Car Insurance Comparison – Home, Life, Business & Travel Insurance Quotes

THE WORLD IS MOVING FORWARD

The world is moving forward at a rapid pace, with all available technologies seamlessly being integrated into our daily lives through commerce and a number of other means. Gone are the days of receiving your pay in a brown paper bag or having the milkman deliver the milk each morning.

In today’s world, wages are sent electronically and bank accounts are accessed through internet banking. Withdrawing money from the bank at a teller has become a thing of the past, with ATM’s taking over this role. Daily news is being sought from the internet, rending newspapers increasingly outdated. The electronic revolution is here.

As technology constantly reaches new heights, businesses are quick to implement technological solutions to keep ahead of new competitors. Major supermarkets now offer an online ordering and delivery service for groceries. Innovations like this would have been considered outrageous twenty or thirty years ago, but are now becoming standard practice.

Other markets to make the transition to online operations include the job and insurance markets. To reduce costs, insurance companies have removed the need to visit their offices and spend time with their staff members completing insurance application forms. Tasks such as these have now been moved online, as the customer can now complete any necessary application forms from the company’s website.

Newspapers are becoming obsolete as a source of finding employment in addition to sourcing news articles, as the internet allows jobseekers to narrow the advertisements by set criteria and minimise the time it takes to locate suitable jobs. Applying for jobs over the internet often takes just the click of a button or two, eliminating the need for a series of costly phone calls.

As much as the technological switch has been made to satisfy consumer demand and provide a competitive edge in the market, another critical factor has been the ability to reduce operating expenses.

Many industries, such as those involved in manufacturing, previously needed a large workforce to operate their production lines. The staff members have been replaced by machines, as the running costs are lower than the wage equivalent and they don’t have to worry about the machines taking sickies.

MOTOR INDUSTRY LAGGING BEHIND

Surprisingly, there are still fragments of the commercial market yet to embrace the technological changes which are rapidly being introduced in the other markets. One such industry still lagging behind in the dark ages is the motor vehicle industry.

The motor vehicle industry still operates under the same platform as it did decades ago, with the showroom and car salesmen. The only form of technology being implemented is in the motor vehicles themselves, or with external offerings of finance and insurance.

Along with the airline industry, the motor trade has been struggling for a number of years. Record numbers of closures of manufacturing plants have been seen in recent times, as well as the bankruptcy of a number of leading car manufacturers. A fresh approach is needed to reinvigorate the industry and provide a platform for a return to profitable trading.

Part of their problem has been the stubbornness to embrace an online solution for their businesses, instead preferring to persist with the old methods, which no longer perform adequately in the new millennium. Realising that traditional sales and operation methods are unsuitable in today’s market will be the first step on the road to recovery.

Customers these days are much more demanding in their vehicle requirements, no longer willing to be satisfied with whatever stock is left on the lot. Customers are much more willing to wait for a car of a particular colour to be manufactured, rather than choose a different colour car which can be driven away the same day, leading to most dealerships having a large percentage of custom ordered cars at present.

The customers are crying out for an online ordering solution, providing an alternative to the traditional dealership lot and the nuisance of haggling with car salesmen. The negotiation tactics and discrimination by some salesmen paint the industry in a bad light and have contributed to the negative perception of car yard purchasing.

TIME TO CHANGE

Never has the time been riper for a manufacturer to make the transition to an online purchase platform. Apart from the customer satisfaction aspect, the cost cutting benefit is enormous. Presently, the costs involved to stock cars in a car lot are severely affecting the ability of most car yards to turn a profit.

With land values appreciating tremendously over the last decade, providing the platform for operations is proving to be expensive. Add to that the cost of purchasing the cars from the manufacturers, insurance costs, staffing costs for the lengthy hierarchy of salesmen, managers, managers of managers etc, as well as cleaners, car detailers, transporters, licensing and other office staff, finance and insurance staff; the operating costs keep stacking on top of each other.

The car dealerships are clearly overwhelmed by these expenses and could eliminate them all with a website for customers to order from. The customer would be able to select the colour and style of their choice, as well as choosing which options they desire. Cars’ becoming overpriced from excessive options is a major problem at present, with options such as seat warmers and electronic seat belt warnings considered unnecessary and annoying by many consumers.

There are a few roles undertaken by the car dealerships that could be considered as necessary for the physical outlet to remain in place. But after careful thought, it is plain to see that these can be outsourced and pave the way for the traditional bricks and mortar dealership to become a thing of the past.

Servicing, recalls and warranties can be outsourced to one of the leading chains of automotive repairers. They already perform much of this work for customers who are looking to stay away from the normally expensive dealer servicing centres. It may even be possible to switch the licensing responsibilities to one of these major service centres to alleviate that dilemma as well.

Lastly, the customer will always want to test-drive the product before purchasing. This problem can be overcome by setting up a number of mobile test-drive centres. They can operate from a different location each day, be it shopping centres or local parks. In theory, it should result in a boost in sales, as the salesmen can actively promote the vehicles and seek customers, rather than sitting idle in the showroom waiting for someone to turn up.

Of course, the cost of the car will be thoroughly reduced as the overheads will be slashed. Price is always a major consideration for the customer and if a vehicle is offered online at a substantial discount to the normal showroom price, customers are sure to flock to the online sales platform and allow the car manufacturers to once again be in the black.