Bottom Line Up Front OTA updates impact service departments by fundamentally shifting the revenue model from routine maintenance visits to diagnostic expertise and complex repairs. Smart dealers are repositioning their service drives as high-tech diagnostic centers while training advisors to sell the value of dealer-level software updates, creating new profit centers that OTA can’t eliminate. … Read more
Bottom Line Up Front Auto dealer consolidation is reshaping the retail landscape, with mega-groups and publicly-traded dealers acquiring independent stores at unprecedented rates. For surviving independents, this creates both competitive pressure and strategic opportunities — the key is leveraging your agility and local market knowledge to compete where the big players can’t match your flexibility … Read more
Bottom Line Up Front Connected car data gives you real-time insights into customer behavior that transform both your service drive and sales floor performance. Top-quartile stores are using telematics data to predict service needs, time retention offers perfectly, and close more deals by addressing actual vehicle issues rather than guessing at pain points. Market Context … Read more
Bottom Line Up Front Autonomous vehicles impact car dealers by fundamentally shifting from ownership to mobility-as-a-service models, but smart dealers can capture new revenue streams through fleet partnerships, service contracts, and technology-enabled customer experiences. The stores that adapt early will dominate commercial sales and high-margin service work while traditional dealers fight over shrinking retail margins. … Read more
Bottom Line Up Front: Digital Isn’t Replacing Your Showroom Digital retailing isn’t about replacing your sales floor — it’s about extending your reach and meeting customers where they want to transact. Your inventory velocity report probably shows you’re already seeing the impact: buyers who engage digitally first are moving faster through your pipeline, and deals … Read more
Bottom Line Up Front: Your Digital Showroom Is Your Competitive Edge Digital retailing isn’t replacing your showroom floor — it’s extending your reach to every customer who researches online before stepping foot on your lot. Dealership website heatmaps reveal exactly how shoppers navigate your digital inventory, where they get stuck in your process, and which … Read more
Bottom Line Up Front: Digital Is Your New Front Door Predictive analytics dealership strategies aren’t about replacing your sales floor — they’re about anticipating what your customers want before they even know it themselves. When you can predict which service customers are likely to buy a vehicle in the next 90 days, or identify which … Read more
Bottom Line Up Front: Digital Retailing Extends Your Reach Digital retailing isn’t about replacing your showroom floor — it’s about capturing the deals that would never walk through your doors. Your competitive intelligence efforts already track pricing, inventory, and marketing spend. Now you need to monitor how competitors are winning deals online and losing them … Read more
Bottom Line Up Front: Digital Retailing Extends Your Reach CRM data cleanup for your dealership starts with understanding that digital retailing isn’t replacing your showroom — it’s extending it into every device your customers carry. Your buyers are already shopping online, building their deal, and making purchase decisions before they ever call your BDC or … Read more
The Bottom Line for GMs EV vs ICE service revenue creates a fundamental shift in your fixed ops model — EV service generates roughly 40-50% less revenue per RO than traditional ICE vehicles, but smart dealers are compensating by restructuring service packages, expanding software-based services, and leveraging longer customer lifecycles. Your service absorption rate will … Read more
