Technology 'could boost dealer aftersales by £40k in 2017'

11:59 am, October 19, 2016

TECHNOLOGY could help reinvent the aftersales process in 2017 and potentially increase dealer revenue by £40,000 per site, says In-car Cleverness.

The vehicle relationship management (VRM) specialist reached the figure by estimating the aftersales benefit across the top 10 dealer groups and predicted that next year would prove to be a tipping point in the adoption of technology that 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, it says.

In-Car Cleverness estimates that telematics-driven VRM and remote diagnostics will increase after sales revenues by 10 per cent in dealers that 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 customers coming back, VRM ensures important maintenance work that would otherwise be put off or not carried out at all is remedied appropriately.

In-Car Cleverness head of sales Paul O’Dowd, pictured above, 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 to 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.’