Have you ever sat at your desk with your palm against your forehead, trying to put together the same old marketing you do month after month? You are not alone. It can be easy to place your vendors on autopilot and follow the OEM's sales and specials – sliding into an auto loop approach to your overall marketing strategy. Whether that's simply adding spend with one Vendor, adding a vendor's product, or hiring a new vendor to create the digital assets. It's getting stuck in this hamster wheel vendor auto-loop that can get you off track. With the mindset of "here's another month behind us." The goal and strategy is, and remains, to connect the dots between all of your vendors, building continuity in your digital marketing efforts. If you are experiencing "marketing fatigue," it is best to take a step back, re-focus, and get to work.

Your Vendor Cannot Do What You Do Not Ask. Connect the Dots First. Approach Your Vendor With A Clear Business Strategy. 

Sounds simple, no? But the truth is so many dealers do not take the time to read their vendors reports or, worse, take the time to strategize with them. And make no mistake, it's not that the vendors are unwilling to do so, either. Vendors want you to be involved, trust me – they do. So while it is the Vendor's responsibility to run the best ad campaign possible, it's your responsibility as the dealer to effectively communicate your breakpoints, business goals, clearly present your dealers brand. Anyone can send out an email blast, create ad campaigns, or POP Marketing. But not everyone can create successful ad campaigns. 

One of the best things you can do for your dealership is to connect the dots on all of the reporting you have and outline the following items: 

- Total Leads (phone calls, form fills, chats, texts, etc.) from each lead source.

- Total Leads sold per each source. 

- Days to close for each source (for multiple leads within a profile, take the averages for days to close; i.e., if the lead comes in and it takes 90 days to close after multiple inquiries, use the averages for those leads). 

• - Average email open rates, click rates, and conversion rate on the click-through rate – outlining the top five email blasts, asking yourself what the promotion was, subject lines, and content. 

-Cost of each lead source (this is not to talk about "acquisition costs" either. That's another article).

Once you have gathered this data, outline it on a whiteboard (or a report), which will give you a better picture of the primary traffic source for leads. The next step is to then review your OEM defector reports. That is understanding which areas in your PMA you are losing the most amount of sales too. More importantly, what is your market share cap not just with your PMA, but as an OEM. With this information – that is "lead source data", it's time to work with your vendors. 

Having a conversation with the facts (data) and a clear business goal will offer a much better strategy meeting with your Vendor. The idea that instead of simply focusing on a month-end report, you are now digging into areas of opportunity based on a clearly laid out approach. That is creating ad campaigns for areas of opportunity. At which point, the Vendor should take the time to review the sales data and other OEM data to better understand your market. Building ad campaigns that are not generic or detached from your buyer. 

It is meetings – strategized like the above – that can reignite your passion, and more importantly, your interest in taking a different approach to your marketing strategy. The stronger your results are, the more likely you are to keep pushing along. Not to mention, it's these trials and errors that build success. I would rather lose two thousand on a campaign – explaining it to the owner that ad did not perform one month, owning my mistake with humbleness than continue trudging along with a vendor who gets average results. 

Bottom Line: this is not saying "forgo" or "remove" all of your vendors, and go into a new strategy blind-folded. This is offering the idea that instead of remaining on auto-pilot, take the time to understand what is working and what your areas of opportunity are. Chances are there are strategies or ads that your competition is not doing. It's those ads that will not just get back on the map, but get you the much-needed market share in your PMA. 

Are you ready to break the cycle, take a risk, and make it happen? Do yourself a favor and work with your vendors! 

Is there a lot of thought that goes into deciding which call to actions to offer on the VDP’s? Or is it a constant free for all, or worse an afterthought? The idea that more is better, where dealers easily have more than five or six different ways for the customer to inquire about a vehicle. Having multiple options for the customer to choose from sounds like a great idea. However, having too many choices can make it confusing for the customer. Not to mention, when you do get the inquiry via the CRM, more often than not, the BDC Agent or Sales Consultant is not aware of where the lead came from. All of which can create an unnecessary breakpoint. Here are some to consider when choosing which call to action to display on your website. 

The Forms Are Not Labeled in the CRM. You Have No Idea What Form the Customer Completed. This Causes Break Points. 

Think about it for a minute.  If the customer completed a form for the sales price (whatever that means for your dealership as each dealership has its own interpretation as to what the sale price is), but the lead in the CRM says general inquiry, what do you think happens? The BDC Agent or Sales Consultant will reach out to the customer asking them if they want to come in for a test drive. To which the customer might ask, “I wanted the sales price.” You might not think this happens, BUT it does. And when it happens, it can and will cause frustration on the customer's end, where the customer was expecting an answer to what seems to be a simple question, really. 

One of the ways to resolve this issue is by contacting the vendor that manages your website. You can have them label the various forms on the website: 

Dealer Website (Parent Label) 

VDP Price Inquiry (Child Label)  

Dealer Website (Parent Label)

Test Drive Coupon 

By labeling the leads with the correct form name, it can have a positive impact for many reasons. One of the most important reasons to do this is to ensure that your team knows where the lead came from! And while we should always offer the same level of customer service - the way we both approach and provide the customer service varies on the situation at hand. Imagine knowing that the customer inquired on the “test drive” coupon. So that when you called them you can start the conversation by first thanking them, but secondly confirming their test drive. At which point, you can confirm if vehicle options are flexible and or whether or not they have a trade. 

In this example, not only did you notice the purpose of the customer's inquiry, but more importantly, you effectively can mold their experience based on what they inquired on. All of which can and will offer the prospective customer a positive experience that is consistent with what they experienced before receiving your phone call, email, or text. On the flip side, imagine if you did not know if they wanted to test drive the vehicle, and your time was spent focusing on “asking for the appointment” when that is already something the customer wanted. And while we might not think that the customer is not paying attention - they are! I mean, especially if they had to filter through all of the loud noise on the website, having gone through more than six or seven different options before contacting the dealership. 

And sure, not all examples are the above.  The point in discussing this is that in order to offer the customer a good experience, we have to resolve any potential breakpoints. One of the most significant breakpoints to overcome is not knowing what the customer is asking, which can make for a really frustrating experience. This is also a relatively simple fix, no? It starts with first making yourself an internal list of the various lead labels. At which point, once you have confirmed the changes with the web provider, and the CRM (making sure they receive the lead correctly, which is most often ADF format), you need to make sure your team is aware of the changes! This will help ensure that when they do answer the leads that they take the time to read where the lead came from! 

Have you taken the time to review the lead labels? If so, has this had a positive impact on your store? 

You can easily run through your PPC budget before lunch if it is not optimized. There are also several critical facets of what makes a PPC campaign successful. Everything from the actual geolocation your campaign is targeting, key-words, negative key-words, headlines, and descriptions, to name a few. The other thing to consider about what makes a successful campaign is as time goes on, your dealership's goals change. Continuing to run the same old ads - simply adding spend - is not always going to increase your results. 

For example, if you need to move the "X" model one month, you should create a Google PPC campaign that reflects this goal. Not to mention, if you have a competitor who is outselling you on that model, then you need to spend more in that geolocation. In addition to retargeting those customers with ads. Where a lot of this strategy planning goes south, however, is either the dealer not reaching out to the vendor. Or the vendor not proactively engaging with the dealer to better understand their needs as they evolve. Either way, it takes continued collaboration to get the most out of your ad spend. 

Given the competitive landscape in the digital marketing arena, it makes one wonder: "what if vendors only paid their digital teams based on the success of their campaigns?" 

The idea that simply getting clicks to the site with a miserable bounce rate is not going to cut it - they have to have hit specific metrics, such as time spent on site and conversion goals. That is how many click-to-call, VDP views, or form-fills completed. The more engaged the vendor's teams are on managing the actual quality of the ad campaign can and will have a positive impact on your results. 

This model could also help reshape vendor reporting, too. While the vendor needs to brand their reporting, it is equally important to be transparent about the content of the report. You will find that most vendors only put the "shiny" numbers on their reporting. Such as Impressions, Clicks, and Click-Rate. And if they do show VDP views, they often do not then disclose how long the customer was on the VDP page. And sure, you can go into Google Analytics and view the campaigns yourself, but how many dealers are actively reviewing their Google Analytics accounts? The other thing vendors often forgo adding total time spent on site, bounce rate, or total conversion goal numbers per each segment: click-to-call, VDP views, form fills, etc. The other key element to consider with your bounce rate is your organic bounce rate (which should be in the low thirties) vs. your "Google PPC" bounce rate. Think about it, if your organic bounce rate is where it should be, but your PPC campaign is in the high to low 80's, and they average the number, you are not getting the full picture. If your Google PPC bounce rate hits the low to mid 80's then the campaign is not performing, whether that is the landing page, key-words, or the relevancy of your campaigns titles/headlines. 

This poses the question: What if your vendors' digital teams are paid on the success of the dealerships campaigns? Could this improve the overall quality of the ad? If their teams are paid on the campaign's success, do you think they would spend more time reviewing and optimizing the campaign? The answer is most likely, yes. But make no mistake, the dealer is just as responsible for working with the vendor! The vendor can only do so much research on your geolocation. As the dealer, you have to understand your market and your core areas of opportunity. There are also several reports available - from the OEM - that can help you outline immediate areas of focus on models you are losing market share on, etc. Lastly, as the dealer, you have to outline your expectations. That's not to say that your expectations can be met - whether that's budget issues, or the ability to execute the strategy - but it does open a dialogue that can help achieve better results. 

How often do you discuss your PPC efforts with your vendors? When is the last time you had an internal strategy meeting to discuss which models you need to sell more of? 

It is not uncommon for most dealers to have strict policies against holding a vehicle for a customer. And for good reasons, every day that vehicle sits on the dealer's lot unsold, it takes up floor-plan money costing the dealer money. However, as dealers shift to more digital retailing measures, it poses a good question. Depending on the circumstances, should your dealer offer to hold the vehicle for the customer? In addition to advertising this policy on your dealer's website to provide customers with peace of mind. 

Here are two things to consider with offering a vehicle hold policy. 

Is the customer local? Having the Customer Drive Two Plus Hours to Find Out the Vehicle Has Been Sold is Not A Best Practice. 

Time is money. Not to mention, imagine if you were the customer - driving a long distance - to look at the vehicle they wanted only to find out it has been sold. To make matters worse, the car having been sold is not communicated with your sales team in some cases. So when the customer does come in to work with the sales consultant, they might tell the customer, "oh, this has was sold yesterday." That is not a good look and certainly does not make a good first impression on the customer. 

And sure, they might wind up purchasing another vehicle. Especially if the vehicle is used where the customer might have wanted this vehicle due to their budget. But imagine if your sales consultant or BDC Agent was proactive, and instead of surprising the customer with the car being sold, they were proactive and offered a solution and not a problem. The customer is more likely to purchase the other option and believe that you and your dealership was going the extra mile for them! 3

What Does the Website Branding Look Like? Is this A Good Value Proposition for the Customer? 

Having a clear, defined vehicle hold policy can lend itself to a positive branding opportunity for the dealership. Especially considering that many dealers are trying to offer some sort of digital retailing options for their customers. Think about it, if the customer is searching for a vehicle, but needs/wants to test drive it before purchasing - you are proactively providing the customer a solution. One that could put your dealership ahead of the competition. That and everyone's schedules are different. Maybe Saturday is the only day the customer has to come into the dealership, and they inquired on the vehicle Monday. 

Now, this is not saying "do not sell the vehicle" with the hopes of selling it to the customer on Saturday, either. If the customer wants to hold the vehicle - paying the deposit of $500 (or whatever deposit your dealer chooses - then it should be strongly encouraged that the customer complete an online credit application. This can and will also save the customer a lot of time before visiting the dealership. As for the website's branding, here is a sample ad/banner you can use on your dealership's homepage! 

Bottom Line: Anything your dealership can do to stand out from your competition will only increase the value of your dealership. In this case, you are providing a proactive solution to the customer! It is important to remember that using this process is not intended to "hope" you sell the vehicle. But instead, encouraging the customer to complete a finance application and complete as many of the sales process steps as possible before they come into the dealership. Remembering that if the customer is willing to make a deposit and or complete a credit application before their arrival, they intend to make a purchase. Now it's our job to make that purchase as easy and stress-free as possible! 

Do you offer a vehicle hold policy? If so, has this helped close more deals? For those who offer a hold policy, what are some of the challenges you face, and how have you overcome them? 

Now more than ever, your dealer needs a clear, defined marketing strategy. One that lends itself to maximizing your dealers budget. It is times like this that push us to think and approach ideas differently. Keeping in mind that the very decisions and actions made today can and have a lasting impact. Instead of approaching the situation with band-aids - with the hopes of things picking back-up naturally - you have to get ahead of the situation. There are many ways to approach your marketing strategy, but it starts by reviewing your actual marketing budget. That is removing all of the white-noise out of the budget - i.e., CRM Costs, Website Hosting Costs, and Software/App costs are not marketing expenses! That and stop solely worrying about what the same OEM down the road is doing, and focusing on your dealership and its surrounding area.  

Advertising Budget. Make the Right Moves. 

Advertising budgets tend to be more complicated than they need to be on the dealer level. The idea that the budget, itself, includes far more than actual advertising. By that, I mean, they tend to include everything from CRM costs, dealership expenses, and website & software expenses, to name a few. In most cases, it is best to have a separate line item for 'operational' expenses, which is your software, CRM, and websites (not advertising, but the actual cost to host your website). When you break down the budget and solely look at your real advertising spend, it becomes easier to identify areas you can cut, vendors to remove, and possibly vendors that you will need to add to maximize your dealerships efforts. 

More importantly, one of the go-to band-aids for "spend reductions" in our industry is to simply "pause," or "cut" ad spend. At first, this seems like the logical thing to do. Make no mistake, though; in many cases, this can wind up doing more damage than good! You have to remember that simply "flipping" the switch on/off does not solve any problems other than an "immediate" drop in costs. But keep in mind that an "immediate" drop-in spend could be costing you more in the long-term. We tend to think short-term (like today) versus thinking about future ramifications. Not to mention, what we tend to ignore (and overlook) is that by the time you decide to flip the switch back "on" your ad spend tends not to go as far as it did previously. 

Instead of slapping on a band-aid and saying, "well, we just need to cut expenses. The more money we make, the more I can spend with advertising." Focus on the ads you are currently running! When is the last time you actually read the vendor reports? When is the last time you reviewed the actual campaigns (Google PPC Ads) the vendors were running? Your dealership needs change, and so should your ad campaigns! 

For example, several dealers often neglect marketing for fixed-ops other than the occasional - expensive - OEM mailer. Or the ground-breaking (repeated, expected) organic social media post for a coupon (FYI, collecting likes does not increase your absorption rate) that does not get much traction. 

As for the PPC Campaigns, when is the last time you reviewed your OEM's detractor report (the report that outlines the OEM you are losing the most sales to?) and worked with your vendor to devise and strategize new ad campaigns? Cleaning up and re-working your ads can make your spending go further. And selling an extra two to three vehicles a month can make all the difference. 

One of the other things you need to review is what percentage of your ad spend the vendor is taking from the top! If your vendor is taking 30% of the ad spend for "fees," you need to negotiate a better cost! 30% of your $15k budget is $4,500 in fees! For example, if you have five stores in your group, which is $22,500 a month, you're not spending to run ads. 

Bottom Line: You do not know what you do not take the time to ask and review. And to keep your dealership on the right track - a sustainable track - you have to have a clear picture of your *actual* advertising spend for the dealership! Once you have a clear outline of your total spend, it is best to devise a refined strategy with your vendor making sure you are getting the most out of your ad spend. 

When is the last time you checked your dealer fees on ad spend? Have you found more success after taking the time to restructure ad campaigns? 

Have you ever been in a marketing meeting and heard the question, "well, tell me what the other [OEM] dealers are doing? What success are they having?" Sounds all too familiar, no? And while vendors might oblige with the question - offering what campaigns their other clients with the same OEM are doing - what value does this offer your dealership? 

If this is how your dealership approaches marketing meetings with your vendors, you have to step back and take another look! Instead of asking about what the other same OEMs are doing - ask your vendor what your dealer can do to help you out! 

Think about it for a minute; most dealers (seriously, there are a few out there that do not do much digital advertising!) spend money doing some form of digital advertising. So, in an overly crowded space, why do you want to mix in with the white noise? You don't! Instead, you ought to inquire about what your dealership can do differently to be more visible - digitally - but more importantly, what your dealership can do to be more successful! 

Here are two things to consider when coming up with a game-plan on advertising spend! 

Think Outside the Box. What Are Some of Your Dealerships Pain Points? Over-Aged Inventory? Losing Sales on A Specific Model? 

The sole purpose of online advertising is to help increase your sales. To increase your sales, however, you have to make the most of your digital ad spend. Simply spending money on an ad campaign does not, by any means, offer that you will have any success! Instead of casting a wide-net - hoping for the best - work towards identifying key areas of opportunity. In doing so, instead of the conversation being "what are the other dealers doing" the conversation becomes "I have to move more of this [model]. We are losing three out of every five sales on it!" With a clearer goal, you can then go back and look at how many leads you are getting on that model, what your traffic is on that model, and more importantly, ask the right questions to increase your chance of success! 

Having the Right Landing Pages With Strong Call to Actions is Everything. 

Running a digital ad campaign is one thing. Having the right landing page with strong call-to-action's is a whole other element that can make or break your campaign. All too often, you see dealers running an ad campaign only to have their customer land on the home page! (huh?). Think about it, if you are searching for a specific model, and you literally land on a home page - having to do the searching yourself - are you going to put that extra effort in? Probably not. 

Even if you have the customer land on the targeted model of interest, does it all look the same? Your landing page needs to stand out! The idea that if your OEM is running a specific special for that model, take the extra time to build out a new page with strong call-to-actions. By having a landing page that is specifically made for that campaign, you not only get better insights into the customer's behavior but you also increase keeping the prospective customers interest by having relevant content. Content that lends itself into increasing their chances of converting into a lead! 

Bottom Line: Asking what other dealers are doing is not going to help you much in the long run. So while you might be selling the same OEM, each dealer has its own unique challenges. And by strategizing a relevant campaign that is both relevant, and more importantly, aligning with your dealers' areas of opportunity, you increase your chances of success. To make it happen, however, you have to know what those areas of opportunities are! This process starts by taking the time to review OEM detractor reports, CRM Lead vs. Sold Reports, and Dealer Website Analytics to name a few. By taking the time to strategize with your digital vendors, it will pay off when you see a stronger return on investment!

What struggles and or areas of opportunity have you turned into a successful campaign? 

OEM leads. One of the first things that come to mind is that they are not just expensive - some being as much as $25 per Lead - but they are often not the best lead source. Namely, they tend to have one of the lowest closing rates. One might think that because the customer is converting directly off of the OEM site that they have not just chosen their brand, but also their dealer. 

However, when was the last time we (us dealers) questioned how the OEM's lead process works? Asking the bold question: do they cause some of the rifts between dealers? Do they help create the "price-war" games as they send the same Lead to several dealers? More so, what can they do to not just help the dealership but offer the customer a better experience!?

Here are two things the OEM should consider when it comes to managing their lead processes.

How the Leads Are Distributed. Stop Pushing Leads to Out of PMA Dealers! 

We have all been there. That is getting a lead from the OEM that is not in your PMA, which in some cases means that the incentives are not the same. This is one issue I have never understood. Think about it, if the dealer is already hard-pressed to make a profit - losing money to sell the vehicle - why would they want to sell a unit to a customer that is not likely to come back for service? Service is the dealer's profit center. So while one or two deals at the end of the month might make or break your OEM kick-backs, selling out of PMA usually does not have any advantages for the dealer. 

One of the other situations that can arise out of this is OEM Incentives, depending on the month, the unit, and the trim level the incentives could vary slightly between PMA's especially if the Lead is in another state. Another issue dealers face when it comes to out PMA leads is the dealer processing fee situation. Each state has its own laws regarding what the dealer can charge their customers. With some states having as much as a 200 to 300 dollar difference. Whereas, if the leads went to the closest dealership based off of their zip-code, it could - in most cases - avoid most of these issues, and promote the idea of buying your vehicle from the local dealer. 

Are the OEM's Actually Hindering the Customer's Experience? Imagine Getting Emails from Seven Dealerships at Once - Especially if the Responses Do Not Answer the Customers Questions in the Lead! 

Offering the customer the best experience possible should not be an afterthought. The idea that many OEM's send a lead to all dealerships within a 50+ mile radius does not make sense. Sure, one could argue that they are trying to get the customer the best price possible. But chances are that for new inventory - with all of the current OEM pricing restrictions - prices are relatively the same. Why can't OEM's send the Lead to the closest dealership based on the customers' zip code? In doing so, it helps keep that Lead within its PMA, allowing the dealership a better chance of closing that customer. 

As for the customer's experience, getting multiple emails from various dealers - from the same OEM - at once can be frustrating for the customer. Think about it for a minute. Several dealers have auto-responders, send text messages, emails, calls, all overlapping each other. So wouldn't you be a bit frustrated that your inbox gets flooded? Especially considering that most of the immediate correspondence fails to actually answer the customer's questions in the inquiry - yet we wonder why our customers get frustrated? 

Lastly, as mentioned above, the customer is far more likely to service their vehicle with the dealership that is five miles away versus the dealer that is fifty-plus miles away. Sure, you will have the customer that wants to drive an hour further to save a few hundred bucks. But you will still have a better chance of selling that customer if you get the Lead first. Not to mention, we wonder why dealers struggle with retention rates in service, but we fail to adequately build the relationship with the customer - mostly because if they purchase outside of the PMA - with the same OEM - they did not get a chance to build a relationship. It is a lot easier to get the customer to come back for service if they know their sales consultant who is supposed to be introducing their customer to the service department at the time of delivery.  

Bottom Line: At the end of the day, the OEM's and dealers have to work together so we can offer the best experience possible. Part of offering a better experience to both the dealer and customer is having a solid approach to handling OEM leads. Ensuring that there is a fine balance in how communication is approached with the customer. All of which can have not just a positive impact on the customer's overall experience, but help the dealers keep their local customer's purchases local. 

When was the last time you engaged with your OEM on leads? 

There have been several rounds of conversation in regards to videos. Namely, videos are the new it factor when it comes to capturing our customer's attention whether that is giving the service customer an update, thanking the customer, or building value in the service advisor by having him/her share a personal video with the customer.

Videos are powerful, BUT - the way we have been approaching video (for some time now, really) might not be what the customer is looking for in a video. Sure there are in fact some customers who love the videos!

This article is not to discredit the hard work of those who have been brave enough to load a million apps, take time out of their personal day, spend their money, and argue with his/her GM & Service manager be a part of taking videos.

What I am saying, however, is that there is an easier method of being relevant when it comes to video that we have yet to approach. That is creating a collection of videos that ‘effectively’ explain the services s/he needs for their vehicle. And no, this is not a personal video that would be done onsite for each and every customer. But rather a menu of the services your dealership offers.

Think about it, when a customer explains a problem in the service line it is like “it makes this grrr crackkkkk grrrr sound,” to which the advisor says “we’ll take a look.” The more confident the consumer feels - as if s/he were a part of the decision-making process - the more trust they have, which means they will spend that much more money in the lane.

In regards to the videos, you would have a simple to use catalog - using YouTube Videos (45 seconds or less) - explaining the most common problems. The video’s (while short) are informative, offering the customer a plausible explanation as to what could be wrong with their vehicle.

The best way to start this project is to create a video for oil change, cabin filter change, even a vehicle detail. This video needs to be appealing, too - refraining from using an OEM video where everything is too perfect. It is like booking a hotel on Expedia where the photos are from the resorts first day of business. So upon arrival, the hotel has been through heck and back looking nothing like it once did.

How often do you take videos? Are you having great success with it in the service lane? Any customer feedback?

Fixed-ops is the dealer's bread and butter when it comes to the bottom line. Your dealer's service landing page mustn't offer just relevant content but strong call to actions. Several dealers do not have much content at all on their service landing pages. And or their service scheduling tool leaves much to be desired. Here are the top things to consider when revamping your service page. 

Remind Your Customers that You Can Service All Makes! 

We all sell pre-owned vehicles, but how often do we remind our customers that we can service them too! Sure, we might offer the "free" oil change program that has not changed since we've opened - but do we even market to them afterward? Most of us do not! And for most of those dealers who do market to them, they are sending them "OEM Service Specials" that do not even apply. You can easily add an SRP Banner on your own site that says "We Service All Makes" with a link to your scheduling tool. It's that easy. 

Highlight Oil Changes With Competitive Pricing 

It is no secret that customers still believe that the dealer is more expensive for an oil change vs. taking it to a bix box service center. But the fact is that the dealer is often less expensive! Yet so many dealers do not explain that on their landing page! In addition to not offering a "price comparison" to show their customers that they are less expensive! To illustrate this, you can create a graphic that includes five different prices for oil changes in the area. Having a strong visual reminder can help increase the chances of potential customers booking an appointment. 

Service Scheduling Tool 

Not all service scheduling tools are made equal! And it is not a fun experience trying to book an appointment on a phone when the platform is not responsive. Yes, sadly, many of the tools out there today are still not mobile-friendly! Not to mention, there are still apps that do not offer you the ability to "sign-in" to easily book your next service appointment. With the ability to review previously declined services, or services that you have been recommended to schedule in the future. Having a tool that works and is easy to use - that offers relevant information - can make or break their not only booking an appointment but booking an appointment with multiple services. 

Highlight Your New Processes for Picking-Up and Dropping Off their Vehicles 

With your processes having been updated and changed with COVID-19, make sure to outline those procedure changes. Making it easy for the customer to understand what they can expect during the process. One of the things that you can also do is create a quick video outlining this process. 

Bottom Line: Your service page is a significant landing page! Make sure you take the time to ensure that the content is relevant. Including a competitive price analysis for oil changes, information about servicing all makes, and an easy to use service scheduler that will make you stand out! In doing so, you will increase your chances of the customer booking service!  

When is the last time you re-vamped your service page? 

It is no secret that the way we communicate with our customers has drastically changed in the last four to five years. Texting has become one of the top ways to communicate with your customers. Yet most OEM's still fail to count texting as a touchpoint in the customer's general correspondence regarding OEM leads! Sadly, many still only count phone calls and emails as touch points in reporting! 

Despite trying to explain the value of texting - regardless of the OEM's short comings - most of us have still experienced a meeting with the GM or Owner. A meeting where we have to explain why our total touch average has slipped gradually over the last few years. Spending more time worrying about a report that does not add up versus what is getting results. 

Another concern with the current data models regarding touch points to sale is that, for the most part, do not include texting! So are the studies that continue to say that twelve touch points are the average even accurate? Does one text each way a touchpoint, or is a conversation in its entirety a touchpoint? Does that even matter? 

The answer is NO! Instead of focusing on touchpoint averages on traditional communication forms, we should be focusing on the end goal; that is selling the vehicle! 

One of the many great things about texting is that it enables you to continue the conversation right where you left off! The idea that you are not expected to sit there and anxiously wait for the customer to text you back. Knowing, too, that the customer still has a 98% chance of seeing that text you last sent them. And until they physically delete the text from their inbox, it will remain there as a constant reminder! This does not, however, mean that your dealer should not have texting policies - to remain compliant - either! There are also several best practices to follow, which is a whole other article (coming soon!).

Despite the success we are having with texting, as mentioned above, most OEM's are still stuck in the past! And they tend to reprieve themselves of offering solutions other than providing the obvious "contact your leads." Now more than ever, the OEM's have to provide a clear sense of direction, allowing the dealers who have and continue to evolve their dealerships the ability to do so without the OEM's prohibiting them by failing to count texting in their reports! 

Have You Ditched the Stale OEM Reporting in Favor of Results? If So, What Are Some of the Successes You Have Seen? 

Has Your OEM Counted Texting as A Touch Point in Your Overall Customer Correspondence?