,
in this case a major
resource being wasted,
and thinking of ways to
solve it, without compromising on its customers'
experience. It is precisely this type of thinking
that every dealership
needs to adopt, to stay
ahead of the curve.
Determine what your
dealership is spending
the most time or money
on- ask yourself, can this
be cut in any way? For
example, if your staff is
spending 50% of their
time manually inputting
data into the CRM after
meeting with a customer,
think of ways you can
help them streamline
the process. Perhaps
they should carry iPads
with customized forms
that will enable them
to quickly and easily
take notes throughout a
meeting. This is a relatively simple solution that
is easy to implement.
The only way innovation
and improvement can
happen is if your dealership is actively looking
for issues to address.
Encourage your staff to
provide feedback, both

formally and informally,
so that you know their
pain points and areas for
improvement.

THE WAY TO THEIR
HEARTS IS THROUGH
THEIR PHONES

21st century customers are hyper-connected. They have grown
accustomed to using their
phones to accomplish
all sorts of tasks. From a
mobile device you can order and pay for products
and services, reserve
tables at restaurants,
check in for a flight, and
even adjust the lights in
your home from anywhere in the world. Know-

similar way. Take advantage of your customers'
comfort with and reliance
on mobile devices to
improve the entire buying
process. For example,
utilize tools that allow
shoppers to upload their
documents into an online
profile before coming
into your dealership.This
saves both the shopper
and your staff time, by
allowing you to prepare
for your upcoming meeting while also cutting out
the time spent scanning
at the dealership. It also
minimizes the likelihood
that someone will forget
to bring an important

...ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT
THINGS THAT DEALERSHIPS CAN
LEARN FROM THE HOSPITALITY
INDUSTRY: CUSTOMERS ARE
COMING TO DEMAND A HIGHLY
PERSONALIZED EXPERIENCE.
ing this, some hotels
have forgone room keys
(http://www.mitel.com/
blog/top-10-communication-tech-trends-hospitality) all together, allowing
users to simply scan their
mobile devices to unlock
their rooms. Others
allow visitors to pair their
phones with their rooms-
after all, why should a
guest who has become
accustomed to their
"Smart Home" have to put
up with an outdated, techfree hotel room?
Dealerships can, and
have already begun to,
utilize technology in a

document to their meeting. The opportunities
are endless once you
start taking advantage of
mobile devices- you can
send notifications about
a purchase, lease, or
appointment directly to a
shopper's phone, either
through text or by way
of a dedicated mobile
app. Customers can
receive directions to your
dealership directly to their
phones. These innovations allow customers to
interact with you in the
ways they have become
accustomed to in every
other area of their lives.

GIVE EACH
CUSTOMER THE
EXPERIENCE THEY
APPRECIATE

The Four Seasons offers three different mattress toppers (https://
www.fourseasons.com/
magazine/thrive/hotel-beds) for every bed
in its hotels, to ensure
that every guest sleeps
according to his or her
preferences. This solution is super low-tech:
the mattresses are actually changed in order to
accommodate each visitor. This might seem like
a waste of resources to
some, but the chain has
determined that guests
appreciate the ability to
customize and personalize their stay, and
especially their bed.
This hits on one of the
most important things
that dealerships can
learn from the hospitality industry: customers
are coming to demand
a highly personalized
experience. In this case,
they would like their
mattress to perfectly
match their preferences.
In the auto industry, they
want their entire buying
process to be tailored
to their needs, from
their first experience
on your website and
through a visit to your
showroom. On your
site, shoppers should
be shown content that is
relevant to them, based
on previous browsing
behavior. They should
be prompted to enter
the next logical stage of

D I G I TA L D E A L E R . C O M

Continued on pg. 48
FEBRUARY 2018

47
https://www.fourseasons.com/magazine/thrive/hotel-beds https://www.fourseasons.com/magazine/thrive/hotel-beds https://www.fourseasons.com/magazine/thrive/hotel-beds http://www.mitel.com/blog/top-10-communication-tech-trends-hospitality http://www.mitel.com/blog/top-10-communication-tech-trends-hospitality http://www.DIGITALDEALER.COM
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Digital Dealer - February 2018
