Future of Auto #3 - Dealers of Tomorrow

I want to intern in Detroit this summer and I’m extremely interested in things like Consumer Insights, New Product Development, Future Trends Analysis, and Strategic Planning. Basically, I like building and launching new things. Seeing as how working in Auto is the likeliest of these routes (though not exclusively), I figured I’d see if I could actually come up with visionary ideas about the automotive industry. This post is the third installment in a series I hope to keep with over the next few months. In it I will try to empathize with different customer segments and think of new products or services that would serve them in fresh ways. If you think my ideas are legit, I’d appreciate your help in finding a sweet gig for the summer. If you think my ideas are far from legit, I’d appreciate your feedback.

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One of the reasons I find the automotive industry very unique is because of how cars are sold. Think about it, how many products in the world have a named career path? In auto, you can be a car salesman, for almost any other product you're known just as a "salesman", except maybe for insurance. I think that's a testament to how special automobiles are in our culture and the uniqueness of automobiles as a product.

Because sales are so important to the industry, and because dealers don't seem to have changed radically in the past few decades, I figured I'd try to reimagine what dealerships might be in the future. Because dealers are a common link between many different types of customers, I'll provide a short description of every kind of dealer experience I can think of (at least in a first round of thinking). It would take much more market research to decide between this set of ideas.

Also, some motivation for this post: Apple has a unique retail experience for computers. If that's the case, it seems silly NOT to reimagine dealerships because the product (a car) is much more intricate than a computer and something people are as passionate about as Apple products.

Dealers as Auto Fan Clubs - for gearheads

There are some people who LOVE cars. These are the Top Gear-watching, horsepower-hoarding, car enthusiasts that see these products not as appliances but as works of art and human ingenuity. Why not interface with these people directly? I can see a dealership as being a community space for car lovers. Maybe you get a sneak peek at new models or features. Maybe you get to learn advanced auto-modding. Maybe you have a beer with other gearheads in your area. The dealership itself could be a place where people come together to share their love for automobiles. An added benefit to the OEM is that they can get valuable feedback from these super passionate, "extreme" users of their product.

Dealers as car support groups - for auto novices

Owning a car isn't easy. You have to maintain it, you have to understand how it works, and all this takes a lot of time. Why not have the dealership be an automobile concierge of sorts? Maybe if you have a dealer "membership", you pay the dealer a fixed fee (like a service package) and they take care of any repairs you need. You get an oil change and its free. They do basic maintenance on your car for you. They do all the taking care of the car, so the customer doesn't have to. Maybe they even teach you about how to take care of your car and give you opportunities to learn about car ownership. Think of it like getting an extended service contract or warranty for your vehicle and a car education to boot. The dealer would be a center of activity which helps people have a painless car ownership experience.

Dealers as urban convenience centers - for urban professionals

I used to work in the city and now I live in a smaller place. Something that was very annoying to me was always parking and doing minor repairs to my car - I could never find the time for something non-urgent. So, why not combine both these needs for urban consumers? The OEM would have a small parking lot, perhaps in a structure, and the driver would go to work...maybe by bus, subway, or bike share. While the driver is at work, maybe they can arrange to have basic car repair completed, maybe an oil change, new lights, a wash, tune up, tires, windshield wipers, etc. This would help with having a place to park, having repairs done, and having a hub to get people the "last mile" on their commute.

As far as this "last mile" stuff goes, I think that's a new business model in itself which I'll try to discuss in a future post as it is only peripherally relevant to dealerships.

Dealers as retail pop ups - for the spontaneous consumerist

You don't need much to sell a car. All you really need is, well, the car. So why not have a pop up on a busy street that has a small booth, but mostly just has models to test drive or inspect by passersby. That way it would keep "dealer" costs down and would still give potential buyers a chance check out cars as they walked by. This could be a fun and low-cost way for carmakers to give consumers exposure to their best products in an environment the consumer already is in...cities.

Dealers as classrooms - for the next generation of car owners, car dreamers, and car makers

Maybe car dealerships can be agents of social good, too. There are lots of kids that probably like learning physics, engineering, design, and similar things. With a curriculum built up for wide use, maybe car dealership could be an experiential learning environment for students across the country. After school students could go to the dealership and maybe a mechanic does a lesson with you. Maybe they bring in speakers who work in automotive engineering or design for sessions with parents and kids together. The dealership is a space that's not always 100% utilized that oozes engineering and design. Why not get other, younger people, interested as well?

Wrap up

Overall, I think dealers could go in many directions. But to do that, we'd have to think of dealers as more than "a place where cars are sold." I think we can, and should. As a bit of motivation / business case discussion - having an ongoing, positive, touchpoint with consumers is probably good for business. Once I leave the lot, I hate going to dealerships and mechanics. As a comparison, I love going to the Apple Store (or REI, for that matter) and kind of enjoy spending money there.