Navigating the 2023 Economic and Political Landscape

Navigating the 2023 Economic and Political Landscape: 

A Vision from anycolourcar.com's CEO, Jonathan Seaman

In the ever-changing world of the automotive industry, we find ourselves navigating uncertain economic and political waters in 2023. It's a time when a myriad of factors, from interest rate hikes to soaring inflation, energy cost fluctuations, and softening bonuses, are collectively impacting consumer confidence and purchasing power. It's undeniable that people are feeling the pinch, and the media only seems to amplify these concerns, leaving many in a state of financial apprehension.

For AnyColourCar.com, this complex environment has presented both challenges and opportunities, allowing us to adapt and respond in a way that caters to the diverse needs of our customers. Whether they're feeling the immediate squeeze or are concerned about impending financial hardships, we've made it our mission to provide support and solutions that align with their unique situations.

One notable development on our horizon is our proactive stance in preparing for the electric vehicle (EV) and autonomous vehicle (AV) era. As a forward-thinking car dealership, we've taken steps to embrace this transformative future. Notably, we've installed an electric charging point and actively invest in electric vehicles. However, our commitment goes beyond simply having EVs on the lot.

What sets us apart is our team's exceptional knowledge of EVs. We're not here to push electric cars on every customer. Instead, we offer genuine advice based on real-life range, the pros, and cons, ensuring that an EV suits their lifestyle. Our goal is to be a trusted resource, akin to what you'd expect from a Tesla showroom. The difference? We won't hesitate to suggest an alternative if we genuinely believe it's the better fit for the customer.

In these challenging times, the peace of mind is priceless. Every vehicle that leaves our dealership is meticulously serviced, comes with fitted mats, both keys, and undergoes a rigorous inspection to meet high standards. For extra assurance, we provide a complimentary 6-month warranty. Yet, we've gone a step further to make sure our customers know that we genuinely care about them and their vehicles. We've dedicated a full-time Customer Care Executive to cater to their post-purchase needs, ensuring they always have someone they can turn to.

Our approach to sales is centered around facilitating an online journey rather than imposing an online-to-offline model. Our showroom and sales team complement our website by providing advice, assistance, and support, whether in person or remotely. Before customers make any decisions, we create comprehensive "warts and all" videos, so they can see every detail of the vehicle, leaving them in control without the pressures of a traditional showroom setting.

We empower our customers with access to our finance and funding packages, encouraging them to use our calculator on their devices, either in our showroom or remotely. We're here to explain the options and products, only stepping in if we believe they might be making a less-than-ideal financial choice.

Our pricing strategy has evolved as well, and it has impacted our expected chassis margin. We've become more aggressive in our pricing, benchmarking it against Autotrader data, which indicates we are pricing approximately 3% lower than the same time last year. It's important to note that overall car prices have naturally decreased, making our vehicles appear significantly better value to our customers.

In summary, AnyColourCar.com is navigating these challenging market conditions with confidence. We believe that with high-quality products, competitive pricing, and rigorous preparation, we can not only attract but likely exceed our fair share of customers. Our service-first approach to sales, paired with a genuine commitment to long-term customer relations, caters to both those feeling immediate financial constraints and those who anticipate future economic turbulence.

While the current market may be less profitable and more demanding, we're steadfast in maintaining our sales levels, building enduring customer relationships, and strengthening our brand. We acknowledge that a buoyant market with high demand would be ideal, but reality dictates otherwise. However, we're taking a positive approach, providing far greater value than we ever could during more prosperous times, and enhancing our sales and after-sales experiences.