Retail Technology
| Log in | Subscribe



Subscribe | Log in
Retail Technology
Subscribe

Car supermarket group deploys retail solution for tracking and managing end-to-end customer journey

UK car supermarket group CarShop has deployed an integrated CRM and multichannel contact system to support its nationwide sales operation. 

The new solution will integrate customer contacts from across CarShop's various online, web chat, email, phone and face-to-face channels to provide a ‘wholistic’ car buying experience for customers.

CarShop has up to 4,000 cars in stock that can be searched and reserved online ready for viewing at one of the company's five showrooms located in Cardiff, Doncaster, Northampton, Norwich and Swindon. 

Initial customer inquiries, whether by phone, web chat or email – will be handled through a central mplsystems solution in Doncaster that aggregates customer contacts and shares leads with sales staff at CarShop's stores. 

Having a record of each customer's search and viewing requests means that CarShop sales staff will be ready to provide an efficient, personalised response by phone, chat or when customers visit a showroom. 

In addition, understanding how each customer interacts with the business across multiple channels will provide intelligent insight for marketing - to manage the customer journey, understand the effectiveness of campaigns and optimise future marketing projects. 

"CarShop had previously deployed a number of standalone telephony, online and web chat systems to support customer leads, but the results tended to be disjointed and didn't provide our customers with the kind of stress-free process we were looking for," commented Leo Nelson, Marketing Director at CarShop. 

Nelson knew the company needed a more joined up approach that would provide both better support for customers, as well as a more comprehensive CRM solution to deliver an improved customer experience and maximise retention rates.

"The mplsystems integrated desktop will enable CarShop to blend the digital and physical, creating a much more joined up process to strengthen the relationship between our customers and the brand," he added. "When a customer walks into one of our stores they are simply able to pick up from where they left from any previous interaction, whether that be on our website, Contact Centre, or Service Centre. The link is unbroken.

"Generation Y may not be buying cars in large numbers today, but they will be very soon and we have to be ready to meet their expectations as well as catering for our more established customer base. We view the changing automotive retail landscape as a new opportunity for the future of our business. 

Digital technology is a key part of our strategy, but we also recognise that our people are still the key ingredient.  Executed correctly, digital technology is able to stitch together our virtual and physical environment to deliver a great experience for our customers when completing such an important purchase," concluded Nelson.

Related items

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

By Retail Technology | Retail Technology

A revolution in the back office: Life beyond PIM

By Angus Hayman, Akeneo | Angus Hayman, Akeneo

Happy Easter!

By Retail Technology | Retail Technology

selfologi nails online launch

By Retail Technology | Retail Technology

The Platinum Jubilee

By Retail Technology | Retail Technology

Subway selects tasty payments partner

By Retail Technology | Retail Technology

TPG standardises property management systems

By Retail Technology | Retail Technology

Shaws sees visibility goals

By Retail Technology | Retail Technology

Retail is dead, long live retail!

By Retail Technology | Retail Technology

Lenta plans price optimisation roll out

By Retail Technology | Retail Technology