What Would Convince You To Buy A New Rav4?

[Brett Sheridan]

For clarity, I will firstly confess that I am working on behalf of (not for) a very well known UK Toyota dealership.

I will not name or promote the organisation here but would like some honest views and opinions please.

The dealership have various heavy-weight offers and incentives but have asked me to find out ways they can capture the attention of prospective buyers.

Q. What do you think they could do to get people into the showroom?

Any replies would be very much appreciated.

[FROSTYBALLS]

Listers (who the dealer group probably is), could become a sponsor of Toyota Owners Club, and offer club members further incentives - reduced prices on service plans, etc.

The issue with this sort of exercise is that one has to question the intentions behind it. Is it a way to get free advertising - which is against the terms and conditions of the club.

Think if you or Listers wish to continue with this, why not provide support to the club, and become a sponsor.

[Parts-King]

Indeed Frosty, well said

and to be correct.....a "Brand new" car can never be pre-registered. It might well have one owner (you) and never turned a wheel, but with every month end it sits on the forecourt will depreciate rapidly. When any car is registered, you lose the value of VAT as soon as the car leaves the showroom, so you are not comparing apples with apples. I too think this is just a back door way of trying to drum up business Mr Salesman ;)

[Brett Sheridan]

Thanks FROSTYBALLS,
I think sponsoring the club is a great idea and certainly one that should be given serious thought.

The point relating to advertising is honestly not an intention of this particular exercise; it is merely a market research post to identify the wants and needs of a potentially valuable target market to identify new opportunities. :)

I will stand by my decision not to reveal the identity of the dealership.

[Brett Sheridan]

and to be correct.....a "Brand new" car can never be pre-registered.

Yes, you are correct on that point.

I was trying to highlight the weight of deals being offered but will edit my original post to remove anything that you may read as a promotion or advertisement and so it is also technically correct.

I'm not here to directly drum up business, although that will be the end goal using the results of this conversation; I'm after ideas and opinions.

[Velocette]

What an extraordinary thread. Firstly, to say that someone who specifically states that they wish their sponsor to remain anonymous is accused of advertising. I am also surprised at the negative and somewhat hostile attitude of people posting here who presumably are positive about this particular marque and model. Look at the positives - this is your chance to tell this organisation what it is you want, and what they should provide. Does the OP have a particular perspective, yes of course he does - like we all have - and he has stated this position openly and why he is here. what is wrong with that? In that spirit let me make my position clear. I am a retired academic who has taught and researched marketing and business strategy, albeit in fields removed from consumer marketing, in business schools around the world for twenty years or more. i am a chartered marketer and fellow of the institute of marketing.

I have actually purchased a new model rav4. What motivated me was that as a 9 month old demonstrator it offered at a very attractive price but with the addition of some extras which were added value for me. Specifically white metallic paint, leather, heated seats, a tow bar, sat nav and bluetooth together with some other things that were nice to have but not deal breakers. These included roof rails with cross bars, side steps and "drug dealer" anthracite wheels. I also wanted 4 wheel drive capability as an elderly relative lives in a difficult to get to place and if things go wrong we have to be there whatever. I had also seriously considered an XC60 but spec for spec this would have cost me up to £10k more. More generally I also got over 4 years warranty and a very good dealer (not Listers as it happens) is less than 5 miles away. So I have a well equipped, comfortable, reliable car that I am confident will fulfil my needs with minimal problems for at least the warranty period and all at a competitive price. I am happy to respond to any questions that the OP may have, in the hope that my feedback may positively influence his sponsor potentially to my benefit sometime in the future.

Velocette.

[FROSTYBALLS]

Being a moderator on the forum, companies quite often try to publicise their wares in various ways by posing as ordinary members posting on the forums, posting links to their company in member profiles, etc. Unfortunately this is a fact of life and happens regularly. It isn't being negative or cynical to raise questions when needed.

The crux of the matter is what the dealer group can do to increase showroom footfall.

Think generally customers are tired of events - whether they are 'by invitation', selling cars at cost, new showroom launches, etc. Most customers have experience of attending events, and certainly I have found them to be quite under whelming. We run two cars and have purchased 17 new vehicles - despite attending several events held by a variety of dealerships and manufacturers, we have yet to actually buy a car as a result of attending a sales event. Usually we find sales staff only have limited time to spend with customers, test drives are limited or non-existant, and, in our opinion, events are not the best atmosphere in which to make a purchase of something that costs several thousand pounds. We tend to ignore these sort of things now.

Actions the dealership group could consider are:

First impressions count. Are sales staff interested in you as a customer? Are staff relaxed or pushy? Customer dress can be misleading - someone who may be in jeans could be your next sale. Don't make assumptions. Once a customer gains a first impression of a dealership, that can make or break any relationship. For example my local Toyota dealer is based in Birmingham. After two disappointing test drive experiences with that dealer, which were three years apart, I bought my last three new Toyotas from a dealership 20 miles away, and have them serviced there as well. Didn't even consider visiting my local dealer in 2012 when I bought my current Toyota.

Make sure offers are genuine. When I visit TOC, I see my local dealer is advertising 20% off Toyota's Fixed Price Servicing - yet the 'servicing from' price they quote is the same price as on the Toyota webpage for Fixed Price Servicing. So where is the 20% saving?

What finance is available on pre-registered vehicles? Does this need including in the offer publicity?

E-mail and SMS customers who have purchased cars from the dealer in the past three years and who have bought similar cars or, for those who have bought cars a bit lower down the range but who now may be aspiring customers, giving detail of what cars are on offer and what savings on each car are possible.

Telephone existing existing customers to see whether they're interested.

Link in with the servicing department - for those customers who have cars in for service and who may be looking to change, offer part exchange values for their current vehicle against the cars you have on offer (eg valuation letter left in car for when they collect car from service).

Pre-registered cars may not be as attractive as they once were, due to insurance companies changing their clause on new car replacement in the event of a total loss - most insurers now require the insured to be the first registered owner. Pre-registered vehicles are no longer eligible as purchasers become the second owner - offer half price or free GAP insurance to overcome this.

Some companies offer discounts to public sector workers , military personnel. etc. Look at the groups one offers discounts to - do these need extending? Are the same discounts offered to the regular forces, also offered to those who are in the Reserves? What about ex-employees (retirees, etc) of the discount groups - can ex-employees still get the same discounts? Are there some groups where you don't do much business with - do you still need to offer discounts for these groups? What about NHS employees, civil service, etc? How does the dealership publicise the discount schemes they operate? If the targeted groups don't know these discounts are offered, there is no point having them.

With the agreement of the supermarket management, parking a couple of examples by the entrance of the supermarket (eg a Tesco Extra store) for a few days, with details of the offer displayed on the cars, might generate some increase in interest and showroom footfall.

Sales staff should be aware of prospective customers in their showroom. Several times over the years I have gone into showrooms, looked at the cars on display, looked for brochures, etc, only to be ignored by staff. Instances include staff making phone calls instead of just simply asking customers whether they want help, suits obviously disappearing into showroom offices for meetings or similar, etc. If sales staff don't appear interested in asking whether a customer wants help, it is a potential sale lost.

Follow up is important. If a customer has visited a showroom, they are obviously interested in something. A few times, we've been into showrooms and been promised a phone call later, but received nothing. We've even experienced this after test drives.

Up to date brochures and price lists are also important. Countless times dealers we've gone into haven't had the current brochure or price list. Photocopies leave a poor impression. Professional? No!

Product knowledge is a major area that dealership staff fall down on. This ranges from not knowing how aspects of a car operate (something as simple as how the rear seats fold down), to being unsure when the launch of a new model is likely to be. All too frequently staff just rely on being informed by the manufacturer. What is wrong with including keeping up to date with the automotive media as part of the staff's continuing professional development. Staff should know what developments are on the horizon, what competition may be out there both now and in six months, etc.

The EU fuel consumption figures are standardised tests to provide customers with comparative data between models. These figures do not represent what real world drivers may achieve. However, sales staff DO say to customers that 'a vehicle will do xx mpg'. This is misleading, and can lead to customers becoming disappointed with both the salesperson and the dealer. Staff should at the very least highlight the fact that the fuel consumption tests may not reflect real world consumption.

Are any of your locations near to Head Offices corporate centres, distribution centres, etc of large organisations. Could employees of these be targeted? Eg DWP has Head Office locations in Sheffield and Leeds, Land Registry in Coventry, Amazon has a large distribution centre in Rugeley, etc.

Why not get the dealer group to talk directly with people you make contact with as part of this exercise, to share opinions, experiences, etc. It doesn't have to be someone from the dealer's cachement area. Manufacturers hold customer clinics to compare new models with rivals, etc. You could do something similar. Have a couple of focus groups. Get customers into the dealer group to talk to them and say directly what they expect from a franchise. It would also be the opportunity to float new ideas and see how they may be received. For example TOC were recently approached by a market research company who wanted Rav4 drivers to attend a customer clinic for a forthcoming Rav4 competitor, and after a certain degree of info was established (payment details, adherance to market research code of practise, etc) and posted on the forum, the company were successful in getting the numbers of attendees they wanted.

This mostly comes down to establishing a rapport with one's customers, and building a level of trust between the parties that both feel comfortable with. It is all too easy to lose that rapport and reduce the level of trust. Once trust is lost, it can be very difficult to rebuild.

[ALake]

What would encourage me to buy new from any dealer/manufacturer is how they handle any issues with a second hand car.

Based on my experiences with the Durham toyota dealer - no thanks. Previous experience with Vauxhall and Ford then yes. So toyota would lose my sale in this area due to their disinterest in supporting a second hand (toyota warranteed) car.

To get me into the showroom would involve some buying incentives that were more than the usual 'fake' offers - perhaps discounted finance or additional kit etc. Once I'm in the showroom I'm immediately put off by some dealers lack of knowledge of their own brand.

[Velocette]

Well, we are certainly right to be cautious about overt or indeed covert messages from those promoting their products.but we have moved on from the issues discussed by Vance Packard in his 1957 book The Hidden Persuaders and Naomi Klein's No Logo (1999). We are now in a much more sophisticated and cynical world of consumers and the Internet has given huge empowerment to individuals.

The post about trade-in prices certainly rang a bell with me. I bought a Prius from my then local dealer (before we moved) and after three years or so had run it up to nearly 100k miles. After about 2.5 years I enquired about a trade in with my Toyota dealer (who had supplied and serviced the vehicle from new) for another vehicle. Six months later I bought a car elsewhere and was offered then, with more miles and six months older, about 15% more for my Prius, equating to quite a few hundred £s more. Did the Toyota dealer really think that I had not thoroughly checked prices on Autotrader, eBay etc and occasionally with other dealers? I was more than happy to allow the Toyota dealer a sensible margin in return for a hassle free purchase, a quality vehicle and a sound warranty and backup. I just didn't have time to waste and was prepared to trust him. Sadly that trust was not reciprocated as not only did he offer a poor trade in for a vehicle he knew better than anybody else, but he tried to spin me a story about what the car was or was not worth. Classic sales bluster and dismissed as such.

If only the company had taken a whole customer perspective they would have sold me a car and retained the servicing income from both myself and my wife, as she too drives a Toyota. Instead they were driven by the thought of the deal on the day, thinking they could drive a few hundred more out of me. There was so much they could have done to get and retain my business - yes, maybe give me not such a good trade in price (but not the price they offered!) but then compensated with a servicing deal. I would happily have had my car serviced at a slack time for their service bay, then they and I would have won and we would have committed longer term to each other. Eventually instead of buying another Toyota I eventually bought a Volvo, and would happily buy another based on that experience and the XC60 lost on this occasion to the RAV4.

[Brett Sheridan]

Gents,

This is superb - thanks to you all.

I appreciate the concerns with sneaky tactics for promotions and hope that I have reassured you that my real intention is for research only.

This research will be fed back and I believe a lot will be used, in one way or another, to develop the customer relationships between the organisation and it's customers.

There are a few things mentioned that should already be in place or not happening so, although we're not discussing specific named dealers and I don't know if these are experiences with this particular organisation, I will recommend these are checked and where required, changes are made immediately.

Depending how my report goes, I may be in contact in the future to ask if anyone would like to meet up for a more in depth chat but if you have any further ideas, please comment below and I will pick them up.

Thanks again,

Brett.

[FROSTYBALLS]

Whichever comments are looked at and taken up by the UK Toyota dealership, the one thing for them to bear in mind, is that if they are a multi-franchise operation, the comments could be equally applied to their other franchises.