Data flow between dealers, vendors and automakers will need to become more seamless as the vehicle shopping process becomes more digital in the coming years, dealers and automaker executives said.
“Obviously, we want to understand how our advertising is impacting traffic to the dealer website and, ultimately, traffic to the dealership,” Steve Carter, Mitsubishi Canada marketing director, said during the Sept. 21 edition of the Automotive News Canada Retail Forum: Dealer Discussions digital event. “But if we can also [say] to the dealers, ‘Here are consumers that are engaged with the brand that are at the lower part of the funnel, and here's how you can engage with them,’ and you have the tools to either engage with them in person or digitally. I think ultimately, for the consumer, it's a better experience.”
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More of the vehicle-shopping process is being done online, with customers researching vehicles from the comfort of their homes instead of running from one dealership to the next in search of the right car for them.
Customers are looking not only at automakers’ websites but at dealership sites and third-party websites. Linking them and being clear about who owns what data would be important moving forward, according to panelists.