The salesperson closes the car door and, through an open window, shakes the hand of the car buyer. “Thank you for your business. Enjoy your new ride!”
“Thank you,” the customer responds.
They put the car in D and drive off the lot.
When will you see the customer again?
Does the customer even want to see you again?
They probably spent the last several hours haggling over the cost of the car and features with one car salesman then a used car salesperson about their trade-in value, and then an F&I salesperson who hiked their monthly payment up with questionable add-ons.
They twiddled their thumbs as the salesperson disappeared for long stretches of time and scrolled through their phone impatiently as hour-after-hour passed.
Why would they want to come back?
It’s no longer about selling someone a car, it’s about giving them an experience — a reason to come back before their 6-year car loan is paid off. And, the truth is, dealerships start off at an immediate disadvantage because the last mile of the car purchase is extremely frustrating and painful for customers.
Dealerships must adapt to changing expectations to provide a customer experience that encourages retention or risk losing out to industry disrupters like Carvana, CarMax or cars.com.
You sold the car, now it’s time to sell the service.
Service Department
It’s not that the experience is horrible with a dealership, it’s just unexpectedly time-consuming, frustrating and overwhelming.
We all know it is imperative for your salesperson to introduce your customer to the service department during delivery.
According to Fixed Ops Journal, “Customers who were shown the service department were 1.5 times more likely to return to the dealership for service…”
Currently, only about 41 percent of buyers were introduced to the service department and 53 percent of those buyers said the introduction was pivotal in their decision to return for after-sales service.
Factory-certified technicians, competitively-priced oil changes, comprehensive auto body repair, and more — let your customers know every benefit in visiting your service department.
Scheduling Service
DealerRater.com conducted a major survey asking those who recently took their car in for service at a dealership if they knew the dealership had online scheduling.
40 percent had no idea.
And of those who did know about the convenient service — only one-third used it.
As Millennials become the dominant spenders, they’ll continue to seek out the businesses that understand their expectation of convenience (this begins at the sales process).
Most people have access to a computer and the Internet from various devices at home or work. Advise them of the convenient way to book their next service appointment anytime, day or night.
Amenities
It’s no longer enough to have a decent cup of coffee in your waiting room. People value time more than coffee — in fact, most will probably pick up Starbucks on the way in.
How do you make their life easier?
- Free WiFi — What better convenience for someone who needs to work remotely than the ability to access WiFi?
- Concierge Service — Pick up and drop off allows the customer to take care of their car during office hours and also makes life easier on those who would rather get chores completed around the house than flip through magazines in a waiting room.
- Free Rental — What if you can hand over a set of keys to your customer and say, “Do what you need to do, we’ll call you when your car is ready?” The value is twofold. They can continue with their day on their terms and you are giving them a new car to test drive.
What other amenities do you have that third-party car care centers do not?
Customer retention begins at the beginning. Build on the excitement of a new car purchase by digitally engaging with that customer and sharing the advantages of visiting your dealership for after-sales service.
Inform your customers about your service department, online scheduling tool, dealership amenities and much more with OneClick Loyalty — a comprehensive customer retention solution built by dealers, for dealers.
It’s time to drive sales and service retention rates and revenue at your dealership.
