EP 11:09 From Missed Calls to Million-Dollar Conversations: How Fox Motors Scaled AI Across 30+ Dealerships

The future of the car business isn’t coming… it’s already here. And it’s driven by artificial intelligence!

Join Sean V. Bradley, President of Dealer Synergy, as he explores how AI is transforming every corner of the automotive industry. In this powerful episode, Sean is joined by two industry leaders: Yuriy Demidko from Fox Motors and Tasso Roumeliotis, Founder and CEO of Numa. Together, they pull back the curtain on the real impact of AI inside today’s dealerships, from sales and service to communication and customer experience!

"If you don't embrace some level of AI in certain pieces of your process, you will just fall behind really, really quickly." - Yuriy Demidko

You’ll hear how Fox Motors is strategically implementing AI to streamline service operations, enhance communication, and create more meaningful connections with customers, while Numa’s cutting-edge technology is helping service advisors do more with less, resolving communication gaps that once slowed dealerships down!

"Imagine what it will save you in the long term. Having cleaned up data, not just hoping and praying that your marketing is working properly." - Yuriy Demidko

This isn’t just theory, it’s what’s actually happening inside some of the nation’s most forward-thinking stores. Whether you’re a dealer principal, manager, or salesperson ready to embrace the next era of retail automotive, this episode will open your eyes to how AI is not replacing people, it’s empowering them!

🎧 Listen now to uncover how AI is rewriting the rules of dealership success, one innovation at a time, and how you can harness it to stay ahead of the curve!

 

Key Takeaways:

✅ The Power of AI in Dealerships: AI can significantly enhance dealership operations by effectively managing inbound customer communications and preventing potential revenue losses due to missed calls or unreturned messages.

✅ Streamlining Service Departments: Utilizing AI, dealerships like Fox Motors have reduced the number of customer complaints about unreachable service staff, thereby increasing customer satisfaction and engagement.

✅ Future of AI in Automotive: In the next few years, AI is expected to transform how dealerships operate with increased visibility for GMs and streamlined operations through sophisticated data integration and agent-to-agent communication.

✅ Customer Experience Enhancement: By leveraging AI to analyze customer reviews and feedback, dealerships can fine-tune their service offerings and address common concerns proactively.

✅ Data is Key: Clean and organized data is a prerequisite for any efficient AI solution. Dealers must prioritize data hygiene to ensure their AI tools deliver accurate and valuable insights.

Yuriy Demidko
Yuriy Demidko is the Chief Information Officer at Fox Motors, one of the leading automotive dealer groups in the United States. With a background at Apple as an engineer, Yuriy brings a wealth of technical expertise and a forward-thinking approach to integrating cutting-edge technology, especially in leveraging AI to enhance dealer operations and customer experiences. His work at Fox Motors, which comprises 44 dealerships, focuses on optimizing business processes through innovative data-driven strategies.

Tasso Roumeliotis
Tasso Roumeliotis is the CEO and Co-Founder of Numa, an AI-driven company providing solutions to address communication challenges within dealerships. Bringing a nuanced understanding of both technology and automotive sales, Tasso has successfully grown Numa to service over 1,100 dealerships in a short span of four years. His aim is to enhance dealership efficiency and customer satisfaction by integrating AI to manage communication bottleneck challenges effectively.

 

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Accelerating Automotive Innovation: Leveraging AI for Optimal Dealership Performance

Key Takeaways

• AI as a Transformative Tool: Discover how AI reshapes dealership communication and boosts efficiency in service departments.

• Data Hygiene’s Crucial Role: Understand the importance of clean data in optimizing AI effectiveness and dealership operations.

• Future Forecast: Explore the evolving landscape of AI in the automotive industry and its impact on consumer experiences and dealership management.

In today's rapidly evolving automotive industry, staying ahead of the curve means embracing cutting-edge technology. A recent discussion featuring Sean V. Bradley from Dealer Synergy and experts from Fox Motors and Numa sheds light on how dealerships can harness AI to transform their operations. The conversation delves into pressing challenges, innovative solutions, and the promising future of AI in the automotive sector.

Revolutionizing Dealership Communication with AI

AI is increasingly becoming integral in transforming how dealerships handle communication, particularly in the service department. Tasso Roumeliotis, CEO and Co-Founder of Numa, highlights the existing "communication crisis" where service advisors miss 83% of calls and struggle with returning voicemails. This inefficiency not only affects customer satisfaction but also the dealership's bottom line. "AI helps you solve the communication problem…giving superpowers to your service advisors," Tasso states, underscoring AI's potential for improvement.

The integration of AI serves as a safety net to ensure customer calls are always answered promptly. Fox Motors' CIO, Yuriy Demidko, explained their strategic approach, where AI intervenes after the third ring if a human can't answer. "We're not trying to replace people with AI. What we are trying to do is use AI as a stopgap," Yuriy clarifies, revealing AI's role in enhancing rather than replacing human efforts. This implementation has led to a substantial decrease in missed calls and improved customer satisfaction, making AI an invaluable asset in dealership operations.

The Imperative of Reliable Data for AI Success

A significant point raised during the conversation was the importance of maintaining clean and reliable data for AI implementation. Yuroi outlines a potentially overlooked aspect—data hygiene. He likens the issue to business intelligence tools that fail when connected to dirty, inconsistent data, resulting in inaccurate insights. “If you are able to respond to every single customer phone call, you will get more business,” Yuriy asserts, emphasizing the ROI tied to reliable data.

For dealerships looking to leverage AI, it's essential to ensure their databases are free from duplicates and outdated information. Clean data ensures that AI delivers accurate, insightful results, a process pivotal for maximizing both customer engagement and overall operational efficiency. Whether partnering with a data specialist or using internal resources, prioritizing data integrity is crucial before jumping into AI integration.

The Evolving Landscape of AI in Automotive

Looking forward, the automotive industry is poised for monumental shifts powered by AI. Both Yuriy and Tasso agree on the impending changes. Yuriy envisions AI agents becoming common, assisting consumers in interacting with businesses while altering customer experience dynamics. He foresees a shift, where "AI…will provide the most robust, eloquent, beautifully worded wrong answer of all time," highlighting the risks if data isn't proper. It's a future where agile dealerships will continually adapt their strategies, ensuring competitive advantages become more fleeting.

Tasso adds that dealerships equipped with real-time data and AI will revolutionize dealership management. He describes a future where GMs and dealership officers wield comprehensive control over operations, accentuated by heightened visibility and efficiency. This transformation will offer a premium customer experience, whether from a managerial perspective or consumer standpoint, reshaping the traditional dealership model.

Within the dealership sector, AI's role is clear—enhancing human capabilities, refining processes, and radically changing business models. The risk of forgoing AI lies in becoming obsolete, unable to compete with forward-thinking dealers who harness technological advances to drive success.

As we navigate an era characterized by technological prowess, embracing AI's potential could be the distinction between thriving and merely surviving in the automotive industry, making it an imperative focus for dealership strategists worldwide.

 

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