FADA, ASDC Collaborate With Google To Digitise Dealership Platforms And CapabilitiesThe training program under the ambit of Google India will train over 1 lakh auto dealers across 20,000 dealership

In a bid to train more than 20,000 auto dealerships to engage with customers now and in post pandemic era, Automotive Skills Development Council (ASDC) and Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (FADA) have joined hands with Google India to bridge the digital skill gap in the country's auto dealerships.

The focus of the training program which is under the ambit of the "Grow with Google' initiative will be on digital marketing, hyper local marketing, and full funnel strategy. The program will try to empower dealer principals to adopt digital tools and platforms to engage with customers. In its second phase, the program also aims to train frontline sales and marketing executives via a series of vernacular executional videos. This will be followed by an online assessment and certification by Google India, ASDC and FADA.

It is a harsh reality that customers will limit their visit to dealerships before purchasing their vehicle like earlier. Industry experts believe that to serve the customers better, there is an urgent need for automotive retail to become virtual, lean, and flexible.

Commenting on the initiative, Nikhil Bansal, head of automotive, Google India, said "Over the years, the window to influence purchase decisions through offline efforts has become smaller. The average number of visits to dealerships in India fell by 50% over the last three years from 2016 to 2019. And now, COVID-19 has made consumers further reluctant to visit car dealerships, and as a result, walk-ins are even fewer. To aid business recovery, auto players are encouraged to take their dealerships to customers, online. We have been working with leading auto OEMs to help them digitise their dealership networks, and with this initiative, we are now bringing our learning and support to handhold the larger auto dealer ecosystem to go digital in collaboration with ASDC and FADA. We are really excited to join hands with the industry in this first-of-its-kind initiative to help the dealer fraternity and support them in this necessary transition."

Nikunjl Sanghi, chairman of ASDC said that there is a need to train the workforce with digital tools to enhance the efficiency and the training program will help the dealerships become as active as original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) on digital platforms.

The initiative focuses on training over 20,000 auto dealerships across the country to build an online presence and providing digital skill training to more than 100,000 auto dealers across the marketing and sales divisions.

Vinkesh Gulati, president of FADA said that in today's world technology like Today, geo-location targeting, hyperlocal marketing and other sharply defined digital marketing techniques have revolutionized the advertising industry.

He said, "The digital movement by the dealers' community reaffirms FADA's strong commitment to retain the dynamism of dealer business in the automobile ecosystem and also assure its participation in Government's Digital India Movement in the post-COVID world. The Google–ASDC–FADA webinars are hence aimed to prepare Dealer Principals and their teams to stay ahead in the game in times to come."