AM News Show: Sandicliffe’s Kat Lord and Waylands Automotive’s April Wyatt

Car retailers are having to get “more creative” in their customer communications as limited vehicle supplies call for a more flexible sales strategy, the latest AM News Show Podcast has been told.

Sandicliffe data projects manager Kat Lord and Waylands Automotive head of marketing April Wyatt joined AM editor Tim Rose and news and features editor Tom Sharpe to discuss how marketing and customer communications had evolved to adapt to the market’s current headwinds.

Lord described the current shortage of new car stock as “unprecedented” for the sector, stating that there was more need than ever for car retailers to scrutinise their customer data and ensure they are maximising aftersales opportunities.

“There is a lot of opportunity there for us to do things differently to what we have done previously,” she said.

Lord added: “From an operations perspective we need to make sure that when people are coming through that we are managing them in the right way, so making sure that we are making the most of everything and dealing with customers in different ways.”

Wyatt said that an emphasis needed to be placed on immediacy of response as “our biggest showrooms are our online showrooms”.

She also said that Waylands’ recent marketing and communication with customers had placed an emphasis on educating potential buyers about electric vehicles (EV) as its franchise partners – Kia, MG and Volvo – all move decisively into zero-emission vehicles.

She said: “Where before the strategy was all about generating leads and selling cars, now it’s more about education.

“That changes the way you do pretty much everything, I think.”

To watch highlights from the episode, which can be viewed on Youtube or accessed via Spotify or Apple Podcasts, click on the below link.

The AM New Show’s chat with Lord and Wyatt follows on from the Podcast’s recent interview with Auto Trader brand director Marc Palmer and Cap HPI head of forecast strategy Dylan Setterfield.

Palmer and Setterfield discussed the direction of the used car market, the roll-out of EVs and the affordability of used zero emissions vehicles, with Palmer expressing the opinion that affluence is the key to growing adoption.

He said: “At the moment there are enough wealthy people with enough interest in EVs to keep that thing turning.”

The full interview with Sandicliffe’s Kat Lord and Waylands’ April Wyatt can be viewed by clicking here.