Contact Advantage

Where’s me Nan?

bobfeltham — Wed, 16 May 2012 13:01:08 +0000

Yesterday, Which magazine’s Shefalee Loth revealed trading standards officers discovered that of the lamb curries and kebabs they bought from takeaway restaurants, very few contained just lamb.
Most contained other cheaper meats, and some no lamb at all! The trading standard officers visited 20 restaurants and takeaways in the Midlands, from which they bought 39 lamb curries and kebabs.
They then tested these samples to see what meat was in them. Four of the curries contained no lamb at all, with the meat instead made up of a mixture of pork, beef or chicken – all of which were cheaper cuts of meat. None of the 20 lamb kebabs contained just lamb, with other meats in there as well. Only three of the 19 curries tested contained only lamb.
Not only could people of certain faiths unwillingly eat meat they’re not supposed to, but everyone is paying for something they think they’ll get, when they’ll actually be getting a cheaper product in return
(The next time the waiter asks would you like your Nan now I personally will hesitate as she was cremated but it does make you wonder?). And then there are the dangerous examples, such as counterfeit vodka containing high levels of methanol (used in antifreeze) which can lead to blindness. So, what can we trust?
I was mindful of this when comparing Automotive Customer Management systems recently, a number of systems don’t do what they purport to do ‘on the tin’. Having live systems is rare and these cost money to run and manage whereas ‘dead’ systems that cannot reflect customer activity in other outlets allow customers to trade cars in sister dealer outlets helping to erode company profits overall, likewise, not having up to date prices and offers instantly available causes cars to be sold for less margin. Accessories that won’t suit a particular car or the wrong tax disc value not being attached all cause problems. Not using the stock management system means your meaty stock may be more valuable, and it’s been sold too cheap, or worse may not be as valuable as you think. It’s the same as selling a curry with the wrong ingredients we know it’s driven by margins.
Dealers think a cheap system will do the job, but the reality is data won’t be entered measured and collated. Marketing data won’t be washable to ensure accuracy. The CRM menu is broad but my advice is invest in the one that contains the ingredients that matter. Temptation to buy a cheaper curry means you could be eating my Nan and she had the least reliable memory ever, a bit like a cheaper CRM system.

Wrestling with Cameron Diaz

bobfeltham — Fri, 11 May 2012 10:26:00 +0000

Cameron Diaz has said she loves British men because of their sense of humour. The 39-year-old actress – who in the past has dated Matt Dillon, Jared Leto, Alex Rodriguez and Justin Timberlake – recently said she was still looking for love, and told Harper’s Bazaar magazine she has a thing for Brits. (I once thought I saw her at the Tesco express but I didn’t want to be too pushy, the lady in question seemed to notice me and was clearly tempted though).
Cameron said: “I love the British sense of humour and their chivalry and charm.
“It’s something that is innately a part of the culture – we don’t have that over here, it’s not the same in America.”
The Bad Teacher star recently worked with Colin Firth on Gambit, a remake of the 1966 comedy starring Shirley MacLaine and Michael Caine.
Cameron said of Colin: “He is the perfect Englishman. Just enough of the self-effacing to a point that it’s comfortable for other people, but also totally charming and engaging to where he makes you feel special. He’s got that British honesty.

The reality is I doubt whether Cameron will pop into her local dealer in the UK when she next visits but if she does I’d like to think that we all could deliver some Contact Advantage with a sense of humour, chivalry and charm. Most customers will react in the same way as Cameron if we all perform to our best when inputting data, customers and sales teams will all find the experience entirely uplifting. We all know that customers who receive a degree of British charm respond well when filling in customer wizard, with good lines well delivered customers relax and offer information. Great qualification questions extract the key information we need to sell the right car to the right customer and add accessories that make everyone’s experience of buying and then ownership more engaging.
Honesty and great lines well delivered ensure customers recommend for the long term. Contact Advantage guarantees that walking the customer through the sale is easy and makes sense to the customer, more importantly engaging with the customer on-going is timely and rewarding.

I pointed out to my lovely other half that the radiant Cameron was in the market; she pointed out immediately that he’ll notice the price of milk has gone up.

Saving Money is Technical

bobfeltham — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 10:11:18 +0000

Many more customers are considering their wallets when changing cars, indeed research shows that the lurch to smaller more economical cars has accelerated over the last year. Pride often stops customers raising money saving and value conversations and all their cards are kept close allowing the deal to become paramount.
A vehicle with no tax over a part ex could be worth £1200 over 3 years [or more], fuel costs can be halved thus releasing money to have a ‘nicer’ specification.
When value is offered customers often dismiss the detail as minor but it can be the most important factor, it is the same psychological hiccup in restaurants when the waiter asks if everything is OK? We nearly always say ‘yes’ so as not to spoil the moment, it’s only later we decide never to return. However many sales teams struggle to recall all of the technical detail which delivers the value, and benefits of change in a new car. Most short-cut the 5 point walk-around required by every manufacturer in an attempt to get to the deal, forgetting the adage ‘sell the sizzle not the sausage’.
Inevitably then when the customers come to sit down the desire for the car is only tepid, sufficient desire has not been aroused and subsequently the customer looks for discounts, and arguments over prices and part ex’s start. In some cases the deal is stopped with the customer going off to ‘think about it or get advice’

Dealers using Contact Advantage correctly will be opening the technical spec and be able to recite the exact specification of all new cars to a level which ensures customers will have all the information they will ever need. More importantly accurate detail which is correct, my tip is to open the technical screen and deliver fun and interesting observations on all the technical spec, it adds true value and reassures customers the car is value for money and truly better than the previous vehicle. Customers who buy through desire pay more as they see value; that is genuine Contact Advantage.

Bob in CarDealerMagazine

contactadvantage — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 14:17:52 +0000

Here’s Bob (the blog) Feltham at the CarDealerMagazine profit clinic back in December. If you want to see him in person (who wouldn’t) then he’ll be at the next event in the Heritage Motor Museum in Gaydon on May the 18th.

Mission Morocco 2012

contactadvantage — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 10:38:48 +0000

Contact Advantage is proud to be supporting the Afghanistan Trust along with Nissan GB for Mission Morocco 2012.
The Afghanistan Trust helps support the soldiers and families of soldiers killed or injured while serving with the Parachute Regiment.
The expedition will involve taking 4 vehicles into the heartland of Morocco with various driving and physical challenges along the way. There will be 4 wounded Soldiers from the Parachute Regiment, 4 sponsors and small back up team.

You can follow progress on their blog http://www.nissanmissionmorocco2012.co.uk or on twitter using #MissionMorocco12

You can also donate through justgiving.com at the following website:

http://www.justgiving.com/teams/2012MissionMorocco

Icebergs

bobfeltham — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 14:08:11 +0000

New research commissioned by Motoring.co.uk shows that consumers rely on motoring portals and dealer websites far more than manufacturer websites when researching potential purchases.
The study of 1,000 consumers by Redshift Research in March 2012 revealed that 31% of consumers visit motoring portals and 29% check out dealer websites, while just 18% visit manufacturer websites.
They use the portals to check prices, get valuations for their current vehicles and read reviews.
The age group most likely to visit dealer and manufacturer websites was 18-24 year olds. 40% visited dealer sites and 34% visited manufacturer websites.
At the other end of the scale, just 19% of 35-44 year olds visited a manufacturer website, while 27% looked at a dealer website.

Chris Green, sales director at Motoring.co.uk, commented: “It is clear from this independent research that dealer websites are a very important channel to convert car buyers. What is also apparent is that few consumers visit manufacturer websites. This may come as a surprise to many manufacturers who think that their sites play a much bigger role in the process.”
I didn’t do the research but it seems on the button, the practicalities of ownership are key to the motoring experience in real life. At Contact Advantage we get enquiries from Manufacturer web sites and feed them to dealers every day, it always surprises me when dealers leave the leads to languish unopened for days giving competitors a chance to get their foot [aka hand] into the customer’s wallet.
At Contact Advantage we can ring customers and set up appointments from these leads if dealers find themselves needing help and support due to staff turnover or other issues. If there is one lesson from the 100 programmes on the Titanic that I have seen, if a dealer knows that an enquiry iceberg is floating around in their sea ask CA and we will fix it; dealers don’t have to sink with all hands.

The big winners in the March figures are…

bobfeltham — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 13:12:14 +0000

The full March figures for registrations from the SMMT are now circulated and we have been able to analyse what has worked and what hasn’t. The big winners are Skoda, Nissan and Suzuki with really good performances from Land Rover, Audi, Toyota and Kia to name the volume players. The fact is these brands have worked really hard in a number of areas positioning the brand and producing cars that consumers see as ‘of the moment’. That’s not to say Fords impressive number isn’t good but in growth terms it’s the middle market that is hard to grow and the listed brands have made great inroads into appeal, whole life costs and completed the difficult task of communicating the brand messages across to consumers. It’s been a while since I buffed up my crystal ball, but during February I used my trusty Contact Advantage trending tool to predict a small rise in the market and in the rise of the various types of cars that are working; it proved to be unerringly accurate. I can see from early figures that April will require just as much attention to detail at the retail end to replicate the March result. A pal of mine who runs petrol stations informed me that fuel sales are down against last year by a margin, coupled with sticky retail sales for the Easter period according to retailers.
Overall the market for new cars is 17% down on the 2007 high for March and in the final analysis that means there will be fewer used cars in the years to come, which must mean the old adage of supply and demand matching means that either 17% of us will walk [or catch the bus] or prices for used stock will stiffen.
For Contact Advantage retailers making sure your stock reflects the market and cars are not given away too cheaply is easy, ensure values are sense checked using t card in the stock module checking the trend line.

Every Little Helps

bobfeltham — Fri, 06 Apr 2012 09:24:31 +0000

I‘ve often said to my wife that every little helps, she confirms this is true, and this is also the Tesco maxim. ‘Every little helps’ has been the Tesco banner for some years but at Tesco Cars they have decided to close the business and is no longer accepting orders from customers after a year in business. Selling cars 9% cheaper than ‘normal’ retailers the model had to be frail. ‘Every little helps’is the Tesco motto but remove 9% and your little becomes none.
We all know the maths of running a strong business, and every element has to work. Every customer must count and be counted; we all know the pain of following up every enquiry, it is time consuming but inevitably hard work and diligence is its own reward we know that strong users of the CA system get consistently strong results commercially.
A statement from Tesco Cars said: “We started Tesco Cars in good faith and we always aim to do a good job for customers.
“However, following a review of the business model we and Carsite, our partner, have decided that we cannot offer customers a satisfactory range of vehicles and as a result, have decided it is right to close the business.”
A spokesman for Tesco told AM: “The core response from customers was positive, but we had difficulties early on with the supply of stock.
“Given time that problem could have been overcome but Tesco has decided to concentrate on its core business at this time.”
Tesco would not comment on whether the business was making a profit or whether the website could re-launch without the Tesco brand association.
The Tesco Cars model was based on selling ex-fleet stock directly to customers over the internet and was built on Carsite.co.uk’s website infrastructure.
Customers can claim refunds on cars they have pre-ordered and warranties on cars that have already been sold are still valid through The Warranty Group.
Tesco Cars launched in April last year to much fanfare, claiming its access to 16 million Tesco Clubcard holders would allow it access to a significant growth in sales.
Back in April 2011, Sir Trevor Chinn, chairman of Tesco Cars, said: “When buying a used car, consumers want to know they can trust the information supplied, that they are getting value for money and a good product, all supported by good customer service. Importantly they also want to be able to take their time to make the right purchase for them.
“By marrying these principles, the success of the Tesco brand, and the transparent and unpressured online sales environment, we believe we will be delivering a positive new experience for today’s car buyer.”
At Contact Advantage we know if the sales process is strong then the numbers and data capture ensure the business will work to a manufacturer penetration model. If ‘every little helps’ then you need a Contact Advantagethat captures customers and keeps that 9% the small differences as my wife reminded me do make a difference..

Nut Cluster a Trilogy

bobfeltham — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 08:30:41 +0000

I was watching Titanic sink for the 500th time this year when the beautiful Mrs F whispered into my ear would you like a nut cluster? I nearly fell off the chaise long: I thought she had been watching one of the late night channels, but it transpired she was referring to a tasty treat to lure my taste buds. I didn’t feel too bad as nuts are a healthy part of any diet! Unless you are allergic in which case just go for the cluster! But it set me thinking many dealers have customers who really enjoy the dealership and enjoy visiting and tirelessly recommend sales and service to others but do we know where and how to drive these highly desirable advocates? These customers are not nuts as such but nuggets who deliver gold for you time after time.

These customers are working their neighbours and friends when the moment arrives recommending and making the sales teams life easier.

Inviting positive people to an event guarantees turnout and makes any spend work to its best advantage. We have many dealers on the books that have yet to use our Smart Mail product to understand which new and used customers are happy to recommend and drive customers through the door separating those that need more motivation to turn out and support the business and those that are always going to join in. Get the feedback split correctly and your events will be well supported and more successful whilst you keep more of the cash-ew worked for.

I said at the top this was a trilogy, a squirrel has just run across the lawn he has come out of hibernation into my garden and unlike some dealers he has survived the winter and looks fit and well, but then again he always knows where his nuts are.

Spring has sprung and Bob’s reckons it’s not just lambs that are skipping around in the sunny weather

bobfeltham — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 10:21:15 +0000

With the early spring sun making a top down drive to work essential (that’s the car not the wife) the trend for new cars mapped through the CA system nationwide suggest that the south (yes it does start north of Watford) is showing remarkable resilience with dealers in certain brands having a very early spring bounce, it’s not just lambs that are skipping around in the sunny weather.

At the clinic Isaac Asimov was quoted, the American author and professor, who said: ‘The only thing you can be sure of is that change is going to be everywhere forever and you have to think like a scientist to get it right.’

Most dealers are not scientists (most of the dealers I know practice the science of liver embalming through direct immersion, and its capacity to survive) and rarely do the users of the various systems bother to digest the CRM system reports that all systems deliver, indeed most dealers and managers do not have the time to invest in research on what sells and when? But with the trend for fuel prices accelerating it should not surprise too many that mapping shows that practical economical cars are finding more homes quicker than ever.
If you have a footprint of 100 cars what percentage should be below £8000 to get a stock turn of 11 to 12 consistently? Unsure? Then get a CA auto report to your mobile and let CA help you turn stock.