The first of our Dealerweb client case studies explores the adoption of Dealerweb Showroom by Robinsons Motor Group - an operator of 29 car dealerships across East Anglia, representing a wide range of brands including Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen, Škoda, Audi, SEAT, and Citroën. The group also operates five used-car sites under the 'Auto Devotion' brand.
Robinsons enjoyed strong sales throughout 2016 and the start of 2017. But as the wider UK new car market turned, the company’s sales teams needed to pay closer attention to the way in which they managed enquiries. Previously, the group relied on an enquiry management system which had struggled to keep pace with the rapidly developing marketplace and the changing ways in which consumers purchase vehicles.
Barry Alexander, Group Sales Manager for Robinsons, explains what was holding back the group’s sales function:
“We had used the same enquiry management system since 1997, and in that time it had barely changed. The ageing system prevented us from tracking enquiries effectively, and it was often easy for sales executives to lose track of leads as a result. In addition, we had to produce offer sheets and order forms manually, which wasted a lot of time double-keying data. The closed architecture of the system also made integration with manufacturer systems impossible.”
Central to Robinsons’ strategy to modernise its sales processes was the adoption of a best-of-breed enquiry and sales management system. In October 2016, Robinsons started working with Dealerweb, provider of the UK’s market-leading showroom management system, to improve the efficiency of the group’s sales operations.
“Dealerweb seemed like the best choice for us, as we represent a number of brands, each using slightly different systems. We needed a product with an ‘open architecture’ to allow integration with different dealer software, and Dealerweb tailored the software to the individual needs of the group and our dealers.”
Initially, Robinsons Motor Group introduced the cloud-based Dealerweb Showroom to its five Mercedes-Benz sites in a bid to standardise the sales process across each sales team. The process aimed to enable more efficient customer data capture, introduce a more robust enquiry follow-up procedure, and automate offer sheets and order forms. The tailored solution from Dealerweb allowed the group to establish a more efficient process for managing customers throughout their car buying journey.
Within a matter of months, the group took the decision to roll-out Dealerweb Showroom across all its sites.
“The roll out of Dealerweb Showroom ran smoothly and allowed us to integrate with legacy software installed at each dealership. When we introduced the system to our Mercedes-Benz sites, Dealerweb made it very straightforward to transfer our existing customer records – with around 28,000 entries – on to the new platform.
It’s an intuitive system to use, which also means new staff joining the business can learn how the platform operates quickly.
Dealerweb has completely modernised our enquiry management process. It has benefits across all our sites, and at every level of the business. Our sales teams benefit from being able to track enquiry activity more easily, and they appreciate how quick and easy it is to capture customer data now.
We use Dealerweb’s Dealbuilder+ module, which enables our transaction managers to quickly create, personalise and update offers for customers, so our sales teams are more efficient at every stage of the purchase process.”
Dealerweb’s reporting function enabled Robinsons' managers to access group-wide data at the click of a button.
“Management teams can produce brand- and group-wide reports easily, providing instant, real-time visibility of what is going on within the business. Instant automated reporting helps us monitor enquiry levels, sales, and profitability, while enabling us to track the performance of individual showrooms and staff. We have used this to identify areas of improvement in the sales processes across the business, and at a dealership and staff level.”
In addition, the Dealerweb Showroom system tailored for Robinsons is helping the group stay on the right side of increasingly strict Financial Conduct Authority regulations. Sales teams use a ‘funding tree’ system when speaking with prospective customers, enabling them to determine the most appropriate finance solution. This functionality helps ensure sales staff sell finance and insurance products in full compliance with FCA regulations.
Efficiency is key for Robinsons, particularly in a challenging market environment.
“Being able to monitor group-wide sales performance in real-time has been a huge time-saver, liberating managers’ time and enabling them to take more informed decisions relating to the performance of the business.
Dealerweb Showroom also lets sales teams keep track of enquiries. As a result, the group has created a more robust enquiry management system.
"Previously, it was impossible to see where or why we had lost a sales lead, but the new system lets us keep track of every individual enquiry into the business. Our sales teams are given prompts to follow-up with prospective buyers, which also enables us to keep on top of cool-down periods on the sales of GAP and other insurance products.
At its heart, Dealerweb Showroom makes it simpler for us to do business. It’s easier than ever to manage enquiries and create customer-relevant offers, while helping us stay on the right side of the FCA. We have applied the same processes to every one of our sites, so we can measure as we go what works to drive enquiries into the business.”