There’s no customer more coveted than the repeat customer. To obtain more of this invaluable resource, modern dealerships must differentiate themselves from their neighboring stores and maintain a good reputation with positive reviews. Both of these practices support maintaining and duplicating loyal customers.
Practice these strategies to deliver five-star customer experiences that lead to referrals and boost your dealership's retention.
Awareness about the value of a retained customer starts at the top. Management spares no expense when publicizing and rewarding sales goals, yet often undermines the value of retention. The culture in too many dealerships focuses on selling the car, then forgetting about the buyer to focus on the next one, despite the fact that new customers are significantly more expensive to acquire.
In truth, customer retention should be the apple of your dealership’s eye. Automotive Mastermind says it like this:
“Loyal customers are cheaper to sell to, less likely to bargain aggressively on pricing, more likely to generate service and other fixed-ops revenues, and are a source of high-ROI referral business.”
Dealers would do well to stay in touch after the car sale and emphasize service when customers reappear.
Some dealerships are leaving that potential profit completely untapped, while others are capitalizing. After the car sale, the service drive is the biggest point for customer satisfaction. Customers with a stellar car-buying experience are more likely to return to the dealership for service. The ongoing service experience is more likely to stick in their mind, as opposed to the one-time interaction with their salesperson.
Therefore, a great experience in the service drive should be a high priority. Service employees can upsell accessories and talk face-to-face with loyal customers about trade-in opportunities.
Once you sell a car to a customer, you must find a way to keep them engaged. A study by Cox Automotive points out that customers who return for service are nearly twice as likely to buy their next vehicle from the same dealership: 74% vs. 44%.
Providing excellent customer service is the #1 way to gain and keep loyal customers. That being said, everyone loves perks. Put yourself in your customers’ shoes and think about what is genuinely beneficial for them. A dealership hat, or cup, is not that appealing to the majority. Offer your loyal customers free or discounted service products, the ability to work towards complimentary oil changes, or even win gift cards. Get creative in what would appeal to your customers!
Dealership customer retention strategies are not rocket science; small efforts to connect with a customer and remember what they tell you can bring a big return. At the end of the day, there’s no substitute for good rapport between two people. Salespeople have to be willing to take time to get to know the person and make genuinely custom recommendations.
Automotive Training Network suggests automotive customer retention strategies, such as spending extra time with them, paying attention to detail, and showing gratitude at every opportunity. The strategy is just making genuine connections with people.
You can further enhance the customer’s experience with accessories. After getting to know the buyer, make custom recommendations for accessories that would benefit their lifestyle. The best practice is to start with a consistent lead-in product, then recommend three additional accessories per vehicle.
The best way to start focusing on automotive customer retention is to start. Get retention numbers out in front of your staff, and make a plan to retain 1% more each month. Which strategy can you implement today?
For more than 20 years, Insignia Group has led the way in digital accessory-selling systems for dealerships nationwide. Our sleek interface allows dealerships to create profitable accessory programs at the point of sale—no matter where the sale happens. Dealers using the Insignia Group accessories selling system can bundle accessories into custom packages, feature hot-selling accessories, process orders, and more! Schedule a demo with us today to see how our system can help you sell more accessories at the point of sale and beyond.