March is just around the corner – usually one of the busiest times of the year for car dealers – and with it comes the launch of the new ‘21’ registrations. But this time around, while restrictions remain in place for retailers, the impact of the pandemic makes things slightly tougher.

At a time of year when customer interest and enquiries are at their highest, dealerships and sales executives don’t have a moment to lose. In order to capitalise on every lead, sales processes must be as efficient, streamlined and responsive to customer needs as they possibly can be. And the handover process is one area where there’s a big opportunity to achieve much greater efficiency.

Although the lifting of COVID-19-related restrictions is on the horizon, dealers will still be closed to physical visitors throughout March. Making your contactless customer experience seamless is absolutely critical, at a time when high competition and thin margins mean every opportunity has to count.

In this blog we’ll investigate how virtual, contactless handovers work, how they improve efficiency and some other ways that digital can help.

How digital handovers can help

As the regulations stand at the time of writing, customers are only allowed to visit a dealership in person to collect a car that they’ve bought. But the process of doing so should start long before they arrive.

To make the experience as quick, contactless and hassle-free as possible, customers should be equipped with all the information they need before they set off. This is where the digital element of handovers comes into play. With a handover video, you can create a ‘reveal experience’ by introducing the customer to the car before pickup and highlighting key features as part of the vehicle spec. You can also take the opportunity to inform them of exactly where they need to go and what they need to do before they travel to the dealership – and they can refer back to the information if they need to double-check.

Not only does this benefit the customer, but it also reduces the amount of work a sales executive has to do to complete the procedure. With many retailers operating with reduced staff headcounts, this can make a huge difference to efficiency and productivity.

Making a real difference with digital

The positive impact from a dealer perspective isn’t just that the admin burden is smaller: it’s also that a digital handover process can be put in place that is structured and repeatable. Sales execs can conduct much more of it from the comfort of their desk, and video can be used for the parts that require visual participation and to retain that all-important personalised service.

What’s more, explaining new services such as click and collect via video is an ideal way to put customers at ease with an unfamiliar process that could easily be confusing and daunting. The following site did just that – watch the video below which they produced to explain their click and collect process:

How else can digital help?

Digital handovers are just one way in which technology can make car sales easier, however busy you might be in March and however the relaxing of restrictions unfolds. When you already have CitNOW video technology in place, you can also consider:

• New model post-roll videos: marketing videos for a specific model, uploaded as a post-roll by our team and automatically attached to your video response to a new model enquiry.
• Recorded or live ‘second handovers’: a post-handover recording that covers all the most common questions and issues from buyers as they get used to a particular model – or a live session to answer queries in real-time.
• Promotional messages: change the messaging automatically sent alongside your videos to detail any new vehicle offers or incentives.
• Part-exchanges: through live video appointments, dealers can examine customers’ vehicles being offered for part-exchange in the same way customers can assess the potential replacement.
• Finance agreements: through our desktop sharing functionality and finance integrations, all the information and documentation regarding finance can be exchanged, reviewed and signed digitally, without any need for in-person face-to-face contact.

CitNOW can help you perfect your mix of online and offline, and create customer experiences that impress and increase conversion. Register for one of our free webinars or explore the tips and advice available in our How2CitNOW video series on YouTube.