10:02 am, November 21, 2024
In automotive retail, engaging buyers instantly, effectively, and on their terms can be the difference between gaining or losing a new customer.
Available Car understands this reality.
Its team juggled an overwhelming queue of follow-ups and administrative tasks across multiple channels. Leads were slipping through the cracks, especially during off-hours.
In an already challenging market with an uncertain economy and cooling demand, missing these opportunities can be particularly costly.
Available Car knew what they needed: a cost-effective solution to streamline lead qualifications and implement a thorough lead management process that maximises every sales opportunity.
Enter Impel, an AI platform that enhances the entire automotive customer lifecycle—from first website search to service needs and repeat purchases.
How automotive AI helps car dealerships sell more cars
Around-the-clock efficiency
Impel AI instantly responds to every online inquiry through email and SMS, ensuring no lead goes cold—even after the showroom doors are closed. Like Available Car, dealerships that use Impel enable their teams to deliver a more engaging customer experience by pre-qualifying prospects and engaging them with personalised and humanlike interaction.
Available Car’s success story shows the power of an always-on lead management system: after implementing Impel AI, their appointment set rate soared by 62% year over year.
Even more telling, 30% of their successful lead engagements and scheduled appointments happened outside regular business hours—opportunities that would have received a delayed response or potentially been missed without automotive AI.
Superhuman scale with a human touch
Scale meets sophistication in the numbers: In just three months, Impel AI engaged with over 7,000 leads and orchestrated more than 41,000 personalised email and SMS conversations.
This mammoth task (equivalent to 257 days of human work) was handled seamlessly by Impel AI, achieving an exceptional 58% email open rate and transforming how Available Car connects with potential buyers.
Converting browsers to buyers
Not every website visitor is ready to buy—but every lead deserves attention. For dealerships focused on long-term sustainability, converting interest into sales requires meticulous handling of every lead.
Unlike generic AI solutions, Impel AI thinks and responds like it’s the most experienced sales rep at the dealership. It leverages insights from over 200m automotive shopper interactions to drive outcomes that matter: qualified appointments, calls, and, ultimately, vehicle sales.
It intelligently distinguishes between serious buyers and casual browsers, understanding customer intent to deliver the right message at the right time, from immediate registration-specific responses and handling part exchange inquiries to nuanced long-term follow-ups.
Through precise lead nurturing, Impel AI keeps Available Car top of mind for buyers and automatically schedules appointments when the time is right.
For Available Car, the impact of this intelligent approach was clear. Within three months, Impel AI set 445 qualified appointments and nearly 3,600 pre-qualified leads were delivered to sales reps.
Commenting on the successful adoption of AI, Available Car CEO Michael Bell, shared: ‘Impel AI has quickly proved a fundamental game-changer for us, enhancing the customer experience and our conversion rates while maximising dealership efficiency.
‘By enabling us to better prioritise high-value activities like showroom appointments and live calls, we’ve seen measurable improvements in productivity and sales growth, and the results show no signs of slowing.’
Beyond lead management: Addressing market challenges
Today, dealers across the UK face another critical challenge: maintaining optimal inventory levels.
Many have reported challenging quarters due to inventory constraints and used car supply shortages.
Recognising this, Impel has expanded its AI capabilities with a newly launched Car Buying AI that enables UK dealers to effectively engage, qualify, and set appointments in the CRM for incoming car buying and part exchange leads. This enables dealers to reliably source vehicles directly from consumers—a timely solution to the problem.
The future of dealership operations
Automotive AI has evolved to support every aspect of the dealership lifecycle with sophistication and precision. Available Car’s results underscore a vital truth: when consistent, systematic processes meet engaging and innovative technology, dealers don’t just survive tough markets—they thrive.
See how Available Car achieved 62% more appointments with Impel AI. Book a demo or email [email protected].
