How many of our businesses provide seamless customer experiences throughout the entire buying process? How many of us are truly connected to our customers throughout their entire digital lifecycle? Is one and done what we're after, or are we interested in repeat and referral traffic? My guest this week is Steve Apicella, Chief Executive Officer of Strategic DX - Your Dealer Experience, who’s mantra happens to be “Connect the Disconnected.” We are going to be talking about exactly that -  connecting the disconnect in the automotive space.Steve and I will review best practices of how you can have beat out your competitors by Connecting the Disconnected Focusing on Customer Journey Embraces Customer Inspire A Lifetime Customer Championing Customer Loyalty Always thinking “Great…what now?”Connect with Steve Apicella: https://qrco.de/bdG9QxConnect with BZ Consultants Group: https://qrco.de/bcqqFoASOTUCON Tickets: https://bit.ly/3PUS7ciRSVP for Fixed Ops Round Table: https://bit.ly/3CH0V2iModern Retail Conference: https://bit.ly/3RhVN8OGA4 Council: https://bit.ly/3QaPiUFChapters0:00 Start1:51 “If we could see CLV as clearly as costs, all firms would get this. But because costs are so tangible and CLVs are a mere prediction, it’s really hard to get firms to adopt this mindset. But it’s [CLV] the right one, and they should be working hard to become comfortable with CLV as the key driver to this kind of decision.” - Professor Peter Fader Wharton Marketing3:34 We Have A Great Industry and Not Everything Is Broken - There are Disconnect Parts If we Desire Anything More than A One Time Transaction5:00 After Customer Acquisition, Step Two Is Customer Abandonment In Our Industry6:41 Amazon's Strategy For Customer Engagement Before & After The Sale - What Automotive Can Learn From It12:10 What Is Strategic DX - Your Dealer Experience? 15:56 Making Phones Smart Again - Are You Refining Your Processes?17:29 Selling A Customer A Car Isn't The End Of The Relationship; It's The Beginning20:42 What If Sales, BDC, F&I, Service/Parts, and All Other Departments Truly Communicated Leading to Our Customers Having 100% Confidence In Us and the Products and Services We Offer?23:52 It Takes All of Us and Our Contributions26:12 100% Online vs Brick and Mortar27:53 Are We Striving for A Relationship or Transactional Type of Business?28:45 Great. What Now? The Process of Continual Improvement34:36 When Was The Last Time You Truly Communicated With Your Customer?42:14 Hole In One Stories46:40 Lightning RoundFollow, subscribe, rate, and never miss a show!#FactsNotFeelings #MovingAutomotiveForward #ConnectTheDisconnected  #BZConsultants #BZConsultantsGroup #FactsNotFeelingsFriday #SteveApicella #StrategicDX #YDE #YourDealerExperience #ConnectedRetail #CustomerJourney #CustomerLoyalty #CLV #CustomerLifetimeValue #Amazon #FI #Finance #InspireLifetimeCustomer #BeKind #CustomerExperience #Consultant #Podcast #Automotive #CarConsultant #AutomotiveConsultant #CarTalk #CarDealership #WomenInAutomotive #WomenInBusiness #AutomotiveMarketing