When we think about the future, our thoughts tend to focus on advances in technology. And at Cox Automotive Experience—a virtual event with the goal of helping dealerships find a new way forward—you’ll learn about the latest technology trends and how today’s dealerships are already benefiting from tomorrow’s technologies. As we transition into 2021, many experts agree that multimedia capabilities, flexible payment platforms, and process automation are the trends most likely to transform the automotive industry in the coming year.
Multimedia Capabilities
Service, maintenance, and repair have always been about trust. Emerging multimedia technologies make it easy for dealerships to develop that trust, improve the customer experience, and make it easy for the customer to say “yes” to their recommendations. Express Multi-Media, a new tool from Xtime, enables dealers to easily capture walkaround and inspection videos, then send them to consumers. By helping vehicle owners visualize the need for service and understand the rationale behind a recommendation, dealerships can increase repair order volume and amount.
Flexible Payment Platforms
Visit any website or walk into any brick-and-mortar shop and you’ll see that people have changed the way they pay for things. Especially when the economic outlook is questionable, as it likely will be in 2021, vehicle owners need more options for how and when they pay for service. A new service solution from Xtime aims to meet that need. FlexPay, through an integration with Sunbit, enables dealers to offer flexible service financing that help consumers pay for service over time. And when consumers are less worried about their budgets, dealerships earn additional dollars per repair order.
Process Automation
Automation, and the ability to eliminate unnecessary tasks, has always been a primary goal of advancing technology. For profit-minded dealerships, few goals could be more important than increasing efficiency and doing more with less. New additions to the Xtime suite of service tools are helping dealerships do just that. Within Inspect, Common Operations is reducing technician downtime by combining the most commonly sold operations into a single catalog. Within Invite, Special Order Parts Marketing is reducing special-order parts inventory by providing automated email and text communications to consumers notifying them that previously out-of-stock parts have become available.
Naturally, technology will play a major role in the way dealerships move into the future. To avoid falling behind, your dealership will need to keep up with the latest technologies. You’ll have the opportunity to get up close and personal with these tools and trends at Cox Automotive Experience, a 10-day virtual event featuring demos, drop-in conversations, and even special offers from Cox Automotive brands. Click Here to schedule your demo today.
