Speakers at the Finance & Leasing
Association (FLA) 2012 Used Car Seminar emphasised digital
marketing and trading were not a “silver bullet” or “panacea” to
combat supply or sales problems but were tools to help customer
service.
The seminar took the theme of utilising
technology to increase second-hand vehicle customer footfall and
retention and featured comment from dealers, finance providers and
technology experts.
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Paul Harrison, head of motor finance at the FLA, said the event
was “well-received” by attendees who appreciated the need for
strong, personal retail skills at a time of evolving digital
technology to buttress sales.
Adrian Lewis,
Marshall Motor Group used car director, said the industry could
not “rely on technology.” Instead, selling cars “should always be
about quality” and online promotion would not help if cars were not
presented properly, nor the company’s image established.
While Harvey Stead, sales director at Close
Motor Finance, demonstrated the internet meant all dealers were now
selling in
a “nationwide”, not local, market, it also made customers
“savvy” about finance, rights, residual values and voluntary
terminations; in turn making
underwriting “evermore critical” to a deal.
Likewise, Jamie Dixon, sales director of
web management company GForces, spoke of enhancing web traffic
to a market of “pro-sumers”, consumers who are open to finance
options but may “now know more about vehicles than those selling
them”.
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By GlobalData‘A dinosaur colliding with a
spaceship’
Craig Purvey, general manager of corporate
sales at British Car Auctions (BCA), joked that the meeting of new
technology with a market as old as the motor trade was like “a
spaceship colliding with a dinosaur”.
While demonstrating the ability of
BCA’s online tools, such as compiling appraisal, value and
sales data on one “idiot-proof” page, Purvey caught the theme of
the day by telling delegates “technology will not give you the
answer… [But] it will help your process.”
Harrison was pleased with the seminar, held at
the Volkswagen National Training Centre in Milton Keynes, which
also included speakers from Chrysalis Solmotive Group, VW
Manufacturing and CAP.
“Our third annual used car event was
well-received by delegates, who liked the diverse range of speakers
and the nuggets of information that could be taken away and applied
to specific used car functions within their own businesses,”
Harrison told Motor Finance.
“The theme of our event was ‘utilising new
technology’ but it was clear that technological innovation needs to
be backed up with good old-fashioned customer service.
“Ensuring dealers and lenders have a strong
online presence is also vital given research now suggests that
consumers only visit a dealer once before buying.”
Further comment and analysis from the FLA
Used Car Seminar will be published in the
July issue of
Motor Finance
magazine.
richard.brown@vrlfinancialnews.com
