Industry Insights - Drivonic

The Importance of Pre-orders and Selling Out of Your Pipeline in a Low Inventory World

Written by Drivonic Insights Team | Aug 11, 2022 7:12:21 PM

It’s been a rough few years for the car industry, and the world as a whole. The pandemic kicked off a chain of events that would cause massive waves to crash and change the landscape into something much more dire than what was shown on the surface. With the world's population being quarantined, not only were things not being made - but things were being purchased and consumed at a higher rate. With higher demand and less supply - the chip industry couldn’t keep up. There are only a few companies in the world with silicon chip foundries, and they encountered the perfect storm. What a lot of people don’t realize is, is the number of items that require chips to operate - and cars are no exception.

Thankfully, it's not all doom and gloom, dealerships profits have soared. Dealers were forced to reduce their operating expenses, embrace online digital retailing, adhere to various state and federal COVID mandates and learn to operate more efficiently and effectively. The savvy operators saw this as an opportunity and were able to adjust to the current situation, and have been able to sell straight from their pipeline before the vehicle is even on the showroom floor. How'd they do this? Well, In this article we’ll cover the issues we’re still facing, even two years into this issue, and why pre-orders have become a golden opportunity for dealerships!


Not enough chips for the party - and everyone's invited. 


So let's cover the main issue first - the lack of chips and semiconductor parts. Here’s a quick excerpt from AutoNews article with the Global Chairman of Bosch, the largest automotive parts manufacturer in the world: 


Q: How much longer do you believe the global semiconductor shortage will last?


A: "You can't solve it this year. It's impossible. It will be better at the end of this year than now, but it can't be fully solved until beyond then. There will be another important step next year because there will be a change in the economy in general that will impact the demand side of the question. And then hopefully, at the end of next year, we'll have a much clearer view of how to move ahead with the demand growth."


So, in a Nutshell - we’re playing the waiting game. The chip issue won’t be solved any time soon due to the complexities of the issues they’re facing - they’re literally turning silicon into tech, it’s pretty difficult guys. One of the solutions we’ve seen dealerships take to, with great success is pre-orders. According to a new Cars.com survey, 41% of survey respondents want to pre-order their next vehicle. And, of the 16% of shoppers polled who had already preordered a new vehicle, 98 percent said they appreciated the experience and would do so again. According to the study, the causes for this go beyond inventory shortages caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and supplier concerns such as the semiconductor production crisis. According to Cars.com, the "work-from-anywhere mentality" and improvements in car-shopping technology, particularly online purchases, are driving this shift in purchasing behavior. To make things easier, automakers are employing more sophisticated websites and product configurators to make it easier to spec, order, and purchase vehicles digitally, while dealers are developing friendlier remote purchase and servicing policies. So even if this may seem like a band-aid on a broken arm, it’s here to stay even after this issue subsides and is growing rapidly in popularity each day. 

Savvy Operators Have Shifted To Pre-orders and Selling Out of Their Pipeline

So now that we’re finally to pre-orders, is your dealership using this to excel in this market? If not, you should be. Certain OEMs like Ford have embraced this and are leading the way to support their dealer network and for the OEMs that are slow to adapt, that shouldn't prevent you as the dealer from adding a "Build Your Vehicle" configuration widget to your website.  Dealers who have added this functionality to their websites have increased their leads quite considerably. Additionally, dealers who have embraced online digital retail are also in the driver's seat, so to speak. Here are some numbers from a recent Cars.com survey on the matter:

"According to Cars.com's survey of 1,002 respondents, "38 percent of current car shoppers anticipate finishing the entire buying process online, with another 38 percent intending to purchase a vehicle in person but complete all documentation online."

It’s a clear sign that it’s time to start pursuing pre-orders as a valuable way to sell cars in your pipeline, even before the car is even on your lot - pretty sweet right?  In our experience with partners and dealerships we’ve worked with, the best way to create the necessary awareness and consideration in your market around your pre-order program is to use the MarketBuilder℠ program as a augment to your existing marketing strategy. By using MarketBuilder℠ you will be able to edge out your competition and beat them to the punch.  MarketBuilder℠ has enabled countless of our clients to reach larger audiences effectively and efficiently; leveraging pre-orders to sell more cars. MarketBuilder℠ will allow you to position your company in front of your competitors' customers and drive them to your digital doorstep, and give the best chance to convert them to a sale. 

How MarketBuilder℠ Works

MarketBuilder℠  is a New Customer Digital  Acquisition Program designed to amplify your dealership's stellar reputation, raise shopper awareness and consideration throughout the buying cycle, and keep you visually present and front of mind for shoppers as they make their final buying decisions. All of this leads to more opportunities and more sales. MarketBuilder℠ starts by building an audience of consumers in your PMA that drive the makes and models that your dealership sells and services. Our Identity Graph enables us to leverage all known consumer touch points and provides robust avenues to target them, wherever they are. It uses Pre-Click & Post-Click and Behavioral linking data and Sha256 Hash-based identity resolution for the ultimate way to target consumers, online and offline. All of our data is extremely accurate and runs through triple verification so you don’t waste time or money. The program is extremely easy to use - you can break down a set to target the customers you need in a breeze, it’s as simple as a few clicks to get it started.


Why Use MarketBuilder

That’s simple - You should be using MarketBuilder℠ because it works, and the results prove that:

We’re a trusted partner with over 1,100 dealers under the belt, we’ve worked with small independent dealers, all the way to the OEM’s themselves. Here’s what they had to say about us;

We pride ourselves on our ability to deliver for our clients, and we keep everything transparent. We provide IBR's (Influenced Buyers Report) monthly so you can stay up to date and know that our product is working its magic for you. Know when, where, and how we are reaching your target audience. But more importantly, know exactly how many sold units and gross profit are generated, all in a digestible report.

It's not rocket science, we just do it better. Drivonic leverages data science, effective marketing methodologies, and media distribution across all six primary digital channels to give your agency the edge you need in this competitive digital market.

So, what are you waiting for? Get started with MarketBuilder℠ today and Dominate Your Marketing and Gain Market Share From Your Competitive Brands And Dealers! 

Want to know more about how to leverage pre-orders, or have questions on how we can help you achieve your goals? Reach out to us below! Also, make sure to subscribe to our newsletter here!