Technology has changed our buying patterns.
In our latest vlog, Ian talks about how the modern consumer chooses and purchases a car.
Category: Featured
How does our Development team work?
Our agile Development team sprints and jams to ensure our customers continually benefit from improvements to our solutions.
Beth explains how in our latest vlog.
Lings Motor Group avoids vehicle clone threat thanks to FullCompliance
An unexpected benefit of the real-time paperless mileage log designed to aid HMRC compliance
Lings Motor Group took on FullCompliance from Cooper Solutions in April this year, to streamline its systems when it comes to meeting national HMRC requirements for documenting all company car driver activity and fuel use. Soon after Lings started using FullCompliance, the system proved invaluable in helping the dealership prove its innocence in a case of vehicle licence plate cloning.
Two vehicle licence plates were cloned, one from the Lings car retail site, which uses FullCompliance, and one from its bike retail site, which doesn’t currently use the Cooper Solutions system. The cloned licence plates were involved in criminal activity and picked up traffic offences. The first Lings knew of the cloning was when the dealership received notification of the traffic offences. Thankfully, due to FullCompliance, Lings was able to prove that their car was not involved in the incidents. They provided a full mileage log from the Lings system, which showed that the car was not in the area at the time, avoiding the fine.
HMRC demands consecutive mileage logs for all demonstrator stock vehicles, including private, business and customer use, putting added pressure on dealerships to record this information. Removing this headache, FullCompliance registers real-time mileages, whatever the use, offering dealerships a robust paperless solution to comply with HMRC requirements and avoid potential exposure to significant penalties.
Whilst the system ultimately proves that no driver benefits business-provided fuel, Lings didn’t expect FullCompliance to help tackle the problem of cloned licence plates, saving them from a fine and lost reputation.
Matthew Barwick, of Lings Motor Group, says, “Without FullCompliance we wouldn’t have been able to prove that our vehicle wasn’t involved in the offence, leaving us with a fine to pay. Whilst we utilise the system to ensure we manage our fleet vehicles correctly, we’ve discovered that FullCompliance protects our business in ways we hadn’t anticipated.”
“All of our customers use our products slightly differently and always seem to find additional benefits that we might not have considered,” explains Dean Pipitone of Coopers Solutions. “In the case of Lings, they found that FullCompliance offers them protection from the risk of trading a cloned vehicle. The flexibility of the solutions we provide means they can adapt to the needs of every business, giving dealers added peace of mind and the support they need to operate confidently in a competitive marketplace.”
What’s your dream car?
In our vlog, we asked:
What’s your dream car?
And where would it take you?
Tech savvy dealerships are a hit with customers looking for a seamless experience
From touchscreen TVs and tablets to smart fridges and home assistants, smartphone technology has become ubiquitous. In fact, today’s consumers expect to have the same kind of technology at their fingertips as part of their buying experience. In our recent survey, 46% of consumers said that dealers who use the same smart technology that they have at home offer a more ‘positive customer experience’.
Over half (56%) of those surveyed believe that dealers who use smart technology offer a more ‘efficient’ car buying process, whilst 73% said that those dealers who don’t use technology for the benefit of the customer are not being as ‘professional’ as they could be. So if you’re one of the dealers who do embrace the latest innovations available today, you are benefitting from a perceived higher degree of professionalism, giving you that much needed competitive edge.
The ‘swapper’ – the customer who part exchanges their car – has particular expectations when it comes getting a vehicle valuation. Over a third (33%) of consumers surveyed revealed they would be more ‘confident’ if a dealer provided an electronic valuation; 67% of all those surveyed believed a more traditional type of valuation wouldn’t be as accurate.
Our research shows that as many as 68% of car buyers believe that dealers who are not using smart technology in the showroom are not being as transparent about the sales and services they offer as they could be. Those dealers who take a ‘Wizard of Oz’ approach to appraisals – disappearing behind closed doors to produce a quote – seriously underestimate the impression this leaves with the customer. One properly appraised vehicle will return the cost of an iPad, and offer greater reassurance to the buyer that they are getting the best market price for their part exchange, plus it could engender a greater level of trust.
Today’s tech savvy car buyers expect a seamless experience, from initial research using a dealer website through to the visit to the showroom itself. As our research demonstrates, those dealerships utilising the latest smart technology such as tablets, TVs and smartphones to assist with the customer journey, are one very large step ahead of the competition.
Cloned licence plates? How would you avoid the fine?
The flexibility of the solutions we provide means they can adapt to the needs of every business, giving dealers added peace of mind and the support they need to operate confidently in a competitive marketplace.”
Cooper Solutions welcomes Auto Trader move to bypass physical auctions
And says the new approach to fleet remarketing should prompt motor retailers to rethink their practices too
Cooper Solutions is applauding news from the new and used car digital business giant, Auto Trader, that it is to bypass the traditional remarketing of fleet vehicles via physical auctions. The move to sell direct to dealers instead, should herald a much needed shift in mind set and future auction practices used by motor retailers themselves, it says.
Barry Cooper, Managing Director for Cooper Solutions explains, “Auto Trader has put the spotlight on the legacy networks of physical sites of the UK’s leading auction companies, which in this day and age bring a financial burden indirectly shouldered by dealers who sell stock via these channels.
“Given the business model of physical auction houses, it’s no big surprise that they need a high transaction cost to pay for their overheads. We conducted our own research to validate this point. After looking at over 71,000 car sales, we confirmed that physical auction fees are typically bigger than the profits that selling retailers make and therefore significantly reduce the sellers profit. Given the current pressure on margins this simply isn’t good for business for today’s retailers.
“The move by Auto Trader not only enriches the used stock now available directly to retailers, it opens the door for them to follow suit for trade stock. Sytner Group has been proving for many years that digital auction is their optimal route to market and now Auto Trader is on the same track.
“By pushing the direct online remarketing approach for fleet, Auto Trader confirms our own position since we launched our trade-to-trade online auction site, FullAuction. As the message gets louder and more influential as power houses get behind its logic, we would hope that more retailers will be tempted away from the more traditional legacy remarketing channels and towards a more profitable digital disposal route.”
FullAuction from Cooper Solutions, is a trade-to-trade digital auction site which operates in a similar fashion to Auto Trader’s new fleet disposal platform. With FullAuction, the maximum buyers fee is £33, as much as 10 times less than a physical auction fee for the same car, meaning retailers make more money from the sale. In addition, the new remarketing models, including FullAuction, reduce the time to dispose of stock, which means dealers get the money in the bank quicker, boosting their bottom line.
Removing the stress from dealership life
Watch our second vlog to find out about one of the ways we try to remove the stress from dealership life.
Test drives drive sales
Cooper Solutions highlights the power of the unaccompanied test drive as EV and Hybrid popularity rises
Cooper Solutions is calling upon dealers to recognise the power of an unaccompanied or 48 hour test drive as new research from What Car? reveals more and more consumers expect to test drive more than two models the next time they buy a car. Nearly 32% of car buyers surveyed by daily rate insurance provider, Cooper Solutions, said that an extended test drive would increase the chances of them ‘falling in love’ with the vehicle they were test driving. Despite this, data from Cooper Solutions shows the average test drive offered by dealers lasts just 46 minutes.
Of particular interest to dealers will be the view of What Car? that the rise in choice and popularity of electric or hybrid vehicles will increase demand for test drives of these vehicles, but that it will be a new experience for millions of drivers and they will want to understand what they are buying. This is supported by the findings of the Cooper Solutions survey that revealed 1 in 4 car buyers like to test a car to make sure it fits their lifestyle, which is all the more important if a customer is considering switching from a petrol or diesel vehicle to an electric or hybrid model.
The study also shows that the all-important test drive is more likely to seal the deal, with 43% of buyers saying they would use an extended test drive as an opportunity to show off a potential purchase to friends and family to gauge their opinion and a staggering 89% – admitted that a positive response from loved ones would likely rubberstamp their decision.
Dealers will be concerned to learn that the study by What Car? also showed that 62% of buyers still find contact with dealers difficult. However, the good news is that half of car buyers surveyed by Cooper Solutions said they would feel more positively about a dealer if they were offered an extended or unaccompanied test drive which would help them make a better informed purchase decision.
Dean Pipitone, Director of Cooper Solutions explains: “Those dealers allowing their customers to fully immerse themselves in the driving experience over an extended period of time, are much more likely to benefit. Dealers need to actively encourage customers to go beyond trying out the comfort and the way the vehicle handles in terms of performance, instead focusing on how the car can satisfy their daily needs. Most importantly, it’s the opportunity for other people to admire and envy a potential purchase, particularly if this is an upgrade, where the test drive process substantially increases the chances of a sale.”
*The Cooper Solutions survey results are based on 200 responses from consumers aged 18-55+ conducted by Gorkana Surveys.
Cooper Solutions announces launch of new series of webinars
Our first vlog!
And it’s all about the launch of a new series of webinars.