Whitepapers

New vehicle inventory challenges, evolving consumer demands and changing buying models are making way for exciting new opportunities for dealership Business Development Centers (BDC). While the BDC has long been an important part of a dealership's sales process, proactive dealers are discovering new ways to leverage their BDC to support other key dealership operations, including service-to- sales and customer retention efforts. Whether they have a dedicated team, a small skeleton crew or their sales department is playing the role, building a better BDC to support dealership-wide success in 2022 comes down to 3 C's. COMMIT TO CONSISTENT CUSTOMER ENGAGEMENT 3 C'S OF BUILDING A BETTER BDC Car buyers are planning to visit more dealerships in the future, with 39% planning to try at least three dealerships before buying their next car. Capital One, 2022 While many dealers have adopted digital retailing solutions and other self-serve solutions in recent years, it's important to remember the value of the dealership BDC to guide the evolving buyer journey – and building trust with customers. According to a recent industry study, trust in the dealership or salesperson is as important to customers as the price of the vehicle when buying – and the quality of that communication ranking just slightly lower. It's important to engage prospects before they've started shopping around, building trust with buyers from the first touch point. Consistency is key to this process, and when equipped with the right tools, technology and training, the BDC can set the stage for a seamless customer experience and a simplified customer journey to promote future loyalty. When reaching out to prospects, ensure your BDC is prepared with an upgrade offer in-hand, accounting for the customer's trade-in value, any OEM incentives and more, building off any previous communications.

• Cover