Vehlo’s CEO Michelle Fischer Unveils Strategies, Acquisitions, and Tech Marvels Shaping Automotive Excellence in 2024!

In the fast-paced world of automotive innovation, Vehlo stands out as a beacon of success, led by the dynamic Chief Executive Officer, Michelle Fischer. With an astounding 40% customer base growth and strategic acquisitions of Rapid Recon and Velocity in 2023, Vehlo is carving a path of unparalleled success in the industry.

In this exclusive interview with Automotive Industries, Michelle Fischer delves into the strategic goals behind Vehlo’s recent developments and sheds light on the exciting journey ahead. Vehlo’s commitment to being the dealers’ go-to solution is evident, with a focus on user-friendly technology and unwavering dedication to customer service.

Amid macroeconomic pressures on the automotive industry, Fischer outlines Vehlo’s unique strategies and technologies, including Rapid Recon and Velocity, designed to help dealers increase revenue from the service lane and expedite the reconditioning process. These innovations empower dealers to navigate challenges, save time, and enhance the overall customer experience.

Customer retention takes center stage in Fischer’s vision for Vehlo, emphasizing the significance of servicing vehicles throughout their lifecycle. With tools like Text2Drive and Dealerlogix, Vehlo ensures a seamless and sticky relationship between customers and dealerships, fostering loyalty and repeat business.

The acquisitions of Rapid Recon and Velocity seamlessly complement Vehlo’s existing offerings, creating a comprehensive solution for dealers. Fischer envisions Vehlo as a one-stop platform that attracts, retains, and keeps customers coming back to dealers’ stores.

In the rapidly evolving automotive landscape, technology is key. Vehlo leverages data analytics and AI to keep dealers ahead of the curve, constantly innovating to provide solutions that help dealers grow their business and adapt to changing market dynamics.

Success stories abound, with dealers like Gary Yeomans Ford attributing increased vehicle sales and competitiveness to Vehlo’s solutions. Fischer emphasizes that customer service is at the core of Vehlo’s mission, with a commitment to continuous improvement and user-friendly experiences.

Looking ahead, Fischer envisions customer experience as a paramount trend shaping the industry. Vehlo is poised to stay at the forefront by prioritizing customer satisfaction and adapting its platform to meet the evolving needs of dealerships, ensuring enduring success for the company and its clients.

Automotive Industries interview with Michelle Fischer, Chief Executive Officer at Vehlo

Automotive Industries: Hi Michelle, congratulations on the impressive customer base growth of 40% and the recent acquisitions of Rapid Recon and Velocity in 2023. How do these developments align with Vehlo’s strategic goals, and what can we expect in terms of innovation and expansion in the coming years?

Fischer: We want to be known as the solution dealers love. Vehlo’s dedication to enabling dealers to have easy-to-use and seamless technology and its steadfast commitment to customer service has fueled its success and growth. Over the past year, Vehlo has grown its customer base by 40 percent, acquired Rapid Recon, which helps dealers track and manage vehicles through the reconditioning process, and Velocity Automotive, which connects dealer reconditioning investments to the sales process through its Digital Portfolio sales presentation tools and window stickers. These acquisitions help dealers save time, retain customers, and increase the data they have on a vehicle.

Automotive Industries: In the context of macroeconomic pressures on the automotive industry, how does Vehlo specifically address the challenges faced by dealers in increasing revenue from the service lane and ensuring a faster time-to-line in reconditioning? Can you share some key strategies or technologies that set Vehlo apart in this regard?

Fischer: As macroeconomic pressures mount, whether through higher interest rates, inventory sitting on lots, or tightening credit, dealers need to find ways to increase revenue from the service lane, keep their top talent, retain customers throughout the lifecycle of the vehicle, maximize profit, and have a faster time-to-line in reconditioning. Vehlo helps dealers achieve that with the following:

• Rapid Reconhelps track and manage every vehicle during the reconditioning process.
• Velocity Automotivehas a seamless CRM, IMS, and DMS integration, offering instant access to more complete vehicle information.
• Text2Drivehelps keep dealers in touch with customers throughout the vehicle lifecycle.
• Dealerlogixis an easy-to-use platform for fixed ops that gives the team a complete solution that won’t frustrate them or the customer.
• Service Lane eAdvisorstreamlines the service check-in process, increasing employee and customer satisfaction.

Automotive Industries: Retention throughout the lifecycle of the vehicle is crucial for dealers. How does Vehlo contribute to enhancing customer retention, and what initiatives are in place to ensure a seamless experience for customers from purchase to service and beyond?

Fischer: There is a massive cost difference in retaining customers and bringing them back to the dealership versus going out and having to attract new ones. One of the key ways to do this is to service the vehicle throughout the lifecycle of it. Bringing the customers back in through the service lane for the years they own the vehicle makes them sticky to your dealership. Then, having them already onsite, makes it easier for when they are looking for their next vehicle to stay at the same dealership that they have been loyal to and vice versa.

Vehlo helps dealers do this through Text2Drive, which texts your customers and keeps the dealership in touch with the customer throughout the lifecycle, as well as Dealerlogix which is easy to use for the fixed ops team, enabling them to provide the best customer service possible.

Automotive Industries: With the acquisitions of Rapid Recon and Velocity, how do these additions complement Vehlo’s existing offerings, and how will they contribute to the overall value proposition for your customers?

Fischer: Rapid Recon and Velocity help round out our platform to make it a one stop solution for dealers to have everything they need for their dealership to attract, retain, and keep customers coming back to their store.

Automotive Industries: In the rapidly evolving automotive landscape, technology plays a pivotal role. How does Vehlo leverage technology, including data analytics and AI, to help dealers stay ahead of the curve and adapt to changing market dynamics?

Fischer: Vehlo is always innovating. We are always working on the latest technologies that help dealers grow their business and attract/retain their customers. Whether that is organic innovation, meaning we create it in house, or if we are looking at opportunities to acquire a solution that dealers need, we are always looking for the right opportunities that will help our customers.

Automotive Industries: Can you elaborate on any success stories or case studies where Vehlo’s solutions have made a significant impact on a dealer’s revenue growth, customer retention, or reconditioning efficiency?

Fischer: We have several stories of dealers using our software and increasing their revenue, and our friend Jeromie Allen at Gary Yeomans Ford said it best, “Vehlo helped us sell more vehicles quickly and made us more competitive in the used car market.”

Automotive Industries: Customer experience is paramount in the automotive industry. How does Vehlo prioritize customer satisfaction, and what measures are in place to gather feedback and continuously improve the user experience for both dealers and end customers?

Fischer: Customer service is our mission at Vehlo. We not only want our customers to be happy, we want our customers’ customers to love our solutions. If we can make their lives easier and keep bringing them back to our customers’ dealerships, then we’ve done out job. We also want our software to be so intuitive and easy to use, that it becomes a recruitment tool for dealers to attract staff. We want Vehlo to be known as so easy to use and efficient, that people want to work for dealers that use us.

Automotive Industries: Looking ahead, what trends do you foresee shaping the automotive industry, and how is Vehlo positioning itself to stay at the forefront of these trends, ensuring continued success for the company and its clients?

Fischer: I think customer experience will continue to be a paramount importance to dealerships. As we’ve seen the ups and downs of the economy, and as the auto business seems to always bear the brunt of that, we think the ability of dealerships to retain current customers within their rooftops will continue to help them weather any economic storm that erupts. Vehlo helps dealers do that through our platform.