“Kiosk” is a word that the F&I industry doesn’t like to use. But while it conjures up old-fashioned ideas of a self-serve style station in the middle of a busy showroom floor, expecting consumers to help themselves to F&I, that is not what today’s F&I kiosk setup looks like.
Today’s F&I managers, agents and providers are all seeking better ways to engage consumers. An engaged consumer is more relaxed, doesn’t see F&I as an “enemy” that must be conquered, and, in the end, is more likely to purchase products. They are more open to the benefits and how it will help them, and the dealer, agents and providers see a rise in profits. But none of that can happen without first breaking the engagement barrier.
There is no shortage of ideas in the industry for ways to do this, and there are many excellent options available. But between the traditional presentation – with either a piece of paper or an F&I manager sitting behind a desk – and the newer tablet technologies, there lies an alternative that has the capability to bring the best of both worlds together.
Rather than refer to the self-serve stations of yesterday, today’s kiosk setups are more of a hybrid form of presentation. They still bring the consumer back to the F&I office and away from the distractions of the sales floor. But rather than lead with an “us versus them” setup, with F&I across the desk from the consumer, these kiosks foster conversation. They are, generally, either a single, large touch screen that the F&I manager and consumer interact with together, or, in some cases, they are a dual-screen setup, with everyone able to look at, and interact with, the same information.
“The consumer can touch it, see it, feel it,” said Jim Maxim Jr., president and CEO, MaximTrak. “It engages the customer, and drives them into the presentation where they can click on things, get into the presentation, ask questions, get pricing. It brings a level of credibility and professionalism that wasn’t in the F&I office before, and takes the menu and makes it alive. It engages the customer in a way that a paper menu cannot.”
Erick Woods, president, MenuSys LLC, noted that the greater engagement from using touchscreen setups in F&I adds to the bottom line. His pilot store, which has been using F&I touchscreens for a year now, has seen an increase in PVR of 66%. “He says he owes it all to the menus and presentations we offer,” Woods said.
In general, Woods believes the average store will see an increase of about 20% in their rates, versus the traditional paper menu system; he hasn’t tracked the performance versus iPad selling, but he said that he sees several problems with iPads. One being the cost – a basic iPad costs about two thirds more than a touchscreen monitor for a computer in today’s market – as well as the costs associated with having such portable items either walk out the door, or get dropped or broken. Another issue he sees in the iPad is the size – 9.7 inches versus a 20- or 22-inch monitor. “it’s a tiny screen,” he said, “and do you want to be reaching into the finance manager’s hand and be touching things? No – so it’s still finance manager controlled, but when you turn the big screen toward them and invite them to touch things, there you go - winner every time.”
“The dirty little secret is that customers hate F&I,” said Mark Thorpe, president, The Impact Group. “They absolutely abhor the experience; and we’re all prisoners of past experience.” The push to find new ways to present products, he noted, is in response to that paradigm. “It seems to be a final recognition by tech producers that customers just don’t respond well to the paper menu. They don’t mind buying, but they don’t want to feel like they’re being sold something.”
The key, Thorpe noted, is to stop using a system that doesn’t work – paper menus – and find one that customers will respond to. Like Woods, Thorpe doesn’t necessarily see tablets as being the answer – he believes they are a great place to start, to gather information, but for making presentations, there just isn’t the screen real estate necessary to make it natural and comfortable for both the F&I manager and the customer.
For Maxim, it doesn’t matter if it is tablet-sized technology, or large touchscreens, he sees the benefits as being the same. “The value in the equation is frankly in the presentation to the consumer. It’s real, and tangible to them. I like the touchscreen, it’s why I like the tablets; the customer can touch it, and it’s a more interactive presentation, engaging them. A concept like that with the large screen is just as valid as a tablet.”
“You can customize packages based on what the customer wants,” said Woods, noting that this type of technology allows F&I mangers to drag and drop products between columns, creating a custom package that will appeal to that customer, specifically. “You’re letting the customer touch the screen, poke around and learn more about the products. It forces them to take ownership of the decision; if they’re declining it, it’s because they’re taking ownership of it. It makes them think more about what they’re doing.”
“We learned a long time ago that what the customer didn’t like was the business manager on one side of the desk and them on the other, using the computer almost as a weapon,” said Thorpe. “We put them all on the same side of the desk, in more of a shared experience, and use the tech as the third party, so they’re all interacting with it together. The customer didn’t feel as threatened by the financial person, and saw them more as an advisor. We got more consistent information out on products to our clients, and the customer felt more empowered along the way as part of the discovery process. It didn’t come across as trying to push them into a product sale, and eliminated the possibility of the customer becoming overwhelmed.”
In the end, whatever the technology used or terminology used to classify it, the end game is to fundamentally change the way F&I managers and consumers interact. Technology is helping to bridge the barrier that formed between them, and create an atmosphere where consumers feel empowered to buy, which leads to F&I managers selling more. It’s taking the menu to the next level.
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