Dealer Principal - October 2007 - (Page 19)

DOES YOUR SERVICE PASS THE MOM TEST? Ever wonder if there is a correlation between the fact that customers have owned their car about a year, have a 15,000 mile service pitched or purchased, and the result is that you lose about 50% of your car buyers after the first year? I think there is, just seems obvious, don’t you think? My point is this: you need every customer you can get. Warranty is declining. Maintenance intervals are stretched and service visits are further and further apart. The competition is fierce and customer retention continues to decline. You are in a trick bag – you need to maximize every opportunity and at the same time you don’t need to take your customers’ heads off or you will end up with even less customer retention. So what do you do? My solution is simple: make sure your services all pass the mom test. What I mean is if your mom gave you a blank check and asked you to do ‘whatever is needed’ to service her car at, oh let’s say, 15,000 miles – what would you do? Would you sell her the normal menu service you offer all of your customers? Would you trim it down and only do an oil change, tire rotation and maybe an air filter? What would you do? Be careful how you answer – you have to make sure you pass the mom test, meaning every single customer is somebody’s mom or dad. “ Make sure your services all pass the mom test. If your mom gave you a blank check and asked you to do ‘whatever is needed’ to service her car, what would you do? “ Here’s the problem: you are stressed and money is tight. Less warranty, less maintenance and less repairs means less income, right? So if you aren’t careful, you will end up overselling to make up the difference…which doesn’t work. In fact it makes it worse…you end up running off more of your valuable, much needed customers. The answer is to increase customer retention to a point that you make up the difference and even surpass your objectives with more customers…. the right way. You have to Wow your customers so much that they would never go anywhere else. You have to make your dealership different, and give customers a real reason to never go anywhere else. Do this every day with great – no awesome, or as I like to say ‘Wow-some’ service. Do it by showing customers you care with money saving coupons. Do it with a rewards club. Do it with good phone follow-up to ensure satisfaction and loyalty, and do it with an attitude that shows customers just how much you need them. Bottom line is – you do. Randy Johnson is Founder and President of Car People Marketing, Inc., which specializes in improving customer retention, trafﬁc and proﬁts in car dealerships. Randy is known for his strong customer retention - customer pay building products, powerful service advisor sales training and pointsbased owner loyalty clubs designed especially for car dealers. Car People Marketing is located in Daytona Beach, Florida, does business with over 450 dealerships nationwide, employees 100 plus Associates and Sales Representatives, and was the ﬁrst in the marketplace to offer a no contract guarantee. Randy can be reached at 866.227.7337 or email: rjohnson@carpeoplemarketing.com. www.dealerprincipalmagazine.com 1 http://www.dealerprincipalmagazine.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Dealer Principal - October 2007

Contents Reality Check Cover Story: Car Tango Does Your Service Menu Pass the Mom Test? Your Greatest Asset Your Toll Free Number Could Be Turning Customers Away

Dealer Principal - October 2007

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