EFG Companies - Business Development Achievement of the Year
Company: EFG Companies
Company Description: As the innovators of the award-winning Hyundai-Assurance program, EFG Companies brings almost 40 years of industry-leading consumer & vehicle protection programs to the retail automotive market. EFG's commitment to superior client engagement is delivered through a proprietary portfolio of products & services that increase penetration, fortify compliance, and drive maximum F&I profitability.
Nomination Category: Business Development Awards Categories
Nomination Sub Category: Business Development Achievement of the Year - Financial Services Industries
Nomination Title: Accelerating Client Acquisitions Regardless of the Pandemic Effect
In EFG Company’s 43 years of providing industry-leading consumer and vehicle protection programs to the retail automotive market, EFG maintained its strategic intent to build sustainable, market differentiating solutions based upon changing market needs and its client engagement model. With a client base spanning across the US and Puerto Rico, EFG prides itself in advancing the bar to provide superior client service with the belief that quality service leads to quality growth. This is exemplified with EFG’s partnership with clients in bringing market-differentiating solutions to market, like WALKAWAY Vehicle Return.
During the Great Recession, EFG and Hyundai Motor America introduced the product behind the award-winning Hyundai Assurance program, WALKAWAY Vehicle Return.
Provided complimentary as part of their vehicle purchase, WALKAWAY gives consumers the confidence to make their purchase by giving them the option to return their vehicle in the event of an unforeseen life event, like involuntary unemployment.
Within one year of product launch, Hyundai grew unit sales by 8% while the industry declined by 21%. Over the next two years, Hyundai grew market share by 53%.
In addition to product innovation, EFG serves as an extension of its partners’ management teams to provide business development solutions, compliance, training, recruiting support, and profitability insights.
In EFG’s most recent bi-annual Client Satisfaction Study fielded by national research firm Troubadour Research and Consulting, 99% of EFG’s dealer clients stated they would highly recommend EFG, resulting in a Net Promoter Score* higher than Nordstrom, USAA Insurance, and Ritz Carlton.
2020 Achievements
During a tumultuous 2020, while many companies found it difficult to maintain their client base, EFG managed to grow its client basewith the combination of market-differentiating consumer protection products and the company’s commitment to driving profitable results for its clients.
One of the biggest threats to vehicle sales and auto loan volume in 2020 was the uncertainty of whether today’s income will be there tomorrow. By April 2020, the U.S. Department of Labor reported that unemployment claims rose to 6.6 million, shattering the Great Recession peak of 665,000.
When the COVID-19 pandemic struck the U.S. in the first part of 2020, EFG knew that dealers would be facing similar challenges in the months ahead as they did during the depths of the Great Recession, i.e. lower unit sales due to stay-at-home measures, business closures, and layoffs.
With that in mind, EFG was ready at the helm to provide its clients with an immediate solution with WALKAWAY. Because of EFG’s prior experience launching the product with Hyundai, there was no delay in launching WALKAWAY within both current and new client stores.
Why Achievements are Unique/Significant
2020 could be categorized as the year of Murphy’s Law – everything that can go wrong, will go wrong. But EFG was ready with a solution -- with products like WALKAWAY, designed for economic uncertainty.
With the COVID-19 pandemic, we saw headlines featuring skyrocketing unemployment, permanent business closures, and continuous uncertainty. Auto manufacturers shuttered production for most of the year. According to an October report from McKinsey & Company, the top 20 OEMs in the global auto sector will see profits decline by approximately $100 billion in 2020.
While some automotive dealers closed permanently, others simply sold their business. According to a dealer survey from Kerrigan Advisors, 2020 is expected to shake out as a high-volume year for M&A activity. In June alone, 33 dealerships changed hands according to the second-quarter Haig Report, published by Haig Partners, a buy-sell firm in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
In a market like this, product administrators like EFG forecast for lower product sales and potentially losing clients due to closure, merger or simply switching providers for lower-cost alternatives, planning for the worst and hoping for the best. In 2020, EFG did more than hope. EFG was prepared to help clients weather the storm with products like WALKAWAY, and with the solutions needed to keep its clients relevant with wary consumers. Rather than focusing on simply maintaining its client base, EFG turned 2020 into a banner year for growing its business in terms of products, clients, and market-differentiating solutions.