Read this blog post in French.

In this instalment of the Integrating Digital Retailing series, we focus on two different yet crucial aspects of digital integration. The fifth point in Shane’s ten-point checklist is considering how your digital tools will handle your existing customers so that you can keep track of everyone in your online system. The sixth point is about following the letter of the law for those dealerships based in Ontario and Alberta, and the necessity of in-person signatures. 

5. Existing customers 
We often think about how digital retailing solutions will bring in new customers. But how will these solutions handle our existing customers? We’ve already built a relationship with them, but it’s smart to think about how their details might live in the digital realm, and if it makes sense to bring them into our new technology integration. One thing to ask yourself is, does it make sense for different categories of customers to overlap with one another? Will it make things easier or more confusing to use the same system for all kinds of customers? This is an important consideration for providing great customer service for an existing customer who suddenly comes to us online. If we can quickly pick up who they are, we will be able to better provide that more attentive customer service. 

6. The Legal Red Ink
Decide on how to handle the necessary in-person paperwork. In Ontario and Alberta, developing an entirely digital sales solution is a tricky situation. Although you can sign off on a deal online, the red ink must be signed off in an office. The consumer’s expectation may be that everything can happen online. However, to protect yourself from fraud and keep your insurance company happy, those final signatures must technically take place in your business office. Be very careful and make sure you’re practicing the best practices for fraud and identification. You must make sure the customer’s information is all correct because if that signature takes place outside of your dealership, you could be on the hook for fraud.

As you might have discovered in this series, it’s important to take care of some of the finer details with digital solutions. Integration goes beyond the simple administration of ecommerce transactions. Integration is about taking an in-person business deal and ensuring every single intricacy in your digital transformation. Join us next week, when we’ll talk about vehicle deliveries and fraud prevention.

Read previous posts in the Integrating Digital Retailing series:

Part 1: Selling, Lead Generation, and Trades – Laying the Groundwork

Part 2: Get a handle on deposits and lead duplication