*This article previously appeared in the Reynolds and Reynolds FUEL monthly newsletter*

By Jeff Adams

It’s no secret some consumers have a sense of distrust when it comes to dealerships and dealership service departments. The major pain point: the fear of being overcharged and underappreciated before they hand over the keys. This distrust is often perpetuated by article after article that portrays dealerships in an untrustworthy light. So, how can you gain community trust and still be profitable?

One of the best ways to get new and repeat customers in your service department is through transparency. Although this is a familiar term, it’s important we translate this into your service department by making the process as predictable as possible. You create this atmosphere when you:

Display honest pricing.

Nobody likes it when restaurant menus don’t show pricing for meals or drinks. Customers feel the same when they can’t see the cost of your services. Having to guess the cost of their visit automatically makes their guard go up. Be as upfront with them as possible from the first interaction – whether online or at the advisor’s station.

Provide a fool-proof greeting process.

Part of transparency is knowing what to expect. This means a regular customer or a new customer can easily walk through the greeting process and receive the same treatment repeatedly. If a new customer pulled into your lot today, could they easily find your service drive? Once they get there, do they know the next steps for getting checked in? Your dealership should either have enough signage and online information to get a customer to the correct place, or your greeting staff should be ready at the door so the customer isn’t lost or confused. The next time the customer visits, they should be able to go through the same steps they did previously and know exactly what to expect – a menu presentation, a rundown of the multi-point inspection process, and next steps for their appointment.

Make sure customers see what they are signing.

When customers sign a paper document, allowing them to read the fine print is easy. However, with paper comes a lack of integration and the potential for the document to get lost or destroyed, and impossible to reference. With a digital RO comes the easy integration into your system and electronic file storage, but having a customer sign a signature line with no context instead of the actual RO is not transparent. It’s important your dealership has the best of both worlds with a greeting tool that allows the customer to see and sign a digital RO, creating transparency and trust.

Keep customers fully informed about their vehicle state.

Customers need to know about the state of their vehicle, which means sharing more than just the red items on the multipoint. If a technician marks something as yellow, the customer should know:

• How long it can make it without another check-up. 
• What the repair entails. 
• The cost of the repair.

Many times for yellow items, you can advise the customer this is something to keep an eye on for their next appointment. This lets the customer know something will need to be fixed in the future and your dealership is one they can trust their vehicle with.

Don’t forget to also mention or praise the green items. Let them know these items will likely need repaired at some point, but currently look great and are not a concern.

Let customers easily refer to their previous service history at your dealership.

Make previous items easily viewable for the customer. This can be through a printed report they keep for their files, or in their online account for service scheduling. They can walk into your dealership without worrying about being blindsided by repeat recommendations, and they can easily refer to this information to schedule their next appointment.

It is possible for service departments to overcome the stigma of distrust, but it’s not as simple as having personable advisors. Create processes that make the customer feel informed and comfortable to build trust and gain repeat business.

About the Author

Jeff Adams is a Product Planning manager for Service applications at Reynolds and Reynolds.

*This article previously appeared in the Reynolds and Reynolds FUEL monthly newsletter*

By Corey Walls

At this point, every automotive retailer has heard that “electric vehicles are the future.”

That’s actually inaccurate – the age of electric vehicles has already begun, and there are no signs that it’s slowing down: plug-in and hybrid vehicle sales have quadrupled globally since 2015.  And when you look at the lucrative used vehicle market, both supply and demand for electric vehicles are rising quickly.  There are now well over 1.3 million EVs on the road.  It is still a niche market, but similar to lifted and accessorized trucks, it’s a highly profitable pre-owned segment if you can effectively buy, and more importantly, sell these vehicles.

Before you enter this market, you need to make sure your sales team is ready.

Train Your Staff on the Technology

Across the board, your associates need to become knowledgeable about the features of electric vehicles, but this is especially crucial for your sales staff. One way you can train your associates is through role-playing conversations about electric vehicles.

Vehicle lifespan, battery specs, and charging options should be foundational, base-level information for each EV on your lot. Just as you’d mention engine performance in a sales pitch for a truck, you should learn exactly how battery-electric cars perform and transmit that information to potential buyers.

It’s also critical to avoid grouping all EVs together in one category. EVs can vary significantly in size, range, and performance. A Tesla Model S and a Nissan Leaf will have vastly different features and buyers, despite the fact they are both powered by electric batteries. Research-driven customers will want to know which EV best fits their needs, so your staff needs to know what sets each one apart. For prospective buyers, seeing their options in person is a key step of their buying journey, and your readiness to engage with them will determine the outcome.

For example, there could be confusion in the buyer’s mind about how charging works. One way to clear up any misconceptions could be to offer a hands-on demonstration to see firsthand how they would charge their vehicle. It’s also vital to teach them about the options of an in-home charging device or point them to apps that can locate publicly available charging stations.

Selling EVs will require a higher degree of technical knowledge, but through coordinated training efforts, your sales staff can embrace opportunities to talk about electric vehicles with prospects.

Build Strategic Relationships

As EV technology continues to evolve, you may find prospective EV buyers have more questions and a longer buying process than traditional car customers. This means it could be necessary to heighten the management of your interactions with specific customers, which can be achieved with effective customer relationship management (CRM) software.

Ideally, you want your salespeople to lead customers to a purchasing decision, but it can be difficult to focus your efforts in the right place without an effective CRM. To boost both efficiency and effectiveness, this solution would help your team prioritize tasks and follow-up actions based on the likelihood to buy.

A key part of this is understanding different EV buyer profiles. For example, Teslas and Audi EVs are high-performance vehicles with very advanced tech features, meaning the type of buyer you should target for these vehicles is different from, say, an environmentally-conscious Millennial looking at a Hyundai Kona.

That same base of technical knowledge in your sales associates will also help them differentiate between prospective buyers for the various EVs in your store, and your CRM is vital support in this area.

Implementing an effective CRM solution also ties back to properly training your staff to sell EVs. You can use real data to coach your employees on both their strengths and weaknesses throughout every customer interaction.

Conclusion

EVs are here to stay. While America is still adapting to EVs being more readily available, you can prepare your dealership to sell EVs with straightforward, intentional steps. By training your employees on the technologies behind EVs, prioritizing relationships with prospective buyers, and driving home beneficial incentives in F&I, your dealership can take charge of electric vehicle sales.

About the Author

Corey Walls is Senior Director of Product Management at Reynolds and Reynolds. He leads Product Management for Naked Lime Marketing, Digital Retail, and FOCUS. He was formerly the director of software design for ERA-IGNITE, POWER, The docuPAD® System, AddOnAuto, and ReverseRisk®.

*This article previously appeared in the Reynolds and Reynolds FUEL monthly newsletter*

By Hayley Holmes

COVID-19 continues to put pressure on the automotive industry. Sales teams have been forced into the new territory of online selling, manufacturers are playing catch up after halting production, and sanitation has become the new convenience factor in stores. But what really stands out to me is used inventory levels. As the pandemic has played out, it has gotten harder and harder to find quality used vehicles. Auctions aren’t what they used to be – both in terms of how they operate and vehicles available. And with the two month lull in sales during the spring, consumer trades took a hit as well. This issue is intensifying every day as consumers are fully back to shopping and are ready to buy. The challenge is, how do you serve them without the right inventory mix?

Mining your customer database is one way to fight back against an undesirable (or empty) used inventory lot. You can scour each profile to find those who are driving just the right vehicles you need, but that’s only half the battle. Of those, you have to find the ones likely to sell or make the trade today. So what goes into it?

Equity Mining 

Equity mining consists of analyzing your customer database to determine how much equity a customer has in their current vehicle. Most people would think targeting only customers who have positive equity, even just a small amount, would give them the best opportunity to close a deal. This isn’t always the case. Positive equity certainly helps when putting together a deal, but negative equity customers can be just as ready to buy – sometimes more so – than positive equity customers. Disregarding negative equity customers right away is a huge miss.

Data Mining

Data mining helps you identify customers in the market and ready to buy or even sell based on life circumstances. It uses three types of data – demographic, transactional, and behavioral – to analyze each customer’s unique position. This includes traits from age and income, to warranty information and deal details, to selling a vehicle and going through a change of address. All these factors, and thousands more, have a generous effect on whether or not a customer is willing to play ball.

Extreme Mining 

Smarter predictive analytics engines will combine every factor when deciding who’s an appropriate target. This includes both equity position – regardless if it’s positive or negative – and life circumstances. The reality is, the more data and information you have on a customer, the easier it is for the engine to determine their exact next move. Maybe it’s to simply sell their vehicle so it’s off their hands. Maybe it’s to trade in their vehicle for the newer model. Or maybe it’s to trade in their vehicle for a completely different model. You wouldn’t know without a robust predictive analytics engine.

Inventory levels aren’t just a challenge to navigate during the pandemic. It’s always important to make sure you’re allocating the right inventory mix for the right customer base. Take a look at your mining efforts and determine what category they fall under. If you’re only using one over the other, you could be missing the mark.

About the Author

Hayley Holmes is the product planning manager at Reynolds and Reynolds for XtreamService. She formerly served as a marketing specialist and team lead, providing XtreamService to dealerships, and assisting to build and develop the marketing services team.

*This article previously appeared in the Reynolds and Reynolds FUEL monthly newsletter*

By Hayley Holmes

You hear a lot about predictive data and how it can help businesses turn higher profits and capture more customers. But what isn’t talked about as much is the customer’s perspective – how predictive data affects their experience.

Have you ever been blown away by someone’s hospitality? The Ritz-Carlton is a great example as they pride themselves on providing an over-the-top experience for every customer. A story recently circulated about some guests who had a son with food allergies. The family had traveled with specialized eggs and milk, but upon arrival, they realized the eggs broke during the trip, and the milk had spoilt. The Ritz-Carlton staff set out to find the specialized foods for the family, but given they were in Bali, finding just the right eggs and milk proved to be a challenge. After searching all over town, the chef had no choice but to call a family member 1,000 miles away to ask if she would fly down to Bali with the ingredients. Sure enough, they made it happen and accommodated specifically to the guests’ needs. This is a defining moment. This is a wow factor. Experiences like this are what turn occasional customers into lifelong buyers.

In your dealership, think of this as everyday customers coming into your service drive for a typical oil change. They are expecting a routine visit, but after a thorough inspection, their vehicle is in need of $1,000 in repairs. Instead of spending the money to repair their vehicle, they could trade it in for something newer and nicer – something they didn’t consider an option before. What a lasting impression that leaves with the customer! People are most satisfied when they least expect it and when it feels like you’re going above and beyond for them. This is definitely apparent when customers arrive in service but leave F&I instead.

Some customers go so far as to share online how satisfied they were with the service they received. Take a look at this example:

Not only was he happy with the outcome of his visit, but he praised the dealership staff’s service along the way – pleasurable, polite, friendly, no pressure. What dealership wouldn’t want to add these qualities to their resume? Customer reviews like this are what online brands are built on. And despite all the technology in the world, word of mouth referrals are still gold.

At the end of the day, do customers notice you’re using data to fine-tune and personalize their experience? Not necessarily, but they do take note of how they’re feeling and their overall satisfaction. Ultimately, providing this Ritz-Carlton level of service means new lifelong customers, a better reputation, and turning that missing wow factor into an integral part of your store.

About the Author

Hayley Holmes is the product planning manager at Reynolds and Reynolds for XtreamService. She formerly served as a marketing specialist and team lead, providing XtreamService to dealerships, and assisting to build and develop the marketing services team.

*This article previously appeared in the Reynolds and Reynolds FUEL monthly newsletter*

By Robert "Skip" Scott

Working with dealerships across the U.S., one thing is abundantly clear: every dealership wants to make more money, no matter what the economy is like. Unfortunately, most dealerships don’t have a plan in place; or worse, they have one but it’s not obtainable. “If we increase sales by 20%, PVR by 15%, and repair orders by…” – you get the picture. Quite often, they are far off their goals and forecasts by the end of the first quarter. Then, they give up trying to reach them.

It’s time to think differently. Consider all the individual transactions that make up your month – every retail car deal, accessory, and aftermarket product. Think about every bank contract, parts ticket, service repair order, wholesale car deal, and dealer trade. Even the smallest volume dealerships have thousands, if not tens of thousands, of unique transactions by the end of the month.

Improved profitability is more easily obtained by increasing tracking and accountability among team members. By using technology available to dealers today, you can identify and correct inhibitors to profitability. Below are six areas that can lead to increased profitability without directly selling or servicing any additional vehicles.

1. Benchmark your current performance.

Know your strengths and weaknesses. Identify how you’re doing versus other dealers like you. Identify and quantify what areas in your store can realistically be improved, and what you will gain. For example: “My store’s service absorption rate is at 65%. The dealers of my brand that are performing the best are at 85%. By obtaining 85%, I’d have another $57,000 in gross profit.” 

Pick any two or three items you can easily fix and fix them (or have your management team justify why they can’t be fixed). Then move on to other areas of opportunity. Do this two or three times a year, with two or three key areas each time.

2. Track expenses relentlessly.

So many dealerships literally spend themselves out of business. Have a system in place that allows you to quickly see your expenses each month as they are being posted. Make sure you can see what the month over month trends are and investigate immediately when expenses seem to be getting out of control. Department managers need to pay attention to important expenses that affect vehicle, parts, and sales profitability. If tracking expenses isn’t easy, find a solution that will handle it for you.

3. Accountability and communication are key.

Who is in charge of your dealership’s collection department? Unfunded contracts, unpaid warranty claims, unpaid incentives, slow paying wholesale deals, and trade title issues can all put a grind on your finances and profitability. Who keeps your money flowing? Is it easy for you to track their performance? Get a system that allows you to create a dealership-wide “bulletin board” of who is keeping money owed to the dealership, including what is known about an issue and what is being done to correct it. This can increase profitability by cutting down the time it takes to get paid.

4. Know your wholesale business.

Most dealers simply look at one number – wholesale profit or wholesale loss – for the month. We need to look deeper at the “why” behind the number. Do you have a manager(s) or salesperson(s) that needs help with the appraisal process because it’s their cars you constantly lose money on? Do you have wholesale outlets that perform better than others, and therefore should get a shot at more vehicles? Are there particular brands/types of cars you are consistently having to wholesale and take a loss? Having a tool to track your wholesale performance on a monthly, quarterly, and annual basis can be an easy way to improve overall profitability.

5. Track your salesperson goals every day.

Every dealer claims to do this. The reality is, tracking it and doing something about it don’t always happen together. There are far too many five and ten year veteran salespeople selling the same amount of vehicles as the person hired three months ago. Your managers need to see salesperson performance month over month, year over year. They need to set, communicate, and track goals (and even automatically email performance to staff on a daily basis). Managers need to identify salespeople who haven’t closed a deal in the last couple of days, so they can train them to get back on track. Having a single system that does this for you can hold sales staff accountable and can ensure you don’t miss obtaining realistic goals.

6. Track your service advisor goals every day.

Similar to the sales department, you need to track your service department more closely. Can service managers easily identify coaching opportunities? Do you know op code utilization per advisor? Do you know the most profitable op codes being utilized? Do you track each advisor’s repair orders monthly to track gross profit percentage per RO?

We all track work in progress, but do you know which advisors are responsible for having the greatest percentage of aged open ROs? Do you know on a daily basis the status of these ROs and what’s being done to get them closed? Having a tool that tracks key performance areas of the service department can improve profitability without servicing any additional vehicles.

Conclusion

Keeping track of your dealership’s performance and managing your business has immense payoff. If you’re in need of a solution that can help, contact your Reynolds and Reynolds account manager.

If you need custom consulting to help fix issues or walk you through key tactics, contact Reynolds Consulting Services at 888.204.6092 or email consulting@reyrey.com.

About the Author

Skip has been a part of the Reynolds Consulting Services team since 2013. He consults on CRM for sales and service, used vehicle profitability, and ReverseRisk®, a comprehensive dealership reporting tool. With over 35 years of industry experience working as a general manager, sales manager, finance manager, and sales and leasing consultant, Skip is well equipped to help dealerships manage their stores.

*This article previously appeared in the Reynolds and Reynolds FUEL monthly newsletter*

By Jeff Adams

In times like these, making sure customers feel comfortable in your store is paramount to retaining business and driving revenue. But when making customers feel safe includes limiting interactions with employees, how can your dealership provide quality service to customers?

To help customers keep a distance, you can:

1. Set the standard for an environment where customers understand you are working to keep everyone safe. This can be done by creating a “stand behind” line at advisors’ desks, marking 6 feet waiting places on the floor with tape, having hand sanitizer readily available for customers to use, and displaying reminder signage around the dealership to be respectful of each other’s space.
2. Provide a self-led greeting option for customers to check in without interacting with an advisor. They can see your store’s service deals and walk through a normal service greeting at their own pace away from other people.
3. Communicate from a distance with phone or text frequently providing consistent updates as the customer’s vehicle makes its way through the repair process.  Make sure every communication is documented making future interactions much smoother.
4. Upsell with an online option similar to Amazon or other online retail experiences. By sending additional service recommendations via text or email, the customer feels like they are in control of their service visit and they can review their recommendations anywhere inside or outside of your store.

Overall, dealerships can and should be providing a good experience to the customer in a way that makes everyone feel comfortable. Don’t be afraid to help customers and present additional findings, even from at least six feet away.

About the Author

Jeff Adams is a Product Planning manager for Service applications at Reynolds and Reynolds.

*This article previously appeared in the Reynolds and Reynolds FUEL monthly newsletter*

By Hayley Holmes

Have you played “two truths and a lie” before? The concept is simple. I give you three statements – two are true, one is false. It’s up to you to determine which are which. Our topic will be about consumer leads and their likelihood to buy. Think you have what it takes?

Let’s play

1. A customer currently driving a two-door coupe is likely to upgrade to a newer two-door coupe.

2. More leads do not equal more conversions.

3. Negative equity can be used to your advantage.

Do you know which are true and which is false?

Let’s dive in

1. 1. A customer currently driving a two-door coupe is likely to upgrade to a newer two-door coupe.

This statement is false. Just because a customer bought it before does not mean they will buy it again. There are a variety of factors that could have altered this customer’s position to buy.

Perhaps the customer purchased her two-door coupe when she was twenty-two and single. Now, seven years later, she’s married and expecting her first child. Do you think a two-door coupe still fits her lifestyle? Likely not.

Perhaps the customer has moved and changed jobs since she first purchased the two-door coupe. Her new neighborhood and income have changed her buying position. Now, she is more likely to purchase something accommodating to her long commute and luxurious to fit her new lifestyle.

1. 2. More leads do not equal more conversions.

This statement is true. You might be thinking that a constant stream of leads coming in is like Christmas morning, and the more leads you have, the more you close. Not true. It’s about the quality of leads, not the quantity. Carefully crafting your lead funnel to the leads that will actually buy hold much more value than a random assortment of leads thrown at your salespeople. It’s about analyzing your inventory, the market, and your database to identify not only possible leads, but those likely to close.

1. 3. Negative equity can be used to your advantage.

This statement is also true. At first glance, you’re probably thinking a customer with $6,000 in negative equity is a reason to run for the hills and wait a couple years to call. Not a chance would you consider approaching this type of customer. Not so fast. You might be surprised to find that factoring in incentives and personal buying habits brings this customer from a D rating to an A+.

Moral of the story: not all leads are created equal, so why treat them the same?

Let me explain

How am I coming to these conclusions? Predictive analytics.

Predictive analytics uses demographic, behavioral, and transactional data to determine customer buying likelihood. It considers life circumstances and compares it to historical data of similar customers to make an informed decision.

Just like leads are not created equal, predictive analytics engines are also not created equal. In each statement above, the predictive analytics engine is going against the odds and the norm. Consider implementing a predictive analytics engine that goes beyond traditional data mining. The right solution will leverage previous deal information, in-stock inventory, OEM incentives, and behavioral and demographic data to propose buying propensities and likelihoods. You’ll be able to identify customers you would not have considered targeting before, and you’ll walk away with a new approach to and outlook on selling vehicles.

See what your salespeople think about this round of “two truths and a lie”. Did they get them right?

About the Author

Hayley Holmes is the product planning manager at Reynolds and Reynolds for XtreamService. She formerly served as a marketing specialist and team lead, providing XtreamService to dealerships, and assisting to build and develop the marketing services team.

*This article previously appeared in the Reynolds and Reynolds FUEL monthly newsletter*

By Jessica Quattro

Most people have a love-hate relationship with their CRM tool. In fact, Accent says only 13% of sales teams are satisfied with theirs. That’s because the traditional CRM tool creates bad ripple effects for dealerships.

Between the stress of giving customers a great experience, finishing daily tasks, and meeting goals, your dealership’s CRM tool can greatly impact the way your team operates every day. How and if your team utilizes the CRM tool can be the difference between success and failure.

Let’s dive into some of the bad ripple effects your CRM creates that affect your team’s daily processes.

1. The Never Ending Cycle of Tracking Down Information

Your sales team uses their personal phones to communicate with prospects… sending texts, pictures, and videos. The prospect information is saved in their personal phone and nothing is added into the CRM except the actual appointment (maybe).

When the customer arrives, the salesperson jots down the vehicle the customer wants on a piece of paper. He runs to track down the vehicle and scan the customer’s driver’s license – leaving the customer waiting alone.

On the test drive, the customer determines the route and barely scratches the surface of the features available that would ‘wow’ them.

The salesperson grabs you (his manager) to help save the deal, but nothing was entered into the CRM. You know nothing about the customer, his dealership history, or what he’s looking for.

Before you can help, the customer has already walked out the door and you lost the sale.

2. The Unorganized Follow-Up Process

A prospect came to the dealership to test drive a vehicle. After the test drive, he wanted to discuss the purchase with his wife.

Your salesperson made a note of that in the CRM and scheduled a follow-up call for the next day. Reviewing his daily work plan the next morning, his follow-up call to that customer was near the bottom of his list behind two birthday messages, an anniversary message, and a three month check-in email.

Once he finally gets to the most important call of his day, the customer says he needs more time. Your salesperson makes that note and schedules another follow-up for next week.

Before you know it, he isn’t answering the calls and your salesperson lost the sale.

3. The Chaotic Demand to Close Deals

You’re pulled in seven directions at any one time. You don’t know how salespeople are prioritizing prospects. You don’t know whose turn it is to take an up. You don’t know who’s on a test drive or whose customer is ready to walk.

You only know your assistance is needed when a salesperson seeks you out, which is often too late, with the customer walking out the door before you even get a chance to help.

At the end of each day, you review goals and reports and wonder how your team is going to sell more cars and hit more OEM incentives.

The Cost of Bad Ripple Effects

Your store is losing sales and profit opportunities because:

Your CRM tool is underused and leads to poor results.

Processes and data entry aren’t automated costing you productivity.

Information isn’t readily available when you need it leading to wasted time and money.

Your CRM tool functionality doesn’t meet your team’s needs so daily tasks aren’t completed and sales are lost in the chaos.

These problems cause ripple effects in how your team works, how your customers make decisions, and how your dealership meets goals and makes a profit.

The only way to overcome these issues is by starting at the root of the problem: your CRM tool.

Redefine for Good Ripple Effects

You need to redefine what your traditional CRM tool is and what it enables your team to accomplish.

Stop forcing salespeople to use a CRM that slows them down with tedious post-action, manual data entry. Give them a solution that makes their job easier with automation and full access to information the moment they need it.

Keep your sales team from repeatedly prioritizing their tasks and follow-up based on what’s chronologically first on the list. They need to prioritize prospects based on buying likelihood and be able to automatically schedule tasks based on real results.

Quit managing only when your help is requested or even after the fact. You need to know who’s doing what, the status of deals at various stages of the sales process, who’s on track to meet goals and who isn’t (and why), all in real time.

Only by redefining your CRM, will you achieve these good ripple effects, putting your team in a position to be more efficient, productive, and ultimately win more deals.

About the Author

Jessica is product planning manager at Reynolds and Reynolds for sales based applications.

*This article previously appeared in the Reynolds and Reynolds FUEL monthly newsletter*

By Cory Coler

If you take one thing away from this article, let it be this:

Customer service matters more in service than anywhere else in the dealership. Here’s why…

New customer acquisition can be 5 times more expensive than retaining your current service customers.[1] The more repeat customers you have, the more you’ll make, because the success rate of selling to repeat customers is 60-70%, and just 5-20% when selling to new customers.[2]

It’s critical to keep service customers coming back to keep operations profitable and cover expenses for the entire dealership. In addition, every dollar that’s not coming back to your drive is being spent at your competition. So, how can you keep customers coming back to YOU?

The best way is to provide an unbeatable customer service experience. 93% of customers are likely to make repeat purchases with companies who offer excellent customer service.[3] There are some key points to focus on when developing your approach to customer service.

1. 1. Service satisfaction improves by 44 points when a customer is greeted within two minutes of their arrival.[4]

It’s crucial to greet the customer the second they arrive. 12% of Americans rate their number one frustration as “lack of speed”.[5] Whether it’s an advisor or a tool, your customer should be greeted by name when they arrive at your dealership.

1. 2. Consumers are willing to spend 17% more on a company that has outstanding customer service.[6]

When you offer great customer service, you stop competing solely on price. If your service is fast, you provide better communication, and you create  less of a hassle, your customers will come back to you and be willing to spend more at your store than somewhere else.

1. 3. 84% of customers said their expectations weren’t exceeded in their last customer service experience.[7]

At 84%, there’s a lot left to be desired. If you can be the 16% exceeding customer expectations in service, you’ll be getting customers for life. If not, that money could be walking out your front door. $1.6 trillion is lost by American companies due to customers experiencing poor customer service and switching to competitors.[8]

So what happens when customer service becomes a priority?

1. 1. Businesses can grow revenue between 4% and 8% when they prioritize better customer service experiences.[9]
2.  
3.  
4.  
5.  
6. 2. 64% of customers believe customer experience is more important than price when deciding to make a purchase with a brand.[10]

Customers come back to your dealership and are willing to spend more money for their experience, meaning better, more sustainable business for you.

The numbers prove the importance of providing effective customer service. Now’s the time to invest in the right tools to help your service drive get to where it needs to be.

[1] Invesp

[2] Marketing Metrics

[3] HubSpot Research

[4] J.D. Power

[5] Statista

[6] American Express

[7] Harvard Business Review

[8] Accenture

[9] Bain & Company

[10] Gartner

About the Author

Cory Coler is a member of the fixed operations product planning team at Reynolds and Reynolds. He began his career in the automotive industry in 2001 at a Toyota retailer, becoming an ASE Certified Advisor and Toyota Certified Assistant Service Manager. In 2005, he joined Reynolds’ Service Price Guides (SPG) department in Tampa, Florida and quickly became a subject matter expert for the product. In 2014, he transitioned to his current role in Product Planning where he is responsible for the enhancement and design of several fixed operations applications.

*This article previously appeared in the Reynolds and Reynolds FUEL monthly newsletter*

By Mike Pishner

There are many reasons why a dealership invests in a digital solution for their F&I department – to cut down on paper, increase efficiency, maintain compliance, or speed up CIT time. Regardless of the main reason, I want to talk about a benefit many dealerships often forget – leveraging customer experience to increase revenue per customer.

Imagine the impact an engaging, digital F&I solution has from your customer’s perspective. A transparent and interactive experience enables them to feel in control, knowledgeable, and at ease. Sounds amazing right? Here’s the catch: a digital solution is only the foundation. Your F&I managers need to know how to leverage it effectively and purposefully to capture more sales per customer. Here are three common ways customer experience is missed, despite having a digital solution.

1. Buying vs Selling

Your F&I managers have a lot of responsibilities on their plate, including selling enough products to make the sale profitable. However, customers don’t want to be sold products – they want the freedom to buy a product. Having your F&I managers effectively utilize sales tools is crucial in educating the customer on what each product offers and how it will uniquely benefit them. It requires an F&I manager to be confident in the technology to create a confident consumer.

2. Lack of Transparency

Satisfaction drops significantly when customers feel information is being kept from them. When a customer doesn’t want a certain product, the F&I manager must go back to the PC to make the change. The act is innocent enough, but the customer doesn’t know what the F&I manager is doing. If there are multiple changes throughout the process, the F&I manager is continuously going back and forth from PC to customer. Every time this happens, the customer trusts the F&I manager less and becomes less likely to buy. When the F&I manager has the ability to make changes in front of the customer, it puts them at ease.

3. Engagement Throughout

A lot can be done to affect a customer’s perception of time. Constant engagement throughout the whole buying process can make time seem to go by faster. There is often a bottleneck at F&I, especially on busy days, meaning your customer will have to wait. Use that waiting time as an opportunity to keep customers in the buying process by giving an accessory presentation. This helps with their overall experience at your dealership, and reinforces ownership of their car before going in to F&I.

Conclusion

Remember, a customer’s experience is driven by the person they are interacting with.  Your F&I managers need to have great tools and be trained to use them effectively.  As you dig in to understand and implement lasting improvements, I recommend seeking the assistance of an experienced consultant. Not only is your dealership unique, but so are your challenges. If you have trouble identifying a solution, or even struggle with where to start, a consultant with background in the industry and perspectives from multiple dealerships can take the necessary time to help you.

About the Author

Mike Pishner is accomplished in eBusiness management and strategy, CRM processes, BDC implementation and improvement, and Desk management. He has over 10 years of automotive experience in sales and sales management roles prior to joining Reynolds Consulting Services in 2018.