Putting Social Media to Work

For Birchwood Hyundai, social media is about building relationships and trust.

Since opening its doors in 2011, Birchwood Hyundai has grown into one of Manitoba’s leading Hyundai dealerships. Located in Winnipeg, the dealership now employs approximately 70 people, with additional positions being filled as the business continues to expand.

For Steve Chipman, President & CEO of Birchwood Automotive Group, the dealership’s growth has been driven by more than sales numbers. “Over the years, we’ve focused on building a culture centred on customer service, innovation, and teamwork, allowing us to grow alongside the community while maintaining a personalized experience for every customer who walks through our doors,” says Chipman.

That approach has helped Birchwood Hyundai earn Hyundai’s Dealer of the Year award. The recognition is based on a range of performance indicators, including overall sales volume, EV sales, market share growth, service retention, customer satisfaction in both sales and service, and Certified Pre-Owned performance.

Chipman says the dealership’s early commitment to electric vehicles has played an important role in the store’s success. “We embraced the EV market early and have made electric vehicle education, sales, and service a core part of our strategy,” he explains. “That focus has helped us increase both EV volume and overall market share.”

Equally important is the store’s team-first culture. “We don’t operate as individual departments working in silos,” he says. “Sales, service, parts, finance, and administration all work toward the same goal of delivering exceptional customer experience. That collaborative mindset has been a major contributor to our growth and success.”

Connecting through social media

Birchwood Hyundai has made social media a significant part of its marketing and communications strategy. “For us, social media is about much more than promoting vehicles,” says Chipman. “It allows us to showcase our people, our culture, connect with our community and give a glimpse into what it’s like to do business with our dealership.”

The store has a dedicated team member responsible for all social media channels, helping maintain a consistent presence while engaging with followers.

The strategy is not necessarily about turning every post into a sales lead, however. “While social media doesn’t always generate direct leads in the traditional sense, it plays a significant role in helping customer make important decisions,” Chipman says. “We regularly hear from customers who discovered us through social media, or followed our content before visiting our website or dealership.”

Birchwood Hyundai uses its social channels to highlight service tips, vehicle ownership information, employee stories, education and community involvement. “Many dealerships focus exclusively on sales-related content, but we’ve made a conscious effort to highlight both sales, service and education,” says Chipman.

For dealerships that have been slow to embrace social media, Chipman’s advice is straightforward: “My biggest piece of advice is to start and remain consistent.”

He stresses that dealerships shouldn’t assume they need polished content in order to be effective. “You don’t need Hollywood-level production to be successful,” he says. “Customers respond best to content that showcases real people, real experiences, and genuine expertise.”

Ultimately, he says, the objective should be relationship-building rather than making a sale. “The dealerships that succeed are the ones that commit to building relationships, not just promoting products,” he adds.

Technology with a human touch

Birchwood Hyundai has incorporated artificial intelligence into several areas of its operation. Chipman says AI is being used to assist with reporting and analytics, helping employees work more efficiently while concentrating on higher-value activities. The dealership is also using AI-powered translation tools, which can be particularly useful in Winnipeg’s diverse and multicultural community.

“That said, we view AI as a tool that enhances our team’s capabilities rather than replaces them,” he adds.

Maintaining a human element remains important to Chipman and his team. “We remain committed to maintaining a human touch in all customer-facing interactions,” he says. “Every customer communication is reviewed and managed by our team to ensure it remains personal, accurate, and reflective of the relationships we work hard to build.”

“We don’t operate as individual departments working in silos.”

– Steve Chipman, President & CEO, Birchwood Automotive Group

Looking ahead

Birchwood Hyundai’s next stage of growth will continue to centre on customer experience, market share and EVs. The dealership wants to establish itself as a destination for electric vehicles beyond the initial purchase, with a focus on EV service, maintenance and parts support. “As more customers transition to electric vehicles, we see a tremendous opportunity to lead in that space,” says Chipman.

The dealership also has a specific sales target: surpassing 1,000 new-vehicle retail sales annually. But even as Birchwood Hyundai pursues that milestone, Chipman says that sales numbers will not be the only measure of success. “Ultimately, our success will continue to be measured not only by growth, but by the relationships we build with customers and the strength of our team culture.”