Internet New Car Sales 2, Judgement Day! (UK Manufacturers Article)

Apologies for the shameless play on a theme but I thought it appropriate for this article, the requested and therefore the change in the planned article for this week, after the response to my last article; “Wow An Internet Company Got Me Over ￡5,000:00 Off My New Car!”

As the post has generated so much interest and debate let me try and deal with your questions from the perspective of, if I were running one of these businesses, and where I would be planning to take my business in the long term. In order to do this and to bring some clarity to their intentions and their business model, and therefore the dangers that they pose to your traditional trading model, we must start thinking like the people owning and running these businesses because, once you do this, you will begin to see what they are doing and where these business models may be heading.

So let’s do some role play, with me in the role of the owner of an internet based independent new car supplier; and let’s imagine that you are quizzing me on my intentions and the long term intentions that I have for my independent internet based new car supply business.

Well the first and most important thing to grasp is that, unlike you, I am not a Motor Trade or Automotive Sector professional, I am a Technology professional! This is the most important thing to grasp because, in fact, I am the proverbial wolf in sheep’s clothing and in disguising my business intentions behind the facade of being just an automotive business, I am hoping that you will think of my business in the terms of an automotive business, therefore underestimating the long term danger I pose to your current business.

My business heroes are less likely to be Henry Ford, Ferdinand Porsche and Enzo Ferrari, they are more likely to be the owner of Amazon, Jeff Bezos; I will have read his books and digested his quotes and the one that I will hold most dear to my heart is “Your Margin Is My Opportunity!”

Before launching my business I will have studied in-depth the story of Virgin Cars to understand where it all went so wrong for such a well-known brand; I will have learnt from the mistakes of trying to own their own stock holding, opening dealerships, employing staff under a dealership structure and of effectively being a currency business disguised as an automotive business. I will have watched the rise of Mark Zuckerberg and his company, Facebook and I will have learnt from watching businesses like these that “Data Is The New Gold” and that in fact, all I have to do over time, just like Amazon and the many other successful technology businesses, is to change the purchasing habits of consumers and harvest their data!

I will hope that you will think that without access to stock my chances of success are slim, because you are thinking like an automotive professional, and after all just how can I have a successful automotive business with no access to stock. Now being a Machiavellian technology professional I will allow this situation to play out because while you are fussing about this, I will be targeting the most precious commodity of all, your customers.

Why will I do this, well it is important to remember that “Perception Is Reality” so I will engage in a business of changing the perception of reality with consumers whilst harvesting their personal data, and with the current furore surrounding Cambridge Analytica and Facebook, we should no longer be in any doubt about, (with GDPR legislation also due in May), how powerful companies with access to authorised levels of personal data are!

So my business thus far, and let’s assume I am running one of the many new internet based independent new car suppliers, has been involved in targeting the consumer, because the consumer is the key to my success. I am going to change the perception of the consumer and make my business the easily accessible, independent and trusted place to go to for all things to do with the purchase of my new car, because I don’t need a stock holding, (this is where Virgin Cars went wrong), what I need is customers and their data, because once I have this I can begin to use the information freely supplied by consumers, to take all the guess work out of planning the success of my new business.

You see in the eyes of the consumer, I am going to be seen as a “Knight In Shining Armour” using new tech platforms to supply good old fashioned content material and advice on how to get the best deal on, and to take all the hassle out of, buying my new car. And for those of you unaware of the power of Content Marketing, of the opinion that it is old fashioned, I will think how lucky I am that you haven’t read, studied or understood just how many of the successful brands in the world today have been built using content marketing to win the trust of consumers; I will hope that you never study the story of how a blacksmith in America, John Deere, used content marketing to build one of the biggest tractor manufacturers in the world; in fact the publication he launched for this very purpose, The Furrow, is still published today, over 120 years after its launch.

By now I have no doubt that you will be a little dazed and let’s assume that you, as the manufacturer, go on to ask me how I have done this. I will tell you that I have realised that I need to target the weaknesses in your business model, and in doing so I have learnt the following.

·      Customers, in the main, do not like the current process involved in buying their new car.

·      Your franchised dealer networks are not striving to go out and get the best sales people and build the best sales teams they can, regardless of the cost!

·      Customers don’t like haggling on price.

·      Customers live very busy lives and don’t want to spend their free time visiting dealerships.

·      There is a big demand for impartial advice on the dizzying array of models available for sale.

So for my business to succeed I have to become the trusted business within the automotive sector, offering impartial advice for free and not to be charging the customer for this service; in effect I need to become the trusted price comparison site for car purchases, but on steroids!

So how have I done this; well I will tell you that very quietly I will have been sending out these messages to consumers, in order to harvest their data, (we will come on to the real importance of this later), and to change their perception of reality. I have built my website platform and invested massively in my content messaging. Knowing that video is the future, I have launched my own TV Channel on YouTube to review cars, (Top Gear style), to offer free advice to consumers on the cars that they should be purchasing.

I have secured additional funding to advertise on TV, building the perception of success with the customer. These are very powerful subliminal messages of success, no one who advertises on TV is seen as unsuccessful in the eyes of the customer. And this is my play, because it is all about funnelling customer traffic to my website, where the subliminal messages that continue to change the perception of customer can continue.

Here they will log on and the perception will be that we have access to over 60 manufacturers, when I don’t necessarily have to have dealt with all of them or necessarily have access to any discounts. I will also name supercar manufacturers, everyone from Bugatti to Pagani, again because it is all about perception. I may not be able to offer any discounts on these products, I may just have some reviews, but the customers perception is already being changed; “Wow, these people deal with Bugatti!”

I will then have help and impartial advice on all the aspects associated with buying your new car and I will be seen as impartial; again remember I am in the data collation business and I need to build trust with consumers. So this information will be supplied free of charge to consumers visiting my site, fully in the knowledge that this separates my business from yours.

From there it will get more undermining because I will have carefully placed subliminal text within the most visited sections of my website, in order to continue to change the perception and the purchasing behaviour of your customers; I can do this because I am a technology professional and I measure all traffic to my website and the most visited sections and topics, so by analysing this traffic I know exactly where to continue with my messaging, in order to continue the process of building trust with consumers.

To demonstrate this fact, let me outline below some of the text I will use and what the subliminal message to the consumer will be.

·      “Our Dealers;” I will have a heading involving my company name; This is intentional and a clever play on words to build the perception that this is my network and that we are in control.

·      We Will Only Use Authorised Dealers; Here my message is to reassure the consumer that all cars will come from authorised outlets of the manufacturer.

·      Haggling Is Overcome, Our Dealers Are committed To Offering Their Best Price; This statement is designed for 2 purposes, firstly to reassure the customer that we have removed the nasty process of haggling and to subtly build the perception that we are in control, we are the consumers friend!

·      We Have Changed The Way People Buy Cars! We have grown so powerful and are so trusted by consumers that we are now able to drive the change required by consumers, within the industry.

·      We Don’t Charge You Anything For Our Services; A very important message as we are now perceived as having nothing to sell, in fact we openly advise that we get our fees from the dealers, who have to use us because, (and remember), “We Are Changing The Way People Buy Cars.” We are on the side of the consumer!

·      Help Available In Any Disputes; this is a very important heading and the text that follows will leave the consumer in no doubt that we will intervene should there be any discrepancies when dealing with the franchised dealership concerned. Again compounding the perception that we are in control of the dealer networks and there to support the consumer at all times.

·      We Measure The Quality Of The Service You Receive; This is a very important heading and the text that will follow this will be designed to give the impression that we will not take it for granted that all manufacturer approved dealers will come up to the higher standards that we require. In fact the underlying message will be that we will set the standards required and that any manufacturer approved dealers not achieving our standards will not be allowed to be a member of “Our Approved Network Of Suppliers!” Do not lose sight of the fact here that I am also undermining you as the manufacturer.

·      We Will Not Pass On Your Data; This is a very important message on 2 counts, firstly it reassures the consumer that their data is safe with us, which secondly makes them more likely to give us their data, which we require in order to continue to build our business. And remember, we do this by building the perception of being the consumers trusted friend.

So at this stage you might be a little worried or you may decide that as a manufacturer, you want to build a relationship with my business, which will be your call. But in case you don’t, I will begin phase 2 of my operation which, having now targeted your customers, will be to begin to subtly drive a wedge between you and your franchise partners, by sending the messages to them required, in order to change their perception, and convince them of the need to deal with us because guess what, we have the customers!

And if all this wasn’t enough, here comes the genius in my plan; you have heard me discussing GDPR, (or General Data Protection Regulation), which is a piece enforceable legislation from 25th May 2018 and in short it is an extension to the current data protection laws. However, and here’s the catch, part of this legislation deals with the sending of electronic marketing messages and the “Opt Ins” required from the recipient, in order for you to legally market your business to customers via electronic platforms, email etc.

Now being a technology professional, I have all the “Opt Ins” required under the new GDPR Legislation in order to continue to “Sweat My Data Assets” and advertise my business to the huge data base that I have compiled since I launched my independent internet new car supply business. Obviously I can’t comment on the amount and quality of the data either you or your franchised partners hold, but my gamble is that it will take you years to catch up and have the access to data that I enjoy, and that what data you do hold, may not even be GDPR compliant, in terms of utilising it for electronic campaigns.

This of course will put you at a tremendous disadvantage and during this time, guess what, I have moved on and started the process of changing the perception of many other areas of your business model, by posting content and offering free and trusted advice on all aspects of the car purchasing process.

This will include finance, the purchasing of used cars and the disposal of your current car/part exchange; so you see what started as a data collection and the manipulation of markets business, under the guise of a new car supply business, actually wants all the parts of your business where there are great revenue streams to be enjoyed. And the final irony; whilst I am driving my business towards the planned successful conclusion, I will not be opening any dealerships or employing any dealership structures of staff; why should I when I can continue to use yours?

Thus the comparison to the Terminator films in the title for this article, where technology ends up destroying the world we once knew! Not sounding so farfetched at the moment is it?

Now in finishing I add the caveat that it is not for me tell any of you how to run your businesses; I am an Automotive Sector Consultant and our business builds business development and sales training programmes for manufacturers and their dealer networks. We are avid bloggers in the Automotive Sector and those of you who have requested Used Car/Market Strategy Discussion and Proposal Documents from us in the last 6 months, know that we tell it as it is. The companies I allude to in this article, and they do exist, (as ever all the research used in the compilation of this article is available to any of my connections and contacts), are only able to grow because they have targeted weaknesses in your current business model, and by using the plethora of platforms now available to target your most precious commodity; your customers.

Anyone who wishes to discuss strategies designed to meet the challenges discussed in the article head on, and how we can help in that process, please feel free to contact either myself at [email protected] or my fellow founding director, Malcolm Thomas, at [email protected] when it will be our pleasure to make ourselves available to discuss this matter.

Alternatively please feel free to call us on 0345 057 3177.

Please feel free to follow our used car market place blog at https://usedcarbusinessdevelopment.blogspot.co.uk

For more information about our services please visit our website at www.autoformance.com

Andrew Banning.

Used Car Business Development Director.