Autogala is an authorized Volvo dealer and service centre operating in Warsaw, Poland. All their decisions and actions revolve around people — their safety, satisfaction, and loyalty. The company realizes that holding onto its values and achieving the highest level of customer service require constant development, flexibility, and outside-the-box innovations.

Here’s how we supported Autogala in building stronger relationships with their clients and delivered a mobile application and back-office software, which kept the business running smoothly through the pandemic.

OUR ROLES

BACKGROUND

To operate effectively and address the expectations of customers, car dealers and service providers need to overcome a number of obstacles. Some of them are industry-specific —  such as seasonal trends, with peak demand occurring in the spring and autumn, several customer bases, and various contact points. Some are characteristic of most B2C businesses, namely the difficulty of breaking through the noise and reaching out directly to the customer, as opposed to ending up in the spam folder.

Regardless of the category, all factors impair service efficiency and threaten the profitability of the enterprise. Yet, the majority of car dealerships maintain the status quo and don’t look for technological solutions that could take their business to the next level.

Autogala is not among them. Its leaders stay persistent and open-minded to new opportunities, which resulted in the idea to create a mobile app for customers and back-office software for the operational team.

CHALLENGE

The initial plan, presented to the first software development company, was aimed at creating a visually and functionally minimalistic product — the mobile application for customers. At some point, the scope was re-defined, which caused a change in the software vendor. To ensure successful project implementation, Autogala decided to partner up with Evojam — the company that came from a referral.

Hence the challenge here was not only to meet all the requirements and solve a business problem but also to carry out a project started by another software development company.

So, how did we fill the previous contractor’s shoes and develop software that serves both Autogala and its clients?

SOLUTION

We began with a two-day workshop with Autogala to discuss the project, get to know the requirements, and identify user personas. It was also important for us to understand what didn’t go well up to that point.

As we inherited only a part of the mobile app without any backend solution, there was a lot to work on. We put together a team of a UX/UI designer, five developers, and a project manager whose support helped both our partner and us communicate effectively.

The mutual understanding combined with Autogala’s idea and our technical knowledge led us to develop a mobile application and back-office software with three Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems. The success of both tools was possible thanks to Autogala’s approach and their willingness to implement processes corresponding with the technical solution.

THE AUTOGALA MOBILE APP

The Autogala mobile application, currently available on the Google Play Store and App Store, was designed to streamline communication with customers.

It’s a convenient way of interacting with the Volvo brand and taking care of your car, but it’s not the only perk. The app gives you full transparency regarding personal data processing and a complete overview of your current or future vehicle.

BACK-OFFICE SOFTWARE

While the mobile application is important for Autogala from the customer satisfaction perspective, the back-office app shines at managing the data and speeding up internal and external processes.

Over the course of the project, we partnered up with stakeholders from different departments of the dealership. We had the pleasure of taking them on a journey from initial vision all the way through deployment to production.

Now, they can all pick through various features and three CRMs — vehicle service, insurance, and sales.

With all these functionalities come substantial benefits, such as

✔ clear ownership in customer service;

✔ time limits for answering queries and taking actions;

✔ response time tracker, queue prioritization, automatic reminders, and action postponing;

✔ an opportunity to flatten out seasonal fluctuations;

✔ more precise planning of future work;

✔ filling empty slots in the schedule with new customers;

✔ digital document management;

✔ a central customer base that can be used to identify selling opportunities;

✔ instant messaging;

✔ sharing PDF invoices and payment links on chat; and

✔ in-app customers are more likely to give GDPR consent.

All of them help the company function properly and offer the highest standard of customer service and care.

RESULTS

Thanks to Autogala’s client-centric approach and innovative methods, the company came through the pandemic with flying colours — their reviews can definitely serve as proof! 

The customer base and dealership revenue have grown, but Autogala doesn’t stop here.

Both apps are continuously enriched with new functionalities as their originator always finds a way to make the Volvo owner’s lives easier.

Following the trends, adjusting to market change, and digitalizing their processes — Autogala is setting an example for all car dealerships ready to invest in their customers.

Find out how we can put solutions like these to work for you.