Car industry should adapt to tech-savvy customers
"Google, Netflix, Airbnb, Amazon, Uber Eats and Mr D Food are the motor industry's new competition", said Ghana Msibi, CEO of WesBank Motor Division, at the 2019 NAAMSA Automotive Conference held at Kyalami Grand Prix Circuit on August 22.
“There will always be original equipment manufacturers and automotive dealers that will not change. However, the way in which we as an industry do business must change in order to meet the needs of tomorrow’s customers, who are increasingly technologically savvy,” he said.
According to Msibi, the current dealership model requires a seismic shift in the way it engages with consumers, and the industry needs to work together to find better ways of doing this. He reiterated that it is not a science and that the topic was broad.
Msibi stated there was a heightened demand from customers at a personal level, and these customers often measured their motor industry experiences based on their experiences with other industries, alluding to the statement that the likes of Google, Netflix, Airbnb, Amazon, Uber Eats and Mr D Food were the new benchmark.
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“We should follow emerging trends and figure out how best to deal with them. We must understand what our real challenges are and then collaborate to find solutions relevant to our customers.
We must realise that South Africa is a unique market with its own challenges”, he said.
Msibi noted that dealers were an extension of the brand experience and that today’s customers do not relate well to the ‘hard sell’ approach.
“The value of the dealer will be diluted if the customer experience is poor. It is therefore imperative we understand the customers’ needs, and provide them with a service to meet these needs.
A product mindset solves for the industry, but a customer mindset solves for the customer,” said Msibi.
He noted that for today’s customer it was no longer about proximity, but rather about the best deal, and encouraged the industry to offer sound advice, build trust, and ask how they could use technology and data to give customers a better experience and a better price.
“In many ways the industry is built on a legacy structure – we need to turn this on its head. We must improve the issues our customers have, together and in collaboration,” Msibi concluded.
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