The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in companies across all sectors adopting digital technologies to enable business to continue and minimise face-to-face interactions to safeguard customers.

Beyond addressing these needs, digital technology developments are creating an opportunity to innovate the service model and traditional ways in which processes are done. Tech companies in all sectors are evolving to ensure safe and convenient transactions for consumers. Now is the time for competitive investors and companies to become highly responsive in their evaluation and use of digital technologies.

One such tech offering that is looking to grow, while capitalising on newer technology to enable its partners and customers to get better results is Motomatch. This tech-first online vehicle sales platform is the next generation in automotive sales tech. While first generation classified digital platforms allow consumers to view cars that they are interested in buying which have been around for many years in South Africa and internationally, Motomatch is the next generation online car offering. The platform allows consumers to offer their vehicles for sale to the dealer network and if required, source a replacement car that they are interested in, all the while providing multiple pricing for both cars.

This means a lot less work for the consumer at no cost. Car buyers are only matched with reputable dealers, nullifying the chance of experiencing threats such as scammers or car thieves for instance, and protecting the seller from non-approved buyers. The tech offering will soon launch new features including ‘Rent to Buy’, aftermarket warranties and vehicle refinance options.

“Ultimately, Motomatch has the most effective sales conversion ratio when compared to competing digital platforms, because these rival platforms sell views, clicks and impressions, as opposed to offering a service that allows dealers to start trading immediately and 24/7 using any mobile computing device (desktop PCs, laptops, smartphones or tablets),” says Dov Stern, director of Motomatch.

Helping to ensure business continuity for dealers

Dealers are able to tap into the power of the platform to extend the footprint and customer reach of their dealership countrywide. Motomatch is an extension of the dealership, bringing consumers who either wish to sell or buy cars continuously – it’s the digital sourcing and sales department on demand.

This is paramount since the local retail motor industry has not been immune to the wave of change brought about by the viral crisis and local economic downturn, with car dealers getting to grips with the 'new normal' as well as a very difficult trading period, most notably during alert Levels 5 and 4 of the national lockdown.

These difficulties that includes a significant reduction in vehicle sales, car servicing and parts sales has emanated in counter measures such as right-sizing and much stricter financial controls over the course of the last few months.

“From a cost point of view, it's really a no-brainer for any dealer. The platform allows dealerships to sell a car, with every other transaction being pure profit and no limitations being place on the amount of deals they can make,” says Stern.

Adding that; “Our platform is very cost effective for dealers and provides them with the opportunity to sell their stock and buy in stock. Thanks to its ability to auto scale, we are able to onboard dealers without delay and there is no limitation to the number of dealers that can be added to the platform. In addition, we can onboard them at any time and our payment gateway enables dealers to sign themselves up digitally within minutes, and benefit from online training as well as the assistance of our excellent support team if and when needed.”

A platform that prioritises privacy and security 

The Motomatch platform is secure and ensures that the privacy of users is safeguarded. All personal details of customers remain private, and are only shared with dealerships once the customer selects specific dealer/s to communicate with. Additional security measures include auto-blurred vehicle license plates to protect the customer’s privacy. 

The Motomatch platform is constantly integrating new technology trends and technologies in order to offer and adapt to the latest global communications platforms such as WhatsApp and instant on-site messaging for instance, to facilitate ease of communication between dealers and car buyers. In fact, the company has seen that their users prefer the instantaneous nature of the tech that allows immediate conversations - without an old-fashioned phone call. Instant chat has become the norm in the growing expectation for immediate service, in fact Motomatch statistics reveal that 80% of customers prefer to use online chat platforms as the first line of communication.

No other platforms offer the same service - MotoMatch fundamentally changes the car buying /and selling journey for customers in the digital era, making it convenient, secure and simple. Rather than being a chore involving trips to multiple dealers, the power of the platform, which can be applied to any kind of service and industry, allows those actions to be done quicker, at any time, using any mobile device, and in a secure, convenient way.