Bringing artificial intelligence software into your dealership can have a game-changing effect on your performance. From inventory management to sales, your core processes can all be improved with the latest automotive AI solutions. As a result, your team will be better positioned to serve new and existing customers, operate more efficiently, and drive scalable growth.
However, you can’t simply implement an AI technology solution and then forget about it. Putting a sound strategy in place will optimize the impact of AI and help you understand exactly how and where the software is improving your workflows, productivity, and conversions. And that means you’ll need to begin identifying and tracking key performance indicators (KPIs) of your AI efforts if you’re not already.
Analyzing the KPIs of your AI strategy
Setting and measuring KPIs of your AI strategy at your dealership can help you gain a deeper working knowledge of your team’s performance at macro and micro levels. When you’re keeping track of specific KPIs, you can see how they’re changing over time, spot anomalies and trends faster, and be alerted to any problem areas that deserve to be addressed.
They also serve as powerful motivators when actively shared and communicated. Whether you’re trying to drive an individual employee or a whole team towards AI adoption, you can rely on KPIs to provide encouragement and show progress. You’ll find that people are more excited and willing to work hard to reach their monthly, quarterly, and annual targets when they can see how AI contributes to their success. Of course, this raises an important question: Which KPIs should you track after instituting AI for car dealerships at your location? Though there are many KPIs you can use, the three listed below are strong starting points.
KPI #1: Appointment set rate
In today’s market, the majority of consumers use a variety of digital channels to research vehicles and dealerships before they make contact. In fact, 71% of car shoppers zig-zag between multiple digital channels before settling on a dealership to contact. That said, their journey should ideally end with a visit to your dealership, not your competition. That’s why dealers are trading traditional calls to action (CTAs) in marketing campaigns for AI-powered ones, like Conversation Connect within Impel’s Chat AI.
An automotive sales software product like Impel is designed to identify, qualify, and nurture promising leads, resulting in higher appointment rates. Here’s how: An AI agent chat solution can engage naturally with consumers who ask questions, and then move the conversation toward setting an appointment. When AI integrates with a dealer’s CRM, appointments sync automatically.
Once your team begins using AI to manage leads and book appointments, you can track improvements in showroom appointment rates, and even get granular on which appointments are AI-influenced, to determine its ability to bring more buyers to your dealership.
Elk Grove Buick GMC looked at this particular KPI after bringing Impel automotive sales software into its operations. The dealership wanted to improve its number of appointments without hiring more salespeople. Consequently, its team focused on the change in their appointment bookings after adopting Impel. Within a year, their appointment booking rate rose by 18%, which lifted their conversion rates as well (the next KPI to measure!).
KPI #2: Sales conversion rates
Selling cars is the ultimate aim of any automotive dealership salesperson. That’s why most dealerships typically track the rate that prospects convert to sales. If your dealership doesn’t routinely track conversions, you’ll want to start tracking them after moving to an automotive AI solution. After all, data suggests that AI systems can improve conversions to sales by 26% at dealerships. But you won’t know how much your needle moves until you keep a record of your AI-assisted sales conversion rates.
For example, Crystal Lake Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram found that AI influenced $2 million in gross sales during the first six months of implementing AI. Instead of spending time engaging online with leads — a task that was turned over to “Anita”, their AI sales assistant — the dealership’s sales team could concentrate on selling in person. It worked. Their conversion rates rose steadily as they became more efficient at closing deals without increasing their headcount.
KPI #3: Service repair order revenue
What happens after you’ve sold a vehicle and the customer drives off your lot? Hopefully, they have had a positive customer experience and feel connected to your car dealership. And automotive sales software can help you strengthen your ties with customers and earn their repeat business.
That’s what Fred Anderson Toyota observed after integrating Impel with its tech stack. In six months, the dealership’s service operation added $1.1 million more in revenue that would have otherwise gone unrealized.
It can be easy to overlook how much value an AI solution can deliver in retaining customers. But if you’re measuring the percentage of customers who service their vehicles in a given period, and the associated increase in service revenue, you’ll get a clearer indication of how many customers are relying on your service department for the majority of their service needs.
Align Automotive AI solution KPIs to your dealership’s goals
When it comes to tracking Automotive AI KPIs, starting with the core metrics is crucial. Focus on the problem you set out to solve with AI initially, then expand from there.
Even if you track a handful of KPIs during and after your automotive AI implementation, you’ll be more confident about the impact AI has on your business, your people, and your customers. Just be sure that the KPIs you choose to measure the success of AI are aligned with your dealership’s goals.
Want to know more about how AI can impact your dealership KPIs? Get in touch with Impel. Our team can give you more insights so you can measure your AI investment success.