Data Redefined - 4 Vehicle Descriptions

Data redefined

Data sloshes through dealerships like rainfall in February but you get out what you put in and when it comes to vehicle descriptions, it is often consumer-unfriendly manufacturer jargon and acronyms. By collating vehicle specification information from a variety of sources and overlaying our own data, our integration platform ViHUB turns industry verbiage into appealing would-be buyer descriptions. In the fourth of our redefining data series, we look at how the magic happens.

Description as an art form

Wrong spec, poor wording or overlooked features mean some vehicle descriptions don’t sell the car eroding profit margins and contributing to overage stock issues.

Within each single vehicle data source there is a vast amount of inconsistency even between model descriptions. Reliance on industry acronyms or manual input when staff insert their own information, often because the detail is missing, can lead to inconsistency, errors and clichés. In turn, vehicle price is usually impacted. Retail too high and it remains unsold, too low and profit is lost.

Car buyers want to know how a vehicle suits their lifestyle, yet the automotive retail sector is relatively poorly set up to deliver the detail consumers demand when searching for their next vehicle online, so they simply move onto a car with easy-to-understand information. Vehicle descriptions can be further impacted when dealers include description about their own business diverting focus from the vehicle at a crucial point.

OEMs overcome the issue of individual dealer level input with pre-filled fields for selection which solves the problem but is often limiting. The DMS provides limited vehicle description since it’s essentially an asset tracker and financial information source. Even the key vehicle data providers often do not use consumer terminology whilst data input processes can vary from one system to another resulting in different descriptive and uploading methods. For example, information such as fuel type or number of doors will be incorporated in the description of the model making it more difficult for consumers to find.

Reliance on a single vehicle data source will tick the box but is unlikely to deliver compelling detail. The best quality vehicle data requires information to be pooled from multiple sources, which is then enhanced and standardised to provide consumer-friendly full specification including highlighting extras and attractive features.

Consistent and consumer-friendly vehicle descriptors is an automated ViHUB task which avoids human error and inaccurate information appearing in online marketplaces. ViHUB Insight clears up the inconsistencies and automates the vehicle description process eliminating mistakes and avoiding individual input.

ViHUB collates, sorts and applies ‘rules’ as laid down by the dealer automatically. Staff time isn’t used up creating detailed descriptions whilst spelling mistakes, missing vital features and inputting wrong information is eliminated.

ViHUB extracts information from different data sets moving details into more appropriate fields to produce consumer friendly vehicle description. Rules agreed with the dealer are imposed so the process is automated each time a vehicle comes into stock and is uploaded onto marketing channels.

A single amend made at the dealership is fed through to all integrated systems including online classifieds such as dealer and manufacturer websites, Auto Trader and Carwow.

Following Autofinity’s dashboard update, its new ViHUB Insights portal makes vehicle description, alongside other salient information, immediately visible and easily accessible to dealership staff, managers and senior leaders.

Autofinity is redefining data – how it’s collated, how it’s presented and how it drives dealership action. Talk to us today about how we create one portal where all your systems come together and work in harmony.