Everyone knows that the New Year is a great time to make personal improvements. But, did you know that it’s also the best time to find new ways to your dealership more profitable? Here’s a quick preview of the trends you won’t want to miss.
2020 Trend: Text Messaging for Businesses
It’s no secret—texting has become one of the most common forms of interaction and the preferred method of communication for many people. According to a recent study by the International Smartphone Mobility Report, U.S. customers are communicating five times as often through text messages as compared to traditional voice calls. Businesses, however, have had a difficult time taking advantage of the channel due to legal restrictions and some customer resistance. Now, new dealership technologies are making it easier to give customers the communications they want while staying legally compliant.
At NADA 2020, we showcased several new mobile communication technologies for dealership service departments. Text Marketing is a new marketing channel designed to increase customer engagement and overall marketing conversion through TCPA-compliant promotional text messages. Video, which gives technicians and advisors the ability to record and send video to customers to drive increased transparency and dollars per repair order.
2020 Trend: Rideshare
The most surprising technology trend in recent years might just be the explosion in popularity of ridesharing, which grew out of the broader sharing economy. It lets consumers use a mobile app like Lyft or Uber to hail a ride from an ordinary vehicle owner. While almost unheard of a few short years ago, ridesharing services are now used by a full 30% of Americans, according to research company Gallup.
To help dealerships capitalize on this powerful trend, we are introducing rideshare functionality into our technology. You can demo Rideshare which integrates convenient and familiar customer options within our industry-leading service platform. You can offer on-demand rides to customers without the expense of shuttle services and loaner cars. And because Xtime manages the entire transaction, your dealership doesn’t have to worry about any extra contracts, systems, setups, or transactions.
2020 Trend: Voice-Activated Technology
Voice-activated technology is another important technology trend to watch in 2020. The practice of activating and navigating powerful technologies with your voice is widely used by consumers and the trend is expected to keep growing. Digital assistants, including Apple’s Siri, Amazon’s Alexa, and Google Assistant, are being used by huge numbers of people every single day to get little things done more efficiently. According to Adobe, 36% of consumers own a smart speaker and 91% of brands are investing in voice technologies.
We recognized that these voice-controlled technologies could provide major benefits to service technicians, whose hands are constantly occupied, and developed a technology where technicians can go hands-free. A service tech can simply speak voice commands and other information into a headset microphone while continuing to work on a vehicle. This ground-breaking new solution will transform the multi-point inspection process, streamline documentation, improve the quality of service, and promote technician safety.
