Challenge
As a dealership prioritizing payment transparency and an exceptional customer experience, Mark Miller Subaru sought a partner to provide a seamless transition between the online and in-store shopping experience and eliminate double entry for good.
Solution
After learning that Upstart Auto Retail was a certified provider of the Subaru Certified Digital Program and visiting their booth at NADA, the team was impressed with Upstart’s full integration with its CRM and RouteOne since its previous solution lacked this integration.
Additionally, Upstart’s end-to-end, connected retailing experience would enable customers to start their car-buying journey online and pick up where they left off in the dealership, removing the need for duplicate entry and saving time for all parties involved.
Results
Streamlined sales process
With the “Express Delivery” process, customers can book an appointment online and finish the car-buying process in-store in under an hour
Increase in pre-sold products
Upstart Auto Retail has led to an uptick in pre-sold products, including warranties, before customers even enter the finance office
Improved CSI scores
Mark Miller has seen a 3-4 point increase in CSI scores
Streamlined sales process
Mark Miller first launched with Online Retail, quickly followed
by the In-Store Digital Retail solution in two of its dealerships. To onboard its team, leadership introduced the Upstart Auto Retail platform over a period of 6-8 weeks to get their sales teams comfortable with the tool. Now the sales team is “entirely self-propelled,” according to Alex Kuhn, sales manager at
Mark Miller Subaru.
As a sales manager, Kuhn can simply AirDrop forms to the sales associate’s iPad, simplifying the process. “Not only can we improve transparency with the customer, but we’re very environmentally conscious, so going paperless was a big deal for us,” Kuhn said.
“We love the experience that Apple gives to people, and we did a lot of research about how we can emulate that experience for our customers,” said Kuhn. “With Upstart Auto Retail, we’ve improved the customer experience via the iPad and eliminated paperwork.”
Mark Miller has also introduced a process called “Express Delivery,” where the dealership sends the deal to the customer at home
to fill out their credit application directly online. From there, the dealership can AirDrop the deal structure and have the sales team load this into their DMS tool. Once this is completed, the salesperson sends out a Calendly link to allow the customer to digitally book an appointment, and customers can come into
the store at their designated time to complete the process in under an hour.
Increase in pre-sold products
Roger Parkin, General Sales Manager, explained that Upstart Auto Retail has also led to an uptick in pre-sold products, including warranties, before customers even enter the finance office.
Though inventory shortages have carried over from late 2022 to early 2023, Kuhn is optimistic that the Upstart platform will further increase profitability when inventory improves.
Improved CSI scores
Kuhn added that the Upstart launch has also led to an increase in customer satisfaction scores and positive surveys. Since launching with Upstart, Mark Miller has seen a 3-4 point increase in CSI scores.
Looking ahead, Mark Miller Subaru is opening a new position called Senior Product Specialist, who will serve as a single point of contact for the customer throughout the entire car-buying journey.
Download the full Mark Miller Subaru case study
