CHALLENGE
To increase customer frequency through a cost-effective direct marketing program for a medium-size import dealer in the Midwest. On average, just over 18% of a dealership's customer base comes in three or more times a year. The dealer needed to increase customer frequency in order to drive profits higher and retain clients more effectively.
SOLUION
The dealer enrolled in our Service Reminder Program, which signals a customer to come in by reminding them of upcoming mileage and time-interval scheduled maintenance and/or reminding them of declined recommended maintenance from a previous service visit. The approach was unique to what they had been doing because the letters were personalized to a customer's specific vehicle needs, they had personalized pictures of the dealership and they represented their brand and logos in color as well. Customer data and letters were processed bi-weekly.
The dealer included this program with his other direct mail initiatives to build his brand and use familiarity of the staff and facilities to drive in customers
RESULTS...
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By Chuck Patton
Owner/CEO
In Charles Dickens' novel, The Tale of Two Cities, London and Paris were going through tremendous social turmoil. Even though their challenges were similar, the ways in which they operated were not.
That revolutionary story, set in Europe in 1775, is the most printed original English book, and among the most famous works of fiction.
Turning to recent times, how would the The Tale of Two Departments
read from an automotive dealership point of view? Last year's economically revolutionary story addresses Dickens' novel's famous line, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times....”
In an automotive dealership, the tale is not the same from the sales and service perspectives, as the service department accounted for almost all of the profit in 2009 at the average dealership,
according to NADA's end of the year analysis. To get both sides of the dealership out of economic difficulty, dealership leaders must have the vision and the ability to adjust to the market.
Dealership vision is greatly influenced by the dealer principle and/or the general manager, so it becomes vital that they learn what it takes to successfully come out of the revolution.
Most dealer principles or GMs have little-to-no active management or planning experience in the service department. Being a successful new or used car sales leader does not necessarily qualify
you to run the service department because the two business models are completely different. However, if you take the time to get to know the two business models, you can better understand how
you can take advantage of the huge service and parts sales revenue opportunities for this upcoming year.
read more...
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