25% of Mercedes Sales to be online by 2025.

[Dippo]

This article appeared in Automotive Management today. Personally I think they've got a long way to go just to get the basics right, without setting out new objectives like this. If you had to order through the Mercedes Me app, they'd go bust within a few months.

"Mercedes-Benz has said that 25% of its new car sales transactions will be completed online by 2025 as it develops a “single log-in” digital strategy offering lifestyle, mobility and shopping solutions to owners and non-owners alike.

At a ‘Future of Retail’ conference at the brand’s new dealership in The Hague yesterday (July 18) the German premium brand revealed its plans to drive its online as it grows its online influence to engage a wider range of potential customers and create data-rich leads for its franchised retailers.

Mercedes’ variety of customer touchpoints has been expanded to include temporary pop-up-stores, lifestyle-focussed Mercedes Me stores, events and conferences since a change of strategy in 2013.

Now Britta Seeger, member of the Board of Management of Daimler AG responsible for Mercedes-Benz Cars marketing and sales, has said its time for further diversification in a bid to better merge Mercedes-Benz’s digital and physical retail experiences.

“The world is changing fast and so are the needs, the wishes and the expectations of our customers,” she said.

“Being ‘always on’ is a game-changer which strongly influences our daily lives today and will do so even more so in the future.”

Seeger said that the aim of all future developments by Mercedes-Benz would be that of serving customers’ needs with greater ease “anytime, anywhere” with the use of a “single log-in for the Mercedes Me platform”.

But while Seeger revealed that a quarter of car sales will be fulfilled online within the next six years - in an echo of the comments made to AM by the brand's UK chief executive, Gary Savage, in 2016- she sought to reiterate the “strong relationship” the German premium brand with its 6,500 franchise partners across the globe as it aims to align its online activity.

Attempting to underline this, Seeger said that there were new plans under consideration to further broaden the brand’s physical offering, with a new Mercedes-Benz World environment already being considered for certain markets – particularly larger Asian cities – which would bring retail and lifestyle experiences together with a car showroom in one large complex.

In this month's AM magazine LSH Auto managing director, Martyn Webb, reveals his plans to introduce concessions to his franchises in Stockport and Solihull not only to help the sprawling new facilities meet the financial costs attacthed to their development but to fulfil the role of "transforming the dealership from a sales point to a destination that is a hive of activity".

New-generation CMS

Tanja Wagner, Mercedes-Benz’s head of physical retail experience, explained changes in personnel in the dealership environment and said that retailers would be aiming to shift from a showroom to showcase experience for customers.

At the dealership in The Hague, which opened its doors three months ago, a new CMS system utilises automated numberplate recognition (ANPR) to greet service customers and direct them to drive-in aftersales bays, while front of house Star Assistants lead the front of house operation, channelling unscheduled visitors to the correct department via an iPad-operated CMS, alerting the department to their arrival.

Andreas Hiller, head of customer management and retail network development, revealed how online configurations generated QR codes to deliver in-showroom access to a customer’s choices, while digital signatures allowed sales and aftersales offers to be viewed and agreed in paperless fashion.

A new app being trialled in Hong Kong looks set further streamline the digital experience, though.

The Carshow app will give details of where a similarly configured car might be in the Mercedes-Benz network before providing sat-nav guidance to reach the car – at a specific location in a specific dealership.

Tracking technology then allows the customer to call on a member of dealership staff via the app while they are stood with the vehicle.

Hiller said: “We strongly believe in the human touch and the strong network that we have but we also see online and we see the energy and the power of technology. We strongly believe that we need to combine the two.”

Further helping to combine the two are a series of apps and collaborations now being developed and explored by Mercedes-Benz.

Embracing apps

Marc-Oliver Nandy, head of digitalisation, sales and Mercedes Me, revealed how the brand intends to engage with customers and non-customers online to not only increase its sphere of influence but, no doubt, it’s wealth of potential customer data.

While 90% of owners now engage with the Mercedes Me app which can deliver online booking, service reminders and other assets, the brand is now embarking on an expansion into mobility solutions and online retail.

A Mercedes Me Store app has now been added to the latest MBUX infotainment system, allowing over the airwaves upgrades – to DAB radio or the use of your smartphone as a key, for example.

Now the electric vehicle (EV) specific app delivering sat-nav bespoke routes taking in partner charge points where energy can be paid for via the app has been added to coincide with the launch of the EQC SUV, the brand’s first full-EV.

Meanwhile the Bertha app allows even non-Mercedes owners to visit partner petrol stations and pay for fuel from their smartphone app, Mercedes Me Parking gives a register of available spaces and navigates users to them while also allowing payment.

Similarly an under-trial car sharing app allows multiple users to have access to a single car, a special key being left in the vehicle as users can request and schedule periods of usage and gain access to the vehicle via their smartphone.

Nandy said: “Already we have partnerships with Yelp and TripAdvisor and the potential for collaboration for apps and in-car solutions is endless, really.

“From a car wash services, delivery services, even a dry cleaning service which could deposit washed and ironed clothes in your parked car. The possibilities are endless.”

OEM turned online ‘influencer’

The advantages of further online engagement are clear for Mercedes-Benz, allowing it to add contact points and learn more about potential customers’ habits and behaviour.

It’s a trend that the brand started with the opening of its first temporary pop-up store in Warsaw back in 2013. It has since rolled the concept out into 20 countries globally.

Meanwhile, Mercedes Me stores focus more on events, with a focus on exceptional gastronomy, in a bid to engage customers with the brand through other platforms and Mercedes Me Conventions have followed, with the next due to take place at the Frankfurt Motor Show later this year.

Mercedes-Benz has also sought to target female customers specifically with a ‘She’s Mercedes’ concept offering an app and customer events. To date, Seeger said, the concept has been made active in 65 markets, attracting 20,000 members.

“In China alone 6,000 women took part in She’s Mercedes events last year,” she said.

The effects have been marked, coinciding with a growth in global in sales volumes for the premium carmaker.

Seeger said that every second driver of a Mercedes-Benz in the compact sector previously drove a competitor vehicle, with 60% of A-Class customers in Europe considered as conquests.

She added: “In China, the average A-Class owner is aged 35.”

While its renewed focus on mobility and online lead generation is clear, it seems Mercedes-Benz could be well on its way to becoming an online ‘influencer’ in its bid to draw new, young and tech-savvy customers into its retail environment.

 

[Fastcar155]

Hi , I understand that Mercedes are starting to have resistance from customers and dealers using their new approach to the market in overseas markets.

As yet does the new sales approach to sales apply to pre owned cars ?

From my point of view Mercedes quality control is dropping , retail customers appear to be treated with utter contempt by Mercedes UK.

The problem that many German companies have is that the manufacturing costs are so high and productivity is dropping they are forced to manufacture in other countries.

A friend of mine was told by Skoda dealership he had to buy the car on fiancee , lease it , hp , but not interested in a cash sale.

I had a similar experience when I purchased my second C207E400 from a Mercedes dealer in that they would not except bankers drafts , cash but only would allow customers to buy a car using electronic transfer.

I had little choice but that won't happen again.

Residual values will dictate future sales in the UK

 

[fabes]

TLDR

In summary MB are focussing on imagery and the buying experience/ journey

Shouldn't the product not be the focus here?
And then there is after sales experience....

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

I had a similar experience when I purchased my second C207E400 from a Mercedes dealer in that they would not except bankers drafts , cash but only would allow customers to buy a car using electronic transfer.

I had little choice but that won't happen again.

I can fully understand car dealers not wanting to accept cash and bankers drafts in payment for cars, as the risk is too great.

I have no idea what the average new car transaction value is however let’s say it’s £45,000 - would you accept either that much cash or a bankers draft and let the buyer drive away without having banked it?

I wouldn’t. The risk of either a fraudulent transaction for some or all of that amount being counterfeit notes - or the bankers draft being fake - is a very real possibility and the consequences are significant.

Moreover the risk of having that much cash in your home/office or when travelling to the bank to pay it in can also not be ignored. If thieves know you’re selling cars for cash then you become a target.

Finally trying pay tht much cash into a bank is also not straight forward. There’s the cost of banking it, the time to bank it, and then implications of needing controls associated with money laundering.

Now let’s imagine that you don’t just sell one car once in a blue moon, you sell tens of cars every week and maybe more. The risks above become too great to be viable for a business selling cars.

The alternative is an electronic payment. That mitigates all of the risks mentioned above, and it doesn’t really have any downsides apart from a small number of people preferring to pay by cash.

The number of people with that amount of cash - or even the ability to pay for a new car in full without any form or finance is small and falling - so the impact of them walking away if they can’t pay in cash is reducing.

 

[ALFAitalia]

I had a similar experience when I purchased my second C207E400 from a Mercedes dealer in that they would not except bankers drafts , cash but only would allow customers to buy a car using electronic transfer.

I had little choice but that won't happen again.

In my business we have not taken cheques or bankers drafts in years....one or two special customers aside....this is for one main reason....ITS NOT 1995!

.....the other reasons being long clearance times, bouncing and fraud.

 

[JHS]

What is a customer touchpoint?

Is there a MB department for generating job titles?
"head of physical retail experience"
"head of customer management and retail network development"
"head of digitalisation, sales and Mercedes Me"

 

[Darrell]

I’m surprised it’s this low.
My BIL had his 2015 and 2018 delivered by the lease firm. No test drive and no interaction with a dealer.

Nice and easy with zero fuss or hassle.

 

[Darrell]

What is a customer touchpoint?

Is there a MB department for generating job titles?
"head of physical retail experience"
"head of customer management and retail network development"
"head of digitalisation, sales and Mercedes Me"

At Croydon Council (my sister is a building surveyor there) there is a dept that does actually come up with silly job titles.

 

[Fastcar155]

I can fully understand car dealers not wanting to accept cash and bankers drafts in payment for cars, as the risk is too great.

I have no idea what the average new car transaction value is however let’s say it’s £45,000 - would you accept either that much cash or a bankers draft and let the buyer drive away without having banked it?

I wouldn’t. The risk of either a fraudulent transaction for some or all of that amount being counterfeit notes - or the bankers draft being fake - is a very real possibility and the consequences are significant.

Moreover the risk of having that much cash in your home/office or when travelling to the bank to pay it in can also not be ignored. If thieves know you’re selling cars for cash then you become a target.

Finally trying pay tht much cash into a bank is also not straight forward. There’s the cost of banking it, the time to bank it, and then implications of needing controls associated with money laundering.

Now let’s imagine that you don’t just sell one car once in a blue moon, you sell tens of cars every week and maybe more. The risks above become too great to be viable for a business selling cars.

The alternative is an electronic payment. That mitigates all of the risks mentioned above, and it doesn’t really have any downsides apart from a small number of people preferring to pay by cash.

The number of people with that amount of cash - or even the ability to pay for a new car in full without any form or finance is small and falling - so the impact of them walking away if they can’t pay in cash is reducing.

Hi Bobby Dazzler , If an electronic transfer goes wrong and they do getting your money back can be nearly impossible because you ( the customer ) have acknowledged the payment address is correct.

The only saving grace that on certain banks the transfers names the customer as well as the account number.

Cash I can understand but BD is strange , i did not want to take the car immediately.

In our part of the world ( Kidderminster )a Vauxhall dealer has gone into receivership , if you have paid for the car and not taken delivery you could have a real game of solders obtaining your car.

 

[ALFAitalia]

Do the bank transfer as you collect the car....lots of my customers do.....its just a few taps on the phone....done. No need to pay in advance just because its a bank transfer.

 

[SpikyMikey]

What is a customer touchpoint?

Is there a MB department for generating job titles?
"head of physical retail experience"
"head of customer management and retail network development"
"head of digitalisation, sales and Mercedes Me"

"BS Deployment Manager"

 

[Dryce]

I have no idea what the average new car transaction value is however let’s say it’s £45,000 - would you accept either that much cash or a bankers draft and let the buyer drive away without having banked it?

- how many cash buyers? As opposed to say PCP and lease or in-house finance?
- and the likes of he A Class likely drop that average.

I suspect the actual average amount of cash / transfer from customer to dealer is significantly less than £20,000 - possibly less than £10,000.

 

[Harrythedog]

" Hello Mr Dealership Franchiser, any chance of a few test drives to see which car I want to order from somewhere else ?" I can't see that going down well.
Also how will the Distance Selling Regs apply ?
Will you be able to return it for any reason within 14 days of receiving the goods?

 

[MikeInWimbledon]

I had a similar experience when I purchased my second C207E400 from a Mercedes dealer in that they would not except bankers drafts , cash but only would allow customers to buy a car using electronic transfer

I’m not fully up to date on the regs but…

At first glance, this is just Anti-Money Laundering and tax evasion protocols. Possibly with a bit of MB controls over fraud amongst sales staff.

The good old days of buying someone something to avoid the tax are changing. Not disappearing, just getting more difficult.

As Mister Farage recently discovered.

.

 

[NJSS]

Do the bank transfer as you collect the car....lots of my customers do.....its just a few taps on the phone....done. No need to pay in advance just because its a bank transfer.

I agree. I'm super cautious and always do an EFT for a nominal sum, say £1 and ask the recipient to acknowledge receipt by email, when I have that receipt I transfer the balance.

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

I agree. I'm super cautious and always do an EFT for a nominal sum, say £1 and ask the recipient to acknowledge receipt by email, when I have that receipt I transfer the balance.

I do the same although when using the mobile app to make a payment/transfer for the first time, the account number must match the account name, and if it doesn’t match then it doesn’t process the payment.

A grey relief but I still do the £1 trial run for very large payments!

 

[Pontoneer]

This article appeared in Automotive Management today. Personally I think they've got a long way to go just to get the basics right, without setting out new objectives like this. If you had to order through the Mercedes Me app, they'd go bust within a few months.

"Mercedes-Benz has said that 25% of its new car sales transactions will be completed online by 2025 as it develops a “single log-in” digital strategy offering lifestyle, mobility and shopping solutions to owners and non-owners alike.

At a ‘Future of Retail’ conference at the brand’s new dealership in The Hague yesterday (July 18) the German premium brand revealed its plans to drive its online as it grows its online influence to engage a wider range of potential customers and create data-rich leads for its franchised retailers.

Mercedes’ variety of customer touchpoints has been expanded to include temporary pop-up-stores, lifestyle-focussed Mercedes Me stores, events and conferences since a change of strategy in 2013.

Now Britta Seeger, member of the Board of Management of Daimler AG responsible for Mercedes-Benz Cars marketing and sales, has said its time for further diversification in a bid to better merge Mercedes-Benz’s digital and physical retail experiences.

“The world is changing fast and so are the needs, the wishes and the expectations of our customers,” she said.

“Being ‘always on’ is a game-changer which strongly influences our daily lives today and will do so even more so in the future.”

Seeger said that the aim of all future developments by Mercedes-Benz would be that of serving customers’ needs with greater ease “anytime, anywhere” with the use of a “single log-in for the Mercedes Me platform”.

But while Seeger revealed that a quarter of car sales will be fulfilled online within the next six years - in an echo of the comments made to AM by the brand's UK chief executive, Gary Savage, in 2016- she sought to reiterate the “strong relationship” the German premium brand with its 6,500 franchise partners across the globe as it aims to align its online activity.

Attempting to underline this, Seeger said that there were new plans under consideration to further broaden the brand’s physical offering, with a new Mercedes-Benz World environment already being considered for certain markets – particularly larger Asian cities – which would bring retail and lifestyle experiences together with a car showroom in one large complex.

In this month's AM magazine LSH Auto managing director, Martyn Webb, reveals his plans to introduce concessions to his franchises in Stockport and Solihull not only to help the sprawling new facilities meet the financial costs attacthed to their development but to fulfil the role of "transforming the dealership from a sales point to a destination that is a hive of activity".

New-generation CMS

Tanja Wagner, Mercedes-Benz’s head of physical retail experience, explained changes in personnel in the dealership environment and said that retailers would be aiming to shift from a showroom to showcase experience for customers.

At the dealership in The Hague, which opened its doors three months ago, a new CMS system utilises automated numberplate recognition (ANPR) to greet service customers and direct them to drive-in aftersales bays, while front of house Star Assistants lead the front of house operation, channelling unscheduled visitors to the correct department via an iPad-operated CMS, alerting the department to their arrival.

Andreas Hiller, head of customer management and retail network development, revealed how online configurations generated QR codes to deliver in-showroom access to a customer’s choices, while digital signatures allowed sales and aftersales offers to be viewed and agreed in paperless fashion.

A new app being trialled in Hong Kong looks set further streamline the digital experience, though.

The Carshow app will give details of where a similarly configured car might be in the Mercedes-Benz network before providing sat-nav guidance to reach the car – at a specific location in a specific dealership.

Tracking technology then allows the customer to call on a member of dealership staff via the app while they are stood with the vehicle.

Hiller said: “We strongly believe in the human touch and the strong network that we have but we also see online and we see the energy and the power of technology. We strongly believe that we need to combine the two.”

Further helping to combine the two are a series of apps and collaborations now being developed and explored by Mercedes-Benz.

Embracing apps

Marc-Oliver Nandy, head of digitalisation, sales and Mercedes Me, revealed how the brand intends to engage with customers and non-customers online to not only increase its sphere of influence but, no doubt, it’s wealth of potential customer data.

While 90% of owners now engage with the Mercedes Me app which can deliver online booking, service reminders and other assets, the brand is now embarking on an expansion into mobility solutions and online retail.

A Mercedes Me Store app has now been added to the latest MBUX infotainment system, allowing over the airwaves upgrades – to DAB radio or the use of your smartphone as a key, for example.

Now the electric vehicle (EV) specific app delivering sat-nav bespoke routes taking in partner charge points where energy can be paid for via the app has been added to coincide with the launch of the EQC SUV, the brand’s first full-EV.

Meanwhile the Bertha app allows even non-Mercedes owners to visit partner petrol stations and pay for fuel from their smartphone app, Mercedes Me Parking gives a register of available spaces and navigates users to them while also allowing payment.

Similarly an under-trial car sharing app allows multiple users to have access to a single car, a special key being left in the vehicle as users can request and schedule periods of usage and gain access to the vehicle via their smartphone.

Nandy said: “Already we have partnerships with Yelp and TripAdvisor and the potential for collaboration for apps and in-car solutions is endless, really.

“From a car wash services, delivery services, even a dry cleaning service which could deposit washed and ironed clothes in your parked car. The possibilities are endless.”

OEM turned online ‘influencer’

The advantages of further online engagement are clear for Mercedes-Benz, allowing it to add contact points and learn more about potential customers’ habits and behaviour.

It’s a trend that the brand started with the opening of its first temporary pop-up store in Warsaw back in 2013. It has since rolled the concept out into 20 countries globally.

Meanwhile, Mercedes Me stores focus more on events, with a focus on exceptional gastronomy, in a bid to engage customers with the brand through other platforms and Mercedes Me Conventions have followed, with the next due to take place at the Frankfurt Motor Show later this year.

Mercedes-Benz has also sought to target female customers specifically with a ‘She’s Mercedes’ concept offering an app and customer events. To date, Seeger said, the concept has been made active in 65 markets, attracting 20,000 members.

“In China alone 6,000 women took part in She’s Mercedes events last year,” she said.

The effects have been marked, coinciding with a growth in global in sales volumes for the premium carmaker.

Seeger said that every second driver of a Mercedes-Benz in the compact sector previously drove a competitor vehicle, with 60% of A-Class customers in Europe considered as conquests.

She added: “In China, the average A-Class owner is aged 35.”

While its renewed focus on mobility and online lead generation is clear, it seems Mercedes-Benz could be well on its way to becoming an online ‘influencer’ in its bid to draw new, young and tech-savvy customers into its retail environment.

I will never buy a car without a test drive first .

 

[Dryce]

I will never buy a car without a test drive first .

I've made the comment before - but when I spoke to a BMW dealer a few years ago I was told that maybe 25% of customers actually did a test drive.

That figure surprised me.

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

I've made the comment before - but when I spoke to a BMW dealer a few years ago I was told that maybe 25% of customers actually did a test drive.

That figure surprised me.

Some of those who don't may have test driven a car at a different dealership I guess. Also when buying new, people worry less because there’s three years or more of the manufacturers warranty to protect them from issues, and they have already decided that the car is the one they want.



I’m all up for buying online. With relatively few exceptions, when I enquired about mainstream cars - from a dealer which I didn’t have a relationship with - almost always resulted in me being ignored or much much worse. It doesn’t happen any more but when I was young it happened all time.

It’s also one of the reasons we’ve had so many Mercedes, because the other contenders when buying our first three Mercedes were all from the same rival brand. The service was always absolutely shocking and so we chose Mercedes each time, and the rest is history. It could have gone the other way had they even been average!

In 2014 i had a new car on a personal lease, and the experience was brilliant. I emailed two brokers for their best deal - one was slightly less expensive (monthly), but I liked the response more from the other. I replied to the more expensive broker saying if they could match the monthly price then send me the paperwork.

Deal done in probably 100 written words across 3 emails, including the one I didn't proceed with. Not one conversation. Not one test drive. It was delivered by a main dealer delivery driver. I took him to the station which was a 20 minute round trip, which was more than the time spent in total from enquiry to delivery!

Slightly extreme, but it was my one and only Audi, and every previous visit to an Audi dealer was awfully, either rude or ignored. I dislike few things in life but being treated differently when arriving in different cars is one of the most

 

[Darrell]

Deal done in probably 100 written words across 3 emails, including the one I didn't proceed with. Not one conversation. Not one test drive. It was delivered by a main dealer delivery driver. I took him to the station which was a 20 minute round trip, which was more than the time spent in total from enquiry to delivery!

Perfect way to buy a car if you ask me.

No farting about driving to dealers, listening to their tosh and drinking kak coffee.