Technology could help reinvent the after-sales process in 2017 and potentially increase dealer revenues by £40,000* per site, says In-car Cleverness.
The vehicle relationship management (VRM) specialist predicts next year will in fact prove to be a tipping point in the adoption of technology which enables the dealer, customer and vehicle to communicate in a completely transparent way.
In the face of longer service intervals and more reliable vehicles, the technology, which incorporates remote diagnostics, boosts customer contact, improves client satisfaction and minimises missed sales opportunities or routine maintenance.
In-car Cleverness estimates that telematics-driven VRM and remote diagnostics will increase after-sales revenues by 10 per cent in dealers which adopt the technology and actively promote the benefits to their customers, equating to an estimated boon of £4 million for the top-10 dealer groups alone – or roughly £40,000 per site.
As well as boosting transparency and therefore trust, which keeps the customers coming back, VRM ensures important maintenance work which would otherwise be put off or not carried out at all is remedied appropriately.
Paul O’Dowd, Head of Sales at In-car Cleverness, said: “Just a few years ago dealers started to migrate after-sales services to their websites, making the booking process easier for the customer. Telematics and vehicle relationship management, however, takes this on another level. It is a technology the whole sector, and the consumer, can and should get behind. It not only presents more sales opportunities but increases safety, trust and customer retention. Some dealers will use the technology extremely effectively, while others will take time to garner all the benefits.
“It can change the way we manage vehicle maintenance, laying bare information which was previously unavailable, unless the vehicle was plugged into a good diagnostics tool in the workshop. The inherent transparency of the system and greater trust it imbues will finally start making a real impact in 2017.”
Adoption of the technology is already benefitting the dealer sector, where courtesy fleets are utilising telematics to monitor how vehicles are being driven by customers and staff to gain specific insights or to minimise accident disputes, as well as running costs. Dealers now know, however, it’s not just about driver behaviour; it improves utilisation, maintenance and residual values which can all be managed more efficiently.
