A message from our CEO
Listening, Learning and Moving Forward Together
It’s only been a couple of weeks since my last video update, but since then we’ve made some announcements about enabling Deal Builder on all retailers’ adverts. I wanted to reach out again after the recent discussion and debate in the retailer community about this decision. I’ve been listening closely and appreciate how open you’ve been with your feedback, so want to respond to this personally.
Our partnership with retailers is at the heart of our business and we care deeply about getting things right. I realise our recent communications haven’t landed as we’d hoped, and I’m genuinely sorry for any confusion or frustration this has caused. Your questions and feedback have helped us see where we need to do better.
Deal Builder is a set of steps added to the vehicle product page to help car buyers do as many or as few of the car buying jobs as they want. It isn’t a journey that everyone must follow. It isn’t an end-to-end transaction or a way of taking away retailers’ control over who they sell to. It isn’t about removing the ways customers used to contact you.
We’ve fallen short in making these points clear, which we’ve tried to fix in our recent webinars and in our Deal Builder FAQ. But we’re also listening to your feedback and taking action. Here’s what we’re doing:
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We’ve heard you want more input into our product decisions. So we’re setting up one or two Retailer Advisory Groups for independent and franchise retailers of all sizes. This group will provide general feedback and early input to our products and solutions to help shape them to meet your needs. We’ll share details as soon as we can.
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This is our biggest reflection on the last few weeks. When retailers have the right support they understand the product and see the benefits. This is especially true given many have second-guessed themselves given some of mistruths that have circulated. Starting with Deal Builder can be a big step, so we’re ramping up support for retailers coming on board. Our Partnerships team is here to make sure you feel the benefits and know exactly how to manage and convert deals. We will look at training, workshops and whatever else is required.
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Next week, we’re launching our brand new Buying Signals, and after months of testing, we’re going to bring forward the rollout of our updated vehicle product page, including the changes to contact options you’ve been asking for. This will result in more of our highest quality enquiries which you have asked for, more emails, more deals. Some of this will come from other less used lead types, but we’ve heard clearly what you care most about.
You’ll soon receive communication about the changes we’re making, or find out more here
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I’ve heard your concerns about the inconvenience of the change to email notifications. Regulation means sending sensitive info via unencrypted channels is a risk to you, car buyers and us. This doesn’t feel right. However, there are ways of handling this that makes it easier, that many are not aware of. We’re going to put together some materials so you can work with us to make this as easy as possible
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Deal Builder has changed a lot over the last three years and we’re always open to exploring changes and making more improvements if it’s the right thing to do. This includes reservations, but it will take time as we have retailers that want more reservations, some that haven’t experienced them yet, and some that want changes that are often very different. Your feedback will keep guiding us.
I hope the changes we’re putting in place reassure you that we are listening and taking action to address your feedback. Your input really matters to us and it will continue to help guide us. As always, our team are on hand to answer any questions or discuss any of your concerns. Nobody knows our platform or how to make the most of it better than you do, so I would always encourage you to reach out to them for any help or clarity you need.