The retail automotive world demands a lot, including long hours, working holidays and little flexibility in schedule. Most dealerships require 1 or 2 “bells” per week, (working open to close) and don’t include many weekends off, as Saturday and Sunday are typically busy days, when consumers have time to shop for a vehicle.

 A recent blog post on the AskTheManager blog tells a very interesting story about a manager that questioned their decision regarding an employee who asked if she could come in a couple hours late so she could attend her college graduation ceremony. The employer had a policy of granting requests based on seniority. The employee couldn’t find someone to cover for her so, according to the article, this is what the manager did:

“I told this team member that she could not start two hours late and that she would have to skip the ceremony. An hour later, she handed me her work ID and a list of all the times she had worked late/come in early/worked overtime for each and every one of her coworkers. Then she quit on the spot.”

The manager felt this action by the employee was unacceptable, stating:

“I’m a bit upset because she was my best employee by far. Her work was excellent, she never missed a day of work in the six years she worked here, and she was my go-to person for weekends and holidays.”

The manager also mentioned that, during the same time, they adjusted another employee’s end time because that employee had purchase concert tickets. The cost of those tickets was considered in making the decision to grant that employee time off.

The blog went on to paint a very interesting background about this employee who asked for a couple of hours to attend her graduation, and why it was so important to her. She had bounced from foster home to foster home as a child, and was even homeless at one point. Despite all this, she had risen above her past; was their best employee; covered for multiple employees when needed; and had not missed a day of work in six years. She was the “go-to” person at the company and still had somehow managed to attend night school and earn her college degree.

But sadly, because the manager was blinded by a rigid set of rules and considered that the cost of concert tickets trumped a graduation ceremony for someone who was the most loyal, faithful and trustworthy employee; that company ended up losing their best employee.

The saddest part is that this manager didn’t write in to ask whether they had done the right thing. But rather, they wanted advice on how to educate this ex-employee that it was unprofessional to quit with no notice. And that, because the manager cared, they wanted to ensure that this employee understood how this could affect her professional career.

Over 1,200 comments were left on this blog post – the vast majority of which support the employee.

Managers have the responsibility to be fair and human in their interactions. Sometimes, having compassion and being human trumps any rigid rules and cost calculations.

A good manager should also be a good leader, able to identify when the right thing to do is to bend the rules for an employee. People have lives outside of work. Yes, even car dealerships. The ability to understand other people’s feelings and to weigh the importance of a personnel-related decision, versus the impact it has on the business, is paramount to employee retention and happiness. Think about this employee that was denied 2 hours to attend her college graduation. She was incredibly engaged with the business, a hard worker and valued her position at the company. She was well worth a small bending of the rules in order to maintain her as a happy, industrious employee.

It is a real shame that the manager didn’t even realize that a wrong decision was made. But one thing is for sure, no matter what business you’re in, finding an employee with the qualities of this one that quit is rare -- they should be treasured.

Keep that in mind the next time an employee comes to you with a special request. Don’t be so rigid that you can’t factor humanity into the rules. Chances are that simply allowing that employee the 2 hours off could result in years of hard work and loyalty. Or, you will have to find another person willing to commit like that. And in retail automotive, that might be a challenge.

This common saying is certainly one that everyone knows. And, whether it’s true or not, has endured time. Why? Because someone cooking for you is an intimate act that is satisfying and elicits fond memories. In essence, this act accomplished on a regular basis is supposed to be the recipe (pun intended) to win the love of a man, or woman. The gender of a person has little to do with what it takes to win their hearts.

That being said, this simple saying can easily be transferred from the realm of interpersonal relationships to the world of business. How? Every time a customer visits or interacts with your dealership, you are essentially feeding them.

Customers have appetites for quality products and excellent service. Just look at the hoards that stand in line for hours (or sometimes days) for every new Apple product. With each commercial, tease, leak or ad, Apple caters to that appetite. But why do consumers do this? Well, Apple has created a brand trusted by the masses. Consumers believe the product(s) Apple develop will be of exceptional quality and that they will receive an excellent customer experience while using them. The food in this equation is multi-dimensional.

Let me explain:

Apple is, by nature, a very secretive company when it comes to product releases. However, there are usually numerous “leaks” for any product offering, which culminate with a very short period of time between the customer entering the restaurant (the official announcement) and the main course (product release). These leaks serve as teases to their customers and whet their appetites for the product or service. Without these, customers would be left in mystery, with little information to help in the buying decision, and a rather short period to decide whether they want to plop down the typically premium price, or perhaps wait.

Once the main course is served, all preconceived notions, hopes, wishes, dreams and speculation end and reality sets in. Either the product or service lives up to the expectations of the customer – or they do not.

Customers are constantly fed either the appetizers (your marketing) or main courses (the actual customer experience). How they perceive or experience both can weaken, or strengthen their loyalty. If the experience is everything that it was hyped up to be, and the product fulfilled their expectations, they will probably get in line a little earlier the next time and be less skeptical or trigger-shy.

All dealerships advertise. The messages that you put out there whether it is about price, experience, or other unique selling propositions, whet the consumer’s appetite and get them to visit your dealership. Once there, their actual experience can either reinforce your marketing messages or convince the customer that you made false promises and are insincere.

Make sure that the food you are feeding customers – whether it’s the appetizer of the main course – fulfills all of your customer’s expectations and you’ll find that with each visit, they love your restaurant that much more.

And when the food is great, people tell their friends. Which is exactly what you want.

The intention of a loyalty program is to show your customers that they are appreciated and encourage them to choose your business over any competition. These programs can create value and generate lifetime relationships with customers -- as long as the experience remains consistently pleasant.

However, a trend currently rearing its head in the loyalty program space, while seemingly grounded in fiscal common sense, is alienating customers and actually making previously loyal customers less loyal.

An excellent article on Forbes.com discusses a trend in travel, hospitality and retail, where businesses revamp their loyalty programs to favor customers that spend the most money – not necessarily in total -- but with each transaction.

Airlines are an excellent example of this trend. In the past, most major airlines’ loyalty programs rewarded customers with points based on the number of miles flown, flights taken, or both. The recent trend delivers a double whammy to customers as these airlines have shifted their loyalty programs towards money spent on airfare, which favors business travelers that tend to book flights last minute, paying premium fares for their flights. A traveler that booked their ticket in advance, or took advantage of a sale, could even be seated right next to the business traveler who paid a premium price, but that customer would earn less points for the same travel.

The second change involves how many points it takes to redeem rewards. Airlines have increased the number of points needed to earn free flights and made it more difficult for “normal” travelers to earn rewards.

While on the surface these changes make economic sense for the airlines – reward those who spend more per transaction – this strategy might just be backfiring. It would seem reasonable to project that the majority of travelers are NOT business travelers who book at the last minute and pay higher rates. But rather those “less-important” customers who plan ahead and take advantage of fare sales. If that’s the case, doesn’t this strategy of making it more difficult for the majority of your customers to earn rewards and, by default, making them feel less appreciated, mean that, in the long run, airlines could find that they’re actually losing money?

And don’t feel like this phenomenon is limited to the travel and hospitality industry. Just research the recent backlash that Starbucks encountered when it revamped its loyalty program in the exact same way. Rather than rewarding customers for visits, now their loyalty program points are earned by dollars spent. And consumers did not take it well -- at all.

Every customer is valuable. While it is certainly understandable that businesses want to reward their best customers, it may be a bad move to do so at the expense of others. That normal (or frugal) traveler today, may just get a new job and become that business traveler airlines so covet. Yet, when they were a normal traveler, they were treated as somewhat less desirable customers… at least that’s what the airlines loyalty program communicates to them. Because of that, they now base their travel decisions on convenience and price, rather than loyalty to the airline.

Consistency in how appreciation is shown to your loyalty program customers is imperative. Designed correctly, your loyalty program should reward customers who spend and visit more by default. Those customers will find it easier to earn rewards simply because they’re doing more business with you. And that’s exactly what a loyalty program is designed to accomplish.

While car dealerships aren’t necessarily held in high regards by consumers, there are many dealers out there that are pillars of their community. Big hearted philanthropists who understand the sense of community and the importance of being involved. A great example of this – and the impact it has had on the community – is the story of a dealership in Victorville, CA, featured in a recent article in Automotive News.

Victorville Motors decided to create a promotion: “It’s a Gas to Go to School,” to encourage local high school students to attend class. This promotion, in cooperation with the local school district, offers students the chance to win a free car if they achieve perfect attendance throughout the school year. Students with perfect attendance records receive a golden ticket and access to a day-long celebration event which culminates in a vehicle presented to one deserving student.

Since inception, the promotion has expanded to include teacher attendance. It is now a bi-annual event with more districts and schools participating. Now, more than 100 local businesses also donate prizes, which increases the number of winners. According to the article, this contest has created more than $10 million in additional state funding to the districts involved, as California schools are funded by average daily attendance. In addition, it has saved these districts over $600,000 in teacher pay that would have been paid to substitutes had teachers taken their sick days. 

And what does the dealership get? The vehicles given away are wrapped with advertising for a year, so in effect the dealership gets mobile advertising around the local area for a whole year. In addition, they have the attention and appreciation of the staff, parents and students of all of the school in all of the districts that participate.

But, you ask, did it help them sell more cars? According to dealer principal, Tim Watts, he “stopped counting at 300.” Do you feel two free cars a year is a lot of money? Would you spend $40,000 to sell 300 cars? I think most dealers would.

This is a great example of how dealership involvement in their local area impacts the community and captures the hearts, souls and attention of… well… just about everyone. It’s hard to believe that all of those included and/or affected by this bi-annual contest wouldn’t give Victorville Motors first shot at their business. It is one thing to SAY you love your community, but this type of community involvement PROVES it to the people that matter most… your customers.

And, all of the high school kids in Victorville will eventually need to buy a car. If the contest continues, (which is likely as it keeps growing) it’s very possible that it will continue to influence consumer buying behavior in the local market across even more generations.

And, when you have positive word-of-mouth locally – well, you can’t buy any more effective advertising than that.

All humans have feelings and those feelings can absolutely affect their decisions in life, including any products purchased, where they buy them and to which companies they are loyal. Large companies know this and realize that corporate social responsibility programs are important to brand image, customer sentiment and loyalty. And these programs can also motivate and inspire employees to become brand advocates.

Who wouldn’t want to do business with a company that shares its values? And, who wouldn’t want to work for a company that is loved? These two things are an important part of transforming a business from one that’s simply a place to transact, to one with personality.

An excellent example of this, and how one small good deed reaped huge benefits, is the story of Jake Nelson and a Ford dealership in Apple Valley, Minnesota. Jake is a special needs boy who loved cars, but was told he could never drive. Because of his passion for cars, his parents took him to dealerships just to wander and look at all of the objects he so loved. Upon visiting Apple Ford Lincoln, a salesperson took the time to talk with the boy and introduced him to others at the dealership. He soon became a fixture at the store, helping in the many ways that he could on the lot, making sure the cars are all locked and well presented. It has brought great joy into his life and acts as an inspiration both to customers and other employees at the dealership.

This story garnered wonderful national media attention for Ford and highlighted the dealership in this great video:
 

This act positively affected a young life and is a wonderful example of how one car dealership’s image transformed in the eyes of its employees, community and the world. And ultimately that’s exactly what social responsibility is all about.

Ford has now announced the launch of its FordInclusiveWorks program. This pilot program, starting June 1st, is designed to provide meaningful employment to adults with autism. With a national unemployment rate of 75-90 percent, Ford recognized an opportunity to make an impact on these adult’s lives.And, while this pilot may only involve 5 people for now, there’s no telling what the future holds should it succeed. Felicia Fields, Ford group VP of human resources and corporate services, couldn’t have said it any better when she said; “We recognize that having a diverse and inclusive workforce allows us to leverage a wider range of innovative ideas to make our customers’ lives better.” [emphasis added]

While Ford may dominate this blog, there are many other automakers and dealers that make an impact in our world. Dealers are well known for being a huge support to their local communities.

Automakers typically have individual charities they choose to assist (such as Chevrolet and the American Heart Association), but also quickly render aid in times of crisis -- as was the case in the Hurricane Sandy disaster, for example.

With each and every one of these; whether a huge expensive campaign by OEMs; or simply a dealer seeing someone in need and choosing to help; it helps to humanize our industry – to show consumers that car dealerships aren’t places filled with people looking to take advantage of them, but rather businesses employing people who care about other people.

So whatever your passion - rescuing animals, helping the homeless or countless others – know that social responsibility, being involved in and part of your community and taking action when others are in need is not only something you could do…

…but something you should.
 

There have been countless studies about employee engagement and how, when engaged, employees tend to be happier, more productive and deliver a better customer experience. With a 70 percent annual turnover rate in sales, this is an area that the auto industry – at least on the sales side – has a problem with. Don’t think the auto industry is alone, however. According to an article posted on Digitalistmage.com,  a recent Gallup poll found that “67 percent of workers aren’t engaged—or worse, they’re actively disengaged—a number that’s been pretty stagnant for the past 16 years.”
 

The article went onto state that companies who are participating in these polls and then taking action to create initiatives within their organization are failing as well. Why? According to the article, the reasons are two-fold:

1. By the time the poll results are published, the results are outdated. This means that initiatives are created based on data that is no longer be valid.
2. Management wants to fix things on their own (i.e. create initiatives, champions, etc.)
3. Apparently companies are too sensitive.

You can’t fix any problem with old data. If you don’t know what’s going on in the dealership RIGHT NOW, any attempt you make at changing culture and winning over employees will more than likely fail. On top of that, engaged employees aren’t something that can be magically created. Management can peruse data and create ineffective programs even with the best of intentions. Employees must decide on their own to be engaged with a business. Management can’t make them.
 

So if, as the article states, we’re all doing it wrong and have been for almost two decades, how do we improve? The article suggests that a more modern – and effective - approach to increasing employee engagement lies in three areas:
 

1. Empowering individuals – Everyone likes to talk about open door policies between management and employees. However, in reality many employees hesitate, especially in our industry, as there can be a fear of repercussion or that it perhaps won’t accomplish anything. It’s not uncommon for management changes to usher in a spat of terminations, simply because the new managers want to bring in people loyal to them. Trust tends to be lacking and without that trust, employees will never be engaged.
2. Increased transparency – If you think that dealerships only struggle with transparency issues when it relates to consumers, you’d be sadly mistaken. There is plenty of information that is withheld from sales staff under the presumption that it’s for their own good and justified by the fact that sans the information, the sale will end up with a higher gross. The mistake here is that chances are good the customer already knows the information that the dealership is withholding from the salesperson. I get the philosophy behind it. And, prior to the auto industry getting hit between the eyes with the information revolution, perhaps it was a good strategy. Not anymore. How is a salesperson supposed to consult and build trust with a customer when they have less information than the customer?  It’s highly likely that the customer won’t believe the salesperson doesn’t actually have the data, but think that they are withholding it intentionally.
3. Prioritizing wellness – Retail car salespeople work brutal hours. We’ve all been there. And even salespeople fortunate enough to work at dealerships that offer flexibility, and/or moderate work schedules, must learn to cope with the stress of feeling as if they need to be at the dealership all the time, as the customer may come back and buy from another salesperson, so they lose half the commission.

Employee wellness is imperative to employee engagement. While the auto industry may be their career, don’t force employees to choose between family time, healthy living and mental well-being. Working 70 hours a week, never seeing their families and living off of whatever fast food place is nearby your dealership is a recipe for burn out regardless of the industry.

Employee engagement, employee retention, customer experience and the value of human capital are hot terms in the auto industry right now. To truly create a culture where employees want to work for your dealership and are actively engaged in its success, consider the importance of and think about how the three areas above might be applied in your dealership Just because we’ve always done it that same old way doesn’t mean that way is still viable. The employees are voting with their feet and to keep them happy and engaged with your dealership, it may be time to change things up a bit.

Loyalty is a fickle thing. While your customer has consistently serviced their vehicle with you, when they get that $19.95 oil change coupon from your competition, will it go in the trash, or will they choose to take advantage of it and defect to the competition?

Most consumers love sales and discounts. In fact, the whole reason negotiation exists in showrooms is the perception of a “good deal,” which is completely subjective and varies from dealer to dealer, as well as customer to customer. A whole new sector of business has sprung up that offers consumers advice on what a good deal is. Then let’s look at Black Friday -- a cultural phenomenon where customers camp out for weeks to save $200 on a television. It’s surprising the lengths that some consumers will go to and the time they are willing to spend researching and shopping for that sometimes elusive “good deal.”

So what if your business decided to never have a sale again? Gone would be those customers that only come in to your business for that discounted service, or that customer that drives 100 miles to save $250 on a vehicle, that you’ll never see again.

But, we still want to keep our customers coming back. So, how do we continue rewarding our truly loyal customers and make them immune to competitor offers?

A fascinating article on RetailDive explored the tactic that many businesses are adopting – the premium loyalty program. Amazon has been extremely successful with this program. According to the article, it’s estimated that half of all U.S. households belong to Amazon Prime. Let that sink in a moment. Half of the households in the U.S. pay Amazon $99 per year for the privilege of buying merchandise from them. In return, they get special perks, including 2-day shipping, and that $99 expense is revenue generated before the customer has ever purchased a single item!

The article also states that Restoration Hardware chairman and CEO, Gary Friedman, recently announced that his company is adopting a premium loyalty program. Friedman stated that, “Our lives are filled with complexity – and we long to break through the clutter to find simplicity. We want to shop for what we want, when we want and receive the greatest value. So rather than navigating countless promotions, we’re changing things… because time is the ultimate luxury.”  The company plans to charge participating customers $100 per year for membership. In exchange, members get a flat 25% discount on all regularly priced merchandise and 10% off of clearance items.

According to the article, the thought process behind a premium loyalty program is simple: customers that pay to join are more likely to continue to patronize the business because they want to get the most value from their investment (ROI).

The article further found that interest in premium loyalty programs is strongest among millennial consumers. Three quarters of respondents between the ages of 18 and 24 and 77% between the ages of 25 and 34 told LoyaltyOne they’d consider joining a fee-based rewards program, while 61% of 18-to-24 year-olds and 54% of 25-to-34 year-olds contend that fee-based rewards are better than free ones.

The beauty of a premium loyalty program is that customers no longer feel as if they need to search for the best price, or wait for you to have a sale. For members, any day they choose to do business with you, they save money. Premium loyalty programs also offer retailers valuable data on their best customers, which can then be analyzed and used to monitor shopping behavior and make more relevant and personalized interactions.

It’s all about how you treat your customers, and it’s about digging in and knowing them, working with them and delivering a better experience.

In a recent interview with Automotive News, Masahiro Moro, head of Mazda North American Operations, detailed Mazda’s plan to increase customer loyalty for both the OEM and its dealers. While his plan mostly revolves around vehicle quality and diversity, as well as shifting from a sales-focused goal to one of retention, it also includes a nationwide training push with dealers to help improve the customer experience. Moro explained that in the past, Mazda’s business philosophy was expansion of sales: “Whatever you do, sell more cars.” And that caused a lot of bad business equations.

In the future, Mazda will focus on acquiring those good customers who really understand what the brand is about and not engage with the rational type of price-seeker. Mazda is now focused on how to make a Mazda customer a customer for life. And, to make that happen, the most important part is how dealers treat the customer. Dealers will need to change their focus to look after more customers so that dealer loyalty and brand loyalty are top of mind.

When addressing Mazda’s internal goals, Moro offered an interesting loyalty metric the factory has decided to use that should perhaps be adopted by all franchised dealers. Recognizing that Mazda is at the bottom of the market share list at 2 percent, rather than focusing on increasing that market share, Mazda has decided to shift focus towards the quality of market share. Moro explained, “…if we are not able to improve the market share for the moment, we should be thinking about if we’re getting a good 2 percent or not a good 2 percent. I really want a good quality 2 percent. That makes a huge difference rather than a lousy 5 percent.”

One factor that Moro uses to determine whether Mazda’s market share is “quality” is repurchase ratio which, he says, currently sits at the bottom of the industry.

How about applying this concept to your own customer repurchase ratio – not from the brand itself but from your own dealership? A stable foundation is key to any growth. In the article, Moro further shared that loyalty and retention are a high priority in order to build that quality market share and that retaining a customer is much more efficient than courting a new customer; increasing retention rates while maintaining the same level of conquest is the easiest and most efficient path to sales acceleration.

Consider applying this and making an effort to understand the behavior of your customers, for sales, service and when it comes to repurchase. This will help to better understand the quality of your market share. By knowing that answer, you can then focus on strengthening that quality through a more customer-centric experience. Only then can customer conquest and acquisition efforts actually increase sales, rather than simply replacing lost customers.

Getting your customer’s attention and engaging with them can be a tough task these days. There is so much competition from other marketers -- customers are constantly barraged with messages from every side and in every way.

Social media reach has decreased, digital marketing is ever more challenging and direct mail sometimes goes straight into the trash. This leaves some dealerships pulling their hair out due to the lack of response from their customers and prospects.

However, dealers that think outside-the-box a little bit have had great success engaging with their customers. The key is to really interact with your customers and provide something they want that is not just a pure sales message.

In 2011, Howdy Honda set its eyes on Facebook and ran a contest requesting holiday cookie recipes from its fans in exchange for bonus service reward points. The contest’s goal was to engage their customer base while driving incremental service traffic through bonus service reward points. The contest was run for two weeks at the end of November and saw 48 recipe submissions. They then took these recipes and created an e-book which was downloaded over 900 times. Due to the response they received, they repeated the contest in 2012 with the same format and ended up increasing engagement with 68 submitted recipes and an e-book which was downloaded 1,728 times.

That’s incredible branding and engagement! Howdy Honda then further upped the ante and asked participants to add a story concerning the origin of the recipe, along with a sentence or two about the customer’s experience as a Honda owner. Then, in 2014, they added seasonal service coupons and a discount for submitting a recipe and further engaged the customers by allowing them to vote for the best recipe, with the prize being a $250 Howdy Honda branded gift card.122 recipe submissions were received and over 1,000 customer voted online. This time, rather than an e-book, they printed softcover recipe books and handed them out as gifts in the service drive. This, now traditional, contest was a winning success for Howdy Honda. It engaged their customers and promoted their brand.

In an attempt to transform things away from a strictly seasonal promotion, the dealership added a summer picnic grilling recipe book along with the same contest, voting and prize for the winners. This year, they’ve also added a design contest for a new Howdy Honda tote bag.

Howdy Honda set out to do what every great marketing strategy desires – to engage its customers and market to them in a way that, well, doesn’t feel like marketing. Part of their success is their loyalty program and their membership base since adopting their loyalty program in 2008 – which is a little over 63,000 members -- and they are adding an additional 400+ each month due to the success of their promotion. This is a fantastic way to engage a captive membership base.

Every year the dealership has run these promotions it has increased customer engagement. The trick in implementing any contest or promotion is to make it engaging and one that fits your demographic. In addition, as with any branding play, ensure that you are consistent with any deployment. Howdy Honda customers look forward to these engagements as is evident in the increased engagement year after year. You may not see massive viral success in your first attempt. But, remember, with a consistent and committed strategy, you too can win the war for your customer’s attention. And that, my friends, is the recipe for success.

The average U.S. household now belongs to more than 18 loyalty programs, for a total of more than 2 billion memberships. That’s an awful lot of loyal customers. But, all these programs and cards can have an unintended effect: customer loyalty fatigue.

Most consumers do still participate in their ‘favorite’ loyalty programs, and for many businesses, it’s a proven marketing tool that adds revenue to the bottom line.

So what is it that turns customers off? Some of the most common reasons are “I always forget to bring my card,” “the coupon I got in the mail has expired,” “restrictions on merchandise,” “not getting good discounts,” etc. For the most part, it seems that customers just aren’t perceiving much value in their customer loyalty programs.

To combat this customer loyalty fatigue, make it a priority to create a loyalty program that stands out from the rest, and is perceived as valuable by your customers. Here are a few tips on how to accomplish this:

First, you may want to consider adopting a mobile app where customers can store their cards on their phones. People may not have their loyalty cards with them all of the time, but they will always have their phones. Apple’s Passbook, for instance, allows consumers to add all types of cards to it, including loyalty cards. This makes it easy for consumers to always have – and access – their loyalty membership when they visit your dealership. In addition, ensure that there is a way to access and/or credit a customer’s loyalty account when a transaction is completed --even if they do not have their cards with them. It’s also a good idea to have a system that can look up the customer via their name, phone number or perhaps even their vehicle’s VIN or license plate.

Second, a loyalty program is only as desirable as the potential it offers its members. Make sure that the rewards you are offering are desirable, worthwhile and attainable, or you may find customers become apathetic about your program. Rewards can include much more than simple freebies or discounts. Consider offering experiences, front of the line passes or other VIP perks for those customers who show their loyalty through bringing you their business. An excellent way to figure out what your customers are interested in is simple – ask them. You may get some unrealistic answers, but I promise that you’ll get some great ideas that you can then implement. The best part is, by doing this, your customers are engaged and feel included in both the program and the process. For a customer to see a new reward appear that was something they suggested is priceless and further strengthens their loyalty.

Third, consider offering coupons with no expiration dates. While the coupons you send may be relevant and desirable offers, there’s nothing more frustrating for a consumer than when they are ready to use a coupon and find it just expired. Whatever you’ve chosen to offer a customer, make it “no strings attached.” You don’t have to send the offer to every member. You can segment the membership list into types of members and then market to them as sub-groups. Consider going through your loyalty program and sending a coupon to all members who haven’t earned any points in the last 6 months. This is a great way to re-engage the customer and potentially recapture their business.

Loyalty programs can be an excellent customer retention tool and help increase revenue while rewarding your customers for taking actions that benefit your dealership. Examine what you’re doing now and how it can be improved for a better customer experience. As a result your customers will be more engaged as they will perceive more value in your program.