2015 has come and gone and “like that” we are into 2016, and it certainly has been a rocky start to the year with the Rand landslide continuing off the back of #Nenegate, global financial markets in disarray, drought throughout the country and the chaos caused by the mysterious #Zumamustfall banner that was recently erected in Cape Town. It most certainly has started 2016 off with a bang.

We wrapped up at end of last year with a successful partners conference, in which we discussed the key releases completed in 2015, all 21 of them, and received really great feedback on the direction of the product. We had a superb session, held by Donald Christy, unpacking how to operate a motor business in the current economic climate and also touched on what 2016 will hold, which is, continued focus on the “Pinnacle Customer Journey”.

This emphasis is most certainly aligning to where dealerships need to place focus, given the current state of the economy and the new car market experiencing continued declines year-on-year. This left 2015 sales with a 4.1% decrease, and a projected further decrease of 3% for 2016. Given this, there most certainly needs to be a strategic focus on the aftersales business to ensure your current customers keep returning to your dealership. If the customer relationship is maintained you will ensure that when new cars pick up again they haven’t moved onto “greener pastures”.

Our strategic focus at Pinewood SA in 2016, is assisting customers in realising the enormous benefits of a strong aftersales process and ensuring that all these areas are fully utilised within Pinnacle. If this is done correctly we have no doubt that your customers will be wow’ed, and will remain loyal to your dealership.

We wish you all the best as you navigate your way through 2016, and keep in touch with where you are wanting to place the focus in your business.

Kind Regards

Julie Caldicott