New technology in a showroom raises fair questions. Will visitors use it? Will the team accept it? Will it earn its place?
You do not need to answer those questions with a guess. A short pilot answers them with your own visitors, in your own showroom.
This article walks through a 30-day pilot of an AI receptionist for car showrooms in Dubai. It covers the setup, the weeks, and the numbers worth tracking.
Why a pilot
A pilot keeps the risk small. One unit, one showroom, a defined period, and a clear review at the end.
It also keeps the conversation honest. Instead of debating whether a digital host feels modern, you look at what it did on your floor.
Before day one: agree what success looks like
Start with a short written note. Keep it plain.
Which showroom? Which unit? Which models will the host cover? Who is the sponsor, and who is the day-to-day contact? And what would make you say the pilot was worth it?
Choose two or three measures, not ten. For most showrooms, a good set is:
- Visitors greeted by the host.
- Test drives booked through the host.
- Visitors who asked to speak to a salesperson, and how quickly someone arrived.
Add a team measure too. Ask advisors for short feedback each week. A host that annoys your team will not last, whatever the numbers say.
Week zero: preparation
This is where most of the effort sits. It is also where pilots succeed or stall.
Content. Gather the models, trims, colours and specifications the host will cover. Agree who approves them.
Rules. Decide how to handle prices and finance. Many showrooms keep the host to specifications and leave price talk to a person.
Location. Choose a spot near the entrance, in line of sight, with power and a connection. The Floor-Standing Host has a 15.6″ screen and a 29″ display, and runs on Android 11 with Wi-Fi or LAN. The 13.3″ tabletop model is an option for smaller spaces.
Hand-off. Decide how a salesperson is called, and who answers.
Baseline. Note how many test drives you book in a typical week now, even if the number is rough. You need something to compare against.
Installation and onboarding are planned with your team once that content is ready.
Week one: learn
Expect small surprises. A question the host handled badly. A spot that turned out to be too dark. A salesperson who did not hear the call.
Treat these as useful. Hold a ten-minute check-in with the team midweek. Fix content gaps. Adjust the position if visitors walk past it.
Do not judge the pilot on the first three days.
Weeks two and three: settle in
By now the team knows what the host does. Visitors have begun to use it as a normal part of the floor.
This is when the numbers become useful. Look at greetings, bookings and salesperson calls. Compare quiet days with busy ones. Compare weekdays with weekends.
Read the questions visitors asked. They show what people actually want to know, and may point to content you should add. That is useful even for your own sales training.
Week four: review
Gather the numbers, the team's feedback and your own observations. Then ask three plain questions.
- Did the host help visitors who would otherwise have been left alone?
- Did it help book test drives that your team might have missed?
- Did the team find it useful, or was it in the way?
Decide together what to do next. Continue, adjust, extend to another showroom, or stop. A good pilot gives you a clear answer either way.
What to watch for
Fair comparison. Compare similar weeks. A model launch, a holiday or an event will distort the numbers. Note them.
Follow-up. A test drive booked is not a test drive taken. Track both.
Team response. If calls to a salesperson go unanswered, fix the process before you judge the host.
Content accuracy. One wrong detail on screen does more harm than ten correct ones do good. Check the content regularly.
Languages
If many of your visitors prefer Arabic or another language, test it in the pilot, so you set the right expectations with your team.
How to start
A pilot only needs a showroom, a few agreed measures and a month. Memorix is based in Dubai, with local support.
Book a live demo to plan your pilot, or message us on WhatsApp at +971 52 115 6663.
