By Ash Bauer, Executive Vice President, Assurant Resource Automotive

Short term, social distancing measures could lead to an 80-90% drop in sales volumes in auto retail. Looking longer-term, 2020 SAAR forecasts suggest new-vehicle sales could fall 15-35% year-over-year. While there’s an anticipated recovery period for our industry approaching, as automobiles continue to serve as a critical driver of business and everyday lives, there’s also an opportunity to seize the moment when it comes to sales and your storefront, seen in four major strategies:

1) Scale your service. Parts and service are a significant driver of profitability (almost 50%, according to Cox Automotive), and no matter the headwind, vehicles will continue to need scheduled maintenance and service.

For your storefront, review local and state guidelines to see if you can extend your shop’s hours to offer greater flexibility for customers. Let customers know your operating hours and if there are opportunities to complete paperwork online.

2) Digitize your showroom. Speaking of online, with physical showrooms closed/operating sparsely, some dealers are hyper-focused on developing or advancing their omnichannel and digital retailing efforts.

Furthermore, doubling-down resources toward online F&I is another source to tap as F&I remains a significant part of dealer gross profits. We’ll likely see consumers have an increased interest in wallet protection, so educating and demonstrating the value of F&I products to customers early in the online sales process can help build trust and lead to greater sales.

3) Leverage readily available technology. Sure, digitizing your retail process takes time and strategic planning and won’t happen overnight. So, while various members of your team are knee-deep in development and integration, your sales staff can keep business flowing by taking advantage of the readily available technology that’s already out there.

Since showroom visits are limited, you can offer consumers the option of communicating with your sales team through video chat. The ability to see someone face to face, securely and safely, may just be the comfort a customer needs to sign on the dotted line. Zoom has been the defacto platform of choice for both businesses and consumers during the crisis, with over 200 million users. And with the ability to share screens and minimal to no startup costs, Zoom is a quick and easy way to get your team humming again.

Platforms like DocuSign can help with the litany of pages that need signing and can even speed up the final steps of the transaction – a big win for customer experience.

4) Invest in your people. Dealership margins were already tight before the spread of COVID-19. In this new environment, margins could become razor-thin for most, if not all. However, your people will remain the lifeblood of your dealership and a catalyst for driving sales in the short-and long-term. Putting financial capital behind human capital will be the ultimate differentiator for you and your business.

The x-factor to that approach in the absence of physically convening is through remote training. Remote training can help set your team up for the best chance to meet and exceed consumer expectations, no matter the environment.

An unprecedented time, calls for unprecedented thinking. We must think strategically to navigate the curve thrown at us.