Competition in business is usually a good thing.  Sure, we’d all like to have the market cornered, but without a little competition we would perhaps never figure out ways to improve our products or services and keep our customers coming back. 

In an interesting article on Infusionsoft’s “Big Ideas Blog,” a few examples of businesses thinking outside the box were shared. 3Tees is a Singapore based company that prints T-shirts for companies “promoting events with a social cause.” It has a slogan of “You price it. We print it.” The company allows customers to determine the price of the shirts and their pricing strategy has proven successful.  According to the article, the vast majority of customers make genuine offers that both fit within budget and provide an acceptable profit margin. In fact, while the company is willing to reject extreme low-ball offers, they have discovered that only 5% of total bids fit within this category.

One of the biggest reasons 3Tees is successful in their pricing strategy is their belief that, “given enough information and trust,” customers will make fair offers. Allowing customers to make offers for a vehicle purchase is a common practice in sales departments for dealerships. However, the challenges of educating customers on the technical aspects of a given service repair might prove a bit more challenging. In the automobile industry a “You price it. We repair it” pricing model probably wouldn’t go over well, and far be it that anyone would suggest such a thing! 

My point here is that, if the name of the game is customer loyalty, then ultimately, every dealership will have to do something different than what has been done before. Everything changes, especially in our fast-paced world: from implementing new marketing strategies, to offering superior products, or an evolving customer experience. Finding new and creative ways to retain your customers, while still building new business, is an ongoing project, not a one-day or static invention.  Dealerships have a mindset of being notoriously complacent and are often discouraged by management from trying anything that is outside the norm.  How many times do you still see inflated gorillas hawking a weekend sale on the roof of a dealership? Taking a “safe” approach is generally expected and often encouraged in dealerships today. But with overuse of the safe approach, eventually will come diminished results.  You should be thinking about how you can market differently than your competitor down the street. Ask yourself how you can set yourself apart as Cal Worthington did with his stores years ago. While Cal’s approach may have been a bit gimmicky, it worked at the time, and is actually documented in many marketing text books. 

So just think about it. Every so often, it’s perhaps time take a trip up to 10,000 feet, open the doors and look at the landscape of your competition. Try and encourage creative thinking from both your staff and vendors. Unless you are the already the king of the hill when it comes to retaining and acquiring customers, there will come a day when you have to do something just a little different to keep your customers, or lure new ones into your dealership. As a dealer principal or manager, are you willing to take a chance and try a few out of the ordinary ideas to expand your business?

Competition in business is usually a good thing.  Sure, we’d all like to have the market cornered, but without a little competition we would perhaps never figure out ways to improve our products or services and keep our customers coming back. 

In an interesting article on Infusionsoft’s “Big Ideas Blog,” a few examples of businesses thinking outside the box were shared. 3Tees is a Singapore based company that prints T-shirts for companies “promoting events with a social cause.” It has a slogan of “You price it. We print it.” The company allows customers to determine the price of the shirts and their pricing strategy has proven successful.  According to the article, the vast majority of customers make genuine offers that both fit within budget and provide an acceptable profit margin. In fact, while the company is willing to reject extreme low-ball offers, they have discovered that only 5% of total bids fit within this category.

One of the biggest reasons 3Tees is successful in their pricing strategy is their belief that, “given enough information and trust,” customers will make fair offers. Allowing customers to make offers for a vehicle purchase is a common practice in sales departments for dealerships. However, the challenges of educating customers on the technical aspects of a given service repair might prove a bit more challenging. In the automobile industry a “You price it. We repair it” pricing model probably wouldn’t go over well, and far be it that anyone would suggest such a thing! 

My point here is that, if the name of the game is customer loyalty, then ultimately, every dealership will have to do something different than what has been done before. Everything changes, especially in our fast-paced world: from implementing new marketing strategies, to offering superior products, or an evolving customer experience. Finding new and creative ways to retain your customers, while still building new business, is an ongoing project, not a one-day or static invention.  Dealerships have a mindset of being notoriously complacent and are often discouraged by management from trying anything that is outside the norm.  How many times do you still see inflated gorillas hawking a weekend sale on the roof of a dealership? Taking a “safe” approach is generally expected and often encouraged in dealerships today. But with overuse of the safe approach, eventually will come diminished results.  You should be thinking about how you can market differently than your competitor down the street. Ask yourself how you can set yourself apart as Cal Worthington did with his stores years ago. While Cal’s approach may have been a bit gimmicky, it worked at the time, and is actually documented in many marketing text books. 

So just think about it. Every so often, it’s perhaps time take a trip up to 10,000 feet, open the doors and look at the landscape of your competition. Try and encourage creative thinking from both your staff and vendors. Unless you are the already the king of the hill when it comes to retaining and acquiring customers, there will come a day when you have to do something just a little different to keep your customers, or lure new ones into your dealership. As a dealer principal or manager, are you willing to take a chance and try a few out of the ordinary ideas to expand your business?

When consumers think of loyalty programs, they typically think of racking up miles, or frequenting a business in exchange for rewards, perks or freebies. No matter what business you patronize, there is a good chance that it is offering some sort of loyalty incentive. In fact, many argue that loyalty programs are so prevalent nowadays that they are losing some of the initial qualities that attracted consumers to them back some 45 years ago. Namely, that feeling of being treated special in exchange for the customer’s ongoing business and continued loyalty. Today, some loyalty programs choose not to even offer rewards. Instead they just provide the concept of receiving lower prices. Many grocery store chains have the regular price and then a loyalty member price. Sale prices are reserved just for members of their loyalty program.  Your information and transaction histories are exchanged with the grocery store for a slightly lower total at the checkout counter.

Loyalty programs have certainly evolved. Many companies are shifting away from traditional rewards and offering experiences and other perks instead. The restaurant chain, Olive Garden, found that it’s “Never Ending Pasta Bowl” promotion was by far the most popular. So it decided to take it a step further and last month introduced the “Never Ending Pasta Pass.” The pass allow customers to enjoy all-you-can-eat pasta as many times as the customer wishes for a period of up to 7 weeks. The offer also allows the customer to extend some of the pass’s perks to as many as 7 guests dining with them. Olive Garden made the offer exclusive by offering just 1,000 passes through their website, at a cost of $100 each.

They sold out completely in just 45 minutes. Some may view this as a loss leader promotion. However, according to an article in USA Today, the restaurant chain came up with this promotion as it wished to provide a VIP experience for some of its most loyal and profitable customers.

Similar to the Starbucks metal gift cards that sell out annually, the Never Ending Pasta Pass offers Olive Garden’s most enthusiastic customers the opportunity to enjoy a VIP experience as many times as they like. It also generates instant (and quantifiable) revenue, while encouraging the pass holder to bring guests. This clever addition helps generate more revenue with each additional dining partner. In addition, a promotion like this (obviously) can generate press, blog articles and social media buzz. Olive Garden even teased consumers who were not able to purchase one by dangling carrots of extra passes that will be handed out through social media properties.

What do you think about adopting such a program as a car dealership? Imagine offering a limited quantity season long car wash pass that includes some service perks over and above what you would normally do for a customer. Or some other privileges, while also extending discounts to the customer’s friends and family members that bring their vehicles in with them.

In general, people like to feel special. Whether it’s showing off a metal gift card at Starbucks, laying down the Never Ending Pasta Pass at Olive Garden, or getting an on-demand car wash without waiting. When creating incentives for your loyal customers, thinking outside the box can make them feel very special while providing a reason for them to bring new customers to your store. And that’s one of the most important attributes that any loyal customer brings to any business – more customers.

When consumers think of loyalty programs, they typically think of racking up miles, or frequenting a business in exchange for rewards, perks or freebies. No matter what business you patronize, there is a good chance that it is offering some sort of loyalty incentive. In fact, many argue that loyalty programs are so prevalent nowadays that they are losing some of the initial qualities that attracted consumers to them back some 45 years ago. Namely, that feeling of being treated special in exchange for the customer’s ongoing business and continued loyalty. Today, some loyalty programs choose not to even offer rewards. Instead they just provide the concept of receiving lower prices. Many grocery store chains have the regular price and then a loyalty member price. Sale prices are reserved just for members of their loyalty program.  Your information and transaction histories are exchanged with the grocery store for a slightly lower total at the checkout counter.

Loyalty programs have certainly evolved. Many companies are shifting away from traditional rewards and offering experiences and other perks instead. The restaurant chain, Olive Garden, found that it’s “Never Ending Pasta Bowl” promotion was by far the most popular. So it decided to take it a step further and last month introduced the “Never Ending Pasta Pass.” The pass allow customers to enjoy all-you-can-eat pasta as many times as the customer wishes for a period of up to 7 weeks. The offer also allows the customer to extend some of the pass’s perks to as many as 7 guests dining with them. Olive Garden made the offer exclusive by offering just 1,000 passes through their website, at a cost of $100 each.

They sold out completely in just 45 minutes. Some may view this as a loss leader promotion. However, according to an article in USA Today, the restaurant chain came up with this promotion as it wished to provide a VIP experience for some of its most loyal and profitable customers.

Similar to the Starbucks metal gift cards that sell out annually, the Never Ending Pasta Pass offers Olive Garden’s most enthusiastic customers the opportunity to enjoy a VIP experience as many times as they like. It also generates instant (and quantifiable) revenue, while encouraging the pass holder to bring guests. This clever addition helps generate more revenue with each additional dining partner. In addition, a promotion like this (obviously) can generate press, blog articles and social media buzz. Olive Garden even teased consumers who were not able to purchase one by dangling carrots of extra passes that will be handed out through social media properties.

What do you think about adopting such a program as a car dealership? Imagine offering a limited quantity season long car wash pass that includes some service perks over and above what you would normally do for a customer. Or some other privileges, while also extending discounts to the customer’s friends and family members that bring their vehicles in with them.

In general, people like to feel special. Whether it’s showing off a metal gift card at Starbucks, laying down the Never Ending Pasta Pass at Olive Garden, or getting an on-demand car wash without waiting. When creating incentives for your loyal customers, thinking outside the box can make them feel very special while providing a reason for them to bring new customers to your store. And that’s one of the most important attributes that any loyal customer brings to any business – more customers.

With NFL football fans gearing up for another season, DIRECTV is once again offering new customers the 2014 NFL Sunday Ticket for free along with deeply discounted prices and an upgraded DVR Genie on several of the programming packages.  What’s the catch?  The special prices are valid for only the first twelve months of a twenty-four month contract. And if you want to receive the Sunday Ticket for the 2015 season, you’ll need to pay regular price.

It’s a great deal for a new customer. but let’s imagine that two years ago you signed up for DIRECTV and have fulfilled your twenty-four month contract by paying $66.99 per month.  You see the new customer incentives and you give DIRECTV’s “award-winning customer service” department a call and ask to be given the same attractive offer – a discounted monthly rate, updated equipment (that you have to lease from them as well for an added fee), and the NFL Sunday Ticket that normally costs in excess of $300.  Your friendly customer service representative informs you that they appreciate your business, your prompt payments and for your interest in continuing to subscribe to their satellite service.  Then they inform you that the offer is for new customers only and that existing customers aren’t eligible.  There’s a moment of silence on the line as you scratch your head and wonder why your loyalty isn’t being rewarded with anything more than a thank you.  You return to the line and ask for a manager.  While waiting for your call to be transferred, you simply can’t wrap your head around the fact that new customers will save nearly 50% off their monthly bill for the first twelve months; obtain new equipment and the NFL Sunday Ticket - something that has been on your wish list since the Super Bowl.  The supervisor takes your call and you state your case, but unless you have the negotiating skills of a criminal defense attorney, or threaten to cancel, you’re not getting the new customer deal. This sure doesn’t seem like the way to keep customers for long and perhaps one of the reasons DIRECTV seems to be looking for new customers all the time. 

With shrinking margins on new vehicle sales, dealers are finding themselves more reliant than ever on service absorption, referrals and repeat business. In today’s world of information, price shopping and homogenization, it’s more important than ever before to focus on retention. You can kill the customer with kindness, provide convenient hours and build personal relationships with your customers through employee retention, but when it comes time to buy a new vehicle, every customer wants a good deal. Customers who have shown your business loyalty come to you with an expectation of reciprocity. Regardless of whether their first experience with you buying a vehicle was exceptional or frustrating, they will not only expect a better experience, but also demand it. They see your sales ads in the newspaper and online just the same as a potential new customer does. In our increasingly regulated business, whom would you rather sell your advertised loss leader to? The new customer you will never see again, or the one that’s been loyal to you for years? I know what my answer would be.

If you’re operating a car dealership on the DIRECTV model, you’re spending a lot of your efforts trying to lure the new customer instead of taking care of the most captive audience you have – your current customer. That loyal customer could be waiting to see just how much of a commitment you are willing to make to them. So whether your loyal customer pays cash for your loss leader, or buys the accessory-loaded luxury SUV and the premium maintenance package - make sure they feel special and experience the new customer treatment all over again.

With NFL football fans gearing up for another season, DIRECTV is once again offering new customers the 2014 NFL Sunday Ticket for free along with deeply discounted prices and an upgraded DVR Genie on several of the programming packages.  What’s the catch?  The special prices are valid for only the first twelve months of a twenty-four month contract. And if you want to receive the Sunday Ticket for the 2015 season, you’ll need to pay regular price.

It’s a great deal for a new customer. but let’s imagine that two years ago you signed up for DIRECTV and have fulfilled your twenty-four month contract by paying $66.99 per month.  You see the new customer incentives and you give DIRECTV’s “award-winning customer service” department a call and ask to be given the same attractive offer – a discounted monthly rate, updated equipment (that you have to lease from them as well for an added fee), and the NFL Sunday Ticket that normally costs in excess of $300.  Your friendly customer service representative informs you that they appreciate your business, your prompt payments and for your interest in continuing to subscribe to their satellite service.  Then they inform you that the offer is for new customers only and that existing customers aren’t eligible.  There’s a moment of silence on the line as you scratch your head and wonder why your loyalty isn’t being rewarded with anything more than a thank you.  You return to the line and ask for a manager.  While waiting for your call to be transferred, you simply can’t wrap your head around the fact that new customers will save nearly 50% off their monthly bill for the first twelve months; obtain new equipment and the NFL Sunday Ticket - something that has been on your wish list since the Super Bowl.  The supervisor takes your call and you state your case, but unless you have the negotiating skills of a criminal defense attorney, or threaten to cancel, you’re not getting the new customer deal. This sure doesn’t seem like the way to keep customers for long and perhaps one of the reasons DIRECTV seems to be looking for new customers all the time. 

With shrinking margins on new vehicle sales, dealers are finding themselves more reliant than ever on service absorption, referrals and repeat business. In today’s world of information, price shopping and homogenization, it’s more important than ever before to focus on retention. You can kill the customer with kindness, provide convenient hours and build personal relationships with your customers through employee retention, but when it comes time to buy a new vehicle, every customer wants a good deal. Customers who have shown your business loyalty come to you with an expectation of reciprocity. Regardless of whether their first experience with you buying a vehicle was exceptional or frustrating, they will not only expect a better experience, but also demand it. They see your sales ads in the newspaper and online just the same as a potential new customer does. In our increasingly regulated business, whom would you rather sell your advertised loss leader to? The new customer you will never see again, or the one that’s been loyal to you for years? I know what my answer would be.

If you’re operating a car dealership on the DIRECTV model, you’re spending a lot of your efforts trying to lure the new customer instead of taking care of the most captive audience you have – your current customer. That loyal customer could be waiting to see just how much of a commitment you are willing to make to them. So whether your loyal customer pays cash for your loss leader, or buys the accessory-loaded luxury SUV and the premium maintenance package - make sure they feel special and experience the new customer treatment all over again.

Geo-targeting and geo-fencing technology has been around for many years. Some social networks use it and provide businesses with ways to show customers offers and specials based on their current location. However, for the most part, these are application-specific. An individual would need to download an app, join a social network and opt-in for push notifications from the service to receive any ads on their phones. That may all be changing.

On July 24, according to an ABC News article Verizon Wireless became the first wireless carrier to launch a rewards program. While on the surface, it would seem that they are just joining the thousands of businesses across the country in rewarding customers for using their service, Verizon’s program has a different goal altogether…. collecting consumer location data for advertising purposes. This, in itself, is also not new. Verizon launched Verizon Selects in 2012, which is an opt-in program that uses subscriber surfing and location data to better target ads they see on the phone. The catch here is that to join Verizon Wireless’ new reward program, opting in to their Verizon Selects program is mandatory. Verizon currently has 100-million-plus subscribers, according to the ABC News article, which gives it a considerable audience. In addition, users do not have to download or use an app to have ads delivered to them. Unlike every other service that utilizes location data, Verizon has direct access and control over their service, as well as the ability to deliver ads to consumers without the need for an app.

This presents quite a few interesting questions. Will the carrot of a reward be enough to convince a person who otherwise would not opt to share their location data to be willing to do so? If the answer is yes, the Verizon Selects program will almost certainly become very valuable to Verizon and to their advertisers. There is no public information on how many Verizon subscribers are already participating in the Verizon Selects program. My guess is that offering freebies, discounts, experiences and prizes to their customers will entice enough people to give up their location and browsing data. Imagine being an automobile dealership in an auto mall and being able to push specials and ads to a Verizon consumer who is at your competitor’s dealership at that very moment shopping for a vehicle.

With the increasing concern consumers have over data privacy and the very public debacle that occurred last year when Verizon was revealed to have given the NSA access to phone records, it’s an interesting decision by Verizon to go public with its desire to collect more data. It’s proven, however, that consumers are willing to trade their data in exchange for discounts and rewards. Almost every major company – in every consumer-facing industry – has a rewards program; including automobile brands, entertainment, hospitality, grocery, travel and banking; to name some of the larger ones.

The fact that Verizon has the ability to use cell towers to locate customers rather than relying on the GPS or Wi-Fi connections on consumer’s phones, gives them a distinct advantage when it comes to location-based push marketing. It will be interesting to watch this program develop and see how many consumers decide to take advantage of Verizon’s new rewards program in exchange for their privacy.

Geo-targeting and geo-fencing technology has been around for many years. Some social networks use it and provide businesses with ways to show customers offers and specials based on their current location. However, for the most part, these are application-specific. An individual would need to download an app, join a social network and opt-in for push notifications from the service to receive any ads on their phones. That may all be changing.

On July 24, according to an ABC News article Verizon Wireless became the first wireless carrier to launch a rewards program. While on the surface, it would seem that they are just joining the thousands of businesses across the country in rewarding customers for using their service, Verizon’s program has a different goal altogether…. collecting consumer location data for advertising purposes. This, in itself, is also not new. Verizon launched Verizon Selects in 2012, which is an opt-in program that uses subscriber surfing and location data to better target ads they see on the phone. The catch here is that to join Verizon Wireless’ new reward program, opting in to their Verizon Selects program is mandatory. Verizon currently has 100-million-plus subscribers, according to the ABC News article, which gives it a considerable audience. In addition, users do not have to download or use an app to have ads delivered to them. Unlike every other service that utilizes location data, Verizon has direct access and control over their service, as well as the ability to deliver ads to consumers without the need for an app.

This presents quite a few interesting questions. Will the carrot of a reward be enough to convince a person who otherwise would not opt to share their location data to be willing to do so? If the answer is yes, the Verizon Selects program will almost certainly become very valuable to Verizon and to their advertisers. There is no public information on how many Verizon subscribers are already participating in the Verizon Selects program. My guess is that offering freebies, discounts, experiences and prizes to their customers will entice enough people to give up their location and browsing data. Imagine being an automobile dealership in an auto mall and being able to push specials and ads to a Verizon consumer who is at your competitor’s dealership at that very moment shopping for a vehicle.

With the increasing concern consumers have over data privacy and the very public debacle that occurred last year when Verizon was revealed to have given the NSA access to phone records, it’s an interesting decision by Verizon to go public with its desire to collect more data. It’s proven, however, that consumers are willing to trade their data in exchange for discounts and rewards. Almost every major company – in every consumer-facing industry – has a rewards program; including automobile brands, entertainment, hospitality, grocery, travel and banking; to name some of the larger ones.

The fact that Verizon has the ability to use cell towers to locate customers rather than relying on the GPS or Wi-Fi connections on consumer’s phones, gives them a distinct advantage when it comes to location-based push marketing. It will be interesting to watch this program develop and see how many consumers decide to take advantage of Verizon’s new rewards program in exchange for their privacy.

There are many things that companies can do to earn a customer’s loyalty. However, e-mail marketing isn’t typically high on the list. Consumers get barraged continuously with marketing messages via e-mail. As you go through your in-box, how many do you delete without even reading them in order to get to those you are interested in reading? A very good article on the Small Business Success blog shared some tips on how to write e-mails that will more effectively engage the recipient.

Consider these statistics shared in the blog article:

1. Personalized emails improve click through rates by 14% and conversion rates by 10%.
2. Leads who are nurtured with targeted content produce a 20% increase in sales opportunities.
3. 70% of buying experiences are based on how the customer feels they are being treated.

In my recent data series blogs, I covered how dealers who use their data to effectively target consumers with relevant messages will increase responses. When relevant messages are relayed to the right customers, they tend to feel the company is more in tune with their needs and wants. They no longer feel like just another address on your e-mail list. As you establish a relationship with the customer, they will begin to value your communications and pay attention to them, rather than discard them into their trash, spam or, worse, opt-out of your marketing.

Targeting segmented customers is definitely something dealers should be doing. However, the content of any email message is equally important. Generic e-mails that are obviously sent en masse will detract from the consumer’s perception that you are actually looking out for their best interest.

In order to increase the chance that a customer perceives your e-mail message as helpful rather than intrusive, try and make your e-mails as personalized as possible. If you have cleaned up your data, it is relatively easy to insert a customer’s first name and the make and model of the vehicle.

At the same time, ensure that any attempts to send personalized messages to your customers are not destroyed by poor attention to details. Double check that there are no improper formatting or incorrect merge fields because of erroneous data in the wrong fields in your CRM.  

In the end, it’s not just about using past behavior to predict the future. It’s also about how you can best convey your message to your target group. If your customers only receive helpful reminders and relevant messages from you, you will build relationships that help create loyalty and increase retention.

There are many things that companies can do to earn a customer’s loyalty. However, e-mail marketing isn’t typically high on the list. Consumers get barraged continuously with marketing messages via e-mail. As you go through your in-box, how many do you delete without even reading them in order to get to those you are interested in reading? A very good article on the Small Business Success blog shared some tips on how to write e-mails that will more effectively engage the recipient.

Consider these statistics shared in the blog article:

1. Personalized emails improve click through rates by 14% and conversion rates by 10%.
2. Leads who are nurtured with targeted content produce a 20% increase in sales opportunities.
3. 70% of buying experiences are based on how the customer feels they are being treated.

In my recent data series blogs, I covered how dealers who use their data to effectively target consumers with relevant messages will increase responses. When relevant messages are relayed to the right customers, they tend to feel the company is more in tune with their needs and wants. They no longer feel like just another address on your e-mail list. As you establish a relationship with the customer, they will begin to value your communications and pay attention to them, rather than discard them into their trash, spam or, worse, opt-out of your marketing.

Targeting segmented customers is definitely something dealers should be doing. However, the content of any email message is equally important. Generic e-mails that are obviously sent en masse will detract from the consumer’s perception that you are actually looking out for their best interest.

In order to increase the chance that a customer perceives your e-mail message as helpful rather than intrusive, try and make your e-mails as personalized as possible. If you have cleaned up your data, it is relatively easy to insert a customer’s first name and the make and model of the vehicle.

At the same time, ensure that any attempts to send personalized messages to your customers are not destroyed by poor attention to details. Double check that there are no improper formatting or incorrect merge fields because of erroneous data in the wrong fields in your CRM.  

In the end, it’s not just about using past behavior to predict the future. It’s also about how you can best convey your message to your target group. If your customers only receive helpful reminders and relevant messages from you, you will build relationships that help create loyalty and increase retention.