Test Driving the Dealership Web Site
Having More Touch Points Creates Better Business AccelerationWritten by Amy Peck
Historically, the focus for dealers on their Web sites has been sales, sales and more sales. Dealers have become more and more sophisticated in attracting more leads: from search engine-friendly sites to pay-per-click services and paying for thirdparty leads. Today, there is an emerging trend that helps dealers expand their customer relationships and put the Web to work in the dealership’s fi xed operations department. The trend is online service reservations, and it’s a new way for dealers to look at their Web site and a new way to expand customer relationships to a 24/7 venue. Dealers can now harness the power of the Internet and put it to work for them in fi xed operations and online appointment scheduling.
Consumers, it seems, operate 24/7/365. A dealership that offers convenient access to quick, easy ways to have a vehicle serviced is one way to drive consumer loyalty and repeat business for the service department and the dealership. Research has shown that for those new vehicle owners who return to the dealer for service and have a good experience, 55 percent of them typically will buy their next car from that same dealership.
So what do dealers need to do to turn their Web sites into service appointment and customer loyalty generators?
First, drive consumers to the dealership Web site:
- The steps dealers use today to generate their Web business — ensuring search engine-friendly sites, pay-per-click advertising, TV, radio, and newspaper advertising — are working.
- Dealers also can use their lead management tool to generate a servicespecifi c e-mail advertising campaign to their current customer base. This is an inexpensive way to reach a large base of current or potential service customers by sending a discount coupon or other incentive and including a link directly into the dealership’s online service area.
The second step is to make sure the dealership’s Web site is a place where customers can actually schedule service, not just fi ll out a “contact me” form. Real online scheduling, complete with a confi rmation, is like keeping an advisor on duty 24/7/365.
- When scheduling an appointment directly from the dealer’s Web site, consumers should be able to select the service(s) that they are interested in having done or enter free-form text describing an issue that doesn’t fi t into the selected maintenance services offered. Dealers may also want customers to have the option to choose services that were recommended previously but not performed.
- Consumers should be offered the ability to select a preferred date and time, based on service advisor availability. Dealers will also need to allow the consumer to enter additional information such as whether they would be willing to wait, would like a loaner, would like to take a shuttle, and so on.
- Consumers should receive a confi rmation e-mail after scheduling as well as a reminder e-mail prior to their appointment.
While the goal is to keep the techs busy and their bays full, dealers also want that goal to translate into profi t. So, it is crucial that the online service scheduling functionality also helps increase repair orders and repair order dollars. Dealers should keep these things in mind when turning their online dealership into a profi t generator:
- The dealership’s online scheduling tool should work as a customer initiated upsell tool. Offer the consumer a list of maintenance services to choose from. This will directly add to customer pay hours sold.
- Allow customers access to view any outstanding recalls or campaigns. This will promote and drive warranty sales and keep dealership customers more current on satisfying recalls (also helps to increase CSI).
Online service scheduling will not — and should not — replace service advisors, but online scheduling can change how advisors manage their time. With appointments made online, advisors will spend less time on the phone. If the online appointment data integrates with the DMS, less time is spent re-entering information — and possibly making an error. All of this leaves more time for advisors to spend with each customer so that they can focus on more effi ciently solving customer problems and more effectively up-selling services.
While the Internet has been a successful channel for new and used vehicle sales for some time, service scheduling on the Internet has been slower to develop. With more and more current and potential consumers touching the dealership through Web sites, in addition to the physical store, there is a ripe opportunity to open new avenues to reach consumers and, most importantly, to generate more business.
In today’s multi-tasking world, consumers continue to demand more convenience around online activities and transactions. New technologies and processes that reach out to build stronger relationships will help a dealership stand out for consumers and pave the way to more business success. Dealers who create more touch points for consumers — at the consumer’s convenience — will not only survive; they will thrive.
Amy Peck is the product planning manager for Reynolds and Reynolds Web Solutions. She can be contacted at 866.618.8405, or by e-mail at apeck@autosuccessonline.com.Appeared in AutoSuccess Magazine October 2008
