One of the things I enjoy the most about my job, is talking to smart people who are passionate about what they do.
Those conversations happen on a regular basis, doing interviews for stories, meeting people at industry events, or quite often when people come by the Canadian auto dealer offices to chat.
But there’es no substitute for the rapid-fire and intense blitz of conversations that happen at industry events like the NADA Convention & Expo or the CADA Summit.
It’s at these types of events, where our team gets to talk with dozens of people over the course of a few days, or a few hours, that we really get a sense of the trends, the buzz, and the concerns that dealers have.
These conversations energize me, inform me, and help chart the direction for the types of stories we should be covering for readers.
I just got back from NADA, and my head is once again filled with updated knowledge about the issues and opportunities for dealers, and I can’t wait to work with our team of writers and experts to convert this into more relevant coverage for our readers.
The editorial mission for this magazine is very straightforward: we are the only Canadian media publication exclusively devoted to providing the information that Canadian dealers need to run better, and more profitable operations. We are a 100% dealer focused magazine.
You’ll note that these pages aren’t filled with OEM news, production and manufacturing news, vehicle reviews, and other auto industry coverage. Dealers have plenty of places to access that type of information, including in their daily newspapers and through news alert services like CADA Monitor.
Spending time talking with dealers, and with the suppliers who are constantly striving to provide them with better tools and services, helps us sharpen our focus, and zero in on the key trends of the day.
In many of my conversations at NADA this year, I was very pleased to hear that dealers and the suppliers are in complete agreement that major progress needs to be made in improving the customer experience at dealerships.
Only a short time ago, transparency was the biggest theme, but now it’s gone well beyond that. This improved customer experience requires the people, the processes, and the technology to transform the customer journey in sales, F&I and service.
The auto retail industry knows it needs to adapt, and it will. There are a lot of smart people who are about to make it happen. There are exciting times and we are privileged to be able to cover it.
