Templates

[ajholland]

OK, so I am going to go out on a limb and say the majority of us on this board use email templates to follow up with internet customers. The ISM may add a little to it, but it is probably 75-90% template. I've read emails from some of the supposed best internet dealers that my manufacturer reps tell me to secret shop, and they are templates.

Everyone uses email and I firmly believe most customers can tell it's a template...maybe I'm wrong and I have just been looking at templates for too long. So my question is, would a dealership be better off scrapping the templates and letting their ISM write their own emails but still stick to a follow up plan? What if we gave them a book of "ideas" for emails instead templates.

I know, the first objection many give is "you are asking for all kinds of errors or poorly written emails!" That may be true, but if the ISM handling the lead can't write a strong email, should they be handling the leads in the first place? It could be that templates are still the way to go, but I am always looking for something that could make us a little different from the dealer down the street.

 

[Zhendrix]

You'll never know until you try. Personal emails = Slower response times. I like the idea of writing a strong email (if no phone contact is made) to leads that come in with a large amount of data attached. Don't pre-qualify or treat the lead better or worse. Consider all information available and construct a value building personal email.

 

[ddavis]

I like short personalized emails. Most of the manufacturer emails are too long. I believe that customers are less likely to read one that is too long with pictures.

Why not meet with your ISMs and have then propose a couple each?

I had a very simple email that got results. Being short and without pictures, they are less likely to be eliminated by the spam filters. I would go through the CRM and pick out certain models.

(Customer's name)

Thanks for your recent interest in the (model). I wanted to touch base to see if you are still in the market. Right now, we have (state the hook: special incentives, low interest financing, huge discounts or whatever).

Please let me know. Thanks in advance.

(signature)

Customers can see the whole email when they open it. It doesn't look like a template.

I was at a Nissan store and we were 40 units and less than a week away from hitting our goal on retro money. I went back months in the CRM and sent that email to every customer that inquired about an Altima or Maxima. We hit our retro with 4 or 5 to spare. I could blast them off in a short period of time.

I kept an eye on the used cars as they came in. I had a very similar one for used.

Thanks for your recent interest in the (Model). We just got in a really nice (model) that I think you will like. I wanted to touch base to see if your still in the market.

Please let me know. Thanks in advance.

I got a good response on these. If nothing else, it allowed me to eliminate dead leads and find out who wasn't doing adequate follow up.

 

[joe.pistell]

I like a short email and always ask a GREAT QUESTION that could be answered with a short reply.

(aka: answer a question with a question)

 

[mbayo]

Yup. To ensure consistency with response times and reduce the common problems we see with personalized emails, our stores' follow up with non-responders is largely templated too.

Some of those common problems are (I bet you've seen these before)......

1. Subject Lines irrelevant to customer requests made in lead submission
2. Not answering those requests in email body
3. Not offering product alternatives in 1st email response (sending information on just one vehicle)
4. No questions in the email body
5. No call to action at the close to try to move the customer to the next step and.....
6. Of course there are varied levels of spelling and grammar issues we try to reduce by choosing the right people

So, to lessen those problems we built a Playbook with several email options for each step of the overall process with non-responders. Our email follow up with responders is live and untemplated and we try to get customers on the phone as early as possible.

By training on the concepts behind the Playbook templates and comparing their live follow up efforts with responders against those concepts, our goal is to get them thinking sound structure when they type and eventually wean the more experienced staff away from templates altogether. Big job when you have a number of stores, but way worth it!

I agree 100% that short "talky" emails are the way to go after the 1st response (which needs to sound conversational too but have more content). Customers like to scan the content and get to the "meat" quickly.

Also, ending with a STRONG question that tries to escalate process is key to sparking conversation with a non-responder and keeping the flow going with someone who's already talking to you.

I think you're headed down the right path, it's just going to take some time. Sounding different, more personable and better than the competition is definitely the way to go!

 

[Derek Bess]

There is nothing wrong with templates when you are dealing with a high volume of leads. If you are a smaller dealership, I would suggest written emails that are within a template shell.

Again, I've said this before, if you are going to use templates, you need to A/B test the templates to find out what's working for your key demographic. It's a good amount of work to A/B test, but in will be very beneficial in the long run. We all heard the saying "always be selling" the same goes for testing (always be testing).