We’re just a couple of months away from the AADA National Dealer Convention & Expo 2018, which will be held at the Gold Coast Convention & Exhibition Centre over 4 and 5 September.
The theme of this year’s Convention is ‘Developing Prosperity in the Age of Automotive Disruption’. Expo spaces have already sold out and we are expecting a bumper turnout of delegates from dealerships all over Australia. We face a new world and it is crucial that we arm ourselves with the latest information, products and services that will help us adapt to these challenging times.
In this special feature, we give you a taste of what to expect at the Convention, and we look forward to seeing you there.
AUTOMOTIVE DISRUPTION IMPLICATIONS FOR AUTO DEALERS
Disruption is the business model of the moment, and it’s already affecting the retail automotive industry. In this special J.D. Power Feature Session at the AADA National Dealer Convention & Expo 2018, two experts will discuss the implications for Dealers and strategies to combat this attack on the status quo.
Darren Slind is Vice President, South East Asia, ASEAN and Oceania, J.D. Power and Loi Truong is Senior Country Manager, Australia, J.D. Power. Together they have decades of experience in Australia and around the world, in automotive, telecommunications, business start-ups, sales, marketing, financial services and more.
Through its peerless data, analytics, and consumer intelligence, J.D. Power is one of the world’s leading consumer voices. Combining that insight with its knowledge of brands and strategies, the company is brilliantly positioned to deal with issues of concern to both Dealers and drivers, with benefits for all parties.
In one of the Wednesday feature sessions of the AADA National Dealer Convention & Expo 2018, Darren and Loi will decipher the technological disruptions we have experienced so far and explore the implications these will have for the automotive industry down the track.
Their presentation will raise as many questions as answers, but in this phase of chaos and uncertainty in the industry’s evolution, it will force Dealers to ask the tough questions now to ensure we evolve to a prosperous future.
Market disruption is a well-established business practice that we have seen succeed in many different industries, including automotive.
Alternative retail platforms, such as Carvana and Drivetime, are challenging traditional automotive retailers, attempting to take Dealers out of the picture completely. Giant retailers like Walmart are dipping their toes into our industry.
The new and used car franchise dealership model is under attack, both directly and tangentially, from many sides. Some will change the way Dealers do business, others will aim to take that business.
We don’t know exactly how our industry will look in five years’ time, but what we do know is that it will not look the same as it does today.
According to US think tank ReThinkX, “The rapid, Facebook-like or smartphone-like adoption curve of disruptive technologies is driven largely by market forces. Self-driving electric car share plans, in which consumers ‘subscribe’ to a self-driving service much like they subscribe to a mobile phone plan today, will be cheaper and more convenient for many people than owning a vehicle.
And, as a result, incumbent industries like oil, cars and transportation will face a consumer mass migration away from their old-model products and services if they don’t start preparing for the disruption now.
The pre-requisites for market disruption include Revolutionary Technology (e.g. horse to car), Viable Alternatives (taxi to Uber, TV/DVD to Netflix), and Fundamentally Different Buyer (you vs. your grandparents). These are the building blocks of the next quantum shift in the automotive industry and they are already happening.
The auto industry has remained largely unchanged for decades. Today, however, there are disruptors at the gate. For some consumers, the vehicle is a commodity and disruptors like Amazon are working to capitalise on this fact.
Consumer expectations in automotive are shaped outside our industry. Consumers see how other goods and services are delivered and ask, “Why can’t my car company and Dealer do that?”
J.D. Power understands that the customer experience is vital and that simply measuring it is not enough. Their analysts focus on driving results that will improve customer loyalty and advocacy and their success is driven by how much they help improve their clients’ customer experience.