Earlier this morning, Facebook announced the general availability of used vehicle dealer listings on Facebook Marketplace (only available in the U.S. at the moment).

Will your dealership jump on board?

What Marketplace Could Mean for Your Dealership

Adding your used vehicle inventory to Marketplace may bring you some nice benefits:

• More shopper connections - Marketplace is a place on Facebook to buy and sell items within your community, and millions of people already use it each day to look at private auto listings. Why not promote your inventory where so many eyes are already? 
• More connections can lead to more sales - It goes without saying, but the more potential buyers you talk to, the more opportunities you line up. You can help qualify these buyers by answering a few quick questions and encouraging them to come in and test drive.

There are some things to keep in mind for a good experience, though:

• Fast responses = happy customers - People using Marketplace may expect pretty quick response times. Facebook even “broadcasts” how quickly those responses happen (like “typically responds in minutes”).
• Facebook Messenger is the key - The only way to interact with Marketplace shoppers is through Facebook Messenger. You’ll probably want your sales team to handle those conversations, not your social media team, though, so you’ll need a communication plan.

How to Set Up the Most Effective Communication Process

In order to meet those last two challenges—quick responses and the reliance of Facebook Messenger—you just need a little messaging integration. Here’s how it can work:

• Integrate your current messaging platform with Messenger - If the messaging platform you use to chat or text on your website has a Facebook Messenger integration, hook it up! You should then be able to respond to any of these shopper inquiries the way you normally chat or text with consumers. (Contact At Once!, a LivePerson Company, has worked with selected dealers and Facebook to provide messaging support for dealerships who want to add inventory to Facebook Marketplace. See how Contact At Once!’s integration works here.)
• Share the messages among your team - Make sure everyone who is set up to respond to incoming messages (like your sales or BDC team) knows about the Marketplace addition. This will help avoid surprises while ensuring the most knowledgeable answers. 
• Think ahead & prepare backup - The goal is to increase the sales inquiries you get. Would your existing team be able to handle more customer conversations from Facebook—without having a negative effect on the speediness of responses? Look into the messaging support your provider offers—for instance, can they answer when your team is too busy (or after-hours)?

When You’re Ready...

Once you’ve got your plan for responding to these Facebook Marketplace shoppers (and have set up your Facebook Messenger integration), it’s simple to join. Even better: There’s no charge from Facebook!

1. Set up a Facebook page if your dealership doesn’t already have one. 
2. Fill out this short Facebook form to let them know you want to add inventory to Marketplace (only available in the U.S. at the moment).  
3. If you're working with an eligible inventory provider, they'll then contact you about next steps. (The list of providers is on the form.)

What do you think of this new way to expose your inventory and start sales conversations?
 

With click-to-call ads, we can call businesses at the click of a mobile search result. But most of us, as consumers, don’t really like to call (or wait on hold). So it’s no surprise that Google has been working on something that fits our “make-it-even-more-convenient” mobile preferences: 

Consumers can now text businesses from search results, thanks to Google AdWords “click-to-message” ad extensions. 

Click-to-message extensions were announced in Google's AdWords blog this morning, but they’ve been in beta for a few months. (Actually, Contact At Once! helped Google beta test message extensions using our own AdWords account and Mobile Text Connect platform!) 

How It Works

Your dealership probably already invests in Google AdWords. With the new message extension, consumers searching for dealerships or service in your area will see a “Text” call to action icon if your Google ad appears in their mobile search results. Tapping the icon connects you (the advertiser) to the consumer using their native messaging app. Sleek and simple!

To get started, you need... 

• A Google AdWords account 
• A text-enabled number (or AdWords-specific numbers if attribution tracking is important to you)
• The right processes in place to manage business-to-consumer texting, so consumers get the excellent, seamless experience they want—and you get the answering, tracking and compliance help you need. (Check out this article for more details.) 

You (or the agency that handles AdWords for you) can then...

• Add your text-enabled number(s) to Google AdWords campaigns as part of your "message extensions." 
• Create the copy that will auto-populate as the consumer’s message to you when they tap to text. (“Tell me your current specials.” “I want to schedule a service appointment.” etc.)
• Watch this how-to video for a quick example...and follow AdWords Help Center as needed!

What Shoppers Get

One of the biggest click-to-message benefits for the mobile shopper is the improved experience. Like I mentioned earlier, texting is often preferred over calling a stranger (even a friend). In fact, more than 80% of auto shopper respondents to a recent Contact At Once! Consumer Survey said they’d prefer to use mobile messaging to communicate with a business about purchases. 

Thanks to Google’s click-to-message ad extensions, such shoppers can get an additional opportunity to text with dealerships if they’re ready. They won’t have to be in a time and place where they can make a phone call. They won’t have to download or set up anything new on their phone. They simply type in a search term (like to find a local dealer location or service hours), text their question and go about their business.

Why Dealers Benefit

Letting people text from Google results is one more way to…

• Connect with even more people when it matters most to them - You’ll always be there, ready to talk with consumers wherever they find you, whenever they’re ready to reach out.
• Increase opportunities (sales AND service) - It’s an easy, natural next step for mobile shoppers searching for a local dealership, so why not make it easy for them to connect? Easy methods can mean more inquiries, which can lead to more appointments and deals.
• Turn a one-time search into a long-term conversation - Handle that initial text conversation correctly, and you could keep it going as you guide the shopper through the entire purchase or fixed ops process. Talk about a customer loyalty booster!

So if, like me, you’re excited about what Google click-to-message ad extensions could mean for your business, keep watching your AdWords account for them. Use this time to ensure you have the processes and people in place to open your messaging doors a little wider, guiding more shoppers inside!

Let’s start with a couple of assumptions: 

1. One of your goals is to increase service customer retention. 
2. You’ve invested in new technologies—like a secure, permission-based text messaging solution—to help reach those goals. After all, you know that while people like to text with businesses, you also need to ensure your team does it safely with everything tracked. (I shared a previous blog with stats about why this is an important opportunity in fixed ops.) 

That said...is your team (including the service advisors) using the new texting technology? Or is it being ignored and worked around? 

For a great many of us, the latter is probably true. But you can change that! Check out these 7 ways to encourage safe text use among your team, courtesy of my teammates, Pogo Parr, Director of Fixed Operations, and Melissa Commons, Business Development Manager: 

#1 - Start at the Top 

If you have a text solution you’re trying to implement, the decision-makers at your dealership are likely believers already. Make sure that support is known throughout the dealership (and especially the service department). 

#2 - Discuss It With Your Team

No one likes being forced into something. So communicate the what and why of permission-based texting through your new solution with your service advisors, service writers and other key personnel. Go beyond talking at them, too. Ask what they think or what they’re worried about. 

Once you know what might be holding them back—which might be a simple misunderstanding—you can address it. For example, are they concerned about customers getting their personal numbers? The right texting solution prevents that.

#3 - Communicate Externally

In other words, get your customers ASKING for it. From your website to signs on your service check-in desks and more, let customers know they can text you for service updates...and so much more. 

Your team may be hesitant to try something new at first, but getting the request from customers can help.

#4 - Build It Into Your Process

Consider where text messages could fit into your current service process, from start to finish. When could a text save time? When would it be useful? Here are a few ideas to consider:

• Incoming calls - Let customers know your service team can text with them. Get their permission to do so, and send a confirmation text (through your secure texting solution) as soon as you’re off the phone.
• Before the appointment - Confirm the appointment via text, tell them where to go / what to bring and remind them they can text back with any questions.
• Check-in process - When customers drop off keys, confirm if they want to receive service updates via text. If they haven’t already opted in, you can send them the initial text while they’re standing there.
• While vehicle is in the shop - Send estimate and gain approval to proceed, continue to share updates of the work (including pictures / videos) and then notify the customer that their vehicle is ready for pickup.
• After the appointment - Find out how their experience was, and give them the CSI survey link. Remind customers of any remaining recommended work, when additional service is due and/or any additional upcoming appointments.

When all this is done through the right official texting solution, the data will be documented as needed for attribution, compliance, etc.

#5 - Get Your Service Team Set Up

When you purchase the texting solution, there should be an app to download for desktop and mobile devices. This allows your team to respond to customers on the device that’s most convenient at the time, and it adds in a layer of permission-based documentation, management and protection. 

Ensure that your advisors, writers and anyone else who will be texting with customers download those apps. This way they’ll be ready to communicate more efficiently and securely as you ramp up the official texting process.

#6 - Train, Train, Train

Rather than using the solution for the very first time with a customer, practice internally first. The key here is getting your team used to texting in the various process scenarios:

• Sign up (and take) the training offered by the vendor - Often includes a Q&A session. 
• Ask your team what other types of training would be helpful - I bet your vendor will help provide them!
• Practice internally - Consider sending texts and videos to family members. Role-play situations among the team. 

In other words, try to make service texting a “habit” for your team. The more you use it, the less there is to "fear."  

#7 - Hold Them Accountable (in Fun Ways)

As Denim Simkins says in his DrivingSales blog about getting service teams on board with anything, “excitement and enthusiasm will go a long way.” You might even consider creating a contest to see which advisor answers the most texts. Perhaps you could match ROs to texts. For example, if an advisor’s goal is to have 8 ROs a day, they should be sending at least 8 texts (one to each of those customers). You can reward those who do!

And remember: Service directors have to be just as committed to texting (if not more so). Committed to getting the team trained and bought in. Committed to making sure the team understands what's expected in regards to texting. Committed to holding the team (and themselves) accountable to the new process. 

The above tips (and commitment) can help your team ease into a new way of doing things in this mobile-first world. After all, if you want to see true success, you need buy-in from everyone participating. That’s how you can really win...whether you’re implementing a text solution or anything else!

Good luck! 

“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!

We really can learn a lot from the Olympics, from perseverance to mosquito control. But sales advice? Funny you should ask. 

One of my colleagues recently asked dealers about the most memorable sales advice they’d received. In my mind, what they shared meshes perfectly with what makes for an Olympian (athletic abilities aside, of course).

Take a look and get inspired to keep going and close more deals:

#1 - Keep a Winning Attitude

A large part of what gets athletes to the Olympics is a driving passion and the willingness to do what it takes to make that passion a reality. Just look at the special team that was formed out of refugees and all the obstacles they overcame!

When selling cars, attitude is just as important. As Rich Wiatrowski, eCommerce Manager at Mini of Louisville, put it: “You won’t sell anything if you’re not full of energy, spirit, conviction and passion.” But we all know that’s easier said than done. Repeat these mantras to keep discouragement at bay:

• “Every day is a fresh start.” - Dianne Anderson, BDC Director, Dellen Chevrolet Buick GMC
• “No matter what’s going on in your life, leave it at the door.” - Jason Barnes, Internet Director for Preferred Auto Group. 
• “Stay positive: It’s a 30-day race, not a daily race.” - Chris Forsythe, Internet Director, David Stanley Dodge Midwest City & David Stanley Dodge Norman

#2 - Listen...to Words AND Body Language

Many TV commentators for the Olympics are former athletes for the sport they’re covering, and they often explain why a competitor did well or poorly based on the position of their body. (They can sometimes predict it, too!) 

So while listening to what a customer needs is important when selling cars, try also to read their body language. David Bardeen, a sales consultant at Mazda of West Ridge, credits his father with the advice that if a customer puts their hand to their chin, they want to buy. “We communicate with our bodies more than our words,” he adds. So do your research about nonverbal communication cues and keep an eye out!

#3 - Don’t Judge

Body language can give us clues, but it’s never smart to make a final assumption based just on what you see...or think you know. Everyone assumed Simone Biles would win a 5th gold medal in the balance beam, but an unexpected stumble gave her the bronze instead. 

Just like in the Olympics, you never know when someone will come out of nowhere to “win.” Chris Fischer, a sales consultant at Vic Canever Chevrolet, shared the following: “I’ve learned never to judge anyone. You don’t know what a customer can and will purchase.” In this era of tech entrepreneurs and more casual work environments, this advice is on par.

#4 - Think Service in All You Do

Whether you attended in person or watched from home, I bet you’ll remember something about the Rio games other than the inspiring athletes. We all have our own personal “customer experience” with the Olympics, and it’s up to the host city’s organizing committee to make it the best possible. (Rio got off to a rocky start!)

In a sense, each dealership employee has a hand in the customer experience too. And that can have a huge impact on sales, service and the ever-important repeat customer. “My dealership’s owner always told us not to work at making a single sale. Instead, work at making a customer for life,” says Kevin Graska of IQ Autos. 

Sarah Salaba, Digital Marketing Manager for Matt Saxe Chevrolet Buick, has a few tips for providing the type of great service that can lead to repeat customers by “subtly selling yourself”:

• Have the information ready and at their fingertips.
• Don’t “sell,” simply inform them with answers to their questions.
• Be as helpful as humanly possible.

#5 - Follow Up, Follow Up, Follow Up

No Olympic athlete would make it there without constant practice. So think of following up with leads as that practice...and don’t stop. Are you following up in a way that gets their attention (positively)? Have you implemented text messaging (securely, of course)? Over 90% of respondents to the 2015 Contact At Once! Dealer Survey found texts to be more effective as a follow-up tool than phone calls or emails.

#6 - Know When It’s Time for a Reboot

Everyone gets in a rut. Even Michael Phelps, the most decorated Olympian of all time, had some dark days trying to find his path. But he bounced back. He found his purpose, recommitted himself and added more medals to his record this year. 

Have you ever needed to reset your goals or attitude like that? David Boyle, Sales Manager at Bill Page Toyota, shares this advice: “When you’re in a slump, look at what you’ve been doing. Stop the shortcuts you may have created. Go back to the basics in what made you successful in the first place. In other words, reboot.”

#7 - Never Give Up

Several dealers said “never give up” was the best advice they ever received and could ever share. So I have to share one more story: Jillion Potter’s story. She overcame a broken neck and cancer to represent the U.S. on the women’s rugby team, and she didn’t let their Olympic loss stop her either. As she said in one AP interview, “My teammates do an excellent job inspiring themselves and each other. We’ll bring each other up.”

That in itself is a pretty inspiring comment. I hope we can all encourage each other in similar fashion because it’s too easy to focus on the negatives of any job, especially stressful ones like sales. 

Final note: Hats off to TJ Simmons, a marketing teammate of mine who just returned from volunteering at the Rio Olympics for the past two weeks!
 

People are lazy, including you and me—at least when we’re acting as consumers. It’s not really surprising when you consider that the average adult (25-54) spends most of the day working, according to the American Time Use Survey. We guard our short moments of leisure, putting off what’s not convenient. 

With the right approach, though, your dealership can benefit from such consumer “laziness.” How? You make life easy for car buyers, from sales to service. Dealerships who do, win. 

First, Remember This 

Mobile technology feeds the expectation of everything at our fingertips, from information to paying bills and purchasing items. Even desktops or laptops may seem like too much effort. Why go through the hassle of logging on if I can do it all from the screen at hand (my smartphone)? In fact, my family doesn’t even own a desktop computer or home phone. 

There can be a hefty price for mobile inconvenience, too. A business I used frequently didn’t allow account updates on their mobile site; I had to visit their desktop site. So I did...and canceled. Maybe I’m a lazy consumer, but I’m not alone: 49% of consumers recently changed service providers due to experience-related factors (per a 2015 IBM and Econsultancy study). 

Oh, and that consumer laziness? It extends to phone calls. Just because people spend so much time on their smartphones doesn’t mean they like calling businesses, not if there are other mobile-friendly options. I’m in my mid-30s, and I put off any errands that require a phone call until the very last possible moment. And I’m not alone: Text / mobile messaging has displaced talking as consumers’ preferred interaction, per a recent IDC InfoBrief. 

With That In Mind, Here’s What You Can Do

Become the convenient part of the customer’s day and lower barriers to interacting with your dealership. These four steps are a good start:

1. Empower consumers to do everything via your mobile site or app (or desktop if they so desire). Google followed one shopper through 900+ digital interactions in her search for a car, 71% of which occurred on mobile. Would you have been ready for that shopper? From asking questions to scheduling test drives or service appointments and possibly even making payments or starting finance paperwork, what processes could you move online (or at least start)? Then test those processes on different devices as if you were the customer. That way you’ll know where any hang-ups or irritations are, so you can streamline.
2. Let them choose how to talk with you: text, chat, in-app messaging, phone, etc. If you let them choose their engagement, they may reach out earlier with a question, giving you the chance to win their visit. Plus, the phone calls and in-person meetings you do have may be more effective because they chose to interact with you that way (they weren't forced). 
3. “Remember” them. You’ve been there, filling out the same information about yourself again and again each time you visit the doctor or call your insurance company. So make interactions quick and personal when people engage with your dealership. With text or in-app messaging, for example, you can easily identify customers if they reach out hours, days or months later, pick up conversations where they left off and build on that relationship. 
4. Create a sales-to-service mobile messaging network (here's a quick video example). By offering mobile messaging at every customer touchpoint, you fit into their busy lifestyles. They’ll stay connected with you because it’s easy. They can re-engage with you at the tap of a button, get questions answered, schedule appointments, etc. (That can mean good things for your fixed ops business, not to mention the lifetime value of a happy customer.)

Multiple studies have found that people would buy cars more often if the process wasn’t so difficult—we consumers are lazy, after all. So make the process painless and more mobile-friendly. Appeal to the "lazy" in us all. You’ll likely win more often if you do.