Alan Bond, VP, National Sales

How do you define a "combo product"?

To me, combo product means multiple products that have been combined into, in essence, one product or at least one form.

What types of products are you including in your combo packages today? Why?

Currently we have products that are imbedded in a Vehicle Service Contract (VSC), such as paintless dent repair, or windshield repair/replace. Later this year we’ll have one not attached to a VSC, that will include tire and wheel, dent, windshield and key replacement. It will allow a consumer to choose the product benefits that best suits their needs.

The dealer can still choose to sell them individually, or as a package.

What are your top reasons behind offering combo products? What, if any, reasons would you have to not offer them?

It is primarily market driven. These are the products and configurations our clients are asking us to deliver. We strive to bring value to our agents and dealer clients, and ultimately the end users, and try to deliver those products to them that bring the most value.

If the regulatory environment changed to the point that the products would no longer be viable being bundled together then we would cease to offer them, or if they became cost-prohibitive as a bundle.

Is the sales process for a combo product different than for an individual product? Can you give an example?

Most dealers are utilizing some type of menu selling system today, so the presentation of the products within the menu probably wouldn’t vary much whether it was a bundle or a combo, but having to print only one form versus three or four forms certainly cuts down on the time for the overall sales process in F&I.

Do you believe the combo product strategy will evolve in the future? What types of product combos do you anticipate in the next 2-5 years?

Certainly the market is always changing. We are always discussing with agents and dealers what products and combos will bring the most value. We are very diligent in keeping up with the regulatory environment in each state on these products, and any change to those regulations will prompt us to make changes to keep our clients in compliance.

I think excess wear and use might be added in sometime in the future, depending on how the states view the product, and if leasing makes the anticipated increase in the next few years. There are still some questions in some states on the validity of key replacement, so we could gain or loose acceptance in some states based on that, and it could be viewed more as an insurance product than a product able to be bundled.

Is there anything else you would like to add?

I think bundling is a great way to bring added value to the consumer by shortening the F&I process. The customer has to spend less time in F&I, and at same time it passes along a cost savings through the purchase of multiple products. It’s here to stay, and it will be interesting to see where it goes in the future.