Digitization is overtaking the consumer shopping experience. Today, 87% of buyers conduct online research using their smartphones before making a purchase. As more people embrace technology, your specialty dealership must be equipped to keep up with modern expectations. By welcoming digital tools into your daily practices now, you can stay ahead of the game and meet evolving customer preferences.
Why Tech Matters for Your Specialty Dealership
Rising Customer Expectations
Since consumers have instant internet access on their smartphones, they’ve become accustomed to speediness at every turn. In fact, 77% of customers expect to interact with an employee immediately. While meeting expectations is important for establishing loyal customers, your team may find these growing demands difficult to manage alone.
Technology can help you deliver the level of service shoppers expect. Staff can access dealership information from anywhere and automate various tasks to keep customers moving through the sales funnel even outside of regular business hours. For example, reps can schedule automated email or text messages to ensure timely follow-up with customers.
Growing Competition
Specialty dealers have begun to leverage technology to connect their departments and boost efficiency across the entire operation. For example, many have adopted a dealer management system (DMS) which streamlines every business function, including sales, service, finance, accounting, parts, and more.
For smaller teams, this technology can put you on a more even playing field with large ones. For large operations, this means simplifying data consolidation and maintaining organization across multiple rooftops. With digital processes, you’ll minimize the amount of manual work your team is required to handle and free up employees for more important tasks. By eliminating unnecessary, time-consuming tasks, small and large operations can deliver the same level of efficient service.
How Tech Transforms Your Operation
Unified Information
With all your customer information available through a single, accessible platform, your employees will have complete visibility into the customer journey. You can track every interaction, set follow-up reminders, and communicate internally across departments. More importantly, you can eliminate the hassle of duplicate or inconsistent data. With digital records, you’ll have less risk of manual error or missing information.
Data-Driven Decisions
Dealer management technology often comes with advanced reporting and analytic capabilities, providing you with substantial insight into dealership performance. Using the information readily available at your fingertips, you can identify operational gaps and address problems faster. For example, you can pull prebuilt or custom reports that include up-to-the-minute data. By leveraging these comprehensive reports, managers can set strategic goals that drive the greatest business results.
Efficient Processes
Streamlining your processes increases productivity levels and revenue potential for your dealership. By automating tasks such as lead follow-up and service reminders, your team will have more time to build relationships and close deals. Efficiency is key to greater dealership growth, and technology is the tool that can give you a jump start.
How Tech Impacts the Customer Experience
Faster, Smoother Transactions
Digitization significantly reduces the time it takes for customers to get the information they need. With the right tools in place, your team will be equipped at every stage of the sale, helping deals move seamlessly and efficiently. By reducing manual processes and unnecessary complexity, you minimize wait times and keep the buying experience hassle-free.
Personalized Service
Technology empowers your team to deliver a more personalized experience. With customer data centralized in one system, any team member can access past purchase history, notes, and interactions — ensuring continuity, even when staff changes. Customers won’t need to repeat themselves every time they visit. Plus, your team can build tailored deals and automate follow-up messages that reflect each customer’s preferences, making the entire experience feel individualized.
Maximize Success With Tech
As customer expectations continue to evolve, technology is a must for specialty dealers looking to stay competitive. The right digital tools make it easier to streamline operations, personalize the buying experience, and keep your team focused on establishing lifelong customers. Whether you’re running a small or large operation, leverage technology today to meet modern demands and set your business up for greater success.