In-house digital display ads help car dealerships bring sizzle to fixed ops

To James Stephens, using dry-erase whiteboards and lifeless posters taped to walls to promote fixed ops services is so yesterday.

“A lot of what you see inside dealerships today is very outdated,” says the fixed ops director at Nashville-based Beaman Automotive Group, part of Hudson Automotive Group.

But that’s not the case at the four Beaman stores, which feature sleek big-screen monitors that display attention-grabbing content in service lanes and most customer lounges, courtesy of Digital Dealership System. The company specializes in customized, in-house digital ad solutions for dealerships.

“I wanted to replace all those antiquated and less attractive in-house displays with something vibrant and welcoming — portray a more modern atmosphere,” Stephens told Fixed Ops Journal.

The transformation began in early 2017 at Beaman Ford in Dickson, about 40 miles west of Nashville. In the store’s service lane, a giant monitor features a “Dare to Compare” display, which contrasts the store’s prices for routine services with competitors’ prices.

Every 15 seconds, the monitor displays other relevant customer content, Stephens says.

The content can be easily changed and customized as needed, unlike posters and the like, says Todd Katcher, managing partner at Digital Dealership System.

The monitors can showcase whatever stores want to highlight — seasonal maintenance specials, a $50 gift card for taking a test drive, a solicitation for trade-ins or even gourmet coffee in the lounge, Katcher says.

On lounge monitors, customers can see status updates as their vehicles pass through the repair process as well as view commercial-free, noncontroversial and entertaining TV programming, he says.