It is too bad that the factories could care less about dealers like Rick described above with mandating all these great ideas of theirs that never work or are never used. They should focus on the real world in dealerships vs focus groups.
I had the pleasure to meet and have dinner with Glenn Mercer, analyst that works with NADA, a few weeks ago. He was in town to speak to the Hampton Roads Auto Dealers Assoc. He was here to give his presentation: The Dealership of Tomorrow 2025: Retail Automotive Trends for the Next Decade and Beyond - I've put a link below that he will be doing a WebEx on this, you should try to attend very informative on every aspect of our business.
Back to the Facility - When he heard we were a Cadillac dealer he asked how Pinnacle was going, well its not going well with the demands they are making and he agreed. He told us about his involvement in 2013 in a study for NADA: Factory Image Program, link is below and its in 2 phases and worth a read. His point was there were 3 layers of image programs; Standardization, Modernization, and Expansion. Read Phase 2 starting on page 5, the 3 layers did not produce good results per the dealers. Little ROI was realized by any of the dealers in the 3 layers studied and the OEM required programs came at high cost to the dealers. In giving Mr. Mercer a ride back to the hotel we talked about what other industries do. The best example were those of franchises like McDonald's. The facility could be 20 years old but in relative good shape. Corp McDonald's realizes floor tile, lights, TV's, etc do not add profitability of the franchisee, it is an unnecessary expense he said they do not want the franchisee to burdened with. Where Corp McDonald's focuses with the franchises is on food prep areas and processes. Making sure they have the latest equipment and following the correct processes to make sure they are giving the employees the tools to delivering a better customer experience.
My experience: So far after 2 multi-million dollar renovations in the last 14 years, (one in 2004 we did but in accordance to Chevy, and the other in the last facility image project mandated by Chevy) not one customer has told us they bought because of the floor tile (its size and color they required), the light fixtures, ceiling tiles, Chevy fabric art on the walls, etc. Not 1 single person said "wow, look at that tile, this is where I want to buy my car" And neither will they with the digital signage.
NADA Facility study - https://www.nada.org/facilitystudy/
Webinar on the Dealership of Tomorrow - that is taking place tomorrow 3.28 - http://marketing.nada.org/acton/form/4712/00d7:d-0007/0/-/-/-/-/index.htm
