Building the client's loyalty in the automotive industry

How technologies influence our loyalty?

The consumer market is full of trade offers, promotions and discounts, of which the sheer number may overwhelm many clients. It is the products of the lowest price that are often chosen from many offers of different brands and products, which are in many cases very similar to one another. However, the brand awareness, the values promoted by the brand, philosophy and, consequently, loyalty, are sometimes lost in this price war.

Loyalty in the automotive industry

This problem is tackled by the automotive sector to a large extent. A car is a long-term investment, which is why car dealers focus on comprehensive services, running Authorized Workshops dedicated to cars of a given make, serviced with the use of original parts and components. However, after the expiry of the guarantee period, some clients choose independent workshops, which make dealers lose a chance to keep in contact with the client, and, consequently, a chance to convince the client to choose the same brand at the time of the next purchase. Thus, is there any room for “love” to a brand in the times of fierce competition?

To be ahead of the need

The informatisation in the sector is now a fact. Both smaller car salons and huge networks use DMS systems (Dealer Management System), which, in combination with solutions of ERP class (Enterprise Resource Planning – systems for management of business processes) facilitate management of sale, spare parts and service orders.

It is also the producers of IT systems that keep looking for state-of-the-art solutions. They offer us more and more innovative systems dedicated to the automotive sector, allowing (inter alia) to improve the quality of customer service with the use of mobile devices or advanced tools based on Big Data solutions or the Internet of things. Hicron developed one such solution, called the Car Data Collector.

The Car Data Collector is a solution based on the assumption that the most important source of data allowing to support the activities of Authorised Workshops in the post-sale service is the car itself. The Car Data Collector may transfer, on a remote basis, data on the car’s mileage, break-downs and engine errors, data for engine diagnostics, and monitor the mileage.

Table 1. Components of the Car Data Collector

Thus, the Authorised Workshop is offered an opportunity of remote vehicle diagnostics and a chance for pro-active sales activities, while the client using dedicated mobile DriveAppp application has access to diagnostics information which would not be available in a standard solution. It is also an additional tool for communication between the Authorised Workshop and the driver.

Safety first

What is particularly important in the process of remote readout of data is the highest standards of safety and privacy of clients’ data. How does the CDC cope with this issue?