Deciding On the Right Direction To Go With The Internet or a BDC
Deciding on where you want to go should, for all intents and purposes, be the fun part of the process.
Some dealerships are looking to integrate the Internet and BDC as a whole into the day-to-day operations of the dealership. These dealerships’ greatest concerns are in keeping up with technology for both sales and fixed operations.
Other dealerships decide that they would like to create a specific Internet related niche through which they can increase the total volume of vehicles delivered through the dealership. This can be done by creating unique website addresses with specialized content that produce unique sales channels in the dealership’s immediate market. This is usually expressed in niche new car pricing, concept pre-owned offerings or the infamous third-part special finance approach
Of course, there are some dealerships that will settle for nothing less than total market domination on the Web. These dealerships want total and absolute top-of-mind awareness and desire to take out the competition on all fronts using the net and more and more a BDC as the bat. When you think of buying your next vehicle from this type of dealership, you don’t think of anything other than a solitary entity that carries with it an Internet related edge that is perceived to be truly revolutionary. This type of dealership fully intends to capitalize on the ignorance of its competition and to fully leverage the power of the Internet and the compound interest that comes along with it.
Which direction you decide is best for your organization is, of course, entirely up to you. It should, however, be based on factual research and a unique understanding of both your organization and the public you’re attempting to emotional reach and propel into action on a daily basis. Your course should be based on certainty and not guesswork. When this is accomplished, your dealership will experience a seamless and successful transition from its current state and condition of existence to the end result that represents your end goal.
Remember that getting excited about the Internet or a BDC doesn’t move the needle. I see so many testimonials talking about how this dealer or that dealer moved the needle using the Internet or a BDC. Unfortunately the reality is that most of these dealerships are simply routing existing volumes from one existence to the next. If you want to know how a dealer is doing look at them from one year to the next in terms of volume, which equals market share and net profit, which equals the bottom line.
Regardless of what anyone else is doing, remember that as a dealer you are either shrinking or growing regardless if you’re on the internet, using BDC or have a new Blackberry synced to your new DMS and desking software.