VIDEO for dealer workshops and for sales purposes is becoming an important tool in recording and confirming work for customers – but now it is being expanded to cover other dealership activities including accepting online payments.

The GardX video platform called B2See uses a mobile phone as the portal to create and send personalised videos from the dealership staff to customers using either email or SMS.

Though video services such as this are generally dedicated to workshop activities and aftersales, GardX has enhanced it to suit sales, marketing, merchandising and allow it to link with social media pages to post videos about the dealership to facebook, youtube, instagram and twitter.

For aftersales, the service advisor can send details of repairs to a customer with repair items marked as red or amber – depending on the seriousness of the repair – which can be immediately authorised by the client.

It will also link to external finance providers including GoPay and OpenPay to allow customers to pay immediately and the dealership to instantly receive funds.

The sales aspect of GardX allows sales staff to create videos using a mobile phone. These can be sent to customers to assist with showing new or used vehicles where the customer is unable to attend to see the vehicle, as in the current COVID-19 environment or when the customer is too far away to personally attend.

A separate module allows dealers to photograph and video cars for sale and upload the result straight to an online classified advertising service such as Autotrader or carsales. It only needs a mobile phone and some training from GardX to become proficient.

GardX has the ability to notify the dealership when a video is watched. This allows managers to see the effectiveness of the videos and, via the B2See Dashboard, even see the performance from one salesperson to a whole team.

Marketing uses for GardX include the launch of a new model of car, for VIP occasions such as showroom openings and award presentations, and other campaigns where one video can reach multiple viewers.

An additional benefit of the platform is that it can publish reviews from customers onto the dealer’s website or social media.

Positive reviews are obviously beneficial for business and represent an unbiased opinion, so much so that Google now factors reviews into its SEO rankings.

Ratings and reviews are one of the biggest factors used by consumers when selecting local businesses.

For merchandising, a video can be sent to a customer before the delivery of a vehicle showing what aftermarket products are available.

This can alert the customer to accessories and products that can be fitted prior to delivery, increasing product penetration and potential revenue for the dealership.

The GardX product has started in WA and is now entering NSW before moving to other states.

By Neil Dowling