Video puts the personal back into car sales establishing a relationship between the sales executive and the prospect which had been otherwise lost with the domination of the internet, according to video technology experts CitNOW’s sales director Alistair Horsburgh.

As customers undertake most of their car buying research online, the use of video at the enquiry stage can replace the ‘meet and greet’ and ‘product presentation’ stages of the sales process reducing the chances of a ‘no show’ because the fundamental seeds of the relationship have already been sown with the would-be car buyer.

The CitNOW team will show how video can help retrieve the vital initial stages of the sales process for dealers as well as how it can be used to develop trust between the aftersales department and their customers.

This session will also seek to assure dealers on its simplicity and how it can be seamlessly incorporated into the everyday running of a dealership as one of six interactive workshops which form part of AM’s Digital Dealer conference.

Taking place at the Heritage Motor Centre in Gaydon, Warwickshire on September 12, the event will be AM’s third digital conference with the previous two having been sell-outs.

Horsburgh said: “Car dealers have been following the same sales formula for around 40 years which starts with a meet and greet, followed by a presentation of the car prior to a test drive.

"The problem dealers face today is people are undertaking nearly all their research online so there is less obligation to keep the appointment and no shows have increased. Dealers can combat that with a personal video presentation.

“A significant psychological shift of reciprocation then occurs as the prospective customer feels a connection with the business and the sales person. Video technology enables a reconnection with the customer which the internet’s anonymity has, to a large extent, taken away.”

The role of video is also crucial for building trust between the aftersales department and the customer.

Added Horsburgh: “We are finding the use of video to explain work identified following an EVHC to be extremely powerful for both the bottomline and creating trust. We are finding customers more readily authorise the work as the process is much more open and transparent.  Video provides an enhanced customer experience and that corresponds to a higher CSI score.”

The results speak for themselves: one BMW dealership sold an additional 40 cars in December last year  – the equivalent to an extra week of sales – when it incorporated video ‘walk rounds’ at the point of enquiry as well as using CitNOW for prospecting.

Another dealership increased its EVHC red work conversion from 60% to 80% with the use of video and another benefitted in aftersales with an additional £15,000 of gross profit per month. Additional case studies will be explored and detailed during the session.

Tickets are available to dealers and manufacturers, to book, please contact Nicola Baxter on 01733 468289 or email nicola.baxter@bauermedia.co.uk or visit www.amdigitaldealer.co.uk