Car sales and marketing through troubled times
How can businesses overcome the challenges of dramatic changes and uncertainties of the global Corona year? According to DWWF, Digital Marketing World Forum, one vital result is the recognition that technology is invaluable to keep business afloat through troubled times. Following that train of thought, they went on to define six vital trends to guide us in 2021.
Automation to boost sales productivity
One of these vital trends is Automation, and DWWF reports that it has been proven to improve sales processes and boost sales productivity by more than 14% in traditional sales functions. “Brands have already seen a 225% increase in the volume of prospects that converted to sales opportunities with leads nurturing sales automation.
Automation is being introduced in many aspects of the sales and marketing disciplines to handle data inputting and processing more effectively, freeing the staff from boring, repetitive tasks and freeing valuable time to sell and build customer relationships.This includes, for example, keeping CRM data accurate and handling sales forecasts.
Seamless and personalized experiences
Another major trend is “Innovation beyond the four walls”. Besides aligning sales and marketing departments, customers are increasingly being offered vastly improved experiences. “Customers are now used to seamless and personalized experiences which have emerged following an acceleration in digital transformation”.
Insight selling
At the same time, a salesperson’s ability to strike a deal is becoming less important than his talent for building a lasting relationship based on knowledge and insight, sharing accountability with the customer. “Marketing teams will also play a role in this shift through the communication of actionable insight to salespeople in a clear, compelling and timely manner, allowing them to see where a customer needs support, all while linking back to relevant solutions.”
Moving into the future, where buyers will be able to access the information they need about a product or solution online, the role of the salesperson is set to change to an ‘insight selling’ model. This will transform their role, making it less about striking a deal, and more about building a relationship, providing insight, and sharing accountability with customers. Marketing teams will also play a role in this shift through the communication of actionable insight to salespeople in a clear, compelling, and timely manner, allowing them to see where a customer needs support, all while linking back to relevant solutions.
Bringing cars to life
Yet another powerful development is the use of technology such as VR and automated video to show the entire product range without bringing all the physical products to the showroom or exhibition stand.