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melanie webber

mWEBB Communications

Dec 12, 2016

Kerrigan Advisors Represents Ron Tonkin Dealerships in Sale to Gee Automotive Companies

Tonkin is the third Top 100 Dealership Group sold by Kerrigan Advisors in the last 12 months

 

Irvine, CA, December 19, 2016 – Kerrigan Advisors, the leading sell-side advisory firm to auto dealers in the US, represented and advised the Ron Tonkin Dealerships, Portland's largest auto dealership group, in its sale to Gee Automotive Companies.  This transaction will create one of the nation’s top 50 dealership groups[1].  The Ron Tonkin Dealership Group, founded by Ron Tonkin in 1960, is ranked #93 on Automotive News’ Top 150 Dealership Group list and is currently led by Ed and Brad Tonkin, co-presidents of the group and sons of Ron Tonkin. 

“Kerrigan Advisors was instrumental to the sale process,” said Brad Tonkin, who will remain with the company and serve as Platform President for Gee Automotive Companies.  “The Kerrigan team identified the right buyer for our family’s business. Kerrigan Advisor’s responsiveness, client service and deep expertise was a key component to the success of this transition.” said Ed Tonkin.

Kerrigan Advisors, headed by Erin and Ryan Kerrigan has now represented three of the top 100 dealership groups in the last 12 months, and is currently engaged to sell two additional top 100 groups. Upon completion of this sale, Kerrigan Advisors will have advised on the sale of 42 dealership transactions since July 2015, representing over $800 million in client proceeds.

“Our job is not simply to enable the best possible financial transactions for our clients, but to identify a buyer who will carry on the legacy of our clients’ dealership business.  This transaction is a perfect example of the fulfillment of those core goals,” said Erin Kerrigan, Founder and Managing Director of Kerrigan Advisors. 

“We know that Gee Automotive’s commitment to the Tonkin brand and high levels of service, as well as to Tonkin employees, ensures that the Ron Tonkin Dealerships will continue to be a successful and respected part of the Portland business community – as well of the automotive community at large. We are proud to have been part of this significant transaction” said Ryan Kerrigan, Managing Director of Kerrigan Advisors.

Kerrigan Advisors monitors conditions in the buy/sell market and publishes an in-depth analysis each quarter in The Blue Sky Report™ which includes Kerrigan Advisor’s signature blue sky charts, multiples and analysis for each franchise in the luxury and non-luxury segments. To download the Blue Sky Report, click here. The company also releases the monthly Kerrigan Index™ composed of the seven publicly traded auto retail companies with operations focused on the US market.  The Kerrigan Index is designed to track dealership valuation trends, while also providing key insights into factors influencing auto retail. To access The Kerrigan Index, click here.

Erin Kerrigan (www.kerriganadvisors.com/meet-the-team-2/) is Founder and Managing Director of Kerrigan Advisors, and is a recognized industry expert on dealership valuation, real estate and buy/sells. A sought after commentator on automotive retailing topics ranging from consumer auto buying trends to auto retail consolidation to private equity in auto retail, she has keynoted numerous automotive conferences and her analysis has appeared in publications such as Automotive News and the Wall Street Journal.   For a recent video of Erin’s commentary on the market, click here: drivingsalesnews.com/erin-kerrigan-shares-insight-on-the-current-dealership-buysell-market/.

Ryan Kerrigan is Managing Director of Kerrigan Advisors and an expert on US auto retail buy-sell transaction work. Ryan served as Managing Director at Serent Capital, a $250mm private equity fund investing in middle market companies. Prior, he served as General Manager of the family’s auto dealership. Mr. Kerrigan began his career as a management consultant at McKinsey & Company, where he advised Fortune 500 companies on growth strategies, organizational issues, pricing and business valuation.

 

About Kerrigan Advisors

Kerrigan Advisors is a national dealership buy/sell advisory firm focused on providing a high level of client service for dealership sellers. Led by a team of veteran advisors who have represented transactions totaling over $2.5 billion dollars in automotive, private equity and investment banking, Kerrigan Advisors customizes each sale process to maximize the seller’s transaction proceeds. With the most comprehensive buyer database in the industry, Kerrigan Advisors has the industry context and expertise to match each seller with the right buyer.

In addition to the monthly Kerrigan Auto Retail Index, each quarter, Kerrigan Advisors publishes The Blue Sky Report™, a Kerrigan Quarterly, which is the auto industry's most comprehensive and authoritative quarterly report and analysis of dealership buy/sell activity and franchise values.  Kerrigan Advisors’ Managing Director Erin Kerrigan is a recognized industry expert on dealership valuation, real estate and buy/sells, and is a frequent speaker at leading auto retail events and conferences, including NADA, JD Power Automotive Roundtable, AICPA, NADC and Driving Sales’ President’s Club. She has also been a keynote speaker for events hosted by American Honda Motor Company, Audi of America, US Trust, Ohio Automobile Dealer Association, and SunTrust Bank and has led webinars for NADA and Automotive News.  Her expertise is also featured in a monthly column for Dealer Magazine. 

 

Kerrigan Advisors Media Contact:
Melanie Webber (melanie@mwebbcom.com), mWEBB Communications, 424.603.4340

 

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[1] based on unit sales vehicles in 2015

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Oct 10, 2016

Gubagoo announces Facebook Messenger Integration for Automotive Dealerships

Gubagoos latest innovation enables Facebook users to chat with auto dealerships, using Facebook Messenger just like they chat with friends; unlocks new sales channel for auto dealers

 

Boca Raton, FL October 21, 2016 – Gubagoo, the fastest growing and most innovative provider of solutions to the automotive industry, today announced that it now offers complete and seamless integration with Facebook Messenger. Gubagoo is one of the first chat providers in the automotive industry to offer this feature on the world’s largest social network, which has nearly 1.7 billion users to date. The new functionality is the latest in a series of game-changing innovations from Gubagoo that make it easier and faster for auto dealerships to engage and convert consumers. Gubagoo’s Facebook Messenger Integration is available immediately to dealerships using Gubagoo solutions.

 

“Today, consumers spend an average of fifty-minutes a day using Facebook platforms, including Facebook messenger – that is one-sixteenth of their waking time[1],” said Brad Title, CEO of Gubagoo, Inc. “At Gubagoo, we are relentlessly focused on helping auto dealers connect and engage more effectively, in real-time, with their customers – and Facebook Messenger is, increasingly, where consumers are making their connections. With this new integration, customers can chat with dealerships like they chat with their friends: better engagement equals better customer service equals increased sales conversion.”

 

The new integration with Facebook Messenger, gives customers another channel through which they can directly communicate with auto dealerships using Gubagoo’s 24/7 fully-managed, messaging capabilities. Gubagoo’s customers can push inventory and offers directly though Facebook Messenger and, because it integrates with Gubagoo’s mobile app, dealerships will have real-time access to conversations taking place between customers and Gubagoo chat operators. Dealerships using Gubagoo can now do the following through Facebook Messenger:

  • Send Inventory
  • Push Video
  • Publish Offers
  • Book Service Appointments
  • Take Calls

 

Gubagoo is one of the fastest growing and most effective chat and website engagement providers for automotive dealerships. Gubagoo tracks and scores over 22 million car buyers every month through its B.E.A.S.T. scoring technology and generates over 125,000 leads to dealerships every month. The company’s online selling tools, which increase efficiency, control, and conversion - as well as improving the consumer experience at the Dealership - include ChatSmart, TalkSmart and the recently launched and integrated RESQ platform for Web and Phone.  RESQ also enables dealerships to monitor chat conversations in real time. Some RESQ Beta site customers have experienced up to a 300% increase in lead-to-sales conversions in their dealership.

Gubagoo will be demonstrating the new Facebook Messenger integration and RESQ platform at DrivingSales Executive Summit in Las Vegas, October 24th – 26th.

 

About Gubagoo

Based in Boca Raton , Florida, and staffed by a team of veteran technologists and innovators in lead conversion, Gubagoo offers revolutionary behavioral engagement and scoring technologies for automotive websites. With a mission to provide a smarter, more cost-effective alternative to the old lead generation model, Gubagoo is the first dealership website solution that successfully makes anonymous traffic identifiable, and converts the 95% of dealer site traffic that traditionally defects. Incorporating smart predictive matching and the best chat technology available - and powered by its proprietary behavioral engagement and scoring engine, ‘B.E.A.S.T.’ - Gubagoo engages new and repeat dealer site visitors with unprecedented relevance through its ChatSmart, and TalkSmart products. Gubagoo’s recently launched RESQ is generating a 300% increase in lead-to-sales conversions in dealerships and enables dealerships to monitor chat conversations in real time. Over 1,900 dealerships, including some of the nation’s largest dealer groups, as well as OEM-certified programs, already have adopted Gubagoo-powered websites.

 

Gubagoo Media Relations:

Melanie Webber, mWEBB Communications, (949) 307-1723, melanie@mwebbcom.com 

 

[1] http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/06/business/facebook-bends-the-rules-of-audience-engagement-to-its-advantage.html?_r=0

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Oct 10, 2016

Patent Awarded to CarStory Market Reports’ Technology

New patent covers demand/price driver” engine that powers pricing and features analysis found in CarStory Market Reports; data provides dealers with in-demand selling points for every used vehicle on their lot and gives car buyers insights to make better, more informed decisions

 

Austin, Texas – October 18, 2016 – CarStory, the industry’s largest provider of search and inventory data and analytics on used vehicles, today announced that a technology powering its Market Reports has been awarded a U.S. Patent No. 9,465,873. This is the second patent awarded in two years time for a technology utilized by CarStory Market Reports. To date, the Reports have been adopted by over six thousand auto dealers nationwide to help consumers understand a vehicle’s whole ‘story’ through comprehensive, real-time, hyper-local data. CarStory delivers 15,000,000 Market Reports each month to consumers around the country.

 

The patent, titled Systems, Methods and Devices for Identifying and Presenting Identifications of Significant Attributes of Unique Items, was awarded to Vast.com Inc., which uses the technology to power its CarStory Market Reports. The technology automatically determines which aspects of a used vehicle search are most significant to consumers and then identifies the top 3 or 4 features that are the unique price drivers for that vehicle, presenting them in an easily digestible format to enable consumers to make more confident purchasing decisions.

 

Vast.com Inc.’s most recent previous patent was issued in December 2015 for its “similarities engine” which automatically generates relevant and ‘like’ vehicle recommendations through the CarStory Market Reports to car buyers, helping facilitate a better, more informed car selling/buying experience.

 

“Vast’s newest patent validates the power of the technology behind CarStory Market Reports. Because used vehicle price drivers differ dramatically from those that influence pricing when a vehicle is brand new, unique technology is required to help illuminate and quantify nuances for both dealers and consumers alike,” said Dr. David Franke, Chief Data Scientist at Vast.com and co-inventor of the patent.

 

For example, a trim line that adds value to a car when it is new may not play the same, positive role in the vehicle’s price after a few years of wear and tear – leather seats may age poorly or GPS technology may be outdated.

 

“It is this real time, preference-based, nuanced vehicle intelligence that has been awarded in the patent and is the reason CarStory Market Reports have been so widely adopted,” said Franke. “Our ‘demand/price driver engine’ improves the used car buying process by highlighting the handful of vehicle attributes that consumers are most interested in – even down to regional and local levels.”

 

By embedding important vehicle research directly in the Vehicle Detail Page (VDP), CarStory Market Reports encourage consumers to stay and engage on dealership websites, rather than clicking off to find information on third-party research sites. The Reports’ robust and unique information is based on insights generated from a combination of real-time used vehicle listings and data from over eight million used car searches each week. The patented technology highlights the unique attributes and features that drive price, whether it’s bluetooth, roof rack or heated seats.

 

“CarStory Market Reports really help educate our sales team about which features are most important to our used car shoppers, and, because they are so engaging and informative, the reports have increased our online lead conversion,” said Tom White Jr., General Manager of Subaru of Wichita.

 

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About CarStory

CarStory is a service that matches used car shoppers with the right car. Using patented technology and an industry-leading dataset, CarStory facilitates an efficient, effective discovery process resulting in a confident purchase decision. With a network of over 6,000 participating dealerships nationwide, CarStory’s available inventory and user-data is the largest, and most accurate in the industry. Discover your new used car and drive happily ever after at: www.carstory.com.

 

About Vast 

Vast is a big data-as-service platform that provides consumer experiences —powered by data and analytics — for big purchases in automotive and real estate. Founded in 2005, Vast is the premier provider of big data solutions for many of the Global 1000’s largest automotive and real estate businesses. Learn more at Vast.com.

 

Media Relations: 

Melanie Webber, mWEBB Communications (949) 307-1723, melanie@mwebbcom.com 

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Jun 6, 2016

CallSource Sponsors “Personal Development” Track at 2016 Women in Automotive Conference

Company founder and director, Carey Fried, to lead Mindful & Emotional Intelligence for Leaders workshop

 

Westlake Village, CA – June 21st, 2016 CallSource today announced that company director and founder Carey Fried will present a workshop based on Google’s “Search Inside Yourself” curriculum at the upcoming Women in Automotive (WIA) conference taking place in Orlando, FL (June 26-28). The company is also a sponsor of the conference.  CallSource is a leading provider of solutions to help auto dealerships track, analyze and improve incoming call performance.

“We’re passionate supporters of women in every industry and strongly believe in promoting a level playing field in the workplace,” said Carey Fried, founder and director, CallSource, Inc. “We are pleased to be part of an event - as both sponsor and presenter - that offers a platform where women can connect, do business, network and promote connectedness in the auto industry.”

CallSource is sponsoring Track 3 of the WIA agenda – “Personal Development” – which will include sessions designed to empower women (and men) with tools and tactics to improve their personal and business lives.

Carey Fried, a CallSource founder and director, will lead “Mindful & Emotional Intelligence for Leaders,” an experiential workshop, on Sunday at 2:40-3:25. Based on Google’s “Search Inside Yourself” curriculum, the session will combine neuroscience research with relaxing mindful exercises to help conference attendees create a more emotionally intelligent workplace. Fried was trained as in Google’s science-supported mindfulness and emotional intelligence curriculum.

About CallSource

CallSource, providers of award-winning solutions to help dealerships track, analyze and improve incoming call performance, has tracked more than a billion calls since 1991. For over 25 years, CallSource’s award-winning solutions have gone far beyond call tracking to providing marketing insight, including cost-per-lead analysis and sales conversion percentages, training and coaching solutions to improve phone skills, and tools that enable businesses to recapture mishandled sales opportunities. Based in Westlake Village, Calif., CallSource recently received a patent for its Sales Performance Management (SPM) system, which combines the actionable data of its call analytics, performance analysis, advisory services, and online and phone training/coaching from seasoned sales professionals. CallSource serves multiple industries including automotive, home services and healthcare, as well as numerous franchise businesses. Visit callsource.com.

 

Media Relations: 

Melanie Webber, mWEBB Communications, (949) 307-1723, melanie@mwebbcom.com 

Cassandra Cavanah, mWEBB Communications, (818) 397-4630, cassandra@mwebbcom.com

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Jun 6, 2016

Auto Industry Experiences Monumental Shifts in Public Auto Retail Valuations

The Blue Sky Report released by Kerrigan Advisors analyzes dealership buy/sell activity for Q1 2016; overall activity, including multi-dealership transactions, size of groups coming into market and luxury import transactions, continues to rise; publics’ blue sky multiples decline: valuations at parity or below many private acquisition opportunities

 

Irvine, CA, June 7, 2016 – U.S. dealership buy/sell activity continued to rise in the first quarters of 2016, including growth in multi-dealership transactions, the size of groups coming into market, and luxury import transactions, according to The Blue Sky Report™, a Kerrigan Quarterly, which today released analysis of the first quarter of 2016.  But, the report reveals, this activity was accompanied by a monumental shift in public market valuations of auto retail stocks, putting a chill on public company acquisition activity.  Year to date, The KAR Index™ (The Kerrigan Auto Retail Index) declined by 11.8% and is down 30% from its high in June 2015.

 

“For public companies to trade at parity with private dealership groups is highly unusual. In most industries, when public consolidators decline in value, private companies quickly follow suit,” said Erin Kerrigan, Managing Director of Kerrigan Advisor.  “This aberration may be explained by auto retail’s continued fragmentation and domination by private companies.  It should be noted that the publics represent just 8% of industry revenue and a minority of industry acquisitions. Nevertheless, these declines are something to be watched and could be a leading indicator for future blue sky values.”

The report from Kerrigan Advisors is the auto industry's most comprehensive and authoritative quarterly report and analysis of dealership buy/sell activity and franchise values. Laying out the high, average and low multiples for each franchise in the luxury and non-luxury segments for the quarter, the report offers a detailed view of public and private company dealership acquisition activity. 

According to the report, key activities influencing trends in the first part of the year were the completion of a few very large acquisitions, including AutoNation’s purchase of the Allen Samuels Group in Texas and Fremont Private Holdings purchase of Morrie’s Automotive in Minnesota.  Among the leading buy/sell trends, The Blue Sky Report identifies the following three as shaping the market for the balance of 2016:

  • Private buyers and new entrants dominating 2016’s buy/sell market
  • Acquisition financing terms drive purchase price
  • Blue sky values increasingly based on multi-year average earnings

 

“While the 2016 buy/sell market is expected to be as active as 2015’s, we anticipate greater pricing disparity as industry growth plateaus and dealership earnings come under pressure,” continued Kerrigan. “There seems to be a growing divide between the bid/ask spread in the buy/sell market. Sellers have very high pricing expectations, particularly in the luxury market, and buyers are increasingly challenged to achieve their return on investment requirements.”

The Blue Sky Report™, a Kerrigan Quarterly, is published four times a year and includes Kerrigan Advisor’s signature blue sky charts, multiples and analysis for each franchise in the luxury and non-luxury segments. The multiples are based on Kerrigan Advisors’ view of franchise values in the current buy/sell market and can be applied to adjusted pre-tax dealership earnings to estimate blue sky value. To download the report, click here.

Kerrigan Advisors also releases a monthly index, The KAR Index, designed to help public and private auto retailers understand the true value of their dealerships, while also providing key insights into factors influencing valuations of these public companies, with broader implications for the auto industry as a whole. To access the KAR Index™, click here.

Erin Kerrigan is Managing Director of Kerrigan Advisors, and is a recognized industry expert on dealership valuation, real estate and buy/sells. A sought after commentator on automotive retailing topics ranging from consumer auto buying trends to auto retail consolidation to private equity in auto retail, she has keynoted numerous automotive conferences and her analysis has appeared in publications such as Automotive News and the Wall Street Journal.   

 

About Kerrigan Advisors

Kerrigan Advisors is a national dealership buy/sell advisory firm focused on providing a high level of client service for dealership sellers. Led by a team of veteran advisors who have represented transactions totaling over $2 billion dollars in automotive, private equity and investment banking, Kerrigan Advisors customizes each sale process to maximize the seller’s transaction proceeds. With the most comprehensive buyer database in the industry, Kerrigan Advisors has the industry context and expertise to match each seller with the right buyer.

 

Each quarter, Kerrigan Advisors publishes The Blue Sky Report™, a Kerrigan Quarterly, which is the auto industry's most comprehensive and authoritative quarterly report and analysis of dealership buy/sell activity and franchise values.  Kerrigan Advisors’ Managing Director Erin Kerrigan, who authors the report, is a recognized industry expert on dealership valuation, real estate and buy/sells, and is a frequent speaker at leading auto retail events and conferences, including NADA, JD Power Automotive Roundtable, AICPA, NADC and Driving Sales’ President’s Club. She has also been a keynote speaker for events hosted by American Honda Motor Company, Audi of America, US Trust, Ohio Automobile Dealer Association, and SunTrust Bank and has led webinars for NADA and Automotive News.  Her expertise is also featured in a monthly column for Dealer Magazine. 

 

Kerrigan Advisors Media Contact:
Melanie Webber (melanie@mwebbcom.com), mWEBB Communications, 424.603.4340

 

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May 5, 2016

The KAR Index™ Drops 9% in Two Weeks

Index from Kerrigan Advisors shows high inventory levels, gross margin compression, and weak sales forecasts depressing public auto retailer valuations

 

Irvine, CA, May 18, 2016 – Kerrigan Advisors today announced that The KAR Index™ (The Kerrigan Auto Retail Index) has dropped 9% - from 496.82 to 452.49 – in just the last two weeks, indicating depressed public auto retailer valuations. The KAR Index™ attributes the sharp drop to higher inventory levels, gross margin compression in new vehicle sales, and weakening retailer sales forecasts.

“This is a continuation of a volatile first quarter” said Erin Kerrigan, Managing Director of Kerrigan Advisors.  “After far outperforming the S&P 500 between 2009 and 2015 by over 700%, gravity is starting to set in. With sales growth slowing, auto retail will be a much more competitive industry going forward, likely resulting in lower earnings growth.”

The latest KAR Index™, which is a monthly index for the auto retail industry covering the seven publicly traded auto retail companies with operations focused on the US market, shows:

  • Weakening sales projections and inventory surpluses are having an impact on the publics’ forecasts, contributing to declines in their share prices.
  • Five of the seven publics – Asbury Automotive Group, Group 1 Automotive, Lithia Motors, Auto Nation, and CarMax - reporting drops in net income in the first quarter of 2016
  • Margins for new car sales are under pressure from high inventory levels, more internet sales channels, and increased consumer awareness.

 

“Although the publics’ share prices are depressed, there is a silver lining: auto retailers have been taking advantage of the dip by repurchasing stock, allowing them to decrease the number of shares outstanding and increase their EPS,” said Ryan Kerrigan, Managing Director of Kerrigan Advisors.

The KAR Index is designed to help public and private auto retailers understand the true value of their dealerships, while also providing key insights into factors influencing valuations of these public companies, with broader implications for the auto industry as a whole. To access the KAR Index™, click here.

Kerrigan Advisors also releases The Blue Sky Report™ four times a year and includes Kerrigan Advisor’s signature blue sky charts, multiples and analysis for each franchise in the luxury and non-luxury segments. The multiples are based on Kerrigan Advisors’ view of franchise values in the current buy/sell market and can be applied to adjusted pre-tax dealership earnings to estimate blue sky value. To download The Blue Sky Report, click here.

Erin Kerrigan is Managing Director of Kerrigan Advisors, and is a recognized industry expert on dealership valuation, real estate and buy/sells. A sought after commentator on automotive retailing topics ranging from consumer auto buying trends to auto retail consolidation to private equity in auto retail, she has keynoted numerous automotive conferences and her analysis has appeared in publications such as Automotive News and the Wall Street Journal.   For a recent video of Erin’s commentary on the market, click here.

 

About Kerrigan Advisors

Kerrigan Advisors is a national dealership buy/sell advisory firm focused on providing a high level of client service for dealership sellers. Led by a team of veteran advisors who have represented transactions totaling over $2 billion dollars in automotive, private equity and investment banking, Kerrigan Advisors customizes each sale process to maximize the seller’s transaction proceeds. With the most comprehensive buyer database in the industry, Kerrigan Advisors has the industry context and expertise to match each seller with the right buyer.

Each quarter, Kerrigan Advisors publishes The Blue Sky Report™, a Kerrigan Quarterly, which is the auto industry's most comprehensive and authoritative quarterly report and analysis of dealership buy/sell activity and franchise values.  Kerrigan Advisors’ Managing Director Erin Kerrigan, who authors the report, is a recognized industry expert on dealership valuation, real estate and buy/sells, and is a frequent speaker at leading auto retail events and conferences, including NADA, JD Power Automotive Roundtable, AICPA, NADC and Driving Sales’ President’s Club. She has also been a keynote speaker for events hosted by American Honda Motor Company, Audi of America, US Trust, Ohio Automobile Dealer Association, and SunTrust Bank and has led webinars for NADA and Automotive News.  Her expertise is also featured in a monthly column for Dealer Magazine. 

 

Kerrigan Advisors Media Contact:
Melanie Webber (melanie@mwebbcom.com), mWEBB Communications, 424.603.4340

 

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Apr 4, 2012

Study: Dealers must woo young service customers

Service customers at auto dealerships are intensely loyal -- but are older and spend less than customers of independent shops and chains, according to a recent survey.

So dealers must win converts with online promotions and prepaid programs, said Mike Martinez, chief marketer at DMEautomotive, the marketing firm that commissioned the survey.

Dealer loyalists, defined as those who spend the bulk of their service dollars at the dealership, are more than twice as likely to be 55 years old or older than people who typically get service at independent garages and service chains, the survey found.

Many independent garages specialize in vehicles on their second and third owners, who often are younger than new-car buyers. And the old vehicles frequently need more repairs than new vehicles.

The survey, of 4,000 random adults who had vehicles serviced in 2011, also looked at average annual spending by customers who were highly loyal to dealerships, independent garages or service chains. The 2011 figures: independent garages, $1,191; service chains, $1,178; dealerships, $1,105.

Loyalists of the service chains spend more even though dealership loyalists tend to be wealthier, more diligent in sticking to recommended service schedules and less sensitive to the price of service, Martinez said.

"The aftermarket chains are doing a better job of taking money away from dealers than dealers are taking money away from them."

Old cars, more $$$
Dealerships tend to service newer cars than independent garages, and newer cars typically need fewer repairs.
  Avg. age of cars serviced
Dealerships 6.5 years
Service chains 7.6 years
Independent garages 9.1 years
Source: DMEautomotive

You can reach David Barkholz at dbarkholz@crain.com.

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mWEBB Communications

Apr 4, 2012

Study: Dealers must woo young service customers

Service customers at auto dealerships are intensely loyal -- but are older and spend less than customers of independent shops and chains, according to a recent survey.

So dealers must win converts with online promotions and prepaid programs, said Mike Martinez, chief marketer at DMEautomotive, the marketing firm that commissioned the survey.

Dealer loyalists, defined as those who spend the bulk of their service dollars at the dealership, are more than twice as likely to be 55 years old or older than people who typically get service at independent garages and service chains, the survey found.

Many independent garages specialize in vehicles on their second and third owners, who often are younger than new-car buyers. And the old vehicles frequently need more repairs than new vehicles.

The survey, of 4,000 random adults who had vehicles serviced in 2011, also looked at average annual spending by customers who were highly loyal to dealerships, independent garages or service chains. The 2011 figures: independent garages, $1,191; service chains, $1,178; dealerships, $1,105.

Loyalists of the service chains spend more even though dealership loyalists tend to be wealthier, more diligent in sticking to recommended service schedules and less sensitive to the price of service, Martinez said.

"The aftermarket chains are doing a better job of taking money away from dealers than dealers are taking money away from them."

Old cars, more $$$
Dealerships tend to service newer cars than independent garages, and newer cars typically need fewer repairs.
  Avg. age of cars serviced
Dealerships 6.5 years
Service chains 7.6 years
Independent garages 9.1 years
Source: DMEautomotive

You can reach David Barkholz at dbarkholz@crain.com.

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mWEBB Communications

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