Dealership Creates Customer-Journey Campus

Park Avenue BMW in Rochelle Park, NJ, has created a luxury-car campus where each building is designed as a different part of the customer journey.

The family-run business has “seen a lot of changes over the past 40 years,” says dealer principal Roy Sommerhalter, Jr. “These days, people have less time than before. And they want that time to count even more. That’s why we created a campus of different destinations to maximize each moment. 

“We’ve tailored every part of our business around respecting our clients’ time and their needs at different parts of the BMW ownership journey.”

For example, when shoppers walk in they are asked how much time they have. Employees take care not exceed that. The store uses large, customer-facing computer screens to provide a level of real-time transparency during the buying process. (For better or worse, BMW owners are known as some of the most discriminating car shoppers.)

The facility and its grounds are three feet shy of a football field in length.

The dealership has a special way of giving new owners their vehicles. It’s not done in or around the showroom. The focus there is on shopping, and consequently the delivery experience can be interrupted by sales-focused activity, including staffers being called away to help other people, Sommerhalter says.

Instead, Park Avenue BMW has a dedicated delivery center in a quiet location where the vehicle is specially lit. Customers can get pictures and videos of the delivery.

A designated “BMW Genius, not a salesperson, explains vehicle features to new owners. Follow-up sessions are offered.

The service department has 60 service bays. Staffers with computer tablets greet customers to get information right at their cars.

The dealership’s client-centric philosophy is called Powered by You. “That’s more than just a tagline,” Sommerhalter says.