Covid-19 means the reality of running your caravan dealership from home is here right now. Many customers are nervous about walking into dealerships and we don’t know when things will go back to normal. The right tools can help you complete critical dealership tasks from home, so you can continue selling caravans while following mandatory social distancing regulations.
Get a dealer management system that can easily be accessed from home
Your dealer management software (DMS) should easily be accessible from your home or dealership so you can complete all your business tasks without any difficulty. A web-based DMS only requires the Internet and a computer device, which means you don’t have to worry about time-consuming setups or costly IT infrastructure – now or ever. This will let you easily stay on top of all dealership tasks remotely, including accounting, advertising, reporting, stock management and so much more.
Focus on improving your web presence
Now that you may not have as many people walking into your dealership, it is a good time to focus on making your web presence more effective. Once this is over, there’s a good chance that buyers will choose road trips over air and cruise travel, at least for a little while. They will be using their time at home now to research caravans and dealerships selling them.
Statistics already show 48% of Australians won’t trust a business without a website. Since buyers are checking out caravans online more than ever before, your web presence has never been more important. If this is not a focus, there’s no doubt you will miss out on prospects looking to purchase a caravan over the next few weeks and months.
Get accounting software that can be linked to your DMS and accessed from anywhere
Today, literally everyone is working from home – including your accountant. To make it easier for your accountant to access your financial data, you need accounting software like Xero and MYOB that can be accessed from anywhere. In fact, most businesses in Australia today use these programs because they are simple and easy to understand.
If your DMS fully integrates with these programs, you will get a complete dealership solution that keeps up with all your financial information like calculation of GST, BAS reports, notional input credits, floorplan, government fees, transfers, incentive bonuses, consignments and so much more.
Use as many sites as possible to advertise your caravans
Use as many sites as possible to put your caravans in front of thousands more buyers in your area. Your DMS should be able to connect you to multiple advertisers at once to increase the number of places where you list your caravans for sale. This includes advertising websites like Caravan Camping Sales, TradeRV, Caravan Camping Classifieds and Workapp.
Use online sales tools to collect and connect with more leads
Some online sales tools help prospects feel more confident in your dealership, which is so important now. For example, a walk-around video tool can help you send personalised, professional SMS videos of your caravans to leads so you can show them the inside and outside of the caravan and all the inclusions. These videos can be created in just a few minutes – taking social distancing to a new level. You can use these videos to showcase your caravans on your website, your social media channels – wherever.
And finally,
Back up these actions with other practical measures like sanitising caravans after every inspection and regular dealership cleaning. Let your customers know your deep cleaning efforts so they feel even more confident to buy from you - now or later. Give the friendly team at EasyCars a call to help you run your caravan dealership smoothly from home during Covid-19.