{"id":610,"date":"2018-06-28T13:28:36","date_gmt":"2018-06-28T13:28:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.budcofinancial.com\/blog\/?p=610"},"modified":"2018-06-28T13:28:36","modified_gmt":"2018-06-28T13:28:36","slug":"enhancing-the-customer-experience-with-fi-education","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.budcofinancial.com\/blog\/enhancing-the-customer-experience-with-fi-education\/","title":{"rendered":"Enhancing the Customer Experience with F&I Education"},"content":{"rendered":"

With the amount of competition in the modern market and the rise of online sales<\/a>, it seems like every industry, especially automotive, is focused on enhancing the customer experience in order to drive sales. For dealerships, this consumer behavior means that fewer customers are coming to them to figure out what they want, because they\u2019ve already done all the research and comparisons online.<\/p>\n

However, when it comes to finance and insurance in the car buying process, many consumers lack knowledge and comprehension. It\u2019s important for dealerships to understand why consumers are moving into online sales, recognize this gap in their understanding of F&I, and adjust their approach in order to provide value and ultimately, increase revenue.<\/p>\n

THE ATTRACTION OF ONLINE SHOPPING<\/strong><\/h3>\n

To consumers, online shopping has many benefits in terms of convenience and accessibility.<\/p>\n

The way we communicate as a society has shifted, and often people are more comfortable communicating through text, social media, or email rather than having a conversation. Modern consumers now prefer to \u201cchoose\u201d rather than \u201cbe sold to\u201d, especially when making an important purchase. Shopping online makes a buyer feel less pressured and more in control\u2014they have the ability to access unlimited inventory and options in order to get exactly what they want. Additionally, consumers are not restricted to locations or business hours online, they can make purchases anytime, anywhere.<\/p>\n

The ease of F&I has always been one of the most important factors in car shopping, and an area where shoppers are most dissatisfied. In fact, Cox Automotive reports that satisfaction with the F&I department has dropped 59% in the past year and 63% of car buyers would be more likely to buy F&I products if they could read about them online first. While most dealership websites provide inventory listing, service department information, scheduling, and credit applications online, very few offer information on F&I products.<\/p>\n

EDUCATING CAR BUYERS<\/strong><\/h3>\n

By providing buyers with basic financial literacy and information online and in person, dealerships can greatly enhance the F&I experience.<\/p>\n

To begin, many customers are unfamiliar with common financing terms<\/a>\u00a0such as \u201cupside down\u201d or \u201cguaranteed asset protection.\u201d Further, they don\u2019t have an understanding of the relationship between a loan term and interest, or the factors lenders evaluate them on when they apply for an auto loan.<\/p>\n

To help provide education, update your dealership\u2019s website with information, videos, and resources that outline the different F&I products and flexible financing options you offer. You should also communicate that some F&I products, such as vehicle service contracts, can be financed through an installment payment plan<\/a>that offers a variety of terms and zero interest. Knowing these options can put a buyer at ease and further make them feel more in control.<\/p>\n

Your dealership can also provide advice on things to consider or prepare before coming into the dealership to purchase, finance, and insure a vehicle. For example, buyers should know their credit score or be aware that some lenders don\u2019t allow consumers to use their car for ride-hailing services like Uber<\/a>or Lyft<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In the showroom, you can use interactive tablets to allow consumers to explore F&I products and information on their own time on their own path\u2014providing them with a sense of convenience, comfort, and transparency. You can also have sales collateral on hand that clearly outlines the information the consumer needs to know.<\/p>\n

THE SHIFTING ROLE OF F&I MANAGERS<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Dealerships used to be the primary source of information for car buyers. Now, the Internet is that primary source of information and dealerships are doing less \u201cselling\u201d and more \u201ccatering\u201d to clients.<\/p>\n

Because most buyers try to complete as much of the car buying process online before<\/em>coming into a dealership, they no longer want or need a salesman to conduct an intake interview to discover their needs and show them all their options.<\/p>\n

Often, consumers have a good idea of what they need and want, and are there to take a test drive, inspect the vehicle, and ask specific questions. They simply want to have a conversation with an expert who can provide them with deep level of knowledge and understanding.<\/p>\n

While consumers aren\u2019t looking to eliminate the dealership experience, they are now expecting increased transparency\u2014and transparency shouldn\u2019t mean no margin for the dealership. If your dealership\u2019s financing department acts as an open and honest resource for your clients, in turn, it will enhance the customers experience and boost profits.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

With the amount of competition in the modern market and the rise of online sales, it seems like every industry, especially automotive, is focused on enhancing the customer experience in order to drive sales. For dealerships, this consumer behavior means that fewer customers are coming to them to figure out what they want, because they\u2019ve […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":611,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[136,87,104,138,135,137,92],"class_list":["post-610","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-automotive","tag-education","tag-fi","tag-financing","tag-financing-terms","tag-installment-payment-plan","tag-insurance","tag-online-shopping"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.budcofinancial.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/BUD_blog_JULY.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.budcofinancial.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/610","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.budcofinancial.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.budcofinancial.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.budcofinancial.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.budcofinancial.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=610"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.budcofinancial.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/610\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":614,"href":"https:\/\/www.budcofinancial.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/610\/revisions\/614"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.budcofinancial.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/611"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.budcofinancial.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=610"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.budcofinancial.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=610"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.budcofinancial.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=610"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}