Jumpstart Automotive Group

Last night, I had the privilege of hearing James Lentz (the President/COO of Toyota Motor Sales, USA Inc.) speak about the future of cars and the automotive industry. Although I am very impressed with the investment in green resources, and the fact that Toyota is taking their overall impact on “the grid’ into their planning/production phases of future products, I was more interested in a comment Mr. Lentz made in answering a question from the audience.

The question asked was in regards to Toyota’s stance on direct sales to consumers from the OEM. Mr. Lentz’ response was “We make cars… We don’t know how to sell them.” The dealer network is clearly a necessity in Mr. Lentz’ opinion, as he seemed to imply that Toyota relies heavily on their dealers’ relationships with (and understanding of) consumers.

Having worked for many years for an OEM, I am certainly aware that this may have been a simple way of avoiding the “stringent franchisee agreement laws” discussion. However, I think the bigger issue here is the typical OEM belief that the dealer (as the single point of customer contact) knows the consumer best. It is this point that I need to address.

Consumers have forever been hesitant to trust or rely on a dealer in regards to most sales and service issues. There seems to be a long standing sentiment that dealers are just out to make a sale, and are constantly looking for ways to swindle consumers out of their hard earned money. And while there are certainly good dealers out there providing consistently fair pricing and great service, the perception has become reality for most Americans. This lack of trust makes it hard to believe that the relationship is one in which any credible two-way conversation is occurring. So, how is it that any dealer “knows” the consumer best?

Working in the digital automotive space now, I have been exposed to a number of sources where in-market automotive shoppers are researching, and discussing the automotive purchase process. It is clear to me that to truly understand the consumer; you need to have credible conversations with them. These conversations are probably not happening at the dealership level, nor are they happening at the OEM level. Third-party automotive sites, Facebook updates, Twitter post, and auto blogs are the places where consumers are sharing their true feelings, and it is here that OEM’s and dealers can truly learn about their consumers and get a better understanding of how to sell cars. Even better, this technology allows for more than just eavesdropping, it allows for engagement.

During his speech, Mr. Lentz, in reference to the alternative fuel and emissions discussion, said that “The Future is in innovation and harmony.” I think that is a fantastic quote that can applied to the automotive business in general. Since consumers are already discussing all of the automotive product and sales issues in on-line forums, future successes will be driven by brands and dealerships that “innovate” ways into these discussions “harmoniously”.