Features
5 déc 17

“We need to think like consumers”

Omnichannel remarketing. Remember that term. Because it is the future. So said Sebastian Fuchs, Sales & Marketing Director Europe at RMS Automotive, in the opening talk of the Fleet Europe Remarketing Forum session on new business models. 

“We in the remarketing business need to change the way we think. We need to think like consumers”, said Mr. Fuchs. Which would be a change, because consumers think a lot differently from the dealers who are the traditional outlet for used vehicles. 

Path to purchase
So how do consumers think? Mr. Fuchs presented some stark figures of the path to purchase of the retail customer today. “Almost 20% start their search on Google. About 40% of smartphone users use their device to find or redeem vouchers. No less than 83% are prepared to wait five days for free delivery. And 50% of retail customers abandon their virtual shopping cart if no delivery time is indicated, or if it is too long”. 

Clearly, the online environment has generated expectations in consumers that will have an impact on how used vehicles are traded in a B2C channel. “There is merit in working on the B2C channel, because there is a lot of money to make”, said Mr. Fuchs. But only if remarketers learn to 'think like consumers'. 

Simplicity pays
For example: simplicity pays. No less than 64% of consumers are prepared to pay more for simpler services. The total amount of money left on the table by brands who offer an insufficiently simple retail solution online is estimated to be in the area of $86 billion. 

The answer is omnichannel remarketing. “What does this mean? In short: use all possible channels, and talk to all your different audiences at the same time”. That sounds simple, but only because it is short. “Nobody is offering such an approach yet”. 

Stepping stone
If single-channel commerce is yesterday's business model, today most companies have moved into multi-channel commerce – tailoring their offer to various audiences, one channel at a time. Cross-channel commerce, appealing to specific audiences via various channels, is still in the future for most. But that is still but a stepping stone to omni-channel commerce. 

“Omni-channel remarketing means seamless delivery across all channels – from smartphones, websites, brick-and-mortar stores, events, etcetera. For customers, this means seeing one brand and multiple touch-points operating together”.  

Authored by: Frank Jacobs