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CAR care and vehicle protection specialist, MotorOne, has launched a new video service for dealers selling MotorOne products. The service is specifically designed to target car buyers who are now favouring a more contactless interaction with their dealer.

With many dealers operating on reduced staff numbers due to the pandemic, the new video platform has been developed to help dealers engage with potential ‘missed’ car care opportunities with customers.

But it can also be used to send dealer-branded video messages from all parts of the dealership as customers have become more and more receptive to online communications as a result of the recent lockdown, especially in Victoria.

The platform houses videos within an appealingly-designed  template that can contain subtitles supporting the product, or an offer, as well as the name and contact details of the sales staff featured in the video.

Called MotorOne LIVE, the key selling point is delivering a dealer-branded video sent by the dealer directly to the customers preferred device, to promote MotorOne’s car care protection products specifically to those car buyers who have just bought a car ‘that’ day and perhaps missed seeing a car care consultant.

In addition to MotorOne LIVE, dealers who don’t have a car care consultant perhaps because of austerity measures, MotorOne can become the contact point for customers interested in  purchasing car care products by using MotorOne’s call centre which manages the contact, and the sale, on behalf of the dealer.

Glenn Sharp, COO of MotorOne, told GoAutoNews Premium that the focus on videos was very timely.

“In the current climate, most people of all ages have wrapped their heads around dealing in videos and specifically video communications. We think this is something we are going to see a lot more of in future and more of the way we will do business going forward.

“MotorOne LIVE is a great solution for dealers looking to grow their car care revenue and well suited to dealers who don’t have a dedicated car care consultant. Alternatively, their consultant has been stood down due to lockdown measures and restrictions.

“During these difficult times on the showroom floor, dealers can use this video of our products which means dealers can present the product 100 per cent of the time, every time.

“It is also a solution for the new contactless world that we live in,” Mr Sharp said.

“The video can be shown by a car care consultant or another resource in the dealership and simply be pushed out to a customer and then followed up by us at a later date.

“Dealers say to me the issue they have with selling car care products is no different from the six-position sell of a car and that is making sure the car gets sold the same way using the same process every time; 100 per cent of the time.

“It is no different with car care. There will always be someone who says they could not get to the customer because they were busy.

“MotorOne LIVE allows a video to be pushed out to the customer immediately after the sale with a very easy followup process from us by phone or email. Alternatively, it gets pushed out to every single customer because there is no consultant in the dealership.

“In some instances it is like a virtual consultant or it is a secondary measure where perhaps the customer did not necessarily pick up on the explanation of the car care side of the sale. They can now get a video takeaway that might reinforce the value of the product for them.”

Mr Sharp said that the key message for customers: ‘You have invested in this car, here is a way for you to protect your investment’.

The video will cover a variety of MotorOne products including Hydro Ceramic Exterior Paint Protection, interior protection and window tints as well as vehicle electronics from the wide suite of MotorOne products.

“The real issue is when you have a dealer who has stood down a car care consultant at $50,000 a year plus commissions they have also made a conscious decision to walk away from potentially $50,000 to $60,000 gross a month in car care.

“Now they can show MotorOne LIVE direct to the car buyer at the time of vehicle purchase via a short video outlining options on a variety of products designed to protect their vehicle.

“There is total flexibility on when the video can be sent. It can be sent after the test drive, pre or post the sale or pre or post  the business manager catch-up or in fact the next day when they can view the video at home.

“It can also be pushed through the service department for those customers who did not take Ceramic Hydro or window tint at the time of the new or used car sale and are back for their first service.

“If they don’t buy then the video can be used as a secondary sale after the fact.

“The video could be sent with the booking in advance of the service explaining the importance of the interior and exterior protection for the car as well as the benefits of tint,” Mr Sharp said.

The MotorOne LIVE initiative was a reaction to dealers laying off car care staff early in the shutdown period but it is now being viewed as a closing tool as well as a value add for the customer.

The video platform comes at no cost for a MotorOne dealer currently selling Hydro and is considered to be part of the sales collateral provided by MotorOne.

However, the actual publishing platform on which the MotorOne videos are produced and hosted can be used by dealers for other messages to customers and prospective buyers for a competitively-priced monthly subscription.

MotorOne LIVE is powered by SnapCell technology. Dealers can use it to send a virtual test drive to a customer; a walkaround of the car on which they were enquiring filmed by a salesperson; the introduction of a sales executive or a message from the dealer principal.

So the actual platform which runs MotorOne LIVE can be used in multiple departments across the dealership. Some of those add-on features for dealers will trigger a payment.

Mr Sharp said: “It has applications everywhere but I think the key feature right now is that contactless communication with a customer on behalf of a dealer makes it really appealing.

“The beauty of MotorOne LIVE is that it can land in a customers’ phone for viewing wherever they are and often in a location where they are more likely to review it and make a decision perhaps with a partner, for example. It is just so simple.”

Mr Sharp suggested that a dealer should create a personal video for every sale every day thanking the buyer, telling the buyer they are looking forward to handing over the keys on delivery. ‘Meanwhile here are some ways of protecting your new car.’

Mr. Sharp said MotorOne LIVE “ticks all the ‘communication boxes’ especially in these current times of uncertainty. Clearly some dealers are under-resourced, some operating without car care consultants, but still looking to retain revenue levels to keep their heads above water.

“Coupled with that there is no doubt that many customers are looking for contactless ways to purchase. But we know they are still amenable to hearing about products and services that enhance their driving experience while, at the same time, avoiding risks associated with face-to-face conversations.”

By John Mellor

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