Fixed Ops Journal - June 2017 - 13

FIXED OPS JOURNAL

DIGITAL
continued from Page 12

ing. The goal isn't to generate leads, but to
persuade customers to schedule shop appointments.
Dealerships need to make that process convenient, he says, by embedding links to the
service-scheduling web page from other online pages and in email messages.
A new Google study concludes that nearly
half of vehicle owners between the ages of 18
and 44 prefer to schedule service appointments online. More than two-thirds of customers who are shopping for service make an
appointment within 24 hours, Clark adds.
The Del Grande Dealer Group in San Jose,
Calif., uses the scheduling platform offered by
the service experience provider Xtime at its 14
dealerships.
When a Del Grande store sends email messages to existing customers that promote service specials, a link takes them directly to the
scheduling page on the website. Their vehicle
and personal information is already on file at
the dealership.
Tully Williams, Del Grande's fixed operations director, says customers can breeze
through the scheduling process, which drives
more business to the dealerships' service departments. At several Del Grande stores, he
notes, about half of service appointments are
made online, mostly through email links.
"We have saved customers probably five to
eight clicks because they don't have to remember their user name and password," Williams says. "Who's going to remember their
password for a dealership?
"So now the customer can make an appointment off a digital marketing campaign
and find the special in about three clicks," he
adds.

Learning from Amazon
Jim Roche, Xtime's senior vice president for
marketing and managed services, says it's no
longer enough for service departments to
benchmark what other dealerships and aftermarket providers are doing online.
Instead, Roche says, they need to consider
the ease of online experiences consumers
have with other retail purchases, whether
from Amazon, Home Depot or the local pizza
joint.
"The consumer's expectations of the automotive service experience are shaped outside
of automotive," Roche says. "You can go online to Domino's and configure a pizza. It will
tell you when it's in the kitchen, when it's in

How to market your
service department online
RICK POPELY

foj@autonews.com

Dealers should think big - really big -
and consider building hundreds or even
thousands of service-related web pages, industry analyst Jeff Clark says.
Service departments that fail to market
themselves aggressively online are losing
maintenance and repair jobs to digitally sophisticated competitors, says the executive
vice president of business development for
DealerOn.
Franchised dealerships, Clark notes, sell
only 14 percent of parts, 17 percent of oil
changes and 33 percent of tires to service
customers.
He offers these digital suggestions to improve that performance:
 Gear your website and digital marketing
to keeping current service customers coming back. Offer them loyalty coupons and
discounts, and remind them of the quality
of your shop's work.
 Let these customers know that you would
like to buy their well-maintained used vehicle - and sell them a new car or truck.
 Focus your website initially on basic services, such as oil changes, brakes and tires.
Then add content over weeks and months.
 Use digital media and blog posts to explain products such as tires and batteries,
and the importance of regular maintenance. Include photos and videos of such
things as worn brake pads and rotors.
 Show current service specials and discount coupons on your website. Let service
customers know you provide amenities
such as free car washes, shuttles and loaner
vehicles.
 Give customers the ability to book a service appointment easily online, via personthe oven, when it's in the delivery vehicle and
how many minutes before it arrives for you.
"I can get that experience for a $10 pizza,"
Roche adds, "but I can't get that experience
for a $40,000 car."
Customers who book service appointments
online or respond to an email expect to continue communicating and transacting with
the dealer digitally, Roche says. In a digital
world, he adds, an ideal service visit should
start online and work like this:
"When you arrive at the dealership, [a service adviser] with a mobile device will greet

al computer, smartphone or tablet.

 Provide an online configurator that lets

customers identify the tires available for
their vehicle and shows how much they
cost. Offer an alignment check with new
tires - something that some aftermarket
competitors don't provide.
 If you want to appear prominently on
search engines, especially Google, develop
extensive content on your site that fits the
most popular search terms for vehicle service, such as oil changes, batteries and
brakes. That's called "search engine optimization."
 The same goes for "search engine marketing," paid advertising that pops up in Internet searches. "You want to make sure
that if you're on the paid search side of it,
you've got good quality content to drive
people to you once they've clicked on that
link," Clark says.
 Automakers, suppliers and other vendors provide service-related web content
that dealers can use. Customize that content
for your dealership with unique geographical or brand identifiers.
 Create a full online parts store that allows retail customers to order, pay and arrange shipping for parts digitally.
 Advertise aftermarket parts and accessories on your website. Let customers
know that your service department can
install them, and that both parts and installation are covered by a factory warranty.
 You don't have to be selling all the time.
Use social media such as Facebook and
Twitter to highlight your dealership's involvement in community events and
charities. That builds goodwill among potential service customers.
you at your car, and they will
know why you are there. They
will process you at your vehicle, add anything that needs
to be added and let you sign
with your finger, and you're on
your way.
"When the vehicle moves into
the shop, all that information moves along
Williams:
Click
see DIGITAL,
saver
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JUNE 2017

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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Fixed Ops Journal - June 2017