With virtually no new cars on the ground and used cars hard to come by, a lot of salespeople are sitting idle right now. Put them to work sending targeted emails to customers and prospects.

Consistent communication is the best way to keep customers in your pipeline, instead of on your competitor’s vehicle waiting list. Many customers are willing to pre-order vehicles with money down, while others are coming up on lease-end and need a nudge to join your waiting list now if they want to trade-up in a few months.

Targeted emails are also a great way to source used vehicles. You surely have a database packed with customers who may have a used car to sell. Especially if you design your own Cash-for-Clunkers program or offer over Kelly Blue Book value, as many dealers are doing.

Experts agree things will calm down eventually, but it may take some time. According to AutoForecast Solutions, supply isn’t expected to return to normal until the first quarter of 2022.

Now is the time to act. Use your CRM to create specific customer lists, including leads that contacted you over the past 30 days, customers coming up on lease end or in danger of going over mileage, and customers who previously bought new or used vehicles at least 12 months ago.

Remember that email subject lines are critical to high open rates. Here are a few tips:

Subject Line Dos:

Keep it short

Use a call to action

•  
• Ask a leading question

Avoid ALL CAPS and words like “exclusive,” “free,” and “now’– these are spam triggers.

• Don’t use a “$” and over-used marketing words like “save” and “only.”

Sample Subject Lines:

Best cash offer for your trade-in, interested?

• Thoughts about your next car…

Quick question for you…

Following up on your vehicle lease agreement…

Email Templates for Today’s Market

The following templates are meant to get your juices flowing. Get creative and adjust them for your market, sales goals, and inventory needs.

Trade-In

Here’s $2,000, Friend.

All you have to do is bring your running used vehicle to our dealership. We are in dire need of trade-ins and pre-owned cars, so we are interested in any vehicle you have that runs. And we’ll pay at least $2,000 for it.

Are you available for a brief call tomorrow?

Touch Base

Hello,

I noticed you browsed new SUV inventory on our website. As you may know, all dealerships are having a hard time stocking new inventory right now due to a lack of microchips.

But, new vehicles are hitting the ground every day. I’d be happy to help you pre-order your next SUV and keep you updated on its status on a weekly basis. Please let me know if you’re interested.

In the meantime, make sure to Like us on Facebook so you can stay up to date with news and events we hold at our dealership here in [dealership city].

Lease Term

Hi There,

You’re receiving this email because your vehicle lease will mature in a few months. This is a great time to think about pre-ordering your next vehicle. We’re offering low interest rates to help make that happen!

Are you available for a brief call tomorrow?

Lease Mileage

Hi There,

You’re receiving this email because our records show you’re close to the mileage limit specified in your lease agreement. We’d like to help you avoid excess mileage penalties. Start a pre-order for your next vehicle, before you go over your limit.

Are you available for a brief call tomorrow to discuss?

Lower Payment

Hi There,

You’re receiving this email because we’d like to help you lower your monthly lease payment. With interest rates at historic lows, we can help you trade-up to a newer vehicle while paying less every month!

Are you available for a brief call tomorrow to discuss?

Now is the time to be proactive and reach out to customers. You may not have the inventory today, but the chip shortage will ease up. Email communications that encourage pre-ordering and trading in older vehicles will keep customers and leads in your pipeline and pay dividends in the fourth quarter and beyond.

If you’re reading this, you’re crying for inventory. We all are. The lack of new vehicles on the ground is like nothing I’ve ever seen before.

As CNBC reported, chipmakers shifted their focus to electronics like computers when dealerships and OEMs shut down during the pandemic. The renewed demand from our industry has them struggling to keep up. Ron Montoya, senior consumer advice editor at Edmunds.com, predicts that car pricing and inventory will likely be affected through at least the second half of 2021.

Now, I happen to believe that “car guys and gals” are the best breed of business people! If anyone can thrive through this post-pandemic craziness, we can. We just need to ensure the bottleneck of customers wanting to buy stay in the market.

The best way to stay in front of customers is with a new follow-up process specific to our current challenge. We don’t have any control over the chip crisis. We do have control over how and when we keep in touch with customers. A consistent and clear follow-up process is the only thing that will differentiate you from the dealer down the road.

I know some of you reading this just said, “but I don’t have any inventory. Why am I reaching out to customers if I don’t have anything to sell them?” You’re reaching out to customers who have expressed interest – whether through a call, text, email lead, or showroom visit – in buying a new vehicle. Sure, you most likely don’t have the vehicles they want on the ground right now. But, you DO have a limited number of vehicles coming in each week. Keep in-market customers updated once a week about what’s coming in, and they will reward you by returning to your dealership and buying a car.

How will this follow-up process give you a competitive advantage? Because most dealers who don’t have the car of interest in stock will simply turn away the customer, mark the customer’s CRM record as inactive, and forget about it. The customer is left to follow-up with the dealership – if he or she wants to. I always preach that a customer is never a dead customer. That person will buy a car – but not from a dealership that acts disinterested in pursuing the sale.   

In contrast, let’s imagine a scenario where every salesperson follows a prescribed process backed up by your CRM. Every customer interaction and vehicle preference is logged in the system. Then you create a status alert that prompts a salesperson to call or text the customer in a week and give an update. Within your CRM you can also link a customer to an inventory alert, so when the vehicle they want comes on the lot, you get immediate notification and can jump on the phone to the customer.

Let’s say Mark came in last week looking for a new Corvette but you don’t have one right now. You do see one for allocation in 60 days. You say to Mark, “I see we’re due to receive one in 60 days. Do you mind if I follow-up with you and keep you updated on that status? What’s the best way to contact you?” Then do what you promised and follow-up. The customer will remember you and appreciate you because NO ONE is doing this.

We all know salespeople don’t like to do this kind of follow-up, but you have to keep tabs on your customers to earn their business now and in the future. If you can’t get your team engaged, or if you’re running lean like so many are right now because you can’t get people to go to work, think about getting a BDC on board.

A virtual BDC can do what many can’t right now – consistent customer follow-up with the manpower to get it done. You’re always in charge of the message. You can work with a BDC to create scripts specific to the chip crisis and know calls are getting made.

All this post-pandemic craziness will subside, but where will your dealership be when it does? Your buyers are out there wanting to do business with you. Prioritize proactive, personal, and prompt follow-up, and they will buy that next vehicle from you.