Fixed Ops Journal - August 2016 - (Page 46)

FIXED OPS JOURNAL ENG Senior Executive Summit October 26 & 27 MotorCity Casino Hotel Detroit Continuous improvement in policy and practice Register by Sept 9th and receive 20% discount using code: FixedOps Register today: 609 219 6998 www.engevents.com/events/uswarranty2016 Pushes 18,000 lbs up a 5% grade. Safe for use on plastic bumpers. powerpusher.com | 800-800-9274 PAGE 46 AUGUST 2016 TRADE-OFF ■ Dealers' data mining yields more sales, but less service work JIM HENRY foj@autonews.com D ata-mining software can help dealerships encourage service customers to trade up to a new car or truck. But there's a downside: The dealership gives up service work on the old vehicle. Still, that's a trade-off that most dealers would take, says Scott Fink, a multifranchise dealer in the Tampa Bay area of Florida. "In the new-car, franchised dealer world, this is a volume game," Fink told Fixed Ops Journal. Data mining also helps a dealership exert more control over when customers decide to trade, instead of having to wait for them to pay off their old vehicle, Fink added. "If customers are allowed to go full term, they've got options," he said. "They're going to start looking around. During term, they are a bit more captive." Some customers identified by data mining discover that they can acquire a new vehicle for about Fink: Customers' the same monthly payment as their current one. service records To mine customer data, Fink said he uses softguide new sales. ware from AutoAlert Inc. in Irvine, Calif. AutoAlert says its software can notify dealerships of customers who have scheduled service appointments, prompt dealerships to contact customers when their loans or leases are about to expire and warn dealerships when lease customers are about to incur penalties for excess mileage. Fink owns five dealerships in the Tampa Bay area. The largest, Hyundai of New Port Richey, sold more than 6,600 new vehicles last year, he said. Fink's group routinely uses data mining to pitch new vehicles to service customers. At Hyundai of New Port Richey, he said, the practice accounts for sales of about 100 vehicles in a typical month. "It's often a 'what if I could do this?' kind of situation," Fink said of such data-driven sales pitches. "The reaction often is: 'Sure, I'd be happy to go out for a test drive,' if we can make the economics work." "It doesn't work every time," he added. "But people are impressed." ■ http://www.engevents.com/events/uswarranty2016 http://www.powerpusher.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Fixed Ops Journal - August 2016

Fixed Ops Journal - August 2016
Contents
Editor’s Letter
Service Counter
Legal Lane
Treading confidently
'Tis the season
Profit Builder
Valet service
Richard Truett
OEConnection
Changing oil:
Photo story
Trade-off
Toyota way
Feedback
Lone star
Airbag recall
Forging links
Top 50
5 Minutes With
Shop Talk
Fixed in Time

Fixed Ops Journal - August 2016