Part & Accessories sales are not just transactions meant for repairs.  So few customers though are educated on what is offered online at the time of their purchase or service. Whether that is floor-mats, accessories, or aftermarket parts. 

When is the last time your sales consultants offered accessories to your customer using your store online?

Here are the top reasons to start educating the customer on parts and accessories 

Welcome Email 

How many of you have an email or thank you letter that is sent to the customer after they have purchased a vehicle? If you do - great! But do you have a click-through to your parts/accessories store? If not, you are missing out! 

Dealers who have a click-through to their parts store in the welcome email -  which should be getting a healthy open rate - usually have seen an increase in parts sales! If your OEM is offering a special sale (which they typically are), you can include that offer in the email. 

Besides, the customer might click on that call to action versus the scheduling of their first oil change. As nothing has changed since they were in two days ago purchasing the vehicle. Offering that they were not sure what day for the oil change worked best for them given that it was 3-6 months out. 

Website - where is it?? 

If your parts store is tucked away somewhere in the service menu - then forget it. Customers (especially those on mobile) want the information readily available. All without having to sift through your website.That said, it does not hurt (depending on your real estate options) to have a menu option for “Parts & Accessories.” 

The customer who is purchasing parts might not have serviced or purchased their vehicle at your store. However, if they are able to get the part or accessory inexpensively, it lends the opportunity to gather his/her information. In turn, allowing you to market to a new and potential customer. 

Take it one step further, you can always send them an oil change coupon as a 'thank you' for their parts or accessories purchase if they haven’t serviced their vehicle with you before.  Limiting the offer, perhaps, to OEM vehicles only. As this can assist with retention efforts in place with the OEM. 

Not Tracking Parts Sale Customer Info? 

I was a bit shocked, honestly, that while the parts sales are tracked - the customer data (unless a corp account) is mostly not tracked! This is a huge mistake. Why wouldn’t you want to track all of the customer data for parts & accessories? 

The only time the data (if you are not currently tracking it) would be tracked is if their purchase required installation from service. In which case, there would be an RO for the labor costs. Keep in mind, gathering their data would also lend the ability to email them their receipt. Not to mention - as discussed above - it confers the ability to market to the customer in the future. Primarily if the customer has not already purchased or serviced a vehicle from you. 

Time of Sale 

The customer may not have gotten every option they dreamt of - however, that does not mean that they cannot afford to splurge on a few accessories, which will only cost them (depending on the accessory) a few more dollars a month! 

When is the last time you tried to upsell winterized floor mats? The worst thing the customer can say is “no.” But for everyone that says no will be the customer who wants to protect their new purchase, and will gladly spend the money to protect their new vehicle. 

Bottom Line: 

There has to be a focus on selling parts and accessories! In doing so, it will not only add/increase the bottom line, but it most importantly offers new opportunities to both sell and service the customer's vehicle. 

Do you promote the parts department? If so, have you seen an increase in sales? Do you track all of their customer data? 
 

We are all trying to hit our year-end numbers. And Internal RO’s are not a new topic. In fact, it is often a heated discussion that the fixed-ops and pre-owned sales manager have given that the sales manager's income can be slashed with mismanaged internal RO’s. It is essential that internal RO’s are tracked in so far as to what the average cost of labor is per RO including the markup for parts. 

Here are the top things to consider when managing internal RO’s 

State Inspections 

Every dealer handles the state inspections differently - depending on your state's rules - however, it is considered best practice to handle state inspections internally. Versus their having to outsource the inspection paying additional fees. Including insuring the vehicle as it is transported to and from the dealer. Not to mention, in most cases you are also having to pay for someone to transport the vehicle. All of which can add up costing thousands of dollars. 

How do you handle State Inspections?

Non-Recommended Work 

For those who are handling repairs internally, there has to be a clear executed policy regarding what additional work will and will not be completed. In most cases, it does not always make sense to spend additional money to fix an unnecessary repair. For example, if you notice that on most of the internal RO’s there are charges for wheel/ball bearings then it could be costing the dealer thousands of dollars - slashing through profits. As the internal RO’s should not count as “profits” in the service lane. I am not saying, though - that all wheel/ball bearing replacements are not necessary. I am offering - however - that the service department needs to be mindful of the unnecessary fixes ensuring that all repairs made were, in fact, a necessary repair. 

Who wants to spend $200+ dollars having a car detailed when you can have an internal team comprised of 2-3 people (at $10+ an hour) handle the job? On average, a dealer only nets $12 out of every $100 in sales. If you are out-sourcing and spending $200+ a car to have it detailed, then you are most likely losing money. And if you are not losing money then you could easily be adding money to your bottom line. It also affords the dealer the opportunity to use the position to handle other jobs at the dealership, which could include lot maintenance regarding the cleanliness of the vehicles. 

Standard Replacements (depending on age/mileage)

If you have standards in place regarding the replacement of windshield wipers & blades, it could save the dealer thousands of dollars annually. Also, the dealer should also have an agreed to brand - in most cases - non-OEM to save money, but ensuring that you are still offering a quality product for the customer. Not having a standard replacement policy in place can wind up costing the dealer hundreds of thousands of dollars in unnecessary costs. 

No Mark-Up’s

Marking up services/units for an internal RO is robbing Peter to pay Paul. Why would you mark-up a service to allow the service department to “net” off of an internal RO? Now - albeit, there has to be a labor cost. However, that labor cost should be a flat cost (per hour), which is deducted from the gross of the vehicle. This not only salvages the grosses on pre-owned vehicles but also lessens the recon cost on a unit. In addition to the fact that it will encourage productivity as they are only making money on labor. It will also encourage more upsells per advisor. If they know they are earning money off of an internal RO then why would they push themselves to sell more? As the internal RO’s could account for a decent portion of their monthly revenue. 

How many internal pre-owned cars do you handle a month? 

Bottom line not managing internal RO’s can cost the dealer hundreds of thousands of dollars in profits. There has to be a cohesive streamlined process, which will not just benefit the dealership's profitability but increase the overall productivity for service. 

How do you handle internal RO’s? Do you allow for there to be a markup for internal RO’s? 

There is no doubt that money motivates many (not all) people. That said, the way you drive the advisor, however, should not be from the perspective of “you are a coin operator. The more coins I put in you - the more you will perform.” This mindset can create a hostile, ineffective, and dysfunctional work environment. In turn, it means that you can lose your most valuable asset: the Service Advisor. 

Instead of offering that s/he is a coin machine offer them a plan that *motivates* them on a consistent, manageable, level: 

Here are the top reasons to avoid the coin operator mentality: 

You Are A Machine, Not a Human: 

Just using the words “coin-operated” can not only come across as being degrading, but the words themselves have a deep connotation of “you are a machine. I run the machine by feeding you coins.” A more effective way of using this approach - in a more refined, diplomatic sense - is to offer that based on their skill set you have designed a plan that compliments what they are going to bring to the team. 

Merely rephrasing the logic into an approachable conversation not only emboldens the employee, but it gives them a sense of belonging. The more they feel that they are an integral part of the team the better s/he will perform. As not everyone is motivated by money, but instead they are driven by a sense of belonging: having a purpose within your organization. 

A Coin Machine Gets Jammed 

If you are so focused on just one or two tasks (as that is what the plan offers) then more often than not the un-refined process is reflected in the customer's experience. For example, if part of the coin operation is to process the customer through multiple steps then the way you approach the customer from everything to the greeting to the up-selling of the products can feel very forced. 

Albeit, there are specific steps the advisor should follow such as meet and greet, walk-around, findings, upsell, & active delivery. However, these processes are most likely ingrained in their minds. That said, this process should feel very natural. All of which translates to the customer. Offering them a pleasant experience. 

Burnout. The Fall that leads to Turnover

Burning out happens. We have all been there. You work yourself to the bone until there is just nothing left to give. You’ve checked out so many times that you have begun to lost interest and have lost your ability to connect with the customer, which is what offers the ability to sell the product as you developed, and fostered a relationship with the customer. 

The coin operator mentality does not afford the management style that encourages their employees to recharge, disconnect, and refresh. Taking a step back (or having the feeling that you are able to do so) is invaluable. As it enables your employee to refocus, and most importantly - reconnect.  

The Customer Feels It: 

There is nothing worse (or nothing like a lousy buzz kill) when you encounter a disgruntled employee. It is the worst. Everything from their frown to their lack of interest in assisting the customer. The customer does not just feel like the employee doesn’t care. They feel like YOU do not care. And while that is not the case, it is about perspective, no? 

I get it, we all have bad days. But that bad day is only amplified in a coin-operated world. The machine doesn’t have emotion. Humans do, though. 

Bottom Line: 

This is not to say that you shouldn’t offer a pay plan that incentivizes, encourages, or pushes your advisor to work harder. There is a difference, however, in how you present the pay plan. And the way the advisor feels about their contribution to the service lanes overall success. There are those that are motivated by money, which is just fine. It is not okay, though, when it comes solely about the pay plan and not the customer;  where they work the plan harder than the customer. 

Remember, the Advisors are on the front-line *advising* the customer on what is *best* for their vehicle. If they are operated on a coin-machine, then the coins will run out. Leaving a chaotic, disengaging, awkward experience for the customer. 

Are you a coin-operator? In retrospect, do you have success with this pay plan?
 

Another year has come and gone. The industry has seen ebbs and flows in business, and the service lane remains the dealers highest earning asset. As the year does come to an end, there are five things to keep in mind (and consider) when planning for the next year. And if you are not planning for the next year then you are not only missing out but most likely always working on plan C or even D! 

Here are the 5 things You Need to Review:

Staff/overhead the real cost of your employees 

It is normal for your staff count to fluctuate throughout the year as there are times where you need the extra manpower to handle business. However, at the end of the day, every dollar counts. It is best to look through your expenses in the lane vs. the staff costs. If the ROI does not make sense on what the position is focused on, then it is either a) a personnel issue or b) an unnecessary position. 

This does not mean that s/he is on the chopping block. It does suggest, however, that their position needs to be realigned with the current business needs. Remembering to show the employee that it is not a demotion or negative, but rather an opportunity to develop and improve. Creating a position that fluctuates with the business needs is crucial for a dealer to maintain a healthy profit. 

Marketing Landscape - there’s more than what meets the eye 

While 10B+ is spent in the Auto industry for SEO/SEM (paid search) what is spent on fixed-ops? The Service Lane marketing is just as important given it is an integral part of the overall ecosystem. 

It will take some time - trust me - but it is best to review all of the campaigns you did per quarter. Evaluating the ROI on each campaign, which will assist you in structuring the years marketing tactics. And while it is not necessarily feasible to manage the marketing calendar in one or two days. It is feasible to work on the year in quarters - as one quarter comes to an end, you review the ups & downs, and work towards forecasting and marketing for the next quarter. 

Team Building 

Even if your store is profitable - at the end of the day, people are human. Considering the hours, energy, and overall dedication they can burn out fairly quickly. To keep them at their optimal performance you have to work with them. Not over them, through them, around them - with them. 

Whether it is something as simple as a offering them a long weekend here and there. Or giving the advisor an extra day off each quarter. Encouraging them to use it as a day for personal development (how do you handle personal days?). This will not only make sure that the service lane is covered at all times. But that everyone is working at their best. 

Service Absorption Rate 

If your absorption rate is under/below 85%, then there is room for improvement. The improvement will most likely come from a) restructuring staff or b) realigning advertising costs. Working to ensure that overlaps are at a minimal and that the campaigns that are running are offering a healthy ROI. As your service lane increases their absorption rate of the company's fixed expenses, it affords the dealer to invest, develop, and - most importantly - increase their bottom line. 

Annual Data Cleanse

The dealer should cleanse the database, and understand how much raw data they truly have. When is the last time you did a data purge? That takes all “active/inactive” accounts and cleanse for emails, phone numbers, addresses, etc.? This will not only give you a better understanding of how many customers you actually have. But it will also help regarding your marketing efforts. It does no good to send an inactive customer email in whom you haven’t engaged with for 3+ years. Not only do you run the risk of hitting their junk folder. You also run the risk of getting blacklisted. 

How do you prep for year-end? Do you include the department managers in the meetings? Have you tried planning marketing for the year? 

Phone call quality is incredibly important, right? I mean the way your service advisor answers the phone - handling the customer - shapes the way the customer views your Service Department. 

So it is no wonder why dealers hire mystery shoppers or phone call quality experts to help them! The problem, however, is that all too often the GM or Service Managers are not on the same page or do not buy into the program. So then why would the advisor? It starts from the top and works itself down to the bottom. 

Here are the top reasons mystery shopping doesn’t work: 

What’s the end-goal? 

The trainer is not always the one to blame. In most cases, the dealer hires a training company who offers them a “fix.” That is training the advisors how to answer the phone, get the appointment, and most importantly - sell services! This all sounds fantastic, right? The idea that after having a trainer come in that your ROI will have a notable difference in the next month. But that is not how it works. 

If you do not have a clear expectation for what the mystery shopping will do for your service lane, then it becomes nearly impossible to track results. Not to mention, as a GM or Service Manager you might become frustrated with the program. All of which translates to the Service Advisor. 

Their Goals Aren’t Your Goals 

One training session is not going to fix all the issues. Most importantly, as mentioned above the change happens from the top down. That is the owner & GM being on the same page as to what the process is and should be at the dealer level. 

The trainer should use their materials in a way that compliments your process. Otherwise, you are sending mixed signals to the team which can cause a lack of interest or disengagement. That said, to have buy-in from the Service Manager I would offer that you ask him/her how you can help their team improve. Asking what some breakpoints are and how they can be addressed. 

Take a minute, and look at it from their perspective (with your thoughts), and this will help ensure that they feel a part of the process. Otherwise, they will become disengaged, which will be evident (again) to the service advisors. Not to mention, as the GM you too will become frustrated with the lack of improvement which can also cause a lot of dissension. 

Every Shop is the Same 

If your shopper fills out the same form, with the same questions, with the same process each and every time it becomes more apparent than the ever. And while there is the age-old argument of “if they know it is a shop they should knock it out of the park” it doesn’t work. The advisor feels beat down or worse - they feel like they are missing out on an actual opportunity to earn money. 

One of the things that a dealer should consider is paying their advisor to take the training for the day. So they do not feel as if they are “losing,” but rather you are investing in them. Offering them that you are cognizant of their being concerned with losing opportunities. However suggesting that the training will only help them increase their revenue.  

Coaching inbound calls 

This one is always the *trickiest* in that - in most cases - the Advisor is not *focused* on the customer whose on the phone. Instead, they are focused on what is in the lane in front of them. The customer who is standing at the counter also feels this pain. That said, the coach should offer two different types of critique. The first being that if they are on the phone (and a client pulls up), they gently address the customer letting them know that they will be with them shortly. 

The other being that if they do have a customer in the lane to get the customers information on the phone. Informing them that they will call them back in just a few minutes. The goal in this scenario is to offer excellent customer service to both customers. 

Bottom Line 

Before hiring a mystery shop or training company, the GM should write/jot down a list of items that they believe should be addressed. Have the Service Manager do the same. Compare the two lists and offer each person's perspectives. Working together to select which items take precedence. At that point, collaborate with a trainer & mystery shop company that understands your goals. Remembering that you shouldn't *bend* to their model. Instead, they need to work for *YOU*! 

Do you mystery shop your service lane? If so, what kind of pushback did you get, and how did you overcome that with your team? Do you think Mystery Shopping is a bust? 
 

We have all been there one time or another. That moment of sheer panic as we can’t seem to find our car. As we scour all through the parking lot - sweating - only to realize we had passed our car a few times. Whew, what a sigh of relief you feel as you get into your vehicle. 

Now in this situation, you might look back and laugh at yourself. I certainly did! But imagine if this instance was regarding the customer who just left your service lane. 

Where the advisor said: “Mr. Customer, (as s/he points to the direction of the vehicle) your vehicle should be parked right outside”  to which the customer just says “OK.” 

In most cases, the customer might just shrug it off - or not think anything of it - however, there are the times where the customer goes out and is unable to locate their vehicle. And rightfully so they become agitated, frustrated - with the worst part being that no one seemed to notice the poor customer wandering the lot to find their vehicle. 

The customer's car was actually parked at the entrance, but a large truck was parked on the side completely blocking the view. And given that the vehicle was at the entrance s/he did not walk-up far enough to see it. 

As a result, you bet we got slammed on a survey noting that while s/he had an otherwise pleasant experience that s/he was unable to locate their vehicle and that despite their wandering around no one seemed to take notice or help them. 

We have to ask ourselves,  is taking an extra minute or two not worth it? Or (better yet) are we that busy that we cannot take the time to ensure that our customer leaves happy? Going the extra mile and walking them out and/or completing an active delivery in the service lane? 

Here are a few things you can do to ensure that the customer is able to locate their vehicle: 

• When the customer checks in, be sure to ask if they are waiting or dropping off. If s/he is waiting, then offer to complete an “active” delivery. Given that offering an active delivery on all units might be too much for the lane. 
• For the customers who are dropping it off and picking up later - try your best to get a time frame such as after work, etc. You can then mark off a particular section of parking for late (after hours) pick-ups. Explaining to the cashier (or whoever collects the payment) where the customer's vehicle is located. 
• If your facility allows for it have the porter (or whoever parks the customer's vehicle for those dropping it off) write down which parking spot number the vehicle is in. This allows for either the cashier or advisor the ability to let the customer know where their vehicle is at delivery.

This all sounds simple, cheesy, or just too easy. But evidently, it is not. We get busy, and when we get busy, we often forgo the fundamentals of customer service. Resulting in the customer leaving frustrated. 

And as simple as “dude, where’s my car” can be in the scheme of life we live in the moment, and we also have the capability in curating that moment. Whether that is Tweeting a story, or creating an exaggerated, over the top Holly Wood production on FaceBook causing an unnecessary comment spree. The point is - we owe it to our customer, letting them know where their vehicle is parked. 

How do you handle customer parking for service? Do you have an Active Delivery? If so, have you seen a positive impact? 

OEM’s are continuing to develop Electric Vehicles, and while they are not dominating the market quite yet - it is important to take note on how they will - in time - affect the service department. Namely, dealer service centers will have to start taking notice of the EV trend and shift the services they offer to both accommodate the market and their new customer. Of course, while maintaining their profitability.

Electrek suggested that electric vehicle sales grew over 40% from 2012 - 2016 within the U.S. This is a staggering percentage - while it does not seem (on paper) large enough to shift both the conversation and services offered. It does suggest that dealers (especially those with OEM’s who are heavily pushing production) should start to entertain how they will provide services for their customers who have EV’s.

Here are the top items to entertain when discussing the servicing of Electric Vehicles within your service center:

Electric Vehicles Still need Service (but is there a catch?)

Just because the vehicle is electric does not mean that it is free of required services. And while it does not require oil changes or spark plugs - it will still need new brakes, ball joints, shocks, tires, cabin filters, and lastly it will, of course, have *more* electronic components. Components that will inevitably malfunction at one point or another requiring service.

That said, dealers will still be able to sell service agreements for these vehicles. Besides, when is the last time a dealer said: “oil changes are incredibly profitable.” With many dealers giving away oil changes to “retain” the customer.

Lastly, the OEM will still have required/suggested service intervals. Those intervals, though, will be focused on maintaining the vehicle.

Restructure Dealer Rewards Program

It is no secret that your dealer rewards program can be costing you thousands of dollars to run. Everything from the free oil changes to keep the customer in retention per the OEM’s guidelines - to the steep discounts you offer with coupons. All of which shaves money off your overall bottom line.

With the electric vehicle - you can restructure the rewards program to increase profits. The customer will still have to maintain their vehicle, but you do not have to give away free batteries, windshield wipers, brakes, etc. Instead, you can create service contracts that essentially become residual income. Offering the customer “rewards points” much like other brands do - such as “earn %” back on your purchase. In turn, allowing the customer to collect rewards points towards their service bill.

New Services that Dealers Can Make Money On

All things electric require knowledge and the ability to operate them. The customer - who will get a demo at the time of delivery - might require additional training on their vehicle. Dealers can (depending on location, etc.) offer in home services/tutorials for the vehicle. Charging the customer for the service. (No customer is going to pay for that, right?) Well, you’d be surprised. People do spend hundreds of dollars going to Apple’s Genius Bar to learn more about their ‘electronic’ devices, no?

Another component that the dealer will continue to make money on is the selling and maintaining of the vehicle's battery. Selling the customer an in-home charging station, which for those (even with extended mileage) will still most likely consider purchasing a charging system.

The takeaway from this is that while the electric vehicles do not own the market for now.  There will be incremental increases year over year. OEM’S will continue to promote and develop the electric vehicles. All of which is shifting the consumer's mindset as to what it has to offer - especially because anxieties are down regarding the range that the vehicle has to offer! 

It is better to join the conversation now than wait until it’s too late having developed an incremental plan that is both lucrative and adaptive to the current trend in the market. 

How do you handle EVs? Do you know how many you service daily? What are your thoughts on EV’s?

The following Five golden rules should not have to be a promise made to your customer. Rather it should just be a part of your daily process in the service lane. Having the following standards will increase not only retention but also your customer's overall satisfaction.

Here are the top 5 golden rules for your service lane

Easy to use Appointment Scheduling System

Your customer should not have to be struggling online to schedule an appointment. Or worse, if s/he chooses to call the dealership they should not have to be waiting an eternity to reach someone that can schedule their appointment.

Once the customer has booked their appointment and s/he arrives and they are not taken care of it can cause for a bad taste, and an unpleasant experience overall.

How many customers book an appointment online?

Wait time

No one wants to spend their entire morning or afternoon at the dealership. Especially if during the visit you are not keeping them informed as to what the status is on their repair. Customers tend to be much more understanding if the advisor spends a moment on explaining why it is taking more time.

In fact, if the vehicle will take much longer than expected - depending on how your service lane is set up - you can offer the customer a shuttle ride or a demo. In these cases, the customer will often shell out more money.

Clear Explanation of the charges

Not understanding the bill or services can make the customer not only feel uneasy but frustrated with your service lane. Making them second guess themselves as to whether or not they really needed that service.

Honesty can go a long way. Another helpful tip is that when the advisor is explaining the charges that they use a visual demo. This will help the customer understand not only the service but also the money it costs them for it.

Follow-Up

Sending an automatic email after their service might not always the best method of following up. Instead, take a moment (especially for large ticket items) to call the customer and see how their visit went. If the customer requested email (or in some cases texting) then do so instead of the call. 

Reaching out to the customer after their service can go a long way. Making the customer feel good about their decision to not only have the repair done. But that they made the right choice in visiting your service lane. This especially comes in handy when the customer did have an issue. Allowing you to resolve the issue before they do an online review or social media post. 

Check Out Process

As you know, I am a big advocate of taking payments both in the lane and online. This makes a huge difference for the customer. Where s/he is not having to wait in line only to find out that they have a question about the invoice. In the meantime, the advisor is already in the middle of assisting another customer. Causing the customer to either pay without asking, leaves them wondering what happened. Having them question if they got cheated.

Even if you call them after the service to follow up - more often than not they will tell you “it would have been best had someone explained the charges to me while I was at the dealership.” To which you would offer “I do apologize Mr. Customer. I agree, and we will do our best to make sure that all charges are explained.”

Bottom Line:

Having the following standards will create a better experience. Allowing you to understand better if there are areas that need improvement. Giving you the ability to work with those individuals who are handling that point of the transaction.

What do you do to ensure you customer leaves the dealership happy? Do you have your advisor or BDC call the customer after servicing their vehicle?

With the trends focused on increased mobile usage, it is important to note that with these trends come changes in how the customer *expects* to navigate your site. Not having a cohesive, easy-to-use mobile site can cause a significant decrease in not just traffic, but conversion!

Customers have been are continuing to use apps like Repair Pal & Open Bay. Both of which offer the customer a simple, easy, & engaging experience. So what can we take away from them? A couple of things, actually.

Here are a few things to avoid when managing or creating your mobile service experience:

Bad Menu Option’s

There is such a thing as too many tabs/menus on your browser. This rule is most important for your mobile customers. The menu should be a hamburger style menu and only offer the most pertinent information. The most important information to provide your customer is booking an appointment, service menu (with pricing), and current specials.

Think about it. A hamburger has 2 sides to a bun, meat, cheese, and some condiments/fluff also known as your meet the staff page and/or your blog. The meat, however, is the conversion points. That is the appointment scheduling tool and your click to call! The buns - which is your website - houses all of the important information together into a cohesive, easy to use site!  

Most, if not all, website platforms offer the ability to turn-off/hide desktop items (known as break points) on the mobile site.

No Social Ad’s (and if you do, bad ones)

Part of having good conversion is offering your services on multiple platforms. Having a strong offer with a strong call to action will certainly increase your click rate. In turn, there should be an increase in service appointments booked online.

The mobile coupon does not have to be a free oil change either! Instead, you can offer an end of the summer tune-up. Offering a last minute “road trip” special which bundles a few items. Allowing the dealer to still turn a profit even with a coupon.

Another coupon - conversion idea - is an amount off where the customer has the ‘coupon’ texted to their device. This has proven to be extremely effective with our store.

What kind of coupons have you had success with?

Too Many Clicks

Ever find yourself clicking the back button multiple times to get back to the home page? You aren’t the only one. This click happy reaction stems from not having the right CTA’s readily available on your mobile site. In turn, causing frustration and - more often than not - higher exit and bounce rates.

When is the last time you checked your “top exited pages?” This will give you some potential insight as to what is and isn’t working on your mobile platform. Make sure to give it a test run before making changes. Remembering, if it takes more than 5-6 clicks to get to the desired information the chances of the customer converting is much less likely.

Pop-Up’s

As tempting as it may be to “pop-up” a surprise coupon for your customer. Don’t. Not unless you have made sure that the coupon does not disrupt your customer creating a negative distraction as s/he is browsing your website.

Popping up coupons on mobile can also disrupt your CTA’s - especially if the CTA/Coupon is not relevant to the service customer. As most of the coupons on dealer websites pertain to sales, not service.

Do you have a lead accelerator for service?

Too Many CTA’s

There is such a thing as having too many options. And having too many options can actually lead your customer to not choosing any of them! Less is more. Offering the *right* options is all it takes.

Think about it. So you offer 6 different CTA’s. But when the customer clicks on any one of the CTA’s and the landing page doesn’t have anything do with the offer the customer will exit. Of course, exiting without having converted.

This is the case with the “coupon,” aka lead accelerator tactic. Wherein, the customer clicks on a service menu option and s/he is given a dollar amount of their purchase of a new car! Bet you they wish it was $$$ for their service appointment.

Bottom Line: Mobile marketing is essential for your core business. And while there is so much to say and so little real estate - ‘content’ becomes an integral part of your website's core. Having relative, easy to browse content will convert more customers. Converting more customers equates to more profits.

Whether you are using a marketing company or have a guru in house.  Don’t be afraid to take a minute and give your mobile site a test run. Use the website as if you were a customer going to the dealer. Noting that if it is hard for you - who works in the dealer - to use the site then perhaps it just needs some TLC!

How has your mobile marketing changed? What are some tips you’d share to those revamping their mobile marketing efforts?

Chat is nothing new to the industry. It is has been around for some time. Yet so many Dealers are still getting it wrong. Causing dealers to have a bad taste in their mouths paired with a sincere disinterest in what the service has to offer.

Customers want convenience, which can come at a cost for the service lane (some as much as $1,200 a month - who is your favorite provider?) However, if chat is managed and run efficiently it can increase your traffic, which in-turn will increase profits.

Here are some reasons and suggestions to help your service lane turn website traffic into service customers.

Most Importantly How many customers visit your service site and *DO NOT*  convert?

Most if not all chat providers for auto dealers have an online scheduling tool where customers can conveniently set-up their service appointment with the industry standard only being a 28% set ratio! That is a low number considering the average amount of visits to the site on a monthly basis.

The low set rate could be because there are customers who have questions that cannot easily be answered on the website regarding his/her visit that requires calling the store.

In most instances, the customer will exit the “appointments page,” as s/he is not going to spend more than a minute or so searching your site. Certainly not on their phone, either. They’ll either call the store or simply show up to the dealership. Hoping for the best not taking into consideration that there might be increased wait times as they did not have an appointment scheduled.

This scenario does not always end well for the dealer. Especially for the customer whose concern cannot be addressed due to a part needing to be ordered. Or in some cases, the wait time far exceeds their expectations. All of which could have been avoided if they had an appointment.

How to Add Chat to Your Service Site

There is a lot of debate on what the best practices are regarding offering chat services on your website. That is how, where, and who will manage the service. It's far too easy to setup a chat service, and just hope for the best!

That is not how to run a successful chat service. In fact, that will not only cause for you to lose customers. But also collect a bad taste in your mouth on what you think is a horrific ROI for a really *invaluable* service.

That said, there are best practices in adding chat/text services. That is making sure that the placement is in alignment with the usage. Wherein, you do not want the chat message option popping up every click. Causing the customer to exit in sheer frustration. This is especially important on mobile devices. Time permitting, check your dealer site this morning on your iPhone or Android device, and see how chat appears.

Rather, you might want to consider offering the service to pop-up if, in fact, the customer has been on the page for more than “X” time without booking an appointment or completing a CTA.

As you use the service, you can monitor the chat sessions per department vs. the total amount of customers that converted as a result of the chat service.

When is the last time you used a chat service and either had a good or bad experience?

What Chat/Text is Not Replacing

Offering chat/text services on your website is not to replace correspondence with the customer. Instead, it is designed to enhance/increase your communication with the customer. Allowing you to capture customers who might exit without converting. The ones with questions about their services that are not able to be answered simply browsing your site!

If you are concerned about staffing issues or having their answering service respond to the chat leads. Take a minute, and go to a dealer website that offers their service, and test it out!

The bottom line is that every conversion counts and if you are able to convert enough customers organically through chat than it more than covers the cost!

Do you use chat? If so, what kind of results are you noticing? What is one thing you learned from when you first started using the service?