When you enter the showroom of Bilservice's car dealership, which is a stone's throw from the pier in Tønsberg, there is one striking thing that sets the car shop apart from others.
In the showroom, there are a total of 14 smart screens from Short Shift, which give customers access to all imaginable information about the vehicles Bilservice sells.
- We saw the benefit very early on, and we understood that this could help us work smarter and more efficiently, says Frank Gjersøe, sales manager at the new car center at Bilservice Tønsberg.
The screens have different functionality and are placed in carefully selected places in the showroom, according to the intended area of use. Next to each car on display there is a screen with information about the specific car, updated prices and financing options.
One screen stands in the middle of the room, where customers can explore the entire selection from Volvo. At the service desk there is a screen with an overview of all the used cars the Bilservice group has available for sale.
Gjersøe's colleague Tom Petter Hatlestad, who is a Volvo salesman, believes the screens make customers feel better looked after.
- If we have several customers in the store at the same time, they don't have to stand and wait. They can use the screens to find the information they need. We can go between the customers a bit instead of having to guide them through the whole process. Many people also like to do a bit of research themselves first, and then we can help them further when they need it, says Hatlestad.
With the screens, the sellers have also have their own assistant, he says.
- We get all kinds of questions about the cars, and it is impossible for us to know everything. But with the screens, we have all the information available at the car, says Hatlestad.
Writing an offer used to be a rather cumbersome process, where the sales person had to bring the customer into the office to make an offer on the PC. Now Hatlestad can build the car on the screen, together with the customers.
- The price is always up in the right-hand corner, so it comes as no surprise when we have added the equipment the customer wants. It will be a much more open and dynamic sales process. The customer sees how much the additional equipment costs, and then we make choices based on what the customer wants to use, says Hatlestad.
- The technology enables us to find a solution that meets the customer's needs and budget more quickly. We print fewer offers now than before, but we don't sell any less. We have become better at hitting the mark with the offers we make, says Gjersøe.
If you have worked in the car industry, you know how much time it takes to update prices and promotions. With the screens from Short Shift, this is much more efficient.
- It has always been a struggle to have updated prices for the cars in the shop. Now all prices are updated automatically - on the screens, but also on Bilservices' websites, says Hatlestad.
- All campaign planning takes place via the same Short Shift platform for all of Bilservice, which ensures that we communicate the same to all customers - regardless of whether the customer visits Bilservice in Tønsberg, Sandefjord, Larvik, Kongsberg, Holmestrand or Notodden. This has been very time-consuming in the past. Now it's done with a few clicks, says Gjersøe.
In Stoltenbergsgate 54 in Tønsberg, where Bilservice has sold cars since 1961, there are often several customers stopping by at the same time. Most people approach the sellers, while others want to walk around a bit on their own, look at the cars and explore the displays.
- The screens are used extensively, which says a lot about their value. The system is simple and intuitive that it invites use. If you've used a smartphone, you automatically understand what to do - regardless of whether you're young or old, says Gjersøe.
With a twinkle in his eye, he refers to 59-year-old Hatlestad as "the young, promising one", as he is by far the youngest salesperson at the new car centre.
- We are an adult group of salespeople here, so age is no limitation to being able to benefit from this technology, says Gjersøe.