I think the hardest thing to convey in these blogs, is the reality that change is going to overwhelm a lot of Dealers. I completely get why people are suspicious of the idea that change will sweep in, and they won’t have time to adjust the way they do business. Why? Well two good reasons support their thinking:

1. They have never been left behind before because of technology.
2. They have never experienced the speed of change that is continuing to accelerate.

I mean really, how many times have you heard that someone went out of business because they were late to the tech party? Is it even possible in our industry at this point? “Hey Bob, I heard you have to close your business. That sucks, what is the reason?” Bob responds “Well, I think we should have moved away from our fax machine a little sooner. The lost faxes really started to cause havoc on our business.”

No one in our industry has ever told me that they went out of business because of the lack of technology. Not even as a contributing factor but guess what? They will.

Sometimes I feel like some lunatic (not far off), running into the Buggy shops with a red flag waving and shouting about how cars are going to take over the personal transportation industry! And I hear them whisper “there goes Chicken Little again yelling about the sky falling. Can you imagine a world without horses and buggies? They’ve been around for over a thousand years!”

Fast forward to an article in the NY Times called “The Hardware Giants Falter” by Stephen Phillips dated June 28, 1986. Mr. Phillips went on to state how these “Big Boxes” were experiencing a slowdown in growth and would only reach about an 8% market share between all of them.

Today the Home Improvement market is about one trillion dollars. Home Depot has about 17% while Lowe’s owns around 10%. So, 27% total just between those two companies. Mr. Phillips??

So why was Chicken Little going through this exercise? Because it is a call to action for those Dealers that are taking a minute out of their busy day and looking towards the future.

Bottom line – Technology is going to disrupt our industry in ways you can’t imagine right now. That is not a maybe. Do you really think AI is going to bypass a 200-billion-dollar Industry?

Tuned in yet? Time is a wasting so let’s get to the new upgrades your business bus needs:

• Your advantage is that you can be nimble and adapt quickly as the landscape changes.
  • Low tech apps and other integrations are a must, so you need software and systems that can plug in and talk to each other. Otherwise, you’ll just lose speed.
• Clear and extended visibility, so you can read the tea leaves ahead.
  • More information and a lot more eyes. How are customer experiences and expectations changing. Community plugins show Dashboards of not only what you are seeing but also a lot of your peers. Information that is organized, timely, tells the story, and gives suggestions on what changes you may want to consider. 10 years out? Don’t hold your breath. You’ll end up looking like a Smurf.
• Better internal metrics to show how well you are performing. Also known as “Key Performance Indicators”
  • It all has to do with productivity which is tied into everything you do. Just look at your number. If you are really busy and your GMPP is 150K or less, then Houston…. We have a problem.
• Avoid potholes and mistakes.
  • The second most important KPI, Margin Erosion. Measure it and fix the source of the problem. At least measure it! Do you know how many times someone has told me that they have very little only to find out they have a very lot? Want to kill productivity? High margin erosion is your best tool.
• Build up your fan base.
  • How many of you really have a customer journey map? One that everyone knows and follows. Not only the showroom experience but your website journey. Some of those should have warning signs that say “Danger, Danger! Website was built last century and may not be safe to traverse” 😊

Next week: The New Bus Show with all the Current and Future Models

Bonus – Estimates on market share shifts. Yikes!

Gotta run but hit my Calendly link for a “Jam Session” and let’s talk! Click Here

Break bread and break ground!

Let’s do this! thad