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

By Jody Huff

The Super Bowl is the most watched television event of the year. Of course, OEMs are spending millions of dollars in television advertising dollars during commercial breaks. In fact, 25% of commercials during the Super Bowl are automotive. 1

Thanks to this huge investment, calls to dealerships the day after the Super Bowl have seen an average increase of 513%. 2

A complete phone system fully equipped to take on this increase in traffic can help you make the most of the increased opportunities you receive in a few ways:

1. Instant customer information. Before you even pick up the phone, you should know name, address, phone number, vehicle information, and appointment, service, and deal history – just to name a few. The more background information you have on a customer, the smoother the conversation will go and the faster you can meet the customer’s needs.

Here’s another example: marketing activity. Especially after the Super Bowl, customers will be browsing your website for inventory and prices. Your phone system should tie to your website so dealership personnel are aware of the customer’s interactions. If the customer was looking at VIN 3C6UR5DJ1KG579495 ten minutes ago, the employee answering the phone will know right away.

1. One click away functionality. Customers calling your dealership after the Super Bowl are likely calling about a specific vehicle and wanting to make an appointment. Your phone system should be able to schedule appointments (in both sales and service) and have the customer’s profile transfer automatically to the appointment in your CRM or DMS. You should never have to rekey information. Not only is this wasted time, but you could be transferring information inaccurately. You wouldn’t want a customer to show up for an appointment you weren’t ready for…

1. Status availability. Most dealership calls run through a receptionist, who is largely responsible for directing call traffic. Your receptionist should have a view of other employees currently logged in, on another call, or away from their desk. Perhaps the receptionist transferred to the wrong salesperson, but realized her mistake seconds after selecting the wrong one. She should have the option to retrieve the call instead of waiting for it to come back around in the queue. Small things like this help speed up processes and improve the customer’s experience.

1. Call forwarding. How often are your salespeople actually at their desks? Your phone system should enable call forwarding to mobile devices so salespeople never miss a call. The more unanswered calls in your dealership, the more likely it is customers are going to call someone else. Call forwarding helps keep customers where you want them – doing business with your store.

Bonus point: Consider implementing a BDC. Not only will a BDC help you manage calls during high traffic seasons, but it will help you year round. Salespeople can focus on the customer in front of them or the task at hand while BDC personnel can manage appointments and follow-up.

If your phone system crosses these t’s and dots these i’s, you won’t need to worry about bribing your staff with snacks, drinks, or prizes the morning after the Super Bowl when calls are expected to be heavy. Their job will be easy and seamless from the get-go. That’s what it’s all about – creating an effortless experience the moment the phone rings.

1 Marketing Charts

2 Auto Remarketing

About the Author

Jody Huff is the Vice President of Sales Development at Reynolds and Reynolds. Over his 24-year career with Reynolds, he has achieved Sales Club status over 20 times. Jody’s alma mater is Texas A&M University where he earned a BBA in Marketing.

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

By Jody Huff

The one that got away — we’ve all experienced it. Enthusiastically jumping in the air to just miss that fly ball soaring over the fence. Going all in at the poker table with a full house and losing to a four-of-a-kind. Waving goodbye to your middle-school sweetheart when they move away. Coming up short is practically a fact of life.

Dealership managers often feel the same way about leads slipping away. With fewer opportunities, every lead makes a difference, but tracking down leads lost to unanswered phones, dropped calls, or even bad customer service experiences can be a headache.

The good news is rescuing lost leads doesn’t have to be a nightmare. Here are some things you need to know about lost leads and how to save them.

Recovering From Bad Customer Service

Research firm Luntz Group revealed 40 percent of Americans dread the idea of buying a new car. Before they even pick up the phone, they’re already cringing. The first impression holds a heavy weight in whether or not a buyer feels comfortable doing business with you.

However, phone conversations don’t always go as planned. A new sales rep might not be fully trained yet, and a flubbed pitch could lead to a frustrated customer hanging up abruptly. That new salesperson will probably just move on to the next lead, and management will be none the wiser. What if you could be notified when these types of calls happen?

Consider deploying a service that listens to and reviews calls happening in your dealership. A team of highly trained professionals can spot mishandled calls and inform you when a caller needs extra attention and follow up, so you can correct the problem. With this approach, your potential customers aren’t left frustrated and telling their friends how unhappy they were with your dealership. Instead, they’ll be impressed you took time to make things right.

Returning Missed Calls

Sometimes customers slip through the cracks. In an ideal world, every call is answered. However, for various reasons, some calls just don’t get through. Since many callers don’t leave voicemails, how will you know who needs a call back?

It’s easy to fall into the trap of thinking a customer will try to call again if they don’t get through the first time, but that next call could be to a different dealership. If your employees aren’t answering calls, customers might think they’re not important to you. At that point, it’s not as simple as a call that slipped through the cracks — callers view lack of responsiveness as bad customer service.

Be sure you have a way to capture call information whether the caller leaves a message or not. Notifications of missed calls also help during a time-sensitive process. You might not know exactly what the customer was calling about, but following up on a missed call lets customers know you care and want their business.

Letting leads slip away is unacceptable in today’s competitive market. Make sure you’re not letting leads slip through the cracks.

About the Author

Jody Huff is the Vice President of Sales Development at Reynolds and Reynolds. Over his 24-year career with Reynolds, he has achieved Sales Club status over 20 times. Jody’s alma mater is Texas A&M University where he earned a BBA in Marketing.

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

By Jay Harper

Does your dealership’s website suffer from TARCAC (Tumbleweeds Are Rolling and Crickets Are Chirping) syndrome? Have you tried every method out there, but no matter what you do, can’t get those website traffic numbers to budge?

Here are five easy ways to drive website traffic:

1. Email Marketing 

Do you even know anyone who doesn’t have an email address? There are 2.5 billion email users worldwide, and it’s predicted to increase to 2.8 billion in the next two years. It continues to rank #1 as the most effective way to reach people interested in your business because it’s the only method of communication you own.

With a clean database, effective messaging, good timing, and the ability to deliver emails to inboxes consistently, you’re able to take control of your dealership marketing with a 1:1 strategy that costs less, retains more customers, recaptures lost business, and drives traffic to your website.

2. Social Media

If you want to be successful in today’s technology-driven world, your social media presence is critical. The average person spends 2 hours and 15 minutes on social media each day. If you want people to see your dealership and your promotions, advertise where people spend their time! Reach beyond your own audience and grow new business by using social insights to target people with similar interests and behaviors. Drive action with lead generation ads. Use the power of influence to spread your brand recognition by letting users see when their friends interact with your dealership.

Want to dip your foot (or straight up cannonball) into Social Media advertising? Invest in yourself by investing in a marketing provider that knows how important your social media presence is.

3. SEO (Search Engine Optimization)

SEO is the foundation for digital marketing and must be a fundamental piece of your marketing strategy. There are two types of SEO – technical SEO and content SEO – and executing on both can mean the difference between driving visitors to your website and getting buried alive in Google search results.

If you lack the time and skill needed to produce the content or the knowledge needed to make it visible to search engines, hiring a skilled marketing company could be exactly what you need to rank above your competition.

4. Create a Dealership Blog

Blogs are a rich source of content that increase organic traffic opportunities by directing people searching for unique keywords to your website. Regularly updated blogs can dramatically improve your SEO ranking.

While car dealer websites perform well in a narrower keyword group (with keywords focused around inventory, service, and specials), for blogs the possibilities are endless. Upcoming events, service promotions, informational pieces, etc. can all be communicated through blog posts. It’s also a great way to engage with your customers, which leads us into:

5. Post. Engage. Respond.

Drive return traffic and increase customer retention by posting relevant, tailored content to your social media platforms and website. If a customer leaves a review about your dealership, try responding to their comment with more than just “thanks for the review.” We recommend using the 3 C’s method:

• Congratulate – customers want to know you care. Congratulate them on the purchase of their new vehicle!
• Connect – successful customer service, and what keeps them coming back, is creating an experience where excellent service is associated with your dealership. Connect with them!
• Communicate – tell your customers about future events, promotions, and offers. Invite them to come back in (and bring a friend or two).

You can’t afford to let your digital reputation fall to the wayside. If you don’t have the time to invest in your online reputation yourself, hire someone who does.

It’s time to dust off your website and get rid of those tumbleweeds. Doing these five simple things is an effective way to boost traffic, customer retention, and keep the crickets at bay for good.

About the Author

Jay’s successful career in the automotive industry led him to Reynolds and Reynolds in 2013 as the Manager of XtreamService. He is currently the Director of Product Planning for Naked Lime, the dealership marketing division of the company, building digital marketing services that deliver results for dealers.