In this article, we will analyze how WhatsApp has become essential for the sales and customer support departments of companies in the automotive sector.
What do you need to buy a car in 2020? A chat on WhatsApp! Among the exponentially growing trends in the automotive industry there is a new approach to buying cars, which takes place increasingly online, and less and less in a physical showroom.
For the automotive sector, WhatsApp has become a must: the most used instant messaging app in the world makes customer service exclusive and personalized, making the customer experience simple but pleasant.
Whereas e-mail is now outdated due to lack of speed, WhatsApp is the fast, personal and above all familiar platform (both for our customers and for our sales and assistance staff).
Nowadays we can now buy anything online: from furniture to technological products, everything can be purchased in just a few clicks. So why don’t we also buy our car online?
Probably, since it is a particularly expensive item, the most instinctive answer is linked to the inability to handle price negotiation with the seller and, more generally, to have a relationship of trust, fundamental for this type of purchase. By moving the sales process online, and the interaction between customer and dealer, both those who buy and those who sell can decide which aspects to manage online and which offline.
The advantage of using WhatsApp is to better manage the negotiation. For example, for a customer, with the online negotiation, it will be possible to decide which is the best time, throughout the day, to proceed with the questions or answers between and with the seller.
A recent Dutch survey found that 57% of the contracts signed were closed during non-working hours: communicating with the potential client asynchronously allows you to manage a negotiation in a fluid, and at the same time effective way.
The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic has led to a clear acceleration in the digitalization of the sales process, and of customer support for the automotive sector.
Selling cars via WhatsApp has been a direct way to respond to the car crisis during the lockdown period. With a simple WhatsApp chat, customers can talk with a dealer consultant, who will accompany customers in choosing the desired car by showing (for example by sending photographs) every detail of the car and, in the discussion, gaining the trust of the potential customer.
This type of online service is of the same quality as that offered physically in the dealership, and transparency is guaranteed at every stage. Communication is instantaneous, customers can express their wishes and in a few moments the seller can direct the customer to a specific vehicle produced, not only by sending text messages but real contents (photos, links, etc.) to better inform the customer.
Although using WhatsApp present many strengths, the classic version of the app has limitations. The first regards of the absence of the multiuser. WhatsApp (both in the normal version and in the Business version) cannot be used by several sellers at the same time, and it is difficult for the sales manager to monitor everything, and he has poor visibility on the speed and quality of the answers provided by his sellers.
These limitations are solved by platforms such as Callbell, created to allow you to collaboratively manage a single WhatsApp account. The platform allows you to connect WhatsApp and Messenger, and it allows all team members to collaborate within the same account. With Callbell, you can also request access to the official WhatsApp API, in order to allow companies to structure a support channel via WhatsApp.
Callbell allows you to assign chats to different team members and therefore makes the use of these apps scalable to provide sales support and customer assistance. All sellers will also be able to install the Callbell app on their smartphone and use it to respond to customers on the move.
If you found this article useful, and for more information on how to use Whatsapp Business and Facebook Messenger for your business, visit our blog or contact our team!
Thanks for reading and see you next time!
Frequent Questions
How to sell cars and motorcycles via WhatsApp?
The advantage of using WhatsApp is that it provides better negotiation management. For example, for a customer who trades online, you can decide when is the best time of day to proceed with questions or answers between and with the seller. A recent Dutch survey found that 57% of contracts were signed just during non-business hours: communicating with the prospective client asynchronously allows you to manage a negotiation smoothly and, at the same time, efficiently.
However, WhatsApp has some limitations which, however, are solved by platforms such as Callbell, created in order to allow the collaborative management of a single WhatsApp account. The platform allows you to connect WhatsApp and Messenger to all team members, so they can collaborate within the same account. With Callbell you can also request access to WhatsApp’s official API in order to enable companies to structure a support channel directly via WhatsApp.
Why should resellers choose a centralized WhatsApp solution?
Although the use of WhatsApp has many benefits, the classic version has some obvious limitations. The first being the absence of a multiuser feature. WhatsApp (both in its normal and business version) cannot be used by multiple providers simultaneously, and it is difficult for the agent to supervise the process, since it would have no way to observe the speed and the quality of the answers provided by their suppliers.
These limitations are solved by platforms such as Callbell, created in order to allow a collaborative and efficient management of a single WhatsApp account.
About the author: Hello! I am Alan and I am the marketing manager at Callbell, the first communication platform designed to help sales and support teams to collaborate and communicate with customers through direct messaging applications such as WhatsApp, Messenger, Telegram and Instagram Direct
