In the automotive world, the bottom line is that many dealerships experience very high turnover rates with employees, especially in sales. Our world is one of high stress, long hours and feast or famine. (This might not be as true in the service departments.) However, the face of your dealership to a customer who bought their car from you is their salesperson. Yes, it is. The person that sold them their car is their go-to person for everything. If there is a problem, they usually don’t call service, they call the salesperson.

So, assuming that’s the case, if your dealership experiences high turnover in sales, how can you expect a customer to be loyal to you when they feel as if they’ve been abandoned? I like to refer to them as “orphan owners”. People have an emotional need to connect. They can’t connect with your billboard or giant inflatable gorilla. They certainly can’t connect with the mysterious shadow-figures sitting behind the desks in the sales tower that they never see. Their connection is with their car and the common bond between their car and your dealership is their salesperson.

I’ve talked to many people who have purchased vehicles from dealerships over the years and, in many cases, the customers go into the relationship already thinking that their salesperson won’t be around for long. No matter how much reassurance a salesperson gives them, they typically have little confidence that, when they need him or her, they’ll be there for them.

The fact remains that your employee retention has a direct effect on your dealership’s customer retention. If your salesperson did their job well and provided a great buying experience for that customer, it creates a feeling of obligation and reciprocity between the customer and that salesperson. Mind you that I never once said this customer bond was between them and the dealership. Emotional connections are made between people. In many cases, the only human a customer could connect with is their salesperson.

So, what do we do about this? Well, the obvious answer is to build a better workplace environment. Create an environment that people want to work at and enjoy coming to. Treat your employees well and understand that they have lives outside of work and respect that. I understand that, no matter how “above and beyond” you go, turnover is inevitable so…

Make sure that sales customers, during and after the sales process, have multiple interactions with people other than just the one salesperson.  Have the Sales Managers, General Manager, Service Director and anybody else that can take a moment, actually meet and talk to these customers in person– not just come over, say hello, thank them for their business and then walk away – but interact in some way. This simple technique increases the number of people in your store that a customer has the opportunity to bond with. It also decreases the chance that a customer would ever feel “orphaned.”

If the customer didn’t buy their vehicle from your store but only service it there, the same principle should be followed. Make sure that the customer is introduced to as many of the advisors as possible including the Service Manager. Once the emotional connection is created and the customer believes that you care, the customer is not bringing their business to your business, they’re bringing it to the people at your business. We all know that people do business with people, especially ones that they like. Make sure that your customers like your people. The more of them they like, the easier customer retention becomes. 

By creating more emotional connections between people in your store and your customer during the first transaction, you will decrease the likelihood that the loss of a salesperson could influence the loyalty a customer feels towards your store. These early stages of relationship building with customers are vital, and it is worthwhile to do everything in your power to build that relationship as quickly as possible.

When your customers start referring their friends to you by beginning with the phrase, “ I have a friend that works at Bob’s Dodge…” not only have you gained a friend, you’ve also gained a loyal customer and brand advocate.

In the automotive world, the bottom line is that many dealerships experience very high turnover rates with employees, especially in sales. Our world is one of high stress, long hours and feast or famine. (This might not be as true in the service departments.) However, the face of your dealership to a customer who bought their car from you is their salesperson. Yes, it is. The person that sold them their car is their go-to person for everything. If there is a problem, they usually don’t call service, they call the salesperson.

So, assuming that’s the case, if your dealership experiences high turnover in sales, how can you expect a customer to be loyal to you when they feel as if they’ve been abandoned? I like to refer to them as “orphan owners”. People have an emotional need to connect. They can’t connect with your billboard or giant inflatable gorilla. They certainly can’t connect with the mysterious shadow-figures sitting behind the desks in the sales tower that they never see. Their connection is with their car and the common bond between their car and your dealership is their salesperson.

I’ve talked to many people who have purchased vehicles from dealerships over the years and, in many cases, the customers go into the relationship already thinking that their salesperson won’t be around for long. No matter how much reassurance a salesperson gives them, they typically have little confidence that, when they need him or her, they’ll be there for them.

The fact remains that your employee retention has a direct effect on your dealership’s customer retention. If your salesperson did their job well and provided a great buying experience for that customer, it creates a feeling of obligation and reciprocity between the customer and that salesperson. Mind you that I never once said this customer bond was between them and the dealership. Emotional connections are made between people. In many cases, the only human a customer could connect with is their salesperson.

So, what do we do about this? Well, the obvious answer is to build a better workplace environment. Create an environment that people want to work at and enjoy coming to. Treat your employees well and understand that they have lives outside of work and respect that. I understand that, no matter how “above and beyond” you go, turnover is inevitable so…

Make sure that sales customers, during and after the sales process, have multiple interactions with people other than just the one salesperson.  Have the Sales Managers, General Manager, Service Director and anybody else that can take a moment, actually meet and talk to these customers in person– not just come over, say hello, thank them for their business and then walk away – but interact in some way. This simple technique increases the number of people in your store that a customer has the opportunity to bond with. It also decreases the chance that a customer would ever feel “orphaned.”

If the customer didn’t buy their vehicle from your store but only service it there, the same principle should be followed. Make sure that the customer is introduced to as many of the advisors as possible including the Service Manager. Once the emotional connection is created and the customer believes that you care, the customer is not bringing their business to your business, they’re bringing it to the people at your business. We all know that people do business with people, especially ones that they like. Make sure that your customers like your people. The more of them they like, the easier customer retention becomes. 

By creating more emotional connections between people in your store and your customer during the first transaction, you will decrease the likelihood that the loss of a salesperson could influence the loyalty a customer feels towards your store. These early stages of relationship building with customers are vital, and it is worthwhile to do everything in your power to build that relationship as quickly as possible.

When your customers start referring their friends to you by beginning with the phrase, “ I have a friend that works at Bob’s Dodge…” not only have you gained a friend, you’ve also gained a loyal customer and brand advocate.

In today’s world of constant noise, it’s more difficult than ever to market your dealership. Dealers are constantly trying to guess where the best ROI is when considering how to spend marketing dollars. How much money do I invest in traditional marketing? Online marketing? Direct mail marketing? The rep from each medium will tell you that their media is the best to use for your dealership marketing. Dealerships are in competition with their competitors within their DMA for airtime and attention, and even their OEM.

With the cost to acquire a new customer increasing each year, how you choose to spend your dealership marketing budget becomes even more important. I know dealers that have chosen very different routes. Some chose to have no traditional marketing and are all digital. While others are at the opposite end of the spectrum with no digital marketing at all and insist on “old school” methods of marketing. I’ve actually heard stories of a dealership that seriously debated whether they should get rid of their website and buy an inflatable gorilla for the building.  And I am not joking; I really did hear this.

Marketing your dealership is always going to be tough. The key thing is to know what method is getting results and returning the best ROI for your dealership. With a little investigation, and with proper tracking, it is possible to zero in and be much more accurate about what’s working for your dealership.

By utilizing your own reporting and learning some easy tricks, the process is actually quite easy to manage.

Here are three things that you can do to get a more accurate idea of what’s working for you.

1. Use call tracking. I’ve yet to see a dealership that does not have a pretty busy switchboard. There are still many consumers who opt to pick up the phone rather than submit a lead online. Many advertising sources will provide some tracking statistics for you. However, even if they do, have your own service. Rely on the statistics that your own service provides you.
2. Have different offers on each medium. It’s okay to have an oil change coupon included in your dealership marketing plan. However, don’t fall into the trap that many dealers do and have the same offer on every media. Change up the offer. By having different offers, you can better track which offers are working and which of your advertising mediums are actually generating business.
3. 3.    Make the coupon printable and required. Too many dealerships that have offers, either online or in traditional print, are not requiring the customer to present the coupon. In addition, I’ve seen many service advisors who will actually offer the coupon to the customer who doesn’t even know it exists. By allowing this, you completely negate your ability to track which offers from which ads are actually working. You may also be unnecessarily costing yourself money. If you want an “offer” specifically available to that service customer who inquires about one in the service drive or over the phone, create some specifically for those people. Make your advisors and cashiers accountable for the redeemed offers during the end of day cash reconciliation.

By implementing these three items into your dealership marketing plan, you’ll be able to easily monitor the results. This includes not only tracking your offers; but also the mediums in which those offers were delivered to the customer. With this information, you’ll be able to make better decisions and be able to shift money to the offers and mediums that deliver the best ROI.

In today’s world of constant noise, it’s more difficult than ever to market your dealership. Dealers are constantly trying to guess where the best ROI is when considering how to spend marketing dollars. How much money do I invest in traditional marketing? Online marketing? Direct mail marketing? The rep from each medium will tell you that their media is the best to use for your dealership marketing. Dealerships are in competition with their competitors within their DMA for airtime and attention, and even their OEM.

With the cost to acquire a new customer increasing each year, how you choose to spend your dealership marketing budget becomes even more important. I know dealers that have chosen very different routes. Some chose to have no traditional marketing and are all digital. While others are at the opposite end of the spectrum with no digital marketing at all and insist on “old school” methods of marketing. I’ve actually heard stories of a dealership that seriously debated whether they should get rid of their website and buy an inflatable gorilla for the building.  And I am not joking; I really did hear this.

Marketing your dealership is always going to be tough. The key thing is to know what method is getting results and returning the best ROI for your dealership. With a little investigation, and with proper tracking, it is possible to zero in and be much more accurate about what’s working for your dealership.

By utilizing your own reporting and learning some easy tricks, the process is actually quite easy to manage.

Here are three things that you can do to get a more accurate idea of what’s working for you.

1. Use call tracking. I’ve yet to see a dealership that does not have a pretty busy switchboard. There are still many consumers who opt to pick up the phone rather than submit a lead online. Many advertising sources will provide some tracking statistics for you. However, even if they do, have your own service. Rely on the statistics that your own service provides you.
2. Have different offers on each medium. It’s okay to have an oil change coupon included in your dealership marketing plan. However, don’t fall into the trap that many dealers do and have the same offer on every media. Change up the offer. By having different offers, you can better track which offers are working and which of your advertising mediums are actually generating business.
3. 3.    Make the coupon printable and required. Too many dealerships that have offers, either online or in traditional print, are not requiring the customer to present the coupon. In addition, I’ve seen many service advisors who will actually offer the coupon to the customer who doesn’t even know it exists. By allowing this, you completely negate your ability to track which offers from which ads are actually working. You may also be unnecessarily costing yourself money. If you want an “offer” specifically available to that service customer who inquires about one in the service drive or over the phone, create some specifically for those people. Make your advisors and cashiers accountable for the redeemed offers during the end of day cash reconciliation.

By implementing these three items into your dealership marketing plan, you’ll be able to easily monitor the results. This includes not only tracking your offers; but also the mediums in which those offers were delivered to the customer. With this information, you’ll be able to make better decisions and be able to shift money to the offers and mediums that deliver the best ROI.

Can efforts to capture customer loyalty be thwarted by employee loyalty?

Evidence gathered from top retail groups, including auto dealerships, indicates that employee loyalty directly affects customer loyalty and thus business results.

Dealer operators and their managers do their business, their stakeholders and their shareholders disservice when they fail to foster, develop and reward employee engagement. Get this loyalty driver fixed first. Then watch the ROI on customer loyalty improve.

According to customer experience researchers Temkin Group, engaged employees are key to engaged and loyal customers.

“Engaged employees deliver a better customer experience; a better customer experience creates customer loyalty; puts employee engagement; and, customer loyalty leads to more profitable business results,” Bruce Temkin, managing partner, told Direct Marketing News.

Among auto dealership franchises, Toyota does the best job at this, according to Temkin’s Experience Ratings report, just released.

Is employee loyalty killing your dealership?

When employees are taken for granted, not given clear direction, rarely cheered on and viewed as utilities, don’t expect them to engage customers in positive ways.

Absenteeism, water cooler huddles and high turnover are signs employee loyalty is in bad shape.

The good news is that developing employee loyalty is not rocket science, but a good dose of the Golden Rule, treating others as one would like to be treated.

Here are some ideas for engaging employees so they can deliver better customer experience:

• Hire the right people. Look for those possessing the required job skills – as well as having the heart and desire to serve others.
• Lead with vision. Employees who can articulate the dealership’s guiding principles and reflect them in their engagement with others have bought into leadership’s vision. Wall plaques cannot adequately convey this vision. Ongoing cheerleading sessions and desk side chats will.
• Equip staff to master and own their jobs. Only when employees know their jobs and are comfortable performing them will their attitude and actions allow them to focus more on others and their needs than their own. Provide training on both hard job skills and soft attitude skills.
• Care for their families. This is a tough business, given the hours, competitiveness and personality types it attracts. Nothing tells employees you care about them like paying attention to their personal life and family. Include families in company events. Send flowers or other forms of condolence when an employee’s family member is ill or otherwise struggling. Can the dealership fund a scholarship program for employees’ children or sponsor a kids’ day program during summer months? Might a letter to a spouse of a hard-working member of the team encourage both employee and spouse?
• Link their loyalty to customer loyalty: Some people get it naturally, that warmth, helpfulness and personal interest in others, that sparks social interaction. Most of us need a few clues. Consider an all-staff event to talk about the link between customer loyalty and employee loyalty. Help them see clearly that their behavior and attitude on the job (as well as off) either bolsters or undermines efforts to build customer loyalty long-term. If you need outside expert help, make the call and the investment.

“Most industries earn their reputations,” Temkin told Direct Marketing News.  “What happens is industries end up cultivating their mediocrity.”

What reputation is employee loyalty cultivating for your dealership and your customers?

Can efforts to capture customer loyalty be thwarted by employee loyalty?

Evidence gathered from top retail groups, including auto dealerships, indicates that employee loyalty directly affects customer loyalty and thus business results.

Dealer operators and their managers do their business, their stakeholders and their shareholders disservice when they fail to foster, develop and reward employee engagement. Get this loyalty driver fixed first. Then watch the ROI on customer loyalty improve.

According to customer experience researchers Temkin Group, engaged employees are key to engaged and loyal customers.

“Engaged employees deliver a better customer experience; a better customer experience creates customer loyalty; puts employee engagement; and, customer loyalty leads to more profitable business results,” Bruce Temkin, managing partner, told Direct Marketing News.

Among auto dealership franchises, Toyota does the best job at this, according to Temkin’s Experience Ratings report, just released.

Is employee loyalty killing your dealership?

When employees are taken for granted, not given clear direction, rarely cheered on and viewed as utilities, don’t expect them to engage customers in positive ways.

Absenteeism, water cooler huddles and high turnover are signs employee loyalty is in bad shape.

The good news is that developing employee loyalty is not rocket science, but a good dose of the Golden Rule, treating others as one would like to be treated.

Here are some ideas for engaging employees so they can deliver better customer experience:

• Hire the right people. Look for those possessing the required job skills – as well as having the heart and desire to serve others.
• Lead with vision. Employees who can articulate the dealership’s guiding principles and reflect them in their engagement with others have bought into leadership’s vision. Wall plaques cannot adequately convey this vision. Ongoing cheerleading sessions and desk side chats will.
• Equip staff to master and own their jobs. Only when employees know their jobs and are comfortable performing them will their attitude and actions allow them to focus more on others and their needs than their own. Provide training on both hard job skills and soft attitude skills.
• Care for their families. This is a tough business, given the hours, competitiveness and personality types it attracts. Nothing tells employees you care about them like paying attention to their personal life and family. Include families in company events. Send flowers or other forms of condolence when an employee’s family member is ill or otherwise struggling. Can the dealership fund a scholarship program for employees’ children or sponsor a kids’ day program during summer months? Might a letter to a spouse of a hard-working member of the team encourage both employee and spouse?
• Link their loyalty to customer loyalty: Some people get it naturally, that warmth, helpfulness and personal interest in others, that sparks social interaction. Most of us need a few clues. Consider an all-staff event to talk about the link between customer loyalty and employee loyalty. Help them see clearly that their behavior and attitude on the job (as well as off) either bolsters or undermines efforts to build customer loyalty long-term. If you need outside expert help, make the call and the investment.

“Most industries earn their reputations,” Temkin told Direct Marketing News.  “What happens is industries end up cultivating their mediocrity.”

What reputation is employee loyalty cultivating for your dealership and your customers?

​When did you last share with someone important why you enjoy him or her? We’re fast to convey disappointment or dissatisfaction with others, but uplifting the attributes in them we like feels rather strange.

Yet when it comes to building loyalty, whether in customers, coworkers or family members, nothing will engage their attention – and draw them to us in response – like taking the time to consider and then share positive observations about them.

You may be thinking that an idea like this has no place in the rough and tumble world of auto sales, when in fact, you wouldn’t be further from the truth. Anytime that there is any interpersonal friction, misunderstanding or a feeling of ingratitude, an uplifting and edifying discussion about the values you perceive in someone else will carry the day for a long time to come.

The hardest challenge for most of us is identifying specifically what it is we like about someone else – and then being courageous enough to share these observations with them. You don’t want to spin an attribute that’s not exhibited in someone, but you can identify qualities in him or her worth mentioning. This means though taking time to observe your employees/coworkers and learn their interests.

When you build up others, both you and the recipient should experience a lift while building the working relationship.

If your goal is to build a loyal customer base, there’s no better place to start than by building up your employees’ loyalty and engagement by making sure they know how they are valued.  Properly timed sharing of encouraging remarks like “things I like about you” is the most cost-effective means for improving employee morale and loyalty.

Here’s how this might work in the dealership. Chatting with a service advisor in the break room, the service manager says, “You know, Larry, I’ve known you now for what, three years? You know what I like about you? I like that you’re always punctual. I like the way you greet our customers and always have something to say to them that makes them smile. I like it that when you talk about your kids your stories are always upbeat; it’s obvious you love them very much.  I’m glad you’re on our team, Larry. Thanks for your commitment and loyalty. It means a lot to me.”

How would such words shared sincerely with you make you feel about your employer, your job and yourself? The fact that someone else took the time to recognize these qualities in another speaks volumes.

Life can beat us down, and no one is immune from life’s trials. We can’t do much about those matters, but we can learn to speak grace into others’ lives. Why not choose today to be a deliverer of grace to those who labor with you.

​When did you last share with someone important why you enjoy him or her? We’re fast to convey disappointment or dissatisfaction with others, but uplifting the attributes in them we like feels rather strange.

Yet when it comes to building loyalty, whether in customers, coworkers or family members, nothing will engage their attention – and draw them to us in response – like taking the time to consider and then share positive observations about them.

You may be thinking that an idea like this has no place in the rough and tumble world of auto sales, when in fact, you wouldn’t be further from the truth. Anytime that there is any interpersonal friction, misunderstanding or a feeling of ingratitude, an uplifting and edifying discussion about the values you perceive in someone else will carry the day for a long time to come.

The hardest challenge for most of us is identifying specifically what it is we like about someone else – and then being courageous enough to share these observations with them. You don’t want to spin an attribute that’s not exhibited in someone, but you can identify qualities in him or her worth mentioning. This means though taking time to observe your employees/coworkers and learn their interests.

When you build up others, both you and the recipient should experience a lift while building the working relationship.

If your goal is to build a loyal customer base, there’s no better place to start than by building up your employees’ loyalty and engagement by making sure they know how they are valued.  Properly timed sharing of encouraging remarks like “things I like about you” is the most cost-effective means for improving employee morale and loyalty.

Here’s how this might work in the dealership. Chatting with a service advisor in the break room, the service manager says, “You know, Larry, I’ve known you now for what, three years? You know what I like about you? I like that you’re always punctual. I like the way you greet our customers and always have something to say to them that makes them smile. I like it that when you talk about your kids your stories are always upbeat; it’s obvious you love them very much.  I’m glad you’re on our team, Larry. Thanks for your commitment and loyalty. It means a lot to me.”

How would such words shared sincerely with you make you feel about your employer, your job and yourself? The fact that someone else took the time to recognize these qualities in another speaks volumes.

Life can beat us down, and no one is immune from life’s trials. We can’t do much about those matters, but we can learn to speak grace into others’ lives. Why not choose today to be a deliverer of grace to those who labor with you.

Creating loyal customers starts with a loyal team. It is important that your employees feel valued and motivated on a daily basis. When your team is at its best, then you can be sure that your customers will be getting the best service.

Here are 5 communication tips to make sure that you and your managers are being effective communicators and motivators.

1. Plan for Success: Hold weekly and monthly meetings for plan for success and go over what goals have been achieved and what you are still reaching for. Stay focused and ask your team to write down their ideas and suggestions for a “Creative Meeting” to go over the growth of the company. Before your meetings be sure to have an outline sent to everyone that will be in attendance at least two hours beforehand and encourage your team to be prepared for brainstorming.

2. Know Your Employees’ Strengths: When hiring an employee, do a personality and strengths profile. This is important because you can learn what position they are best suited for and how they communicate. When implementing a new strategy or idea for your company or department, hold a strategy meeting and go over what you are planning to do with your company or department. Then ask your team to write down who they think would be best suited for the new task or position and ask them to explain why. Your team works with one another on a weekly, daily and hourly basis; they know each other’s strengths in much more detail than you will.

3. Have Clear Processes in Place: If you do not have a clear process for every task that needs to be done, there will be inconsistency and failure. So set your team up for success, and make sure to always anticipate anything that may come up. Have someone create a manual for each position and have processes in place so each employee will be able to be self-sufficient and confident about their position.

4. Be Proud of Your Employees: Set goals for your individual employees and your team. Have prizes and bonuses in place that let them know that you are proud of what they have accomplished. Encourage them to be self-starters, and thank them when they have stepped out of the box to help grow the division or company.

5. Turn Mistakes into Learning Experiences: When a mistake happens, take the time to determine what caused it, how it can be fixed and how it can be prevented in the future. Create a process write-up and hold a training meeting to use the mistake as an example to improve your department or division. Don’t focus on the employee; turn every mistake into a learning opportunity for your team.

It’s important that you take the time to motivate and communicate with as many employees as possible on a daily basis. By sticking to this consistently, you will encourage them to do the same. Over time you will have a team that is motivated and working together to grow your business and build loyal customers.

We want to know you best management tips for boosting employee morale. What have you done to help motivate your team?

Creating loyal customers starts with a loyal team. It is important that your employees feel valued and motivated on a daily basis. When your team is at its best, then you can be sure that your customers will be getting the best service.

Here are 5 communication tips to make sure that you and your managers are being effective communicators and motivators.

1. Plan for Success: Hold weekly and monthly meetings for plan for success and go over what goals have been achieved and what you are still reaching for. Stay focused and ask your team to write down their ideas and suggestions for a “Creative Meeting” to go over the growth of the company. Before your meetings be sure to have an outline sent to everyone that will be in attendance at least two hours beforehand and encourage your team to be prepared for brainstorming.

2. Know Your Employees’ Strengths: When hiring an employee, do a personality and strengths profile. This is important because you can learn what position they are best suited for and how they communicate. When implementing a new strategy or idea for your company or department, hold a strategy meeting and go over what you are planning to do with your company or department. Then ask your team to write down who they think would be best suited for the new task or position and ask them to explain why. Your team works with one another on a weekly, daily and hourly basis; they know each other’s strengths in much more detail than you will.

3. Have Clear Processes in Place: If you do not have a clear process for every task that needs to be done, there will be inconsistency and failure. So set your team up for success, and make sure to always anticipate anything that may come up. Have someone create a manual for each position and have processes in place so each employee will be able to be self-sufficient and confident about their position.

4. Be Proud of Your Employees: Set goals for your individual employees and your team. Have prizes and bonuses in place that let them know that you are proud of what they have accomplished. Encourage them to be self-starters, and thank them when they have stepped out of the box to help grow the division or company.

5. Turn Mistakes into Learning Experiences: When a mistake happens, take the time to determine what caused it, how it can be fixed and how it can be prevented in the future. Create a process write-up and hold a training meeting to use the mistake as an example to improve your department or division. Don’t focus on the employee; turn every mistake into a learning opportunity for your team.

It’s important that you take the time to motivate and communicate with as many employees as possible on a daily basis. By sticking to this consistently, you will encourage them to do the same. Over time you will have a team that is motivated and working together to grow your business and build loyal customers.

We want to know you best management tips for boosting employee morale. What have you done to help motivate your team?