Attention! The car market has entered the off-season, and price fluctuations and after-sales discounts are worthy of attention

[Autohome? Industry]? Halfway through 2020, companies in various industries are like boats on the wind and waves. Some are swallowed up, while others go against the trend. In this process, China's auto market has experienced a difficult state from negative growth to Waterloo. Fortunately, at the beginning of the second half, consumption picked up as expected. How to seize the market in the post-epidemic era? How to do a good job in customer retention marketing while attracting new customers? The big ship of the automotive aftermarket seems to be stabilizing and trying to dock. "Car Talk" is a sharing and communication platform for car dealers carefully created by Autohome. Each issue holds offline salon activities in multiple regions across the country and closely integrates them with online content reports. So far, it has covered nearly 200 cities across the country, with more than 600 salon activities held in total, covering more than 6,000 first-line managers of dealers. Through in-depth insights into the hot topics of dealers, "Car Talk" strives to empower dealers' business development and promote the progress of China's automobile industry.

Quick reading in 30 seconds:

1. After emerging from the epidemic and entering the off-season, the three brands of Toyota, Hongqi and SAIC-Volkswagen have returned to previous sales and are confident in their full-year tasks. . ?2. Attracting new customers through Internet means and retaining old customers through after-sales service are eternal issues for car dealers. ?3. Products and services that truly solve consumers’ pain points are by no means price cuts and free, but cost-effective and real experiences.

◆In the epidemic + off-season, how can dealers recover? Compared with the "Golden Nine and Silver Ten" periods, June to August every year is known as the "traditional off-season" for automobile consumption. After experiencing the impact of the epidemic, the auto market almost came to a standstill in February and March this year, and the actual sales volume of a large number of dealers was less than 30% of previous years; it began to pick up in April, and the growth rate was more obvious in May and June. Through communication with several dealers and OEM representatives from various places, we found that in fact, whether judging from the number of leads provided by the platform or the flow of customers entering the store, the demand for car purchases still exists, but the final transaction conversion rate is different. of decline. General manager Xu Feng also operates two brand 4S stores in Weifang, Shandong, namely Qianfengxing GAC Toyota and Runhua FAW Toyota 4S stores. Regarding the term off-season, Xu Feng firmly stated: There is no so-called off-peak season. From a macro perspective, the demand for car purchases before the holidays is intensively released. After the holidays, the Golden Nine and Silver Ten are ushered in. The weather is now hot, which will indeed suppress some of the consumer desire to go to the store; but from a micro perspective, as a 4S store operator, it is absolutely necessary to We cannot have this understanding, but must rely on various means to solve the above problems.

『Weifang Qianfengxing GAC Toyota 4S Store』 Runhua FAW Toyota store is an old store that entered the network in 2014 and has more than 2,000 customers; Qianfengxing GAC Toyota store is a new store that opened at the end of 2018. Last year was a period of team building and adaptation, but the location was good and sales continued to grow. Currently, we have more than a thousand retained customers. In order to increase sales, the store has carried out various activities, including group buying events, auto shows, road shows, etc.; at the same time, in order to stimulate the enthusiasm of sales staff, employee incentives such as performance adjustments have been adopted, and soft and hard measures have been increased in the past two months. Broadcast. "There are many customers who want to buy cars, and there are always more failures than successes, so the key factor in getting customers lies in our own operations. As long as we keep up with the pace of the manufacturers, I am confident in achieving this year's goals - especially at GAC Toyota has also increased its sales target by hundreds of thousands," Xu Feng said. Unlike Toyota, which sells heavily, Hongqi, as a high-end Chinese brand, is currently in the stage of brand establishment. Chen Lian, general manager of Jinlong Hongqi 4S store in Dongguan, made it clear that, rather than sales figures, expanding brand acceptance and team building are the top priorities right now.

"Dongguan Jinlong Hongqi 4S Store" He believes that FAW Group's technological accumulation is undoubtedly unsatisfactory, but its marketization is slightly unsatisfactory. The biggest advantage of Hongqi lies in the changes in domestic consumption habits, as young people gradually begin to accept the "national trend"; on the other hand, it lies in the attention of FAW Group and the support of the OEM's handling opinions. Without the support of manufacturers behind many Chinese brands, There is no guarantee in terms of product quality and publicity. Hongqi models, which start at 150,000 to 160,000 yuan, are positioned as luxury brands. They have natural attribute advantages and can easily create user acceptance. The Jinlong store opened in May 2018 is the first Hongqi brand 4S store in Dongguan. Whether it is attracting customers or purchasing products from manufacturers, it has certain advantages. "In the past, everyone's impression of Hongqi was generally official and old-fashioned, but we hope that through brand marketing and user services, we can attract more and more people to pay attention to this brand and re-recognize and understand it." Chen Lian said. For new customers, Jinlong Hongqi Store has launched product experience and car purchase subsidies and other activities; for old customers, it has added door-to-door visits, door-to-door inspections and other projects in a short period of time. Amid such after-sales service upgrades, in the first half of 2020, Jinlong Hongqi’s sales doubled compared to last year. Facing 2020, in addition to completing the goals set by the OEM, Chen Lian is most concerned about the "excitement" of the team. He believes that only by allowing these young employees to put down their performance indicators, become truly active, and turn pressure into motivation can everyone be seriously engaged in work. Leading a good team and serving customers is the true meaning of the existence of a 4S store. The epidemic has had the greatest impact on the Central and South District around Wuhan.

Pang Bo, deputy general manager of Changsha SAIC Volkswagen Brand Central and South Region, believes that because some large-scale gathering activities cannot be carried out normally, part of the consumer demand has not been fully released. Especially for Hubei Province, local brands like Dongfeng are more popular, while SAIC-Volkswagen is not the first choice for local citizens. Therefore, in order to leverage the advantages of mainstream brands and further seize the central and southern markets in the post-epidemic era and off-season, SAIC-Volkswagen has increased advertising in subway carriages, taxi ceiling lights, and special Han embroidery exhibitions during this period; at the same time, it has also increased advertising Focus on dual-pronged marketing of online live broadcasts and offline auto shows. There is only one ultimate goal, which is to provide customers with lower prices and better experiences while also gaining a greater market share in 2020.

◆? At any time, attracting new customers and retaining loyal customers are the most important issues. Brands with strong product capabilities rely on new car sales to impact performance; brands with new car prices that continue to fall rely on after-sales support. Whole store operations. Although from the perspective of sales, everyone generally feels that it has basically returned to the state of previous years, but in the next step, in the face of changes in the market competition pattern, there are still various survival problems. For example, offline activities are becoming less and less attractive to customers. Even if many brands with insufficient product capabilities hold activities, the results are not ideal; some promotional activities can only create gimmicks, and it is difficult to convert orders. Generally speaking, for Toyota stores that have been in business for more than 10 years, after-sales profits can account for half of the entire store’s profits. In its six years of operation, Runhua FAW Toyota has gone through many stages such as supply shortage, shrinking operations, cost control, and a downturn in the auto market. The reason why it can continue to breathe and accumulate strength is inseparable from sound management methods.

『Weifang Qianfengxing GAC Toyota 4S Store』 Regarding customer marketing, Xu Feng did not blindly launch maintenance and extended warranty packages like many similar brands. He believes that targeted services are valuable. The store only launches maintenance and extended warranty packages for customers who are more than 10km away and are about to expire or lose their warranty, while other types of new car services will be launched for early customers with higher loyalty. "The main purpose of binding is not to make money through regular maintenance, but to increase the possibility of customers visiting the store again and create opportunities for subsequent accident repairs, warranty renewals, replacements, and recalls." In addition, Xu Feng attaches great importance to "members" concept. Since cars are commodities, the membership concept that has penetrated industries such as fitness and catering has not yet been used by 4S stores. "Membership does not simply provide regular or free services. Basic maintenance of 10,000 kilometers can only allow customers to visit the store once a year. They can neither experience the service nor create profits. A real membership should be an efficient and cost-effective paid service. For For 4S stores, they can pay for resource and personnel costs, and for customers, they can also enjoy services that truly meet their needs. The membership system will become a future trend, but it will definitely start with luxury cars with advanced consumption concepts and gradually penetrate into other brands. It is a positive phenomenon of service-oriented service,” Xu Feng said. Jinlong Hongqi Store also attaches great importance to after-sales and customer protection marketing. Different from Toyota stores, the Hongqi brand has previously launched four-year, 200,000-kilometer free maintenance and lifetime free warranty services. The cost is fully borne by the manufacturer and will not affect the dealer's basic profit. After more than a year of operation, the after-sales profit of Jinlong Hongqi store accounts for more than 45% of the entire store, and the output value has achieved 100% year-on-year growth. In addition to extended warranty services, emotional interaction is also essential. Activities such as free car pick-up and delivery within 25 kilometers, Douyin live broadcast, and car lessons basically cover the entire cycle of consumers from car purchase to car use. Store manager Chen Lian said that no matter Hongqi or other brands, they should establish their own personalized services to solve consumers' real pain points and make them willing to pay for products and services. After the epidemic, some local governments also introduced corresponding measures to promote automobile consumption. Among them, the Central and South District, where the epidemic was most severe, also took advantage of the policies. In the early stage, the Changsha government launched a corresponding subsidy policy for "real estate cars" produced by local factories. Models such as Lavida and Tiguan L have a maximum subsidy of 3,000 yuan. Afterwards, SAIC-Volkswagen expanded the policy to all models, proposed a series of activities such as cash discounts and replacement subsidies, and carried out a series of targeted follow-up measures for consumers in Wuhan, such as free replacement of PM2.5 air conditioners. Filter elements, free disinfection of the entire vehicle, and promotional support for anti-epidemic personnel. According to Pang Bo, such business policies also brought a lot of sales in April and May after the epidemic.

『Tiguan L? 2020 Model』 Next, SAIC Volkswagen Central and South District will focus more on market launch and activity expansion. In terms of content, more attractive topics are designed, combined with activities such as college entrance examinations, sanitation workers sending warmth, and trunk fairs, to increase exposure and deeply tie products to the brand.

Editor’s summary: The off-season of 2020 is worse than before. Because it is not just these two months that are miserable, but the whole year has to make up for the shortcomings of the epidemic and the downturn of the auto market. But looking at it from another perspective, 2020 is also a year full of opportunities. Online live broadcasts, VR auto shows, and extended warranty services have all presented more possibilities for car dealers. Companies that find a way will lead the way.

(Text/Car Home? Weng Meng)