Tag Archives: dealer app

What’s Apping?

Apps have been around for a long time now. The App Store came about in 2008 offering 50 apps and within the first weekend they were downloaded 10 million times. Android and Blackberry soon followed with their own versions. By 2011 there were 100,000 applications for the iPhone alone.

Applications have become an everyday part of life, from checking the weather and the ball scores to writing an article for AutoSuccess magazine and getting a little background data. I’m sure hardly a day goes by without you checking your phone for some type of information that just 10 years ago might have taken you hours or days to find out.

Unfortunately, apps have been slow to come to the automotive business. Many dealers spent a lot of money developing mobile apps for their business that were nothing more than a mobile version of their website. Sure, it had the inventory and the sales hours. It might even have had a section on “meet our staff.” Throw in an end of the month sale and a service coupon or two and there you have it. Regrettably, for the customer it produced a collective yawn. Most dealers over time lost interest in this form of communication. Now when you bring up developing an app, there is very little interest.

Well, I think it’s time we revisit automotive apps. What the customer is looking for is not another sales pitch but something that affects their life and makes owning a vehicle easier and more cost effective. A customer who just purchased a car doesn’t care that you have 0 percent financing, but he might want to be notified when his first oil change is due. In my opinion, your focus when using this type of tool with your customer should be concentrated on the service drive and, if possible, directed toward their vehicle.

Here are a few examples that make using a mobile app much more customer centric. Let’s start with a rewards card. Most dealers today offer some type of service rewards card to their customer, if they don’t, they are probably wondering why their business is falling off. Let the customer use your app to redeem and track their points. When they pull into service, they just open the app, show the service writer the points and redeem them. Simple and easy but also very convenient for the customer.

How about coupons? Dealers spend thousands of dollars a year sending out mailers with service coupons. Why not send the coupon directly to the customer’s phone? When they come in for service, they just open your app and show the coupon. Have a “redeem” button on the coupon that the service writer uses, and the coupon is gone. Quick, easy and cost effective.

Do you do have a pickup and delivery service for your service department? If so, why not set up a valet service on the app? Your customer can chose their day and time and not have to take two hours out of the work day to sit in your waiting area every time they need any work done on their car. Your service manager will love it as well because it will be easier to schedule the service and he won’t have someone coming into his office every hour wanting to know if their car is ready.

Another great feature could be to include the customer’s service history on the app. How many times has the customer ask when did they buy their tires or wiper blades? Every service they have ever had done on their vehicle could be right on their phone. Using this service history, we could set up the mobile app to send out notifications for oil changes, 30K’s and to track just about any future service their car might need.

Hopefully, you’re starting to get the picture of what a successful app should look like. There are a thousand other features you can add to an app that will make the customer’s life easier. Some other great ideas I’ve seen on apps are geo fencing, where did I park my car?, closest gas station, social media posts from the dealership and QR scanners. I’ve have even seen a customer app that tracks a subscription marketing program for the service drive.

Mobile apps are about the customer. This is a great communication tool between the customer and the service department. Just as we check our other apps every morning for phone calls, texts and the weather, you need to design your service app to be exciting, informative and functional so your customers look at you as their dealership for life. 

-Jack Garrity

Keep Customers Engaged and Motivated for the Long Term

 

Retention is great for every business, and no one has better retention than the National Football League. Teams like the New York Giants have a 10-year waiting list for season tickets. We can probably never achieve that level of retention in the automobile business, but we can do much better than we have been.

Automotive business has been strong for a long time. Can’t we forget about retaining customers when so many people are just wanting to buy a car? Th e best way to grow our industry is not to sell more cars, but to retain more customers. Anyone who has been in this business for any length of time knows how cyclical it can be. Sales will go up and down, but a good service department never has to deal with down cycles.

We can talk all day long about all the things dealers think they are doing to build retention. Most programs, however, are just like throwing darts against the wall. If you don’t have a way to track it, a comprehensive program that works for every department and a plan for long-term success, you are probably wasting your money.

Customers want to be engaged. Easier said than done. We need to give them reasons to come back. How do we get them excited about doing business with us long term? Let’s lay out a program that will keep your customer engaged and motivated year after year.

First, we need to provide customers with reasons not only to buy here but to service here. A valid lifetime engine program can accomplish this and, in many cases, can be reinsured to offset potential liability. Next, couple this with an oil change program sold in F&I. Unlike prepaid maintenance, an inexpensive oil change program can double retention for three to five years.

Next, look at the digital side. Dealer Websites are generally good, and so are dealer mobile apps. From a retention standpoint, though, a personalized Website for each customer and a customer-centric mobile app are more successful in engaging the customer. This allows you to customize your message to each person in your database. Blanket CRM reminders work, but a better method is to create customized graphics with service specials, birthday greetings, service reminders, announcements of community events and all other direct communication you want to have with each customer.

How do you thank a customer for doing business with you? A nice note from the dealership? A call? A picture of them in the showroom? Th e airline and hotel industry have shown us for years what works. Copy this type of program and you can’t go wrong. Everyone wants to be rewarded. A customer likes it when they think, “I spent some money with you, but you are reinvesting some of it back to me as a thank you.” What keeps a customer more engaged: $100 off a set of tires or a box of cookies?

Retention is often overlooked on the service drive. Why not take the same oil change program you developed for F&I and sell it to everyone who uses your service department? Approximately 80 percent of customers who buy a car do not buy prepaid maintenance. Here is a great second chance to capture them again — and when you do, they will be loyal for up to three to five years. Finally, use your database to keep customers. More and more people want to shop from the comfort of their own home. Develop an online store to keep your customer always thinking of you for their automotive needs. Offer the oil change program and service contracts. Allow them to shop for tires, batteries and anything else they might need, but often buy elsewhere.

This is the path to successful retention. A program like this will create a retention rate of 75 to 85 percent. It is cost effective and, in most cases, highly profitable. More important, you can track it, see what is working, where it is breaking down and tweak it each month to get the best results. Most dealerships have a lot on their plate and the meat and potatoes of the business consumes most of the day. Retention is easy to overlook, but in some cases you are picking up dimes as you walk over dollars.

– Jack Garrity

So, What Makes You Different?

What Makes You Different

Every automotive dealer believes that they run the best operation and do everything a little better than their competition.  Is this true?  I have the pleasure of going to all regions of the country every week and walking into automotive stores that are new to me.  I can assure you, that for most these stores, the look, feel and customer experience is the same.  Fortunately for the consumer, most Dealers have done upgrades on their facilities.  These range from cosmetic and operational changes to complete remodeling of their facilities.  The automotive buying experience has gotten much better.  But, the fact remains that all Franchise stores look the same.  The only difference is the employees that work there and this is where the Dealer that wants to set the standard for customer satisfaction should look.

It is your employees that are the key to improving your profitability.  Most come to you with prior experience within the Industry and established skill sets that you hope will mesh with your operation and sometimes they do and sometimes they don’t.  It is up to you Mr. Dealer to give them an edge over their competition in both selling and servicing vehicles.  You need a volume driver that will put more customers in front of your sales and service staff.  All of you have tried direct mail and that is like a quick shot of adrenaline that fades quickly.  You probably have done invitational sales and special promotions that are, at best, giving you one opportunity to sell something. Notwithstanding the fact that these programs are expensive!

So, how can you be different?  What is something new that will put your operation ahead of the competition and give your employees the best opportunity to sell?  Putting together a well thought-out and comprehensive retention program is the driver you need and must have.  You must be willing to create a new culture within your organization and drive it from the top down. Your managers must buy-into your program or else you will never get it off the ground, therefore they should be involved in building the program. Since this is something new I recommend you find a professional company, with years of experience and proven results to partner with you in this endeavor.

Where do you start?  List all the things you currently do to enhance the customer experience.  Things that are often taken for granted but are an operational expense non-the-less.  A few that are obvious are shuttle service, pick-up and delivery, complimentary beverages/snacks, multi point inspections and alignment checks, a vehicle wash at each service visit, quick lanes, etc.  Then you build on these benefits by coming up with services your customers cannot resist, such as, complimentary oil changes and tire rotations, ding/dent repair, windshield repairs, etc.  These can be for specific periods of time and capped to control the expense. All of these will cause your customer to choose your store for their vehicle purchase.  Include a rewards component that will continue to drive your customer back for all the service and maintenance that are required on their vehicle.  Keeping them in your service lane practically guarantees they will purchase their next vehicle from you. The final piece that must be in place is a robust communications component, via email, that keeps your customer informed about their vehicle, the services required and rewards earned and any specials that you periodically offer.

All this sounds complicated but let me assure you it is not.  What is needed to make all this work seamlessly is data integration and software tools that are employee friendly.  This is provided by your partner. Of course, you must do your part by establishing a new culture and getting your management staff on-board from the planning stages to implementation and ongoing training.

– Roy Olive