Auto tech expert: Building a marketplace for 30M monthly car shoppers

Welcome to another episode of the Car Dealership Guy Podcast.

On today’s episode, Matthew Crawford, Chief Product and Innovation Officer at Cars.com joins the show to share insights into how he solves problems for consumers and how dealers can improve their shopping experience while expanding their online presence.

You can stream the full episode now on YouTube, Spotify, or Apple.

1. Joining Cars.com.

Since a young age, Matthew remembers loving to solve complicated problems. As a result, his career has taken him through many industries and business levels, all the way from tech startups to publicly traded companies. He joined Cars.com to continue following his passion for problem-solving and out of appreciation for the automotive industry, which he says he has come to love. Since coming on board, Cars.com has come to see roughly 30 million visitors on a monthly basis.

2. Growth of choice.

Consumers have more choices in how they engage with the car market than they did before. Matthew believes those options will continue to expand in the future, creating opportunities for buyers and sellers. “The arc of where we’re headed is, if you look at omnichannel commerce…it’s giving consumers choice of how they want to engage, and so that’s going to change in modalities, it’s going to change in capabilities. But really our job is to stay one step ahead of where the consumer is going and then give dealers the tools to do the same thing.” The goal, he adds, is to ensure small, independent retailers can operate as efficiently as larger groups.

3. Merchandising and respect.

From a shopper’s perspective, well-merchandised vehicles are the most important aspect of the car-buying experience. “I know that it sounds so simplistic,” Matthew explains. However, good merchandising is incredibly complex, requiring an accurate representation of inventory, detailed photos, setting appropriate expectations, educating consumers on what they’re actually purchasing, etc. People also want to be treated fairly. For Cars.com, this necessitates ratings and reviews, but for dealers, the requirements extend to treating shoppers on the showroom floor with respect and ensuring consistency between online and in-store prices.

4. The importance of trust.

Trust is also an essential component of a high-quality car buying experience. “Even though the market has kind of rebounded, consumers are extremely price-sensitive right now,” Matthew notes. Everything, from vehicles to groceries, has become more expensive. Since buyers know the market is going to be unaffordable, one of their priorities is trust, both in terms of their car’s reliability and their dealer’s honesty.

DLRdmv - Everyone knows out of state titling is a major headache. It doesn’t have to be this way. Our friends at DLRdmv have created a program called DLR50 - A revolutionary approach to 50 state titling. With DLR50, your dealership now has 24/7 portal access to calculations, pre-filled forms, checklists, inquiries, plus white glove processing and specialist support. You can even acquire duplicate titles in all 50 states directly through the DLR50 platform! Visit www.dlr50.com/ to learn more.

CDG Job Board - Connecting world-class talent with top-notch companies in Automotive. Find your next role—or start hiring today—at CDGJobs.com.

Cars Commerce - The platform to simplify everything about buying and selling cars. Learn more at www.carscommerce.inc.

5. Boosting engagement.

Giving consumers the right experience can help retailers boost online engagement, which is why Cars.com puts a lot of emphasis on ratings and reviews. “We have a thing called a dealer experience report,” Matthew comments. This algorithm tracks a number of variables, such as how shoppers are treated in-store and how long it takes sales staff to greet newcomers. Pricing is also important. Prices that reflect the market dynamics and offer a fair deal help bring more attention to listings. Matthew also urges dealers to list as much of their available inventory as they can. “Consumers are coming to us out of a place of ‘I want you to be the market equalizer,’ so if you’re misrepresenting a piece of the market…then they’re not going to have that trust…”

6. Tout your staff’s experience.

Going more in-depth into this topic, Matthew notes that touting the sales staff’s experience is crucial to improving the customer experience and, thus, a dealership’s reach. “If consumers pick a salesperson at the time that they’re interested in a vehicle, they’re three times more likely to close on that car,” he explains, although he acknowledges that effectively representing a dealership’s salesforce and their expertise on the marketplace can take significant time and investment.

7. AI and consumers.

Artificial intelligence is already changing the way consumers engage with the car market. Matthew expects two paths to form. On the one hand, shoppers who already know what they want and how the process works will likely rely on AI tools less. On the other hand, customers who haven’t shopped for a vehicle before or are too busy to spend time researching will be able to use platforms that select models for their consideration based on their needs and preferences or guide them through the process of buying a vehicle. However, it will take time for this transition to happen, as there are still challenges with implementing AI.

8. Protecting your tech investments.

Investing in the wrong technology can be difficult for a business to recover from, despite the fact that this occurs frequently. Matthew notes that Cars.com is constantly running multiple experiments, all with the goal of figuring out what works and what doesn’t. When these tests don’t work, he notes that it’s essential to pivot as quickly as possible. At the end of the day, customers should guide the car buying experience, and thus the technology behind it.

9. Standardization.

One of the biggest gripes consumers have with modern car buying is how disjointed things can be when transitioning from online to offline shopping. For dealers, this represents a huge opportunity to standardize the entire process and streamline their digital and in-store retail experiences. This will not only help them improve lead retention but will also make it easier to identify problems early on since those issues will be more identifiable.

10. Closing thoughts.

For Matthew, one of the most interesting aspects of the industry is how “auto-centric” the business is. Everything, he explains, is customized to suit the car sector, from technology to processes. This is very different from other industries, where elements from other sectors are implemented as needed. On the other hand, the most exciting aspect of the industry is the number of problems that have yet to be solved. Matthew feels motivated at the opportunity to continue making things easier for consumers and dealers, helping both groups make the best decisions for their interests.

Become an automotive insider in just 5 minutes.

Get the weekly email that delivers transparent insights into the car market.

Join 74,000 others now, it's free:

Interested in advertising with Car Dealership Guy? Drop us a line here.

Want to be considered as a guest on the podcast? Add your name here.