We look forward to hosting our 13th NASB conference from May 19th to May 20th. The health and safety of our clients and staff comes first to us at Carlisle & Co. With that in mind, and the uncertainty caused by COVID-19, we have made the decision to move the 2020 Conference to a virtual event. This format will still provide participants access to all general sessions and breakouts. We are disappointed to not be able to see all of you in San Diego this year, but look forward to connecting and still conducting a meaningful and productive conference!
This cooperative benchmarking forum grows and evolves every year and we now host nearly 100 OEM executives and attendees for two days of lively discussion and information sharing. We look forward to 2020 being our best conference yet, as every year we strive to make NASB better. This would not be possible without the thoughtful feedback from attendees and Steering Committee Members. This year’s updates include the following…
Last year, we focused on how to put the customer first in all ways in order to improve the service experience. We had rich discussion in breakouts such as capacity planning and leveraging RO data. This year, we’re focused on how we evolve service operations given the greatly shifting landscape – including the economy, vehicle technology, and customers. In addition to our mainstay general sessions which will look at our business at a high-level now and in the future, we’ll cover critical topics to today’s service business ranging from mobile service to social media marketing to field support.
After its success at last year’s conference, Carlisle has decided to continue the implementation of conference tracks into this year’s NASB: Service Operations, Dealer Support, and Marketing. These tracks will help you navigate the best sessions for you to attend in order to help you get the most out of your time at NASB.
We are excited to launch a new and improved website! This new site provides all important information you need for the conference, such as the schedule, session descriptions, and logistics. Feel free to navigate the site for all of your NASB conference needs, including registration.
During this year’s Service Outlook, we will cover four topics that impact OEM service departments. Within each topic, we will discuss the threats, opportunities, and strategies for future growth. We’ll begin with an overview of non-traditional and traditional aftermarket competitors to see what they are bringing to the table. We’ll provide an update on non-traditional players such as Your Mechanic and OpenBay. We will also touch upon the traditional players (Firestone, Meineke, etc.), as they are our biggest service competitors. We’ll conclude by featuring new entrants and detailing how dealers can compete. The evolving competitive landscape also affects the environment and experience at the dealership. To understand how the dealer environment and experience is changing, it’s helpful to focus on the motivating factors or the why. Carlisle put these factors into four categories: Customer Experience, Dealer Profitability, Evolving Workforce, and Changing Product. This section will dive into these factors, focusing on current state, future evolution, and the implications on the dealer environment. Finally, we will discuss the technological changes that are transforming North American units in operation. We’ll cover autonomous vehicles and collision avoidance technology, providing a pulse check on the industry. Then, we help OEMs prioritize actionable next steps to prepare their dealerships for the oncoming autonomous and ADAS-equipped vehicles. We’ll then take a deep dive into electric vehicles. Carlisle recently launched a Consumer Sentiment Survey where ~1,000 alternative fuel owners participated. Our results help OEMs understand how EVs will affect the service department. It’s common knowledge that EVs have fewer parts and require longer service intervals. However, that’s half of the equation. The other half is understanding market share and whether or not alternative fuel drivers will come to the dealer for service.
The annual NASB data book will be released prior to the conference, allowing attendees time to review and digest the latest data. During our Service by the Numbers presentation, we will provide you with greater context and insight. We will dig into the data to understand trends and how the industry is moving over time. We will focus first on how the OEMs are performing in key areas such as sales, customer retention, and customer satisfaction. We’ll then turn our attention to the dealership operations that drive those results, such as repair quality, efficiency, staff turnover, and more.
As we go, we’ll address our best-in-class performers in each area and provide context as to how these results have been achieved. We will point you to subsequent conference breakout sessions to learn more about our industry leaders. This general session will appeal to all attendees and give a data-driven view of the current state of the service business.
Whereas the benchmark data itself (the data book) provides the “what,” this presentation answers the “why” and the “how” and uncovers what’s really unique and different this year. Following the strategic discussions we’ll have in the Service Outlook, this will give you the tactical perspective needed to address issues and opportunities in the near term.
This session will be an open, discussion-based forum as follow up to topics discussed during the Service Outlook (general session). The focus will be on how the dealer environment needs to evolve now and in the future to support the changing business. OEMs will share their plans, ideas, and concerns. Selected topics of discussion may include the impact of large dealer groups, rewards and recognition evolution, and engraining uptime into the dealer culture. The goal is for OEMs to have a space to share and discuss their thoughts and plans about potential future implementations.
Beyond about the three-year ownership mark, many vehicles change hands, or customers fall out of touch and out of the dealer network. This session will focus on best practices and strategies to engage second (or even third) owners and keep vehicles and customers within the dealer network beyond that year 3 mark (when spending potential also greatly increases). We’ll focus on data accessibility, targeting strategies, and messaging approaches particular to this set of customers.
Dealer standards for aftersales dictate many of the parameters of the dealer’s service operations. However, determining what these standards should be, how to implement them into agreements, and how to ensure compliance are difficult for OEMs. Cracking the code in each of these areas may be an important part to ensure that all of our strategic goals and well-though-out programs actually get implemented properly. The purpose of this session will be to benchmark which standards for aftersales are included in dealer agreements, how changes are made, what is required versus recommended, how documentation is established and shared, and more.
Parts and Service field representatives are responsible for successfully implementing OEM programs and strategies at the dealerships. By working closely with dealers across a whole host of issues, we expect them to help increase Parts and Service revenue for the OEMs and their dealers. As such, it is critical to understand what practices and actions drive their behavior and performance outcomes. The purpose of this session is to explore the roles and responsibilities of the field reps across OEMs, their skills and competencies, and how OEMs measure and reward their performance (KPIs). We will gain an understanding of key factors and practices related to field structure and staff that correlate with successful outcomes for the dealer and/or the OEM. The focus will be on Field Service Managers.
To see a PDF of the schedule, please click here