The Yellow Pages still exists? Well so does manual F&I claim processing.
Seeing this plastic wrapped yellow pages book lying at the end of my driveway today, it felt like a blast from the past. It could have been a rolled up Chicago Tribune (I live in Colorado now) and I wouldn't have been more surprised. A time warp to a moment when smartphones and the internet didn't exist. When there was no other way to find what you were looking for other than dialing 411 (push button or rotary) or flipping through a thousand page phone book (alphabetically organized of course for intuitive navigating).
Today, is Monday, September 7th, Labor Day 2020. Typically, every Monday is garbage day in my neighborhood, but since today is the holiday...garbage day is pushed back a day. Good thing! As I was rolling the garbage bins to the street, I saw these old school yellow pages books lying at the end of every driveway. Today, is a particularly strange Labor Day already, not just because of the pandemic, but because after nearly a 100 degree weekend in Colorado...it's going to snow tomorrow! So, all of my neighbors are outside, preparing for this untimely weather event. Disconnecting and rolling the hoses up, pulling in the outdoor cushions and yes...grabbing the yellow pages from the end of each driveway so it doesn't get sucked up in the snow blower tomorrow. :) Strange day indeed!
Our next door neighbor picked up the fresh yellow pages, pulled off the wrapper, called her kids over and said, "Hey, this is the way we used to find things!"(waiving the massive phone directory in her two hands). My neighbor across the street, simply tossed the still wrapped yellow pages directly into the recycling bin...shaking his head in disbelief. All recycled but one still remains...mine. It's such a great representation of how much things have changed, I couldn't immediately dispose of it without a quick reminiscing look. It's the same feeling you get when you see a pay phone and think, "I guess someone forget to remove that one ten years ago...somebody take a picture!" How strange is it though? Even as our world has clearly evolved past the yellow pages...it obviously still exists for some reason. I do realize certain old communication methods, like the yellow pages or a pay phone, does still play an important connection role for a few. But imagine the money wasted printing this encyclopedia of phone numbers and placing it at the end of every driveway, where it never got a serious look because it's so disconnected from reality for most.
Clinging on to past methods is like "nails on a chalkboard" [old reference intentionally used] for an entrepreneur and/or innovator. I see it periodically in the world that we are helping to evolve, F&I claims management and post sales dealer/customer digital engagement. When we introduce digital and automated claims management solutions to F&I providers that have long managed claims with exclusively a 1800 number and manual claim processing, the reception is typically, "WOW, where has this been?". However, there is usually one person that says, "Our customers actually like to call us?!". My answer is always the same, "I do realize calling a 1800 number, navigating the phone queue, patiently listening to "YOUR CALL IS IMPORTANT TO US...WE'LL BE WITH YOU SOON" during your CALL HOLD WAIT TIME and manual claim processing maybe still desired by a few." If someone wants to make a call and manually file a claim...that's OK. I still see some people with paper airline tickets or printed MapQuest directions too. But what about the 99.9999% of people (including dealers and their customers) that prefer or expect a better pathway? I suggest to F&I providers, if you want to stay connected with your customer (the dealer) in a good way, delight them with a world class, relevant digital claims experience.
F&I providers and their agents have an extremely important and valuable role in the auto sales industry. F&I is a critical (truly essential) financial work center for ever dealer. However, it is 2020. Legions of customers desire and many expect to engage digitally on their smartphones, not jump though analog hoops to get F&I service. To be very clear...it's not just a Millennial or Gen Z topic...it's an anyone with a smartphone in their hand topic. Overwhelmingly, most F&I providers' claim service pathways today are a "during normal business hours only" 1800 number, phone queue and manual claim processing. Even when some F&I providers think they have addressed digital engagement, the result is an archaic fill-in-all-the-blanks online claim form that only leads to a phone call and manual claim entry or an app that only works with certain F&I products or one F&I provider, forcing the service advisor and/or customer to still navigate a maze of analog service support solutions. Shouldn't we digitally unify that experience, so it's dealer branded and intuitively connects to all the related F&I providers? F&I providers before I continue, this isn't a play nice in the sand box moment...its an annihilate the competition that doesn't think delivering the frictionless dealer-customer digital engagement experience makes tactical sense. It's a Blue Ocean Strategy that transcends even price.
Actually, post sales dealer-customer digital engagement is exactly the place where F&I providers and their agents should help their dealers pickup the digital baton, that was fumbled where digital retailing abruptly ends the digital experience at the point-of-sale. Consider the revenue and retention opportunity waiting for you (or someone else) by solving this longstanding problem. It has direct and natural linkage to the F&I providers' mission, whose promise of F&I products has always included improved customer retention. Think "digital lifecycle". A customer's experience and digital engagement is where today's business is earned, retained or lost...and it's an immense land grab opportunity for F&I providers to elevate Your Dealer Experience (where many providers are still clinging to the phone). Take a sobering look at your competitors and yourself. Not the "we have great products, dealer participation programs, amazing people, best training and pay our claims on time" that everyone else also pitches in their "checkbox warfare" sales approach...but look closely at the battlefield of digital dealer-customer experience. Don't take my word for it, go to your and your competitors' website and click on "File a claim". Beyond embarrassingly outdated, today's disconnected service pathways are nowhere near the "best-in-class" solutions that many exclaim as a primary attribute of their existence or mission statement and it's a million miles away from an Amazon-like experience. It's a massive vacancy and unprecedented opportunity that is beginning to be filled by the next generation leaders of F&I!
The best part is...enhancing Your Dealer Experience is only a leadership decision away. No admin software change required. Just a few simple self reflective questions to see if you're ready:
- Should a dealer's service advisor or customer be able to engage all their F&I products (even if they are powered by multiple F&I providers) on one smartphone app in 2020?
- Does it make sense to dramatically decrease call center volume and manual claim entry, so our valuable claims team members transform their expertise to in-process auditors rather than manual claim shepherds?
- What are you waiting for? Manual claim processing is the most expensive way to process a claim. Digital engagement significantly increases a customer's experience, claim processing speed and accuracy, strengthening loss control by deploying your claim rule sets automatically and through enhanced individual oversight (because your team will have gained the time by not being on the phone and typing in the claim).
If you're still contemplating if F&I digital engagement is tactically smart and timely to inspiring new revenue, competitive differentiation, operational excellence and is relevant to how customer's want to engage...be the first one to write me a postal letter (with your return address) and I'll mail you the yellow pages I picked up today. You may need it. Otherwise, let's engage and transform how business should done today. It's your time to lead! [email protected]
Click the links below to see unedited video examples of digital claims engagement by Strategic DX - Your Dealer Experience: