Online and offline integration are key to a holistic customer journey

Once the decision has been made to buy a new car, the only option is often to spend what should be a free weekend in various car dealerships. Endless and time-consuming comparisons, test drives, offers and price negotiations quickly take away the desire to buy. A physical visit to the showroom is currently not always possible and is particularly problematic in large cities. When trying to search further or make a decision at home on a tablet, you quickly come up against the limitations of integrating online and offline sales processes.
Having a complete insight into the customer journey is therefore more important but also more complex than ever before. Disruptors such as Tesla and Polestar show that buying a car can be done transparently and easily at home by using multiple channels.
The customer-oriented and efficient process from initial interest to the sales contract is not part of everyday life for conventional volume brands. Panoff Consulting has analyzed the customer journey at various OEMs and found that there is potential in the following two areas in particular:
  • Definition of an omni-channel strategy that combines the online brand experience and the visit to the dealership, thus creating a holistic customer journey..
  • The integration of corporate, retail and management systems used in the dealerships. The multitude of different applications and their complex environments lead to a high level of effort and the associated loss of time for both staff and customers.
Due to the interesting results, Panoff Consulting decided to conduct an in-depth study. The largest OEMs on the German and Dutch markets will be analyzed in terms of their online and offline approach to purchasing new cars. The study will be published at the beginning of next year. We provide the expertise and methodological understanding for this area and will be happy to support you personally with any upcoming challenges.

Berend Hoitink​

Consultant & Manager Business Development

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