Cars, motorbikes and light vans due an MOT between March 30 and July 31 last year were all eligible for a six-month extension due to the nationwide lockdown – and, according to research from the AA, 5.5 million drivers are estimated to have taken up the offer.
Anyone taking advantage of the extension from March 31 will have deferred their annual MOT date to a point during the six-month period fromSeptember 2020.
How many dealer databases currently reflect these deferrals– and why is this important?
Revenue generation
MOT dates on vehicle records play a key role in triggering campaigns that can provide a vital revenue stream for automotive retailers –giving them the chance to communicate with customers in plenty of time to book in an upcoming MOT and service in their workshop.
However, given the volume of administrative tasks in a modern dealership it can be difficult to find the time and manpower to keep all vehicle records up to date – especially when they can run into tens or hundreds of thousands.
This has only been amplified in recent times – leaving a significant challenge for dealers to review and correct outdated records.
Automation to the rescue
Thankfully, our Digital MOT Assistants provide an affordable, efficient and scalable solution that can quickly transform data quality and then help maintain that gold standard.
All of our Digital Assistants are powered by robotic process automation (RPA). RPA robots are software robots that run on computers and mimic the actions a human would take to complete the same task.
In this instance, the robot will automatically log into the DVLA database, capture the correct info and then log in to the DMS to update missing or incorrect data accordingly. It can batch fix in bulk and then continue checking records on a daily basis.
By checking MOT data in this way, dealers can ensure that any date errors are rectified and that reminder communications are as accurate and timely as possible.
Turbocharged automation
And, when it comes to those reminder communications, we can take automation a stage further - combining RPA with artificial intelligence to generate a stream of workshop bookings without any human intervention.
How does it work?
Well, once the MOT data has been cleansed, our robots can send information to a secure AI-powered email platform which will initiate personalised back and forth email conversations with customers at an agreed timeframe.
To the customer it will look like they are receiving friendly, accurate and timely communications from a real Service Advisor at the dealership when, in actual fact, the whole process will be automated – powered by intelligent robots.
The AI system manages all ongoing communications with the customer until they are booked into the workshop. Service Managers can track every stage of the process and key personnel will receive automatic notifications as workshop bookings are confirmed.
Transparency, reliability and relentless accuracy – that’s the power of automotive automation.
For more information about how our robots can transform productivity and profits at your dealership, email enquiries@ai-assistant.co.uk or call +44 (0) 1488 757447.
