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September - 2014 - issue > CEO Spotlight
Dependency on the Mobile much more Prominent in Future
Amit Jain
CEO -Girnarsoft
Tuesday, September 2, 2014
In the next few years, around 70 to 80 percent of car buyers would be reliant on the internet for their pre-research. Also, with high-speed internet being increasingly available on mobile devices across India, the internet would further strengthen its position as an integral part of the purchasing process. Besides, it is certain that the imminent future would see car dealers leveraging online tools to boost their sales. Mobile tools would play a major role in effecting this transition. In addition, the economy has been supportive recently, owing to which the overall spending on digital market by OEMs is expected to increase exponentially.

These are Interesting Times
I am of the opinion that these are interesting times for the industry, with more and more car buyers turning to the internet for more information or to contact the dealers. An area-wise observation is that more than 50 percent of buyers from city areas search for online information at various stages of their decision making journey.

Mobile is a critical trend in the current industry, as more than 50 percent of consumers view mobile as a great information source. Towards the future, the dependency on mobiles would be much more prominent for dealers as well as consumers.

On the supply side, large-scale adoption of technology and internet by dealers for conducting business has been a great enabler. This trend is giving impetus to internet as a prominent lead generation source. Moreover, all OEM companies have embraced digital marketing as a key source of leads and brand building. Presently, car manufacturers' annual digital spending is now around $4 billion.

The Top Challenges
The biggest challenge for an entrepreneur in these times is to ensure constant progress at a rapid pace. In the last four to five years,startups were able to grow geographically due to initial wave of adoption of e-commerce among consumers. The next stage of growth appears to be difficult, and requires newer ways of thinking and practices.

In our business, per dealer monetization is significantly low. Bringing in improvement in this aspect without compromising on organizational objectives or aspirations surfaces as another challenge. In order to achieve this, there should be increased focus on appreciation and adoption of online and mobile tools by dealers. Although many dealers are adopting technology, the pace at which it takes place fails to be compatible with that of consumer's. Moreover, dealers have to incorporate technology in such a way that it aligns with the pace at which innovative solutions are developed across the sector. (As told to Anitha)
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