A look at how dealers are enticing customers into their stores and keeping them over the long-term
In this age of fickle consumer spending patterns, instant media access and a bewildering choice of products and services on offer, it can be very difficult, not only to attract new customers, but to keep existing ones, especially when those customers represent the backbone of your business.
For dealers, the advent of new and increasingly sophisticated customer retention management tools is helping to drive satisfaction and increase sales, but the key is keeping those customers once you’ve enticed them.
Susan Gubasta (left); pictured with brother Stephen has seen CSI increase significantly at Mississauga Toyota over the last few years and a lot of that has to do with customer retention strategies she’s helped put in place.
“Dedicated BDMs are great, but one of the most successful strategies you can have is to make the customer feel welcome. Be attentive,” says Cynthia Cochrane, of Town & Country BMW, in Markham, Ont. “Take the time to listen to them and guide them through the process, from the initial contact, through the sale and onto service. Build a rapport with them. It’s the connection you make with them that will bring them in and make them stay. Buying a car is a huge decision for most people and if you can walk them through the process and tailor a search or package specifically to their needs, they will place their confidence in you. It’s about relating to them and understanding what they want,” she says.
Town & Country, situated in one of the most ethnically diverse areas of the country, has done just that, employing staff from different communities who are able to relate to their customer base. In addition, besides making the sales experience a comfortable one, in order to keep customers coming back, there’s a need to stay in touch proactively.
The personal touch
“That’s where CRM tools can really prove effective.” Automated follow ups are good, but it’s maintaining that rapport with the customer from sales, through to service and back to sales again when the time comes to trade the vehicle in, says Cochrane. And when it comes
to service, it “really is the little things that count,” she says. Although having a fleet of loaner cars can be costly up front, for certain customers, being able to provide a car while theirs is being serviced at short notice can pay huge dividends down the road. “Providing a delivery service, such picking up and dropping off cars for certain customers is another, especially when it comes to servicing. This particularly applies if they’ve originally bought the car from you.”
By going that extra mile for service, it helps ensure they’ll do so again. The idea is to become a one-stop shop for all of their vehicle needs and eventually they’ll become like family. “We’ve seen it first hand, you see their kids and their grandkids following in their footsteps, multiple generations of the same family coming to you because, as their dealer, you’ve developed that level of trust, because you went that extra mile for them,” says Cochrane.
Novel approaches
Others strategies include seminars. Susan Gubasta, of Mississauga Toyota has discovered that the dealer’s Know Your Toyota seminars; conducted on the third Tuesday of every month and scheduled the following month after customers have purchased a vehicle, have really helped boost CSI, along with customer faith in the dealership.
“When you buy a car, up until the first service, it’s the honeymoon period,” says Gubasta. “But then, after spending a lot of money, the customer realizes that they have to spend more and want to know why. The seminars we’ve instigated give them a chance to understand their vehicle, its features, its workings and what needs to be done in regards to maintenance, things that they often overlook during delivery, quite simply because they’re too excited. By doing a follow up, it actively engages the customer and gets them involved in the process.”
They get their dealership’s fixed operations, service or parts managers to do a walkaround of the vehicle and allow the customers to tour through the dealership, into the service area and shop. The goal is to help customers understand how their vehicle will be serviced and the fact that it will be maintained using state-of-the-art equipment; along with how much in terms of cost, on average, the vehicle will run them. “What surprises them is that with factory trained technicians repairs at the dealer are often far more competitive in terms of price than they might think. It’s amazing what happens when you engage customers in this fashion. It generates lots of questions from them,” says Gubasta.
Others can include complimentary car washes. “There’s nothing like a clean car,” says Gubasta. “By washing the vehicle after it has been serviced, it shows that you care and we do, without our customers we wouldn’t be here.”
Aftersales customer retention
But successful customer retention is not only about sales or service; it’s also about providing an integral experience across the entire ownership process of the vehicle and it’s an area where both dealers and manufacturers can really make an impact together.
Tony Taddeo, of Volvo Laval, Quebec, sees how working together can make a difference. “Volvo, in conjunction with Aspen Marketing, has launched an Aftersales Customer Retention Program that specifically focuses on follow-up after sales and service events, such as booking or scheduling appointments,” says Taddeo. Another program, Aftersales Target Marketing, uses advanced analytics to ensure that individual customers receive the best and most appropriate marketing offers based on their individual needs. “By doing so, both the manufacturer and dealer are helping to ensure what specific customers are most likely to need at each stage during ownership of the vehicle, as well as helping them realize cost savings and special promotions. That’s huge,” says Taddeo.
Taddeo also says that peace of mind plays a hugely important part in successful customer retention strategy, not only in sales and service, but also when it comes to F&I. “Think about it. To make the customer come back, it’s vital that they leave with right finance or lease agreement. If they want to change cars every three years and you’ve put them into a 72-month finance program, chances are they aren’t going to want to do business with you again, because you didn’t listen to their needs.”
You can also score points by providing a warranty or extended service contracts. Volvo has initiated one called VIP (Volvo Increased Protection), which picks up where the factory warranty leaves off. It’s a flexible program and a valuable customer retention tool because all covered repairs are performed using genuine Volvo parts by authorized Volvo retailers.
Go the extra mile
Another way that dealers can help boost customer retention is by providing additional services, outside the realm of maintenance plans that again; most independent repair shops or service centres typically don’t.
Town & Country BMW for example, offers a service where it can store tires for its customers from winter to summer and vice versa.
