Building Value in the Lane

[john.quinn]

It occurs to me that, coming-up through the Sales side of the business, that I’ve spent years practicing and studying about the effectiveness of “building value” into what I’m selling — myriad, multiple ways.


Take F&I for an example — when the salesperson introduces or endorses a product (Pre-Selling) before the customer gets into the F&I office, chances are better that the customer, when faced with a quick Yes or No decision, will say “Yes” vs. the customer who received no intro/endorsement. Pretty basic stuff, right?


But what about the Service side of the business? How are we building value there before that customer says Yes or No to a Service Advisor’s recommendation?


And, in our quest to create better customer service via on-line scheduling, where we ask the customer to choose the services they want (before a consultation), are we impeding our ability to recommend or suggest additional products and services in the Service Lane?


Waddaya think?

 

[Rick Buffkin]

But what about the Service side of the business? How are we building value there before that customer says Yes or No to a Service Advisor’s recommendation?

That is simple! Free Coffee and FREE Wifi. Let me set the stage!

Mr. Customer, you need 4 new tires, a new catalytic converter and your tranmission is shot! I know you only came in today for an oil change. It's a good thing we caught this early!! Sign here and I'll get you another FREE cup of coffee!

See, in that whole sentence, you only picked up on the keywords "Free" and "Coffee" right?!?!?

All kidding aside, thanks for bringing this up @JQuinn. I'm excited to see some of the reply's!!!

 

[john.quinn]

Bueller? Bueller? hahaha...

OK... lemme try it this way... Overall, are our technology solutions in the Service Lane solving the problems we want solved?

 

[CarlosSousa]

@JQuinn - this is a great topic. I read this post over last Sunday and I've been thinking about ever since. This is a really important topic and seems like the key to increasing up-sell percentages. My personal opinion is educating the customer is the best way to pre-sell something on the fixed ops side. Wouldn't you be more likely to take that air filter if you already knew it was going to extend the life of your engine? Wouldn't you change your tires more frequently if you understood how worn tires may translate to a safety risk?

I think the key is for this education effort to go beyond just trying to improve up-sell percentages. It has to stem from a true desire to educate the customer and help them make the right decision. I think if this is the case, everybody will win.

Thinking of implementation - what about fixed ops specific campaigns with videos that explain the importance of specific items (e.g. keeping your air filters clean, rotating at the right intervals, etc.). This would be even more powerful if the video was developed by an unbiased industry expert (i.e. it's not my dealership asking me to buy more, but a technical expert explaining why it's important to do X or Y).

Any thoughts?

 

[john.quinn]

Hi Carlos -- thanks for the response and I'm on-board

I'm thinking that, in addition to campaigns, content needs to be "on-demand" -- being able to answer "why" when the customer has and asks the question. Education is the key.

Of aaaaaaallllllllll the things we can search for on a dealer's site (how many tens of millions of dollars have gone into the ability to search for inventory), asking a website a few basic questions like

Why does my car need it's tires rotated?
How much will it cost?
Where can the shuttle take me?
Who will pick me up?

Probably doesn't lead to the best experience. Agree?

I'm asking, why?? If the average customer purchases once every 3-5 years, but services 5-15 times in the same span, why is 85% of our digital effort spent cultivating the Sales relationship?

The DMS certainly doesn't allocate 85% of its effort to the front end of the business

 

[craigh]

This conversation deserves more attention.

I still meet with dealers on a monthly basis who aren't giving service the attention it deserves.
The impact of satisfaction, trust and education in the service department will have a huge impact on how customers view the dealership as a whole.

 

[Brendan Dolan]

This conversation deserves more attention.

Good thread bump. I totally agree that this topic is under discussed online and in the dealership.

Stores that want to be successful need to build a process that is transparent with pricing, what work is done, when the work will be completed, and what's due next time. If customers know what's happening, how much it costs, what to expect, and are kept in the loop, you've just out shined 95% of the competition.

People sometimes leave over price, but they always leave due to poor communication, and poor explanations, which gives them the perception of low value. Use tools to explain what's happening, when, and why, and they'll be happy to visit you again.

A parallel: a good restaurant tells you how long the table is going to take, you get a text when it's ready, the waiter is there immediately, drinks show up quickly, food shows up when promised, and the taste of the food is relative to the cost. If those go out of line, I don't usually go back.

Service drives need to deliver a better level of service and communication for a few hundred dollar RO than a nice restaurant does over a $50 meal.

The software exists across many vendors. Dealers need to make sure it's embraced and used.

 

[john.quinn]

Stores that want to be successful need to build a process that is transparent...

What do we think transparency looks like?

Services available like, say, an Amazon experience? Select your services, Shopping Cart, Schedule, Status updates like shipping notifications, Check-out, etc?

What does it reeeeeaaaaaaalllly look like? And let's face it... a lot of us are still stuck in some form of "Call for Pricing" on the Sales side. What appetite really exists for true transparency in the Lane?

 

[Brendan Dolan]

Transparency is freely giving information and letting the consumer decide. That's how it works in almost all industries we're used to, but we want to keep hammering a square peg into a round hole in the car biz. I can get a hotel, rental car, flights, etc on one spot by comparing options, but for some reason I still need to go down to the store to talk about my car?

If Southwest said "come down to the airport and lets discuss that ticket price as there are so many options" I wouldn't show up at the airport to learn. I can Door Dash a burger and know when it's being picked up and on its way. Why do we offer less service in our business, especially given the higher ticket cost?

Here's a few snaps. One is an online appointment scheduler with actual pricing, and a better/best service option. Next is a text with a link to the MPI. That MPI recap has vehicle status, cost, and approval/decline.

It's a leap of faith to show info to consumers, but it's how we shop for everything else in life.