I wanted to share a video that was shot in the normal C It Now way, but is now stored on our server as well. This is the latest version of C It Now. As well as dealers continuing with live video presentations of cars to customers, the session is automatically stored for further use.
In the exit questionnaire, the customer can leave their e-mail address and a link to the video will be sent to them. Links can also be used on the dealer's web site. This means sales people can now run their own sessions, video a car and instantly attach a video to an existing stock item on the web site (with the help of their web company).
The new version will start to ship next week so we'll be upgrading all our dealers shortly.
I received the following e-mail from Ken Potter, Brand Manager at VW Crewe who has been using C It Now for 2 weeks.
I’m getting bored of telling you how good the system is working for us. We put an Eos on the web yesterday afternoon with no pictures and received an enquiry this morning. Ash showed the car to the customer who was 200 miles away and took a deposit!
Ken is a great advocate. No excuses, no lazy sales people, no lack of stock, in fact no negatives at all, just positives.
But Ken's smart. He'd already worked out that pre-recorded video was working for his business. Being able to offer a live video presentation was simply the next step to providing an extra level of service and engagement. If a customer is on your dealer web site and keen enough to call you, what a great opportunity to show the car, live, now, and then take a deposit.
There are a couple of interesting points about Ken's C It Now sale. Firstly, it happened mid week. This is a great time to make additional sales when you won't find 'walk-ins' for love nor money.
Secondly, he sold it without a photograph.
I'm not denying that photographs help, they do. But they don't provide a detailed condition report. A live video presentation where the customer can direct the sales person to what they want to see is far more effective and helps the customer make a decision.
What do you think? Is Ken right to embrace a live video tour?
I'll be talking to Ken in person again soon when I hope to share his views on the subject.
Here at C It Now we're always delighted by a consumer's reaction to a live video presentation of a used car. The fact that they can view the car live from the comfort of their home or office with the help of the dealer salesperson is a great benefit. No wasted journeys, no hidden surprises, lots of detail inside and out; far more useful than the photographs we're all used to. It's no surprise that the C It Now service is yet to score less than 9 out of 10 on any exit questionnaire.
But it's not all been plain sailing. One of our dealers, Rybrook Jaguar in Warrington has been very smart solving some customer reaction. It appears that not everyone is always comfortable with the idea of a live video presentation service. So much so that the sales guys no longer use words like 'live', 'video' and 'presentation'; instead they focus on 'more information'. It seems that some buyers feel that accepting a presentation is a sign of increased commitment and is not the right signal to be giving off at that point.
By only making an offer of 'more information', the buyer feels more comfortable that this is still part of the fact finding mission and not a sign that they are ready to purchase.
The sales guys like it because it enables 5 minute conversations to develop into longer video based conversations; valuable time to build up some rapport with the buyer.
It also appears to be working as Rybrook's sales figures for September show a 42% conversion to sale.