One of the advantages of Pre-Paid Maintenance Programs (PPM) is that they span the generational gaps. Regardless of which generation consumers happen to be in, none of them like surprise repairs, or other expenses. That’s why dealers focus on payments – and not price – when selling cars.

Consumers want fixed expenses. When it comes to millennials, they tend to be saddled with all sorts of debt including those credit cards they eagerly accepted while in college, and the student loans they end up with in order to launch their careers. Older generations are at, or close to, the point of fixed incomes from retirement plans or social security. Peace of mind that their vehicle is covered, and they are protected against any unexpected repairs, is perhaps more valuable to these consumers than ever before. That’s why many service industries have navigated to fixed price service plans.                                                  

Consider cell phones. The big rage nowadays is the “All-inclusive price” plan. Consumers simply choose a carrier and have all the service they need for a fixed amount. I’m sure you’ve seen the advertisements and commercials. Why are these plans so attractive? I would argue that it’s the fact that consumers don’t like surprises or variables in their monthly expenses.

PPM programs are attractive for exactly the same reason. They provide car buyers with peace of mind that their monthly vehicle expenses will remain the same and that their vehicle will be reliable.

However, while these items may be missed (or declined) in the finance office, there is a perfect opportunity that many dealerships miss to pursue them later in the service drive. Just because someone said “No” in your finance department, doesn’t mean that they will say the same thing later. Lots of factors are in play when buying a car – emotions are high, anxieties over payment could be in play, and exhaustion from being at the dealership for several hour could also be part of the problem. Once the sun comes up and all of those factors settle down, a consumer could perhaps have a clearer view of the advantages of a PPM.

Recent research suggests that almost 65 percent of dealers are ignoring the opportunity to offer dealer-branded PPM plans to current customers that visit their service lanes. While many offer OEM branded plans in the F&I department, the service lane is generally overlooked, not only as a selling opportunity, but as a chance to reengage hundreds of customers for a guaranteed period of time. Dealers are in fact losing two thirds of their possible customer service affinity as well as potential missed revenue measured in millions of dollars.

Really? Millions of dollars left on the service drive floor? Yes. It is so simple.

There is no argument that PPMs significantly raise dealer service retention. It is in fact documented that many dealers experience a retention rate of over eighty percent among those customers who purchase a PPM. So, why are so many dealers’ service retention numbers so much lower than that -- anywhere from thirty, to, in rare cases, maybe sixty percent? That’s a huge loss in retention and potential profit.

In my thirty-five years in the automotive business dealers have shared many different rationalizations as to why they choose to overlook the potential of PPMs in service. While many of the reasons are beyond sensible business logic, such as “I can’t handle anymore service business,” or “My advisors are too busy to sell anything else,” they all escape the fact that, as a dealer, they likely see more customers in the service department in two months then they sell in new vehicles in an entire year! Yet only about 35 percent of franchise dealers offer service drive PPMs today.

It really is simple, but it takes a good eye on both new and used vehicle buyers in your service drive. Just like any other service lane up-sell, it should be positioned as an additional customer advantage on top of what the dealership is already doing, and should be included on all service product menus. By including it on your service menu it serves as a tool for your advisor to sell other services by utilizing any discount the plan may offer on the service the customer is contemplating purchasing during that visit.

Don’t be afraid to keep discussing the benefits of pre-paid maintenance with your customers – whether you sold them the vehicle or not – as it only serves to benefit both your dealership (by maintaining a customer relationship) and the customer.

Working retail in the auto industry can certainly be taxing. Salespeople work 60-70 hour weeks to make a paycheck. Sales managers do so while also having to manage the sales team, create multiple reports and handle a multitude of tasks -- and the service department is just as overloaded.

Not surprisingly, frequently the excuse, “there’s not enough time,” comes into play. However, it is important to remember that the entire existence of a car dealership – as a business – is to sell and service cars. Growth and profitability is dependent upon satisfying the needs of many customers which, at times, can be overwhelming. When the GM is breathing down a sales manager’s neck to have a report done by a specific time, all while trying to desk a deal and handle heat, it’s easy to lose track, or miscalculate priority. It’s almost like the chicken before the egg argument.

So what IS most important?

The most important thing is to make the customer first. There’s a great old saying by Henry Ford: “It is not the employer that pays the wages. Employers only handle the money. It is the customer that pays the wages.” This is absolute truth. Without customers, no business can last. It will fail and there won’t be any managers or salespeople any longer.

The existence of a car dealership is entirely dependent on ensuring that people buy and service their vehicles with them. If those things don’t happen because managers are overwhelmed or have higher priorities, business will drop. On the contrary, however, by putting the customer first, the customer feels appreciated, valued and is taken care of. This fosters loyalty, referrals and repeat business which, in turn, grows the business rather than seeing it falter.

Customer loyalty and advocacy will only be encouraged and developed by making the customer the priority. And I’m not just talking about handling heat, ensuring that there’s enough floor coverage or available service bays. Customers and their questions, care and problems, should be a priority.

If the customer doesn’t feel that spending $30,000+ on a vehicle is appreciated, they’ll go someplace where they feel appreciated. Treat the service customer like they’re a nuisance and schedule them 4 weeks out for an appointment and they will find someone who is willing to help them when it’s convenient for them, not for the business. Imagine going to McDonald’s and having them tell you that all of the employees are taking a break so you’ll just have to wait. Or that they’re simply too busy to assist you at the moment so come back later. Would YOU come back? Probably not. And neither will your customers.

I guarantee that if you take care of your customers first, those reports will look better each and every time you send them to the GM or dealer, and they’ll forgive the fact that you were tardy. Bottom line is that a report isn’t going to bring in revenue, leave reviews or service its car with you… but a customer will.

Have you ever tried to call a dealership – whether it’s to inquire about a vehicle or schedule a service appointment – just to get placed on eternal hold or thrown into someone’s voicemail? Many consumers have and, just like you, they don’t like it.

People are busy. When they pick up the phone to schedule a service appointment, or try to get information about a vehicle when they are in-market, if the first impression you give them is hold music, or voicemail boxes, they could easily move on to the next dealership – especially if they are a sales customer.

Most dealers, however, just assume that everything is going smoothly because they don’t hear complaints about the issue. The reason they don’t hear is because the people who WOULD complain don’t bother to call again – and, perhaps, never come in again.

Every dealership has a receptionist. Some have one for sales and one for service. Some even assign call tracking numbers to each department so that they can monitor the outcomes of these calls. Or, at the very least, track the volume of them. The problem is that many dealers will have two or three phone numbers on their website – sales, service and parts. The customer, however, doesn’t know or care about the difference. They just call the first one that they see. So inevitably dealers will have sales calls coming in on the service line and vice versa. Oftentimes there is a single “main” receptionist handling all of the calls and routing them to the proper departments. But they can easily get overwhelmed. What happens to those customers that called for sales, were put on hold and then hung up? Or they called for service to schedule an appointment and the same thing occurred?

Chances are that you’re paying a receptionist minimum wage (or close to it) to answer and route the calls. Between sales, service and parts, I bet that there are times when they are overwhelmed. They transfer the call and assume that the call will be answered. Too often it’s not. In each and every one of those cases, many times the dealership either lost a sale or parts/service revenue.

Today’s consumer is all about efficiency and simplicity. The less time you can take up to achieve their goal when they try to contact you, the more likely they are to appreciate and think highly of you. If you make things easy for them, they will appreciate it and have a positive experience.

If it’s difficult to do business with you, the opposite will occur. Customer loyalty is something that is built over time. It’s great to ensure that the customer has an excellent experience and feels appreciated when they’re physically AT your dealership. But that experience has to extend to any contact or interaction they have WITH you as well.

If you’re using call tracking numbers, monitor those calls religiously. Make sure that any unanswered calls up are called back promptly. Apologize that nobody picked up the phone and assist them. I promise that they’ll be impressed. People understand that you get busy. Perhaps they meant to try to call back later, perhaps not. But if you call them back first, not only will they forgive you, but you’ll impress them too.

That’s how you build a loyal (and profitable) following. Make sure that each customer who TRYS to do business with you is able to. Don’t let a dropped call result in a lost sale or repair order. It can easily happen. But it can also be remedied easily. And that pro-activeness can go a long ways to retaining and building a solid customer foundation that you can count on.

With the major shift into leasing certified pre-owned vehicles by several OEMs and major financial institutions, many dealers have predicted a decline in service contract sales. However, according to an article in Automotive News, they would be wrong to do so.

Due to an influx of low-mileage pre-owned vehicles, captive finance companies and others have started to embrace certified pre-owned leasing programs. Lease customers haven’t always been the best candidates for service contracts – especially high line leases, as many of these vehicles come with free maintenance. However, the length of many leases and, more importantly, the length of loan terms have increased.

This is an indicator that many consumers who opt for extended term loans, or leases, would certainly benefit from service contracts as they will either 1) still be in their lease when the free maintenance expires; or 2) hold onto their vehicle for an extended period of time, far longer than in the past.

According to the article, while new vehicles will still outpace used vehicles in service contract penetration, there’s no need to worry about a decline in service contract sales. In fact, both new and used vehicle service contract penetration has increased among prime borrowers, with the gap between new and used vehicle service contract penetration decreasing from seven percent in 2007, to just 0.5 percent in the second half of 2016.

Many buyers – prime and sub-prime alike – increasingly see the value of a steady monthly vehicle expense without the worry of a hefty service bill. Yet there are many finance managers that don’t present service contracts as aggressively to prime borrowers for used vehicles as they do to sub-prime -- they assume the customer won’t be interested. While this may historically be accurate, the CPO leasing movement, along with extended loan terms, have substantially altered the rules of the game.

Consumers have warmed up to service contracts and have come to understand the benefits for convenience and financial stability. And, as new car margins continuously decrease due to manufacturer incentives, competition and increasing pricing transparency via third party sites, dealers increasingly rely on their F&I departments to increase profits through back-end product sales. Yet many F&I managers have been trained – via customer interactions and their common sense – that certain customers don’t need or want a service contract, but that is where the shift has occurred and there is opportunity aplenty!

Perhaps in the past service contracts didn’t make sense for certain buyers. However, these days, increasingly car buyers ARE investing in service contracts -- both for purchasing AND leasing.

The key to any successful selling process is consistency. Train your finance managers not to assume anything. Present, show the value of and sell service contracts to every customer, regardless of lease or purchase. According to the statistics, they will thank you for it, and it’s a win-win for the customer and your dealership.

San Ramon, CA – March 14, 2016 --  Performance Loyalty Group (PLG), today announced that H&H Chevrolet of Omaha, NE, has grown its service revenue by simply switching from a complimentary PPM plan and instead selling extended service plans in both service and F&I using the UltraCare dealership branded Prepaid Maintenance Program (PPM). Fifty percent of those plans are sold out of the service drive.

H&H Chevrolet introduced its UltraCare PPM program in February 2013, by including an 18 month plan for free with every vehicle purchase. Between February 2013 and August 2015 the dealership gave away just over 2,000 plans. While improving customer retention was the underlying purpose for providing those free plans, Steve Hinchcliff, President and CEO of H&H Automotive, was surprised when he looked at the customer data the plans were generating. While 88% of customers returned to purchase additional services when they utilized their free PPM, the average service up-sell amount was only $65.24 per visit.

“Complimentary factory scheduled maintenance started to nullify what we were doing with the complimentary plans. So we changed our plans and tried to enhance our maintenance packages around the factory as an enhanced offering. We felt if the customer had more skin in game, there would be a higher perceived value. And it is true, in fact now they are coming back and spending three times as much as they did when the plans were free. Our philosophy is based on customer retention, on the lifetime dollar value, not transaction dollar value. And this is really what our culture exemplifies,” Hinchcliff stated.

In fact, selling the plans resulted in three times the customer up-sell which has now risen to $222.16 per service visit, an increase of $157.00 over what the complimentary plans were generating.   

The dealership now averages 138 plans sold per month with an average retail amount of $254.77, producing an additional monthly revenue over $35,000. Besides being a great revenue generator the PPM plans are also a powerful retention tool as well with over 71% of the plan purchasers returning to the dealership for ongoing service.

According to Hinchcliff, three things have contributed to the success of selling the PPMs rather than giving them away for free. First is the perceived value to the customer. Second is selling the plans out of his service drive -- more than 50 percent of the PPMs are now sold directly by service advisors. And third is offering an added bonus of a dealership gift card, which is perceived by the customer as an additional discount.

Hinchcliff went on to explain that when he started offering PPMs in his service department he began to see better upsell numbers. “We decided that we had this wonderfully busy and customer rich service department that would benefit from offering customers a good plan to save money, while also giving us the fulfillment of retention. We are not real big on making a large profit per transaction, but see a huge value in the lifetime value of the customer,” said Hinchcliff.

An example of how the process works at the dealership is if the customer is in for an express service of some kind the service advisor will say, “Here is your quote for service, but by the way, we are giving away a $25 gift card with our PPM programs and you have a choice of 3, 7, 9 or 12 oil changes for X amount. Which is already a discount on what you are currently paying. And, you also get the $25 gift card to spend at our store. So in effect, you are winning twice.”

According to Hinchcliff, the key to the whole program is retention, not making money. He does not make a huge profit from selling each package but the value is when the customer keeps coming back. “Our goal is to have the customer for a long time and get repeat and referral business. We feel the number one reason car dealerships are not well thought of, and that customers defect to the independents, is that most consumers think it costs too much money. The traditional car dealer strategy is just not that workable. I did not create this idea of retention. You have to look at the fact that selling cars is not like selling groceries. A vehicle is not something the consumer needs to purchase every week. So our pricing has to be reasonable in service. Successful groceries stores, for example, cannot exist on exorbitant prices as customers simply will not come in,” Hinchcliff stated.

UltraCare is a web-based technology that auto dealerships use to create, manage and market their own PPM plans. These plans can be sold in both the service lane and F&I. There is no third-party administration, no sharing program revenue or forfeiture, and no service claim submission requirement.

Dealers interested in finding out more about UltraCare or any of Performance Loyalty Group’s innovative sales, owner retention technologies and sales acquisition products, can visit Booth #3623C at the 2016 NADA Convention and Exposition, March 31-April 3, at the Las Vegas Convention Center, call: 800-608-2080 or visit: http://www.performanceloyalty.com

# # # # #

About H&H Chevrolet:

Founded over 85 years ago by Augie Hinchcliff and Joe Haney H&H Chevrolet is part of H&H Automotive Group. Today, the Hinchcliff family continues to conduct business in the same manner in all their Omaha locations. H&H remains focused on customer satisfaction and volume selling.

About Performance Loyalty Group:

Established in 2001 and headquartered in San Ramon, California, Performance Loyalty Group (PLG) specializes in customer loyalty and retention programs for the automotive industry. It has designed and implemented custom loyalty (LoyaltyTrac®) and prepaid maintenance programs (UltraCare®) for over 700 individual and OEM automotive clients. PLG is the leading supplier of retention-based solutions dedicated to the automotive industry in North America. For more information, please visit: http://www.performanceloyalty.com.

There is a constant stream of advice from industry experts concerning customer loyalty and retention. While most of the advice is on point, a large piece is typically missing in the bigger picture. In order to increase market share, businesses must be aware of what their competition is doing. Turning a blind eye to pricing and marketing tactics of the dealership down the road can easily cost sales or service business. Savvy dealers check out what their competition is doing. But, these mystery shops or research data is usually limited to their franchised competitors, not independent repair facilities, which is a mistake.

A recent roundtable discussion published by Loyalty360 included key executives of some large independent repair franchises. It provides interesting insight into the mindsets and strategies they are using to build customer loyalty and keep customers coming back.

The roundtable included Robert Falconi, CEO and John Wiegand, SVP of Operations with Precision Tune Auto Care; along with Tom Tracy, SVP of Marketing for Monro Muffler Brake & Service;  Ralph Yarusso, SVP of Operations and Business Development for Grease Monkey; and Ryan Rose, Director of Automotive Strategy for Clutch. In this roundtable, several questions were posed to the group including:

1. What is your brand’s biggest strength with customer experience? Tracy indicated that they focus on thoroughness in their inspections in order to prevent further issues down the road. Yarusso stated that it was the consumer’s desire for quick service done right. Falconi recognized the bad reputation that repair shops have gained and stressed that ethics is their most important value proposition. While Rose indicated that using customer data to analyze consumer behavior is key to effective marketing.

1. What’s the most significant customer challenge your brand faces? The group’s answers to this question revolved around providing a consistent customer experience across all of their facilities. Staffing the stores with the right people who understand the importance of providing an excellent customer experience is challenging for Precision. Monro focuses on being clear with their customers on what they should expect, then delivering on those promises. While Grease Monkey strives for chain-wide consistency in experience.

1. How is technology impacting your brand’s customer experience? These groups are integrating and utilizing technology across the board to enhance their customer’s experience, including the use of tablets by advisors, digital menu boards and mobile friendly websites with appointment setting abilities. They recognize that consumers have access to more information and conduct research as to the best place to take their vehicle. So, they work to ensure that their information is easily accessible and helps convince consumers to choose them.

1. What role does data play in your marketing strategy? These independents recognize that data is an incredibly effective tool when used to communicate with customers in relevant and personalized ways. Wiegand shared the importance of using data to lure back customers who haven’t come in for service in some time. While Rose shared the importance of integrating data from many sources, including POS systems, vehicle databases, and even social accounts.

It is a sad fact that in the eye of the consumer, these independent service departments still have the edge in their ability to provide a complete service experience. The 2015 annual survey of Consumer Reports subscribers found that independents outscored dealership service for overall satisfaction, price, quality, courteousness of the staff, and work being completed when promised.

However, most independents lack the ability to perform major service repairs, or recall work. That being said, it’s very easy to lose sight of just how important quick service type ROs are. These all provide these independents with the opportunity to interact with and touch a customer. Every service performed at an independent versus a dealership is a lost opportunity (and revenue) for a dealership.

So, take note of the strategies that independents are using to attract and retain customers and consider implementing similar strategies to help improve the customer experience at your dealership. Otherwise, you may find your customers visiting less frequently and miss out on a great deal of revenue and countless opportunities.

There is a constant stream of advice from industry experts concerning customer loyalty and retention. While most of the advice is on point, a large piece is typically missing in the bigger picture. In order to increase market share, businesses must be aware of what their competition is doing. Turning a blind eye to pricing and marketing tactics of the dealership down the road can easily cost sales or service business. Savvy dealers check out what their competition is doing. But, these mystery shops or research data is usually limited to their franchised competitors, not independent repair facilities, which is a mistake.

A recent roundtable discussion published by Loyalty360 included key executives of some large independent repair franchises. It provides interesting insight into the mindsets and strategies they are using to build customer loyalty and keep customers coming back.

The roundtable included Robert Falconi, CEO and John Wiegand, SVP of Operations with Precision Tune Auto Care; along with Tom Tracy, SVP of Marketing for Monro Muffler Brake & Service;  Ralph Yarusso, SVP of Operations and Business Development for Grease Monkey; and Ryan Rose, Director of Automotive Strategy for Clutch. In this roundtable, several questions were posed to the group including:

1. What is your brand’s biggest strength with customer experience? Tracy indicated that they focus on thoroughness in their inspections in order to prevent further issues down the road. Yarusso stated that it was the consumer’s desire for quick service done right. Falconi recognized the bad reputation that repair shops have gained and stressed that ethics is their most important value proposition. While Rose indicated that using customer data to analyze consumer behavior is key to effective marketing.

1. What’s the most significant customer challenge your brand faces? The group’s answers to this question revolved around providing a consistent customer experience across all of their facilities. Staffing the stores with the right people who understand the importance of providing an excellent customer experience is challenging for Precision. Monro focuses on being clear with their customers on what they should expect, then delivering on those promises. While Grease Monkey strives for chain-wide consistency in experience.

1. How is technology impacting your brand’s customer experience? These groups are integrating and utilizing technology across the board to enhance their customer’s experience, including the use of tablets by advisors, digital menu boards and mobile friendly websites with appointment setting abilities. They recognize that consumers have access to more information and conduct research as to the best place to take their vehicle. So, they work to ensure that their information is easily accessible and helps convince consumers to choose them.

1. What role does data play in your marketing strategy? These independents recognize that data is an incredibly effective tool when used to communicate with customers in relevant and personalized ways. Wiegand shared the importance of using data to lure back customers who haven’t come in for service in some time. While Rose shared the importance of integrating data from many sources, including POS systems, vehicle databases, and even social accounts.

It is a sad fact that in the eye of the consumer, these independent service departments still have the edge in their ability to provide a complete service experience. The 2015 annual survey of Consumer Reports subscribers found that independents outscored dealership service for overall satisfaction, price, quality, courteousness of the staff, and work being completed when promised.

However, most independents lack the ability to perform major service repairs, or recall work. That being said, it’s very easy to lose sight of just how important quick service type ROs are. These all provide these independents with the opportunity to interact with and touch a customer. Every service performed at an independent versus a dealership is a lost opportunity (and revenue) for a dealership.

So, take note of the strategies that independents are using to attract and retain customers and consider implementing similar strategies to help improve the customer experience at your dealership. Otherwise, you may find your customers visiting less frequently and miss out on a great deal of revenue and countless opportunities.

An interesting study conducted by MaritzCX and published on CustomerThink relays how dealers should care about – and invest in – the creation of a better customer experience in their stores.

While customer experience can be vague, and in the past has mostly been measured through surveys and CSI scores, MaritzCX conducted a comprehensive study to show dealers the only factor that affects the bottom line – and that is revenue. The study’s results illustrate that when a dealer climbs one level in customer satisfaction (i.e.: from “satisfied” to “very satisfied”), sales volume increases on average by 329 vehicles per year, adding $64,000 in additional sales profits. In addition, the same customer experience improvement in service increases revenue by $41,646 per year. According to the study, “combining additional sales profits and service profits reveals a potential incremental gross profit of $106,315 per year for the average dealership.” By contrast, when the customer experience moves down a level, the study found a decrease in gross profit of $191,624.

Customer experience is currently a hot topic with dealers and vendors. However, many dealers are hesitant to spend lavish amounts of money on showroom improvements, or luxuries without a concrete answer to the most important question most dealers ask – “What’s my ROI?”

The MaritzCX study was able to capture the monetary benefits for dealers investing in an improved customer experience. It certainly falls in line with what loyalty experts have been preaching for years. Customers that have a consistently great customer experience tend to spend more money with the dealership and also refer their family and friends. This referral activity provides dealerships with increased exposure and opportunities that they may not have had otherwise. This represents additional revenue producing possibilities in both sales and service.

Brand loyalty is increasingly difficult to achieve -- and brand advocates are even harder to capture. Dealerships that continue to operate as is, without identifying customer pain points in their experiences – whether those be service or sales – risk losing business to either competitors, or independent service repair facilities. Ensure that conditions are optimal to provide that great experience on a consistent basis to each and every customer. This will help maximize the potential of the customer being loyal and of capturing their future business, directly or through referrals.

In the end, part of every customer’s buying process involves making the decision who they want to purchase a vehicle from. Treat your customers right, provide a great experience and take the time to really show them you appreciate their business. This then acts as a catalyst for all of your other brand enhancing activities – high CSI scores, increased online reviews and word of mouth advertising. Neglect customer experience at your own peril. Today’s consumers are far less willing to put up with a poor experience and will very quickly take their business elsewhere. Improve your customers’ experience in your store and ensure that they are well taken care of.  Foster brand loyalty and create brand advocates. Your bottom line will grow because of it.

An interesting study conducted by MaritzCX and published on CustomerThink relays how dealers should care about – and invest in – the creation of a better customer experience in their stores.

While customer experience can be vague, and in the past has mostly been measured through surveys and CSI scores, MaritzCX conducted a comprehensive study to show dealers the only factor that affects the bottom line – and that is revenue. The study’s results illustrate that when a dealer climbs one level in customer satisfaction (i.e.: from “satisfied” to “very satisfied”), sales volume increases on average by 329 vehicles per year, adding $64,000 in additional sales profits. In addition, the same customer experience improvement in service increases revenue by $41,646 per year. According to the study, “combining additional sales profits and service profits reveals a potential incremental gross profit of $106,315 per year for the average dealership.” By contrast, when the customer experience moves down a level, the study found a decrease in gross profit of $191,624.

Customer experience is currently a hot topic with dealers and vendors. However, many dealers are hesitant to spend lavish amounts of money on showroom improvements, or luxuries without a concrete answer to the most important question most dealers ask – “What’s my ROI?”

The MaritzCX study was able to capture the monetary benefits for dealers investing in an improved customer experience. It certainly falls in line with what loyalty experts have been preaching for years. Customers that have a consistently great customer experience tend to spend more money with the dealership and also refer their family and friends. This referral activity provides dealerships with increased exposure and opportunities that they may not have had otherwise. This represents additional revenue producing possibilities in both sales and service.

Brand loyalty is increasingly difficult to achieve -- and brand advocates are even harder to capture. Dealerships that continue to operate as is, without identifying customer pain points in their experiences – whether those be service or sales – risk losing business to either competitors, or independent service repair facilities. Ensure that conditions are optimal to provide that great experience on a consistent basis to each and every customer. This will help maximize the potential of the customer being loyal and of capturing their future business, directly or through referrals.

In the end, part of every customer’s buying process involves making the decision who they want to purchase a vehicle from. Treat your customers right, provide a great experience and take the time to really show them you appreciate their business. This then acts as a catalyst for all of your other brand enhancing activities – high CSI scores, increased online reviews and word of mouth advertising. Neglect customer experience at your own peril. Today’s consumers are far less willing to put up with a poor experience and will very quickly take their business elsewhere. Improve your customers’ experience in your store and ensure that they are well taken care of.  Foster brand loyalty and create brand advocates. Your bottom line will grow because of it.

In the automotive industry, hundreds of customers pass through dealerships on a daily basis. Each of these customers will interact with dealership staff multiple times during their visit - whether they’re there to buy a car, or for a simple oil change. It’s very easy to function as an organization with a focus on efficiency - how quickly can you complete a repair, how quickly can you get someone in and out of the finance office, etc.  We are, after all, in a society that’s always on the move. The trend is to speed things up for the customer. By doing so, however, we neglect the biggest part of customer’s experience and the most important piece of the big puzzle that is customer loyalty: personal interaction.

All too often we go through our days thinking that if we don't get complaints, our customers are happy. But, that’s not usually the case. Running the dealership like an assembly line serves only to depersonalize the experience. While you may not hear a complaint, you shouldn’t assume that every one of your customers had a good experience. You’d think that if there was something substantially poor about their experience, the customer would inform you. And some customers would. But what about little things that affect the experience? In many cases the customer either doesn’t feel it’s worth mentioning, or doesn’t think anything will be done about it. Those customers complete the transaction with you and go on their way leaving dealership employees with the impression that their experience was satisfactory, assuming they will return. And, in many cases they do…

Until another company offers them a superior customer experience.

All of a sudden, this repeat customer simply stops coming in. Oftentimes, we’re left clueless as to why. Did we do something wrong? Was there a bad experience that we didn’t know about? Is it a price thing? Did they move? We mine the DMS and email coupons and offers to dormant service customers that used to come regularly, to invite them back. Sometimes they respond or take advantage of our offers, and sometimes we’re left wondering.

So how then are we supposed to know whether a customer really had a good experience during their visit? It’s very simple. We ask.

Human interaction is the single most effective way of gauging the thoughts of another. Just as you can tell when someone isn’t telling you the truth, or is unhappy despite what they may say, the same occurs when your sales manager or service advisor makes sure they speak to the customer before they leave. Take the time to thank the customer for their visit and ask them how their experience went after each and every transaction. This can help to identify problems. Perhaps it was something as small as the fact that the restrooms were dirty, or there were no paper towels. Perhaps the car wasn’t washed to their satisfaction or there are greasy fingerprints in their car. The customer may just leave feeling irritated. Having knowledge of that fact right then would allow you to fix that issue so that another customer does not have the same problem.

Make it a point to train your employees in the importance of conducting exit interviews with every customer. If they’re in sales, a manager TO is the perfect opportunity to thank the customer and ask how their experience was. You’d be surprised how that previously quiet customer all of a sudden opens up when a new face with authority asks them. In service, have your service advisors or, if possible, your service manager do the same thing prior to a customer leaving. Identifying customer complaints or service hiccups can go a long way towards ensuring that the experience for every customer is as optimal (and consistent) as possible. It doesn’t take much to lose a customer nowadays. Taking a few extra minutes with each customer will show them that you care and that will go a long ways towards earning and keeping their business.