- ŠKODA consultant assists customers live via video telephony in a real exhibition space, presenting ŠKODA models on the screen
- First digital showroom to combine customer experience in a car showroom with the strengths of online car searches
- The ŠKODA SUPERB and ŠKODA KODIAQ showcase the brand’s digital dealership in Spain
Mladá Boleslav/Madrid, 25 January 2017 – ŠKODA has opened their first digital showroom. Internet users can now experience a virtual ŠKODA showroom on their own computer, tablet or smartphone – almost as though they were in a real car dealership. Via video telephony, the ŠKODA consultant takes customers into the showroom and introduces the ŠKODA models live. If a customer has specific questions, such as the operation of the infotainment system, the consultant shows them how the cockpit works – thanks to mobile cameras, customers are close to the action. ŠKODA is launching the Digital Showroom as a pilot project in Spain.
“We have linked the live customer experience in a car showroom with the advantages of digital presentation, and we now introduce ŠKODA’s first digital showroom,” says Werner Eichhorn, ŠKODA Board Member for Sales and Marketing. “The consultant in the digital showroom becomes the customers’ eyes and ears. We open up a dialogue with future customers in their usual digital environment and encourage them to visit a ŠKODA dealership and test drive our models in person.”
ŠKODA has created a new brand experience, bringing customers and ŠKODA partners closer together: On the Spanish ŠKODA website www.skoda.es, prospective customers now have the possibility of engaging in an online a consultation with ŠKODA experts and experiencing the brand’s latest models live on their computer screens, tablets or smartphones. A simple button on the homepage allows users to call a hotline, request an immediate call back or arrange a convenient appointment.
The conversation is conducted via video telephony. The expert takes the caller live into an exhibition space with current ŠKODA models. Twelve stationary and four mobile cameras show vehicles from different perspectives. The consultant can present the exterior and interior of the vehicle, demonstrate ‘Simply Clever’ features, explain details such as the infotainment-system menu, and answer specific questions. If the potential buyer is interested in the boot, the customer consultant can take them to the rear by mobile camera and demonstrate the loading space live.
During the conversation in the virtual showroom, the advisor can assist the customer in the online configuration of their desired vehicle and the search for a local dealership. The ŠKODA expert can also arrange an appointment for a test drive in person. The customer can input text via a chat window, for example, to confirm their name, address or payment details for an ordering process. In addition, files can be transferred – for example, a vehicle configuration that has already been prepared in advance.
The top model ŠKODA SUPERB and the new ŠKODA KODIAQ are ready for live presentation in the first digital showroom. This gives users an exciting preview of the brand’s first large SUV. The ŠKODA consultant can present the KODIAQ to customers in detail, and will carry out the configuration and ordering process with them directly.
Alongside enhancing the virtual brand experience, ŠKODA is currently completing the customer-friendly optimization of the car dealerships worldwide. The traditional Czech brand has almost 3200 dealerships around the world – more than 75% of which feature the new corporate identity design at the beginning of 2017. Customers are greeted by the fresh brand appearance in the modernized car dealerships. The new showroom concept focuses on personal, direct and open communication with customers.
