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Is 'Digital Signage' needed to sell cars?

ed.brooks

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Jan 15, 2010
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This article came up on Automotive News yesterday -

According to the article, "General Motors plans to make digital signage part of its dealership facility requirements for the first time, starting next year."

The article goes on to say, "...an ABN spokeswoman said most dealers who used the service spent $2,000 to $3,000 per month for a 36-month subscription"

So the question; Do you need 'digital signage' in the showroom to sell cars or is this an unnecessary mandate from the manufacturer?
 
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Reactions: Alexander Lau
Meh, what for...? Where is the data to back up this works on any level? What are they trying to do?

Usually, when someone is waiting for a car or service they aren't very happy. They want out of there ASAP, get on with their lives.

What is GM trying to do, force feed additional services (options that cost more) down their customer's throats? I don't know... seems as if it's overkill to me / unwarranted.
 
We have a CDJR and fiat store and we have a Kiosk for every brand and they are positioned all over the showroom. They're connected to the internet and are always showing some type of video for that particular brand. You can do everything on these kiosk. Build Cars, see features, etc.. Does it help sell cars?? Not one damn bit!! Nobody uses them. NOBODY. In our Toyota store, We have 65" flat screen TV's on each side of the service drive, we have Flat screens TV's all over the service lounge, kids area and in the Business / Quiet area. On everyscreen, we rotate specials and in the right hand rail is customers names that are currently waiting on their vehicles. If the name is in Red, your car isn't ready. If your name is colored Green, your vehicle is ready and your service is complete. All you need to then is approach the cashier and pay your bill. 70 - 80% of the time, the cashier still has to physically find the customers and let them know their vehicle is ready.

Me personally, I don't think the masses even notice the content on the screens. Even when it's pointed out to the customers (My Service Lounge Example) they still ignore it. I think this push will be beneficial for a very small percentage of customers. A very small percentage!! Although, I do think there could be another underlying push they are trying to do and using the "Digital Signage" as a way to get all the dealers on a certain digital level. Maybe internet speeds at a min for each store. Maybe GM having a remote way to promote specials and offers to customers in the showroom. Who knows???
 
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
 
Either way it I don't believe it should be mandated from the manufacture. On the service side, I think people like the convenience of seeing some of the basic options and digital signage is good for that. To Rick's point, I think there are some educational pieces and unless you really direct service customers to use the process to know exactly when their car is completed, they will ignore it.