DEALERS attending the AADA Convention and Expo in Brisbane next week are going to be introduced at an expert panel session led by the Autotrader Group to the concept that now is a perfect time to experiment with how they spend their marketing dollars.

Manisha Seewal, chief marketing officer at Gumtree, CarsGuide and Autotrader, will lead the discussion suggesting that “new car stock shortages have continued to impact the size of marketing budgets in 2022”.

“As a result, brands should be seeking out ways of engaging their customers with a refreshed and creative approach. We have seen that these new initiatives work best when supported by a strong pipeline of customer data,” she said.

“At Gumtree, we achieve this by leveraging sophisticated, real-time data signals across all three brands in our portfolio to anticipate our users’ needs. We use these customer insights to both power our marketing strategy and to provide our users with relevant content that is delivered at the right time.

“In a market which evolves daily, great opportunities continue to present themselves to marketers and we’re looking forward to sharing these insights and how-tos with the audience attending the upcoming AADA panel.”

The Autotrader Group panel is titled Impactful Marketing and will look at what strategies automotive leaders need to prioritise in 2022.

The discussion includes experts who will provide “real world advice on how to maximise results during a challenging time for the industry”.

The panel includes: Maserati Australia and New Zealand national marketing manager Tim Stanton, Universal Internet Services director David Hanlin, and Alto Group group marketing manager Michael Olek.

AADA Convention and Expo director Patrick Tessier said: “Despite what some people think, digital marketing is not cheap, so this panel will discuss how you craft a budget for a small dealership and how you make that budget work and become effective.

“Digital marketing is a lot more difficult to get evidence of how effectively it works. Ask a dealer how many people visited their website and invariably that question draws a blank.

“That’s got to change and verifying the effectiveness of digital marketing is one of the key issues with marketing a dealership.”

Mr Tessier said the expert panel has the knowledge to advise the dealer on the best course of action to maximise the marketing dollar for greatest impact.

“As we hopefully begin to emerge from the shadow of the pandemic, smart dealers will arm themselves with the latest strategies to capture the attention of the public. That’s what this session is for.”

Another important issue is the fallout that took place in the wake of new commission rules imposed by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), with fears for the end of F&I contributions to dealer profitability not eventuating and smart operators finding opportunity in the new environment.

Dealers have traditionally counted on F&I as a vital source of income but the playing field has changed.

Negotiating a new path in this area is the key point of an expert panel that should not be missed by dealers and those in the finance and insurance industry.

Mr Tessier said automotive F&I is worth about $16 billion a year but only about $5 billion is handled by the dealers.

“So the opportunity is really substantial for the dealers,” he said.

“The reason I want to have this panel is because I think the future is with the consumer. The consumer wants a seamless experience in buying a car and that includes F&I and dealers have to understand that the process has to be clear and simple.”

Mr Tessier said that for the first time in decades, there are no banks involved in lending money to car buyers.

“I think that’s actually a good thing,” he said.

“The alternative lenders now in the market are offering a lot more and are really getting their processes in order whereas banks struggled with that.

“The easier it is for a consumer, the better the deal for the dealer.”

Mr Tessier said that while finance showed a lot of upside, the insurance side was “a bit more of a challenge”.

“But I don’t think the insurance business for dealers is over by any stretch. I actually believe the opportunities are there but dealers need to rethink and that comes back to the same aspects of finance, where it’s all about the process and how consumers get to interact with it.”

The F&I contraction started in September 2017 when ASIC banned flex commissions – which had allowed dealers to set the interest rate on a car loan – in the car finance market. The royal commission recommended the removal of point-of-sale exemption, a deferred sales model for add-on insurance and a cap on commissions.

These measures created challenges for the dealership F&I departments, which is why this panel session is so important.

The panel will be hosted by the AADA 2022 host Peter Switzer and have Paul Warburton (executive general manager of financial services at Eagers Automotive); Bernie Campbell (chairman of Angle Finance); Sean Balding (COO of Eric Insurance); Michael Higgins (co-founder and managing director of Loopit Subscription); and Ahmed Mahmoud, director of Motor Industry Services at Deloitte.

Mr Tessier said that these speakers have decades of experience in the F&I industry and “have a lot to say about where we’re at and where we’re going in the future”.

A third panel will be of vital importance to members of the OEM, retail and aftermarket sectors of the automotive industry is the AADA’s “Advocates Unite” panel brought together by AADA CEO James Voortman as the host.

It will discuss the moves by OEMs into the agency model of retailing, along with the effects of COVID-19, the rapid growth expected in electric vehicles, new data sharing arrangements, and more.

The Advocacy panel will bring together leaders representing manufacturers, dealers, and independent repairers to discuss events of the past year and take a holistic view of automotive policy in key areas including OEM arrangements, taxation, and tariffs.

Mr Tessier said that this panel will highlight the issues affecting key industry players and the need to look forward with an understanding of each other’s needs.

“If there is a united front on the important issues, things such as the relationship between the OEM and the dealer, they’ll be much more effective,” he said.

“The concept of this panel is to demonstrate to the industry that we actually aren’t quite united on a lot of things. Of course there are some things we’re not united on.

“But if you’re interested in the ongoing fight for a better deal for our industry and want to know what’s next on the agenda, make sure you get to this fascinating panel discussion.”

The panel features Mr Voortman, Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI) chief executive Tony Weber, Australian Automotive Aftermarket Association (AAAA) chief executive Stuart Charity, Motor Trades Association of Queensland executive director Rod Camm and Motor Trades Association of Australia executive director Richard Dudley.

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By Neil Dowling