Give your customers a shopping experience they can celebrate

This Fourth of July holiday, your customers will be searching for a great deal on their next vehicle purchase. But will they also find a great customer experience? Studies show that shopping experience matters to car buyers. In fact, many of today’s customers prioritize a great shopping experience even over price. Here are a few ways you can deliver a superior customer experience that will boost sales this holiday weekend.

Make better online to in-store connections

The July 4 holiday is a great day for customers to visit dealerships and see cars up close and in person. But most of your customers started the car buying journey long before stepping foot inside your dealership’s doors. With a CRM that integrates with your dealership’s website, you can capture the work your customers did online to provide a smoother online to in-store transition. Whether your customers have searched for specific vehicles on your dealership’s website, or they have progressed to structuring payments, submitting trade offers, starting a credit application or even reviewing aftermarket accessories, the quality of their in-store experience can hinge on what you know about what they have already done online.

Make more personal customer connections  

Of course, knowing what your customers have done before they visit your store is only part of the customer experience equation. It is important to take advantage of these insights to provide a more personalized experience once they arrive at your dealership.

When your CRM is the hub of all customer communications, from website browsing to phone calls to texting, you can provide that personalized experience. Giving your salespeople quick, consolidated access to a customer’s full history with the dealership allows the salesperson to pick up the car buying conversation exactly where a customer left off. This eliminates the frustration  many customers experience when they are asked to start the car buying process all over again when they arrive to the showroom, especially when they’ve already spent hours researching and shopping online. This type of personalization makes your customers feel like you are going out of your way to treat them like actual people with questions, concerns and individual interests, rather than just another sales number walking through the door.

Make your sales employees more accountable

Accountability matters in auto sales, particularly when it comes to customer relationships. If your employees are not being held accountable for following CRM processes, sales and CSI scores suffer and opportunities slip through the cracks. Before the big holiday sales rush, make sure your entire team is on the same page. Actively review CRM reports to identify compliance problems. And if needed, conduct one-on-one accountability meetings to correct any issues you uncover. A pre-rush check-in can be helpful to ensure that your employees understand your customers, and that your big holiday sales plan goes off without a hitch.

The right CRM can give your sales team the insights they need to provide a superior shopping and buying experience for your customers. Request a demo to see how our suite of integrated Connect CRM products can give your customers a better buying experience.