February 5th, 2012 | Written By: Chuck Patton
Every dealer has exponentially more to offer than the aftermarket! So why does the aftermarket still manage to outpace dealerships’ service departments by nearly 7 out of 10 times? Do you believe that your dealership is far superior to your competition? Why is your dealership far superior to the competition? Do you feel confident in what you have to offer above your competition, and have you fully developed your service department’s unique benefits and committed what sets your dealership apart from the competition to writing? If you have your selling points written, then you have a great foundation to dominate your market. The strategy is simple – if you don’t have enough value over the competition, then develop more. If you believe your value already exceeds that of your competition, then make sure you have a plan to communicate that value and sell it to your customers in order to build more traffic. Let me take you through an easy system that will ultimately lead to a successful service department. Essentially, you will be developing the parts to “a good deal,” which is ultimately what your customers want. DEAL = VALUE – PRICE.
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Posted in: Best Practices
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January 27th, 2012 | Written By: Chuck Patton
The single largest change that I have seen in today’s economy, based on my 17 years of marketing for automotive dealerships, is the need to go out and get customers instead of just managing the masses that come to you. For years, the rubber stamp expectation for the service department has been a year-over-year growth of 10%. Most dealers were able to achieve that goal as long as they charged enough, sold what was recommended and did a decent job of making the customer happy.
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Posted in: Best Practices, Marketing Plan
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January 27th, 2012 | Written By: Chuck Patton
There’s a new trend on what philosophies dealership’s should use to drive customer retention for service departments so they can maximize service profit and ultimately retain customers. The trend is a so-called smarter marketing that is based on an data algorithm. The theory basically professes that advanced data logic will be used to market to the customers with the right message, at the right time and to the right person in order to drive in service traffic for less cost. You are essentially only marketing to the customer when their vehicle is due for service.
This strategy sounds great, but it’s an important trend to monitor before making the jump. Many manufacturers’ service programs are heavily promoting this “right-time” strategy and if you are on one of those programs or if you are being pushed towards one, it is important that you understand the pro’s and con’s.
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Posted in: Branding, Direct Mail, E-mail Marketing, Marketing Plan, Segmented Marketing
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August 29th, 2011 | Written By: Eric Johansen
Auto service departments have become havens for the newest hybrid technologies. With the introduction of each new model there exists proprietary information specific to that vehicle. Furthermore, most new vehicle warranties require that customers must have their vehicles serviced at an approved manufacturer dealership in order to maintain warranty status. And while this ensures that customers service at the dealership instead of the aftermarket, it remains that that they often have several choices within their area as to where they will take their vehicle for service.
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Posted in: Direct Mail, Marketing Plan
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June 22nd, 2011 | Written By: Traffic Builders
Challenge
A Ford dealership, in a top 25 market, wanted to avoid its service being viewed merely as a commodity. Service marketing here had been Ford-focused with no real difference between the national brand and the individual dealership. The dealer had a reputation for quality expert service, but this wasn’t able to be communicated in their manufacturer-crafted marketing. Even though they did not have the newest facility or amenities, they felt their highly skilled, friendly technicians knew how to project value and confidence with customers.
Similarly, this dealership wanted a marketing partner who shared their personal-touch philosophy. Other marketing companies they had worked with in the past were absentee and difficult to work with. Furthermore, the service manager wondered how someone who had never visited his dealership could really help him improve repair order traffic. He wanted a marketing partner who would manage his service advertising effectively so he could spend his time with customers on the service drive. Read Full Post »
Posted in: Branding, Case Study, Marketing Plan, Segmented Marketing
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June 22nd, 2011 | Written By: Regina Green
While it’s far from being an exact science, there are a few unbreakable rules for successful and effective marketing. And while many of them are common sense, there are a few that seem to have been forgotten by many of the marketing programs being offered by automotive manufacturers. These programs often ignore these rules in order to increase their revenue by cutting corners—all in the name of “targeting the right customers at the right time.” But breaking common rules of marketing can lead to disastrous results for a dealership’s service department.
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Posted in: Best Practices, Customer Retention, Direct Mail, E-mail Marketing, Segmented Marketing
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May 18th, 2011 | Written By: Chuck Patton
The easiest and perhaps most overused strategy in automotive marketing is trying to sell the same product or service for a lower price. In fact, trying a sell-it-for-less strategy to promote your service department can backfire and is often not the most effective way to increase your business for the long term.
According to an aftermarket service association study, new car service departments charge 33% more for the same service than the aftermarket. A dealership service manager might rightly say that this study is a bit self-serving and probably biased, but it really doesn’t matter. What matters is your customer’s perception.
With that in mind, have you ever really asked your potential customers why they don’t service with you?
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Posted in: Best Practices, Branding, Marketing Plan
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February 24th, 2011 | Written By: Eric Johansen
Marketing and information technology experts continually create and refine new technologies to reach consumers. Your dealership has a presence on the web and a Facebook page. You Tweet with your customers and send out e-mails advertising your special service opportunities. However, most of our dealerships find the majority of response to marketing initiatives comes through customers bringing in the direct mailer.
Our culture encourages consumers to seek out the “latest and greatest” in almost everything, so why are people still so responsive to direct mail? According to researchers the answer may be a combination of habits being hardwired into consumers’ brains and the stressful environment we live in.
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Posted in: Direct Mail
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