Best Practices Supplement - November 2021 - 22_SUPP

22
BEST PRACTICES 2021
While new-vehicle sales across Canada fell 20 per cent
in 2020, Western Kia in Corner Brook, Nfld., posted a
15-per-cent gain. The key was personalized communication
using the available digital tools. PHOTOS: WESTERN KIA
FROM THE
FEBRUARY
EDITION
FROM THE
MARCH
EDITION
FROM THE
'Selfie videos,' solid sales
APRIL
EDITION
EDITION
FROM THE
MAY
CADA Laureate's store
unites digital tools,
customer TLC
By JEREMY SINEK
T ORONTO CORRESPONDENT
EDITION
FROM THE
A SHARP PIVOT TO VIDEO AND
other tools of digital retailing - along
with a focus on communicating with
customers - helped a Kia dealership
in Newfoundland
and Labrador
thrive throughout
the pandemic and
ongoing inventory
shortages.
EDITION
FROM THE
JULY
FROM THE
AUGUST
EDITION
Western Kia,
in Corner Brook on the west coast of
Newfoundland, increased its new-vehicle
retail sales 15 per cent last year
to 402 units, compared with 2019, while
overall net income rose 46 per cent said
General Manager Jacob Cluney. In contrast,
national sales over the same period
slumped 20 per cent, according to
the Automotive News Research & Data
Center.
FROM THE
SEPTEMBER
EDITION
FROM THE
And through June, Western Kia's
sales were up 38 per cent compared
OCTOBER
EDITION
FROM THE
NOVEMBER
O
JUNE
with the same period in 2020. Across
Canada, the increase was 33 per cent.
Last year's performance earned
Dealer Principal Michelle
Melendy the Canadian
Automobile Dealers
Association (CADA) 2021
Laureate Award for Retail
Operations. It also helped the
dealership identify strategies
that will continue to be implemented
after the pandemic
subsides.
Western Kia is part
of the Western Group of
Companies, which also operates
Toyota and Mazda
stores. Corner Brook - a city
of 32,000, 690 kilometres west
of St. John's - also is home
to Ford, General Motors,
Stellantis, Nissan, Hyundai
and Honda dealerships.
ONLINE LIKE IN-PERSON
The core of Western
created a library of walk-around videos
of new vehicles. This, Cluney said, " gave
our phone and online leads as close to
an in-person experience as
possible. "
The personalized videos,
which the dealership
calls selfie videos, allow
sales advisers to introduce
themselves to customers.
They then conduct a video
featuring the vehicle of
interest.
Beyond creating a
seamless virtual process
for customers, the dealership's
goal was to set itself
apart from competitors,
Cluney said.
Cluney: Personalized
videos helped Western
Kia increase sales
despite the pandemic's
hit to the economy.
Kia's pandemic response: " Anything
a customer can achieve here in our
showroom, we want them to be able to
do virtually as well, " Cluney said.
For example, when COVID-19 kept
customers at home, each product adviser
" It doesn't take much
to beat an automated
response, " he said, " but
we wanted to take it a step
further by accompanying
our follow-up with links
to these videos. "
The personalized video was a consistent
part of Western Kia's sales process
over the past year and Cluney said
it contributed to the store's growth
despite COVID-19's economic fallout.
The dealership continues to update
Best Practices Supplement - November 2021

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