Tech Trends for Forward-Thinking Dealers in 2023

Keeping up with technology trends is an ongoing exercise, especially in automotive retail. It’s an essential part of owning a business and managing a dealership. The next new and exciting innovation is always right around the corner — the next technology that can help your business adapt (and your team succeed).   Advances in technology can also help you find efficiencies. Every year, a handful of innovations help to increase sales, improve the service experience for customers, and give your dealership a competitive edge. In short, paying attention to the next tech trends can.

Leverage Consumer Data to Appeal to Buyers  As a dealer, you’re aware that no two customers, nor their buying journeys, are alike. Everyone has their own unique buying preferences, opinions, and interests. The sooner you can key into this individuality and understand your customers’ distinct motivations, the better you can build a personalized buying experience. This process is key to closing sales, but it’s made more difficult in today’s digital world. Your sales team must get to know shoppers and appeal to their interests without meeting them in person.  Look for solutions in 2023 that allow you to see exclusive insights about shoppers, based on their online browsing behavior. This technology empowers you to proactively find and engage shoppers and guide them through their unique purchase path. While other dealers are waiting for customers to come to them, using first-party data, you can see insights about your customers right in your CRM, and appeal to them with personalized offers. 

Technologies that Maximize Service Capacity  Every dealer service department can diagnose and repair a vehicle. Those service departments that optimize available time and technician talent to service more cars in less time are significantly more profitable. It’s a balancing act that favors prepared, well-organized service departments. In 2023, look for technologies that allow you to maximize every service minute and get the very most out of your team and your service department.  Start with your scheduling technology. Are you overselling or underselling shop capacity? Do you have peak bottleneck times, followed by periods of downtime for your team? Find a scheduling software that can help your team optimize service capacity and enjoy a smoother service experience — for your team as well as your customers. That might mean incorporating technologies like text confirmations and reminders and putting vehicle history at your team’s fingertips, so you can keep cars flowing through the service lane with minimal complications or interruptions. 

Drive Performance and Deliver Data that Matters with Real-Time Reporting Tools  Modern dealerships have access to an unprecedented volume of customer, inventory, financial, and even behavioral data. That data can unlock new capabilities and profit streams for dealerships but harnessing it all can be very difficult. In order to capture insights and make better data-based decisions, dealers need flexible reporting solutions that integrate directly into their existing technologies.   The technology that will keep you competitive in 2023 and beyond delivers data consistently, promptly, and in a format that is easy on the eyes. Reporting tools need to come with pre-built dashboards and modules that make it accessible to leaders. Your technology needs to allow users to drill down deeper into their numbers for forecasting, filtering and grouping information so they can track progress and growth.

Conclusion Keeping up with technology trends might be part of your never-ending responsibilities, but it’s one of the best ways paths to a more profitable dealership. As you welcome a new year, take the time to look for solutions and tools that can create one connected digital car-buying experience and give you better insights about your customers. With the right technology, you can give your customers the kind of experiences they want and give your dealership a competitive edge in the coming year. 

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