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Blazing a trail for a successful accessory program requires strategy. As surely as a new hire needs training, molding an accessory program calls for similar attention.

Is outsourcing really valuable? Can a dealership with a strong management team craft such a strategy on its own? Is there any reason a store couldn’t take best practice tips and implement them themselves? Is the expense of training a good return on investment?

These are valid questions from dealerships nationwide. Particularly now, as we all keep a closer eye on our budgets than ever. Let’s explore the reality of launching a new accessory program in your store.

If there’s one thing we’ve learned from the first half of 2020, it’s that toilet paper was never the answer.

That in mind, we press on, looking first to survive, then creatively thrive. July, which is about level four of Jumanji, has presented a game advantage in the form of a delayed tax day. After a few difficult months, a final wave of income tax returns makes it possible for consumers to take the bait on a new vehicle. America threw us a bone and we’re going to accessorize it.

We could all use a boost to our bottom line right now. 

We could probably use a week off social media, a tropical vacation, and some yoga too, but I digress. With summer ablaze, car dealers have more than a day at the beach on their minds. In the midst of a global pandemic inciting mayhem in our industry, we must soak up every cent of seasonal summer accessories. Say that five times fast.

Eighteen-year-old Samantha Dorton is fresh out of high school. With a spirit of optimism, she initiated plans to leave the nest. Her first stop on the road to independence was a local dealership. Samantha’s mother, Khrystal Dorton, Insignia Group’s Customer Care Coordinator, asked her daughter to be self-sufficient before she flew on her own.

“That meant getting her vehicle fixed, or purchasing one that ran,” Khrystal said. “She decided to buy a good one and leave her 2001 Nissan Pathfinder behind.” Armed with her approval specs from the bank and a good idea of what she was looking for, Samantha was ready to face the car-buying process head-on.

As COVID-19 shut down America as we knew it, extroverts all across America found themselves taking refuge in their cars. What started with just taking a drive, turned into eating take-out in the driveway. Before we knew what was happening, kids’ birthday parties morphed into drive-by parades. Campgrounds closed and truck beds became the go-to spot for a night under the stars.

As dealers across the nation adjust to selling vehicles online, it’s imperative that we don’t skip vehicle personalization. The easiest way to ensure customers and salespeople have a fair shot at a perfectly adorned vehicle is to make your accessory link easy to find. Trip and fall over it easy. “There it is again” easy. “I didn’t find the link, the link found me” kind of easy. When you strategically place your personalization link, you make your salesperson’s life easier, and your customer more likely to buy. 

Margin compression matters now more than ever. As dealers adapt to selling cars digitally, or with skeleton crews, monthly sales volumes are on a slippery slope. Though our present industry reality is less than ideal, we aren’t without hope. We have the tools to make every car sale count, to the extent of tipping this month’s scale back into balance, precarious as it may be.

St. Patrick’s Day has got us all toting rabbit’s feet. Donning green from head to toe, decorating our cubicles with four leaf clovers, and holding out hope for uncommon luck--all while being largely unsure of what we’re observing on this obscure holiday.

Is there a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow? Is the rainbow literal, or figurative? Do leprechauns really eat marshmallow cereal? Don’t take this same level of confusion into your Vehicle Personalization program. Follow me into the magic of the metaphor, and sell more accessories this March 17th.

The product team is like Santa’s elves—tinkering behind the scenes all year long to bring you good tidings of profit and joy. That sleek digital interface that makes your client feel like a kid on Christmas morning has a whole crew backing it. It’s time we gave the product team the standing ovation they deserve for all that button pushing, configurator spinning, report generating, artistic goodness they serve us. Meet the team! 

Ahh, Valentine's Day. Love is in the air—$18.2 billion worth. America is love sick, and it’s time the automotive industry snatched that love out of the air and put it on the road. Love is blind but car buyers are not, and there are plenty of personalization options to shower those new car purchases with TLC. Implement these tips this Valentine’s Day to make your buyer feel special and show your staff some love.