A couple of press releases caught my attention last week. The first one was APCO Acquires Strategic Diversified. So, what’s new about that? F&I providers have been acquiring agencies ongoingly, in parallel with consolidation among car dealers. What caught my attention was this, from CEO Rob Volatile, “the additional resources APCO will provide, particularly in digital retailing, will help our dealers thrive in the changing times ahead.”
“The additional resources APCO will provide, particularly in digital retailing, will help our dealers thrive in the changing times ahead.”
By now, everyone understands that small dealer groups don’t have the resources to compete effectively in digital retail. This includes even the mighty Larry Miller group. As CEO Steve Starks said of the Asbury sale, “we had grown the business about as large as we could without having an over-the-top digital retail strategy.”
Product providers, agents, and finance sources must have value-enhancing digital skills – which brings me to the second press release, Assurant Unveils Omnichannel Sales Optimization Suite. This, again, is not new. All providers have some kind of digital outreach program. I served on the digital retail team at Safe-Guard. In addition to my main job of growing the API business, we provided research, content, and coaching to our clients – not unlike Assurant’s offering.
What caught my attention was the high-profile announcement including, as McKinsey recommends, senior leadership for digital transformation. This same SVP, Martin Jenns, is quoted here in an Automotive News roundup.
How F&I Providers Can Support Digital Retail
So, what can a product provider do to support “omnichannel sales optimization?” I asked some of my pals in digital retail. Definitely the training and API capabilities, plus digital content. Cited as leaders were Assurant and JM&A.
“Providers should pay specific attention to how their products will present on a digital retail platform.”
The best advice came from AutoFi’s Matt Orlando, who told me, “providers should pay specific attention to how their products will present on a digital retail platform.” That is, instead of the (completely different) experience on a portal or a menu.
For example, a service contract may have more than one hundred combinations of coverage, term, deductible, and other options. That doesn’t work for an online consumer. Providers should apply some analytics, Matt said, and transmit only the most-likely rates.
Short, snappy videos are the preferred digital content. Digital retail vendors will generally set these up on request although, in my experience, it’s better if the provider can transmit the latest content via API and in various formats. See my REST Primer for F&I.
- White papers – Do some research, find success stories, and write informative long-form articles. Also, promotional content like newsletters, roadmaps, infographics, and this eBook.
- Coaching – For your non-reading clients, be prepared with live-delivery content – and people.
- API capabilities – Invest in advanced API capabilities like real-time analytics and digital content. Push the envelope of what digital retail can present.
- Digital content – Produce digital content as video, image, and rich text (not HTML) for each level of your product hierarchy.
- Resource center – Make all of this available to your clients using a purpose-built microsite – and people.
I remember back when the old-timers used to say that protection products “are not bought, they’re sold.” Well, digital F&I results now exceed those in-store, with some platforms reliably above 2.0 product index.
In the midst of an inventory shortage, dealers must sell more product on fewer vehicles – and product providers must be part of the solution.
Virag Consulting 