The automotive sector is at a difficult crossroads and must face many drastic changes as a result of new trends and consumer habits in society and the market. Such is the change in the automotive sector that customers no longer go to dealerships with references from their surroundings or the typical car magazine, but arrive at the dealership with a whole arsenal of information acquired through the different brand reports obtained from the internet. The customer has done his homework.
The process of buying and selling a car nowadays has become more protracted. The customer, before making a decision, reflects more and also raises many dilemmas: diesel or not, electric, can I enter Madrid, how do I buy it, do I buy it in cash, renting or leasing? BRAINTRUST, in its study on the fundamental keys to buying a car according to the customer experience, warns that "the decision making process is delayed in the purchase process, with more classic factors such as the characteristics of the car itself occupying a privileged place: quality, performance, price, or guarantees, rather than the connectivity offered by dealers, with which younger people identify". Buying a new car is both subjective and emotional, depending solely and exclusively on the experience of the individual buyer. The essential attributes for an ideal brand remain the same: good value for money, a reliable, durable and guaranteed product and good after-sales service.
There are two key moments in the purchase decision: which brand to buy and the visit to the dealership. The visit to the dealership is fundamental in the purchase of a car; the contact with the car provides a positive emotional charge and, sometimes, also the attitude adopted by the salesperson. It is important that the buyer does not perceive that they want to "place" a certain model, or that the seller does not value the information acquired about the product. BRAINTRUST explains that "the seller must understand and understand the customer's fears, as well as knowing how to differentiate customers and serve them by segments: gender, age, education, social status ..., ie, personalize your attention leaving behind the single speech. They add that "during the first moments of attention in the sale, the good salesperson must know what type of customer they are and be able to personalise the sale to their needs and characteristics". The single salesperson's discourse is no longer valid and, moreover, customers "flee" from this type of salesperson.
The study conducted by BRAINTRUST on the motives and preferences of consumers when buying a car shows that in more and more situations "buyers of a new car are considering whether it is worth buying it or adapting to new uses such as car sharing, BlaBlaCar...". He also revealed that many young people prefer to buy a good mobile phone rather than save up to buy a car, because a mobile phone "gives them greater personal satisfaction and social status than a car".
Brands, as BRAINTRUST's study shows, should not remain oblivious to the profound changes in the industry and customer criteria; "car usage and purchase decisions are totally different from a few years ago and brands have to adapt to it". Brands are reacting slowly; while they are adapting in terms of design, they are less so when it comes to new payment solutions such as leasing, renting or cash payment, whether or not they include insurance or servicing or other benefits. Some dealerships have opted, according to the Consultancy, to have two salespeople in the process of buying and selling a vehicle, one specialising in cars and the other in financing, in order to provide the buyer with the maximum guarantee throughout the process.
To build customer loyalty, brands should value and take into account the customer's criteria and experience of the car buying process in their strategies. Only then will they be able to anticipate and respond effectively to what today's customers really need.
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