One of the most popular metaphors in business is how leaders are the pilots of their organizations: in the driver's seat, handling turbulence, and getting employees and customers to their destination. This is an easy metaphor to apply to automation, especially since aviation’s adoption of automation follows a similar path as it does with the automotive…

Creator Lindsay Automotive Realizes $800 Increase in PVR Profit and Up to 28% Increase in Protection Product Sales Using ZipDeal’s Personalized Customer-Driven Delivery Process

Columbus, OH – August 3, 2020 – ZipDeal, a streamlined, post-sale, pre-F&I vehicle delivery system for automotive dealers, launched today. Created by dealership owner Steve Lindsay, and helmed by industry veterans…

Last year, U.S. e-commerce sales generated about $365.2 billion in revenue. With the COVID-19 pandemic resulting in changing shopping habits as nonessential businesses endure mandated closures, there is more incentive than ever to invest in growing…

These days, more channels are open for consumers to buy vehicles without leaving their homes. Whether that occurs through dealerships, independents, or online services, it is of concern, from a safety standpoint, that consumers know that their chosen vehicle is safe.

No consumer wants to spend thousands of dollars on a “lemon,” nor a vehicle…

In my last blogI discussed how dealers have been using automation to manage internet lead processes. In this blog, I will take it one step further and explain how dealers are using an…

Sales and service processes have been modified and fine-tuned as long as sales and services have existed. Making a product or service accessible and appealing is what drives sales. These processes include many areas where repetition comes in to play and have been mostly managed manually.  As technology has improved, the ability to automate repetitive…

The average dealer leaves over $250,000 on the table each year for every 100 units sold per month. That’s right, a quarter-million dollars. Surprised? That’s what your dealership sacrifices when you don’t offer Environmental Protection Packages (EPP), also called paint & fabric packages, to 100% of customers 100% of the time. Consider these…

While traveling through Asia, Alexander the Great fell ill. Everyone was afraid to treat him, as they feared that, if they failed, they would be blamed for the King’s death. However, one physician was willing. While Alexander waited for the physician to prepare the medicine, he received a letter informing him that this physician was not to be trusted and…

With most of the country in quarantine, people are more reliant upon digital applications like Netflix and Amazon than ever before. Netflix reportedly had 16 million new subscribers in the first three months of 2020 due to the coronavirus. It’s no…

Due to the current pandemic, customers are increasingly doing more shopping online. The current transformation to a digital retailing manner of car buying saw dealers scrambling to adapt to their current state’s requirements. Some dealers were shut down completely, others were able to sell online and some didn’t close at all. Regardless, dealers were still at…

Today's environment:

Sometimes when I look at an auto dealer website I sit back, scratch my head, and wonder if they have ever scheduled an appointment for dealer service on their website? Not to mention all the bots that pop, and all the flashing offers! It is the farthest from the basic tenets of what makes anything usable today on…

Before the Covid-19 pandemic and economic crisis, dealers have been struggling to adopt and perfect digital retailing and the need has accelerated at staggering speed. Data from McKinsey & Company show…

In recent months business owners have had to adapt to a global pandemic, economic shutdowns, employee layoffs, peaceful protests and riots, and operational efficiency changes to help deal with all the above.

So, you may think it’s understandable if you’ve been ignoring your content marketing strategy. However, turbulent times provide an ideal…

Some dealers miss opportunities to gain acceptance of service recommendations or upsells simply because consumers do not know why they are needed or important. Many advisors share the “canned” description. However, if the customer is not right in front of you it can be hard for them to understand what you are going on about and so they decline the…

With Covid-19 creating a ripple effect across the socio-economic fabric of America, life as most of us know it has been disrupted, especially that of the retail customer journey which has migrated into the digital landscape. As a new normal materializes, even the more technophobic consumers have taken to digital retail platforms and applications to meet…

With the advancement of technology and sudden wave of consumer adoption, the automotive retail sector is experiencing a global revolution and that can only be attributed to digitization. Thanks to digital platforms and solutions, dealers have experienced many recent changes.

Total retail sales in the United…

I am incredibly humbled that David Kain took the time to learn about PAVEInspect last week.

"David Kain, President of Kain Automotive interviews Steve Southin, Co-CEO of DiscoveryLoft about their new vehicle inspection tool, PAVE INSPECT. PAVE INSPECT allows…

Customers are becoming incredibly sophisticated, elusive, and empowered since the latest digital retail wave. As a result, the dynamics of the relationship between brands and customers is evolving. But even in this new digital era of online engagement and transparency, the reality is that the relationship dealers should hope to have with customers…

In today’s times, people are concerned about COVID-19 as are businesses. Technology has become more important than ever for both consumers to shop as well as businesses to stay afloat. Many dealerships were restricted from sales being open while some were allowed to only sell online. How, exactly, do you sell a car completely online to consumers who are…

As the automotive lead process is not a new thing. It has become obvious there is a collision between the dealership’s automated systems and human engagement. If you missed our previous post click here

Today, we will focus on the first two steps in the lead development process. The autoresponder…