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.
Obtaining the correct reach and frequency in your service marketing.
June 22nd, 2011 | Written By: Regina GreenReinforce Your Automotive Service Marketing Message
July 27th, 2010 | Written By: Regina GreenAs a service manager, you’re undoubtedly convinced of the importance of maintaining regular contact with your customers. It’s a critical function of marketing. You’ve probably seen a boost in sales from your mailers and e-mails, but you might wonder if there is more you could do to see an increased benefit from these marketing efforts. Conversely, is there anything you’re doing now that might undermine the effectiveness of your message once customers come into the shop? By taking some simple measures, you can ensure that when customers arrive, your service department reinforces the messages sent through your marketing.
Inform everyone on your staff about the mailer, including details about the offers and limitations. Your marketing partner will send you a packet of extra copies of the mailer, as well as a laminated copy to post in the service drive. Don’t leave that box in the corner of your office to get buried by seven other things before the week is out. Pull out those extra copies and share them with your entire service staff to ensure everyone is well-informed.
Turning a Lemon Service Department into Lemonade
June 27th, 2010 | Written By: Eric JohansenAutomotive service managers are always trying to find the right combination of marketing tools and successful business practices to maximize profits. A dealership that has made a lot of wrong marketing and customer service decisions can be a challenge to turn around. Word gets out. So, how can a historically underperforming service department with a bad reputation be transformed into a champion?
One answer can be found in a success story that occurred recently in a southeastern U.S. market. There were two dealerships in close competition in the same metropolitan area. They had very different business philosophies and marketing plans that produced starkly contrasting results.
One dealership was an established business that valued the long-time relationships that had been built with their customers. They had a well-executed marketing plan that included mailers and reminder letters. They created value by consulting with customers and up-selling only services needed without regard to monthly sales goals. They knew that when their customers’ vehicles needed other services, those customers would be back. Their customer relations were as good as gold, and the repeat business was like money in the bank.
Mid-year Evaluation of Your Automotive Marketing Strategy
June 3rd, 2010 | Written By: Chuck PattonIt’s time for a mid-year review. Remember the automotive service marketing objectives you put into place at the beginning of the year? How are they working for you? Are you on-track to meeting your goals? Are you ahead or behind where you wanted to be?
Depending on the answers to these questions, you may want to consider making adjustments to your marketing plan for the second half of the year. As you take stock and plan your next six months, consider the following areas of opportunity upon which you can capitalize.
Retention—The retention measurement that makes the most sense is the one that measures the share of your customers’ business within a year. Start by separating your customers into the following categories:
- Number of times your customers have come in during the past 12 months
- Number of customers doing all their service with you
- Number of customers added in the last 12 months
What are you doing to retain your customers? Are you providing the best service in the market and going the extra mile to keep your customers happy? Consider loyalty programs and perks to show your commitment to a long-term relationship.
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Increase Revenue by Giving Customers What They Want
May 3rd, 2010 | Written By: Melissa HansWhat is the best way to reach your customers?
Maybe you use direct mail only because you think that something the customer physically holds has more impact. Perhaps your customers are more tech-savvy, so you try to reach them via electronic communication. According to the 2009 ExactTarget Channel Preference Study, 87% of consumers, on average, prefer to receive either e-mail or direct mail for marketing communication.
The best way to reach them is to find out what they prefer—and most likely, there isn’t only one answer. The Study looked at consumer preferences of over 1,500 consumers. They compared the influence of traditional versus emerging media in driving consumer purchases. They found that direct mail has directly influenced more consumers to purchase than any other channel, and regardless of age, e-mail drives more conversions than any other online channel.
The most successful marketing strategies involve multiple products that combine the best of several mediums, so start with an evaluation of your database. Then talk to your customers. By learning their preferred methods of receiving communication from you, you’ll be able to more intelligently aim your marketing dollar where it has the most effect. Take that increased return-on-investment, couple that with top-notch customer service once you’ve enticed them in, and you’re on your way to increasing your customer retention.
How Much Do You Lose by Discounting Repair Orders?
March 23rd, 2010 | Written By: Traffic BuildersThere has been a change in the automotive industry from the “get as much as you can every time” philosophy to the “make sure the customer comes back” philosophy. Service managers are learning that customer retention is the key to increased fixed operations profit as well as car sales. A strong influence on customer retention is discounting repair orders. Over the years, I have seen many service managers yell at their advisors concerning the discounting of customers’ service bills. The truth is the dreaded discount can increase your customer retention, CSI and profits. Our store is a mid-size to large import dealership in the Northeast with a customer pay RO count of about 1,000 a month with 1.9 hours per RO. Six years ago, 600 a month was considered a great month and 1.5 hours per RO exceptional.
There are questions to ask before you start to encourage more discounting. Are your services priced correctly? Make sure your pricing is strong enough to maintain profit even with the discount. Consider going to grid-pricing for repair jobs. Is the work being dispatched for profit and production? If you check these and all is well, it’s time to start a strategic discount program.
The Benefits of Offering Premiums to Your Customers
October 6th, 2009 | Written By: Regina GreenWhat makes an effective offer? What will motivate consumers to change their buying habits and bring their vehicle to your service department? The time-honored rules of effective coupon offers dictate that a discount must:
- Represent a significant perceived value for the consumer
- Be easy to use
- Offer a discount on the dealership’s primary services
That’s why offering 2% off probably won’t bring customers in your service bays and an offer with a laundry list of exceptions in fine print, such as “only valid on Tuesdays and Wednesdays,” will go straight from your customer’s hands into the wastebasket. However, we recently noticed a trend that on the surface seems to defy rule number 3, or at least suggest that rule number 1 trumps rule number 3.
Retain Customers by Rewarding Their Loyalty
September 15th, 2009 | Written By: Chuck PattonFrom a marketing perspective, the highest return on investment is from a loyal customer. Our strategy is to continually remind them why your service department is valuable. The goal is less about earning a customer and more about increasing the frequency of or gaining a larger share of customers. Most of this doesn’t surprise service managers, but there are still many details to fill in and not all dealerships have their customer loyalty finely tuned the way they really should.
Who is a loyal client?
How do you measure loyalty? Is it through Customer Satisfaction Index scores? Some manufacturers measure it by the number of customers who come back after the purchase of their vehicle. Some dealerships judge just by feel of things. This means they listen to the customers and look at their monthly numbers. This is actually not a bad idea, but not good enough for a marketing agency that is responsible for growing numbers. You need a good measurement of loyalty before you reward a loyal client. We recommend a very simple measurement that looks at the frequency or potential share of the customer: Is a customer coming to you for all of their scheduled maintenance? Dealerships are shocked at how much potential they have within their customer base. We use our Database Diagnostic ™ to show this potential. Based on the results of our dealers, we estimate that about 65% of most of customers only come in about once a year.
