Suppliers in the auto retail industry have been helping dealers across Canada since March, through offers of savings and other resources — and they continue to do so.
Since COVID-19 reached Canada and spread from coast to coast to coast, forcing provincial governments to impose tight restrictions on people and businesses, suppliers have been active in helping auto retailers through a variety of methods.
As early as March, offers of savings, webinars and other resources have been provided to dealers as the auto retail industry continued to be hard-hit by the impact of the pandemic. As of May, suppliers continue to help where they can.
Dealer Solutions Mergers and Acquisitions (DSMA), for example, added new information to the Government Support & Information and Discounts & Savings sections of its website to help dealers unravel some of the more complicated details of the federal government programs — including the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS), which has now been extended to the end of August.
“If you take the time to read and understand, it is not too difficult to grasp despite the half-dozen programs available,” said Maxime Theoret, Partner and CFO at DSMA. “This type of business support is quite unheard of. The good news is that Ottawa seems to be doing the right thing to help businesses get through this crisis. However, you must be informed and knowledgeable to take advantage of all these programs.”
Pitcher and Doyle, an insurance agency in Ontario, published a checklist for dealerships that are opening about what they need to consider when it comes to offering test drives during the crisis.
automotiveMasterminds published a 35-point version for reopening your dealership, which was a follow-up to its 36-point checklist for closed dealerships.
A&R Solutions launched a remote workforce package to help dealerships with employees working from home. And its sister company Dealer Security released a document with a number of safety recommendations for dealerships to consider.
Technology company Podium launched an offer for a free, limited version of Podium.
Sym-Tech Dealer Services launched Virtual F&I Powered by Sym-Tech in May to help dealers in Canada boost profitability and customer satisfaction. The company said it took its F&I Performance Solution and created a full turnkey solution for dealers to use entirely online.
“The key to success during these challenging times is learning to adapt to gain an advantage in today’s marketplace,” said Derek Sloan, President, Sym-Tech Dealer Services.
Roadster created a landing page for best practices, free digital marketing tools and templates, regional demos, and webinars. Things like, “5 key Messages to Consider”, “Custom Landing Pages”, and “Email Marketing” are among the many examples — and that’s only in the Marketing section. There are also Best Practices, Webinars, and more.
Information technology company Quorum created a Dealer Resource Hub for auto retailers to help them implement new protocols and procedures in their dealership. The hub is specifically meant for dealers using the Quorum software and offers short tutorials on how to make better use of the system.
Kijiji Autos waived 100 per cent of all Listing & Feature monthly subscription fees in May to help dealers. Those savings come in addition to others announced in March, such as extending payments for March to 90 days and waiving 100 per cent off all April subscription fees.
“We’re witnessing an evolving situation and Kijiji Autos remains committed to providing its partners with continued service and support as the industry navigates the impacts of COVID-19,” said Leanne Kripp, Head of Autos at Kijiji. “We want to reassure our dealers that we are committed to partnering with them on their success.”
The company also launched 10 COVID-19 response badges for dealers to highlight the various ways its customers can connect and do business with the dealership — including remote services currently offered by dealers.
AutoVerify, which is powered by Mobials, added “Feature Tour” to its Dealer Support Program to help dealers connect with consumers online.
Feature Tour helps dealers do this through interactive vehicle detail pages (VDPs) that include simple and attractive lists and videos that describe the vehicle’s tech features, safety, and convenience, along with photos and videos of what the features look like and how they operate.
It also tracks the features that consumers are looking at so dealers can follow-up with online car shoppers.
Reynolds and Reynolds launched a podcast series with best practices and ideas.
And SERTI published a COVID-19 page on its website that includes information on contactless service and online sales that incorporate the company’s web and mobile solutions.
These are only some of the suppliers that are helping dealers amid the pandemic, but by no means is this the full picture. There are a number of other suppliers providing offers of savings, of webinars and of other resources to help where they can — even as their own businesses have been impacted.
Dealers across the nation are likely to remember these suppliers when the current situation improves.
