In a brand new series of monthly Executive Views, Keyloop’s Jacqui Barker – a one-time work colleague of the Automotive Management team and last yr’s winner of the Barbara Cox Woman of the 12 months trophy for uplifting automotive women – will share her thoughts on the changing dynamics in motor retail, from technology’s influence to the vital evolution of its workforce.
I’m truly honoured to be asked to contribute a monthly column for AM Online, as I began my profession with its publisher, Bauer, once I was just 20. The 20 years that followed included working with a raft of automotive magazine brands, events, launches, research and insight, and the early world of automotive web sites. I used to be hugely interested in what the digital space could hold for the industry; that very same wonder motivates me today.
In that point, I had three boys in three different schools, so I arrange a consultancy to assist manage the load and balance. I freelanced my way through AutoTrader, iVendi, and Summit (now Drivvn), working with OEMs to assist them first understand online consumer behaviour, then create a media strategy and develop the tools and capabilities to grow in a newly digital world.
Three years ago, I joined the worldwide alliances division at Keyloop to run the OEM team and it immediately brought a fresh appreciation for the brand new world that technology unlocks. Recently, my work with our strategy team has incorporated brand outreach as our global evangelist at industry events and thru social channels.
Technology connects an enormous ecosystem – unique to each OEM and market, while the retail sector adds a wholly latest layer of complexity and is plagued by point solutions. As an industry, we will leverage technology to make our lives a lot easier.
It appears like we now have been poised on the sting of transformation without end, but at the identical time, the shortcoming to alter has hampered our progression.
I personally don’t think we’d like to make seismic shifts. Agile development is the important thing lesson we will take from technology – and it began in Silicon Valley.
Amazon began selling books from storage facilities; now, it’s leading the best way in e-commerce, AI, logistics, and robotic distribution. That transformation took one million steps not one leap.
Harnessing AI can speed up your operations and drive efficiencies in an unlimited number of how. Generative AI has been developed to learn and evolve continually to alleviate a few of the more laborious tasks on the to-do list; I personally am a fan!
Fortunately for me, my job doesn’t require me to develop products or know how one can code, but it surely does require a curious approach to work with global OEMs, NSCs and retailers to grasp what they’re trying to attain, having the power to grasp and translate what technology is able to and how one can connect the dots. We’re capable of help our customers ensure data is in the suitable place, at the suitable time to make their business more profitable.
Perhaps the largest lesson for me once I joined the team at AutoTrader got here after they closed the print edition. The publishers took a pointy intake of breath. The writing was on the wall: Why trawl through classified listings in teeny font when you’ll be able to browse in full color with filters to only show stock you really need to have a look at? Wow! The birth of consumer-first automotive browsing?
With the addition of AI and the potential of stocking with intelligence based on aggregated data, you’ll be able to market what consumers are really searching for.
Tesco were pioneers of this artform, using tools to trace what sells and stocking accordingly, and now all supermarkets reward loyalty with a reduction on the till, providing you share your precious data.
As humans we now have every opportunity to harness technology to enhance the best way we live and work, we just must know where to begin after which what to do next. The automotive industry is not any different.
This column will hopefully give food for thought to and empower you to think otherwise about technology – how it might unlock opportunity, greatly improve customer experience, enable greater efficiency and ultimately, make it easier so that you can run your small business.
Innovation largely comes out of what feels broken, ask yourself what would make this process higher if you do just about anything, especially if the suboptimal process or task feels clunky.
Meeting Automotive Management’s editor Tim Rose to explore column ideas felt like coming back to go to family; the values of the team at AM have remained as strong as ever, and the aim of trade media has at all times been to assist readers do their jobs. I share that value. Having spent the last 10 years navigating digital, from media marketplaces to early ecommerce, and now effortlessly automating previously arduous tasks, writing for the publisher where I began appears like I’ve come full circle.
My passion for automotive stays as strong as ever. This industry has given me the chance to carve a profession of continual learning and a community that has grow to be a significant a part of my life.
Technology is probably the most exciting place to be right away and the innovation that this industry is generating means each day really is a college day, but don’t worry I’m doing the homework for you!
Next month, I’ll be delving into ‘Tech Speak’ - you don’t must know how one can code to innovate – you only need to grasp where to begin. Within the meantime, please don’t hesitate to follow me on Linkedin, where I’ll be sharing updates from our team on the bottom at NADA this month and the newest innovations from the Toronto Auto Show in February.
Writer: Jacqui Barker, global OEM strategy director, Keyloop
This Article First Appeared At www.am-online.com
