Empathetic Ears: The Power of Listening to Your Customers

The First Pencil

Car prices are coming down and dealers’ vehicle supply is going up. The problem now is that loans are harder to come by. Millennials and Gen Z can’t afford their car loans and it seems to be getting worse.
Delinquency rates on auto loans are hitting record highs: in May 2023, the number of severe delinquencies matched that of 2006, when Cox Automotive first started tracking these. All of this will cause major shifts in the way we’ve been doing business for the last 10+ years. Kathi and Mike provide insights and share the opportunities they see coming.
As operations change, the one constant is customer experience. It’s what will differentiate you from “just another car dealership.” Everything old is new again. Carl Sewell said in his book, “Customers for Life”: “Find out what the customer wants and give it to ‘em.” Kathi shares a story that illustrates the importance of listening to the customer.

Here’s the Automotive News article on Autonation’s Q2 results.

Here’s more info on auto loan delinquencies.

In our music segment:

Jack White purchased the first Elvis recording at Sun Records. Here’s his Instagram post about it.

Dogstar at The Roxy this week (features Keanu Reeves on bass). Videos thanks to Pamela Chelin, writer for Billboard, Spin, LA Times and more. Follow her on Twitter @PamelaChelin

Dogstar Video one

Dogstar Video two

Lollapalooza 1991 (the first one was in Tempe, AZ but then it came to Irvine Meadows in So Cal)

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