WITH the UK in lockdown due to coronavirus, car showrooms up and down the country have closed down and now, more than ever before, online presence in vital to keep the Leasing Broker business wheels turning.
Growing numbers of customers are turning to social media. One large dealer group has seen the number of impressions on its Facebook posts grow by 80% from 656,070 (6-15 March 2020) to 1,179,615 (16-25 March).
The total reach of the group’s posts has also grown by 70% in that time, while the number of engaged users has increased by 18%.
This month could also see unprecedented numbers of consumers having to negotiate the return or replacement of vehicles financed on expiring three-year PCP deals.
This is because more cars were registered (562,337 units) in March 2017 than in any single month in UK history.
Marketing Delivery Managing Director Jeremy Evans, said: “Even though dealer facilities are closed and consumers are in lockdown, the agreements that commenced in spring 2017 will still need to be settled in some form over the coming
weeks.
“There has been a very significant rise in online and social media inquiries, particularly with physical showroom visits on hold and many customers confined to their homes.”
Evans believes this is only set to rise in the weeks ahead. “Every resulting inquiry needs to be followed up if car retailers are to bounce back successfully when movement restrictions are lifted.
“Those adopting a digital contact strategy, underpinned by automated email and social media interactions with customers, are most likely to sustain strong customer relationships and bounce back when life returns to normal.”
When customers turn to social media those with a strong social presence are set to benefit, with house-bound prospective customers more likely to spending time browsing social media or online classifieds.
Around 40 million people in the UK already visit Facebook at least once a month, while 80% of those access it more than once a day [source: Facebook IQ] – figures which are already showing signs of increasing during this prolonged period of self-isolation.
Facebook’s targeting functionality makes it a good platform for lead generation, customer conquest and communication.
Personal finance
The Personal Finance Society has written to the Financial Conduct Authority and HM Treasury outlining actions the regulator and government could take to help the profession help clients in need of financial advice.
The communication outlines suggested changes to regulatory requirements that would allow financial advisers to continue working during a period when demand for their help has never been greater, yet pressure on their own resources are stretched.
The communication includes calls for the regulator to confirm that government business loans won’t breach a firm’s capital adequacy requirements. It also wants to see the introduction of a four-month waiver for advice firms searching for professional indemnity insurance.
There is evidence availability of cover continues to reduce and renewals are being seriously impacted by current lockdown measures introduced by the government to slowdown the spread of the coronavirus.
The professional body has also asked for HM Treasury to consider acting as reinsurer of last resort for professional indemnity insurance ahead of a wider PII/Financial Services Compensation Scheme funding review.
The Leasing Broker Federation stands with Leasing Brokers you can use us to share your thoughts and ideas on how to keep the business wheels turning.
For certain, online business is coming into its own and will shape the broker business in the future.
Quotevine has said leasing brokers need to ensure they have the kind of robust digital infrastructure that can help them – and any business for that matter – survive and thrive even in this unprecedented situation.
Legacy computer systems that can only be accessed on-site or using slow and frustrating remote desktop solutions will prevent or severely limit productivity.
Brokers should have facilities for webconferencing, e-signatures, soft-searching, open banking and modern collaboration tools.
If they haven’t already, brokers should move urgently to a cloud-native suite of applications that employees can access from anywhere.
What other ideas do you have and are you happy to share best practice with fellow federation members.
You can contact us at [email protected]
……and finally
Remember, people should stay at home and avoid travel. The only reasons people should leave their homes is set out in the government guidance.
