You want to improve profitability and increase customer satisfaction? Then it’s time to let consumers buy cars the way the want to.

It seems everyone agrees that there’s has to be a better way to sell a car. In fact, a recent dealer survey found that 8 in 10 dealers agreed that the car buying process should take around two hours or less, but, instead, the average transaction time is around 3 to 4 hours from “meet & greet” to “funded.”

The industry has ignored the need to evolve the car selling process long enough –it’s a well known fact that consumers are doing virtually all their research and shopping on the Internet while visiting as few dealerships as possible when it comes to actually purchasing a car.

And, though the car-buying process has remained the same – an exclusively at dealership procedure, consumers’ purchasing expectations have changed dramatically. Today’s empowered online shopper expects transparency and speed. Therefore, it’s become increasingly difficult for consumers to understand why buying a car still has to take so long even after he/she has arrived at a dealership and essentially put up his/her hand to say: “I’m ready to buy!” The result is that consumers are increasingly avoiding visiting dealerships altogether. A much touted recent McKinsey report says the average buyer visits just 1.6 auto dealerships while car shopping, down from 10 years ago when buyers visited an average of five dealerships.

So what can dealers do?

The obvious answer is that we should start letting consumers buy cars the way they want to! Engage them in the actual car-buying process where they are comfortable – online. Gain the shopper’s trust and give him/her a reason to provide information that will give everyone a clear, upfront, understanding of what vehicle the car buyer can afford to purchase. And, much to the delight of both parties, shorten the transaction time in the dealership considerably.

This session will explore how you can create a fully connected buying experience – that can seamlessly transition online customers into showroom buyers by starting the buying process online (including financing!).

If the car buying evolution is to move forward, financing needs to move online. Not simply payment estimators or credit pre-screenings, but real, near final finance terms matching an exact vehicle to a consumer’s credit profile with your dealership’s lender programs.

A connected buying experience that seamlessly moves the customer from the Internet to the showroom and through F&I faster is quickly becoming possible. New, secure technologies are set to change the face of the car-buying process forever, and F&I will no longer be arranged exclusively as an in-store activity.

Today’s consumer is going online anyway, so isn’t it time to start working towards giving consumers an easy, seamless car-buying experience?