“Make it easy for me.” 

That’s a common request / wish / complaint of almost everyone when it comes to a dealership’s service department, from customers to your own service advisors. If things were “easier” (i.e., processes were more convenient), your team could be more productive and your CSI scores could edge up simply because you made the experience less of a pain for the car owner. 

Mobile messaging, especially permission-based text messaging, is one way to make that happen (here's 8 reasons why). And I’m not just talking about being able to schedule a service appointment via text or chat with a service BDC. I’m talking... 

• Service reminder updates (and being able to hold an actual conversation right then and there via text).
• Customers texting to check on the status of their car (way easier than fielding incoming calls).
• RO approvals (even when the customer is at work).
• Videos or pictures of why you’re recommending a repair (increasing transparency and trust).
• Post-service follow-up (How’s it running? / Any other issues pop up? / Here’s a link to that CSI Survey).

Here’s Why You Shouldn’t Tune This Out

Change is hard, especially when you’re juggling so many moving parts (pun intended). But according to J.D. Power’s 2016 CSI study, 22% of Baby Boomer customers, 37% of Gen X customers and 38% of Gen Y customers ALREADY prefer to receive service updates via text or email. 

Those numbers keep growing. In a recent consumer survey conducted by Contact At Once!, we asked close to 1,000 people about their communication preferences when it came to automotive service. (The participants either recently purchased/leased a car, or they plan on buying/leasing in the next 6 months.) Here’s a peek into what we found:

• 88% said, given the choice, they were more likely to use mobile messaging to schedule service appointments.   
• Over 95% of those who recently bought a car and chose to message during the process said they'd prefer to use mobile messaging to communicate with the service department too. (And 70% of all buyers surveyed said they favor mobile messaging for service.)

A friend of mine explained why she’s not surprised at this preference: She usually drops her car off for service because she’s a working parent—no time to waste. Then she’s on the phone for her job all day long, calling prospects or customers herself. If the service department calls her, she has to put one of her customers on hold or ignore the call and potentially delay an additional repair. Text messages, on the other hand, are easy. She’s used to answering her son’s texts during long meetings already!

It’s Going to Happen. Will You Be Ready?

“I see the need for texting in the service drive as very similar to those dealers who believed years ago that they’d never need a website,” says Jeff “Pogo” Parr, Contact At Once! Director of Fixed Operations. “It’s happening, and you won’t have a choice to do it in a year or so. But by then, you’ll be playing catch-up.” 

Obviously, a lack of convenience is not the main reason a car owner will go elsewhere for service. It does play a role, though. A Vennli survey on car dealership service retention notes that people who go to independent service centers find them to “be more convenient.”

So why not take a step closer to car owners and text with them (securely) about their car in the shop? It’s an easy way to make the initial first contact, keep them updated, remind them of their appointments, stay connected and make the entire experience easier, so they’re more and more likely to return even after warranty. 

And if you do it the right way—with a solution that tracks everything in your system, ensures permission-based opt-outs and more—texting can be easy and rewarding for your team. In fact, one of our large dealer group partners implemented outbound text for service and saw their service connection rates double.

Pogo puts it this way: “Would your guys rather leave voice mails and wait, or send text messages and get answers?”

What do you think?

Interested in a secure method of texting, but need help encouraging your service team to adopt it? I’ll be sharing 7 tips on how to get this team buy-in...so stay tuned!