Car Dealer Marketing Tips
8/28/06

Always be on the lookout for good marketing ideas.

FOUR TIPS FROM MY CAR DEALER
By: Matt Michel


I took my car in for service last week. Like always, I was on the alert for new marketing ideas. Marketing ideas are everywhere if you will only open your eyes. In this case, my eyes were open wider than usual since I was doing business with a service company. I especially like observing service companies. Here are four tips I picked up from the car dealer.

OFFER A HEADS UP
My car was in the shop all day. About an hour before it was ready, a representative from the dealer called to give me a heads up so that I could make my way to their shop and pick up my car.

Often, in-home service companies schedule with broad windows of time. This drives homeowners nuts, but many companies still hesitate to commit to less than a four-hour window. What if you offered a heads up the second the previous call is complete? You could call and say, “Hi Mrs. Jones, I’m calling to let you know the technician has been dispatched from his last call before yours and should be arriving in a half hour or so.”

Some would consider this common courtesy. If so, it’s all too uncommon. It will make you stand out.

It will also prevent situations where the technician arrives and no one answers the door. The homeowner knows she should be available in 30 minutes, preventing situations like the one in the movie, “The Cable Guy,” where the technician arrives the second the customer steps into the shower.

GIVE PEOPLE IMPRESSIVE TITLES
The guy I dealt with carried “Assistant Service Manager” as his title. He wasn’t an assistant service manager. He was what the car industry commonly calls a service advisor. Service advisors run interference between the customer and the mechanics. I could be wrong, but I suspect that service advisors know a little about cars, but not enough to fix them. Plus, they’re better with customers than the typical mechanic. They advise customers about service. Hence the title, service advisor.

Assistant service manager sounds better. They probably feel better about their jobs because they’re able to tell friends, neighbors, and relatives they’re the assistant service manager. The title also helps them in their dealings with customers.

Who keeps your customers up-to-date when your customers schedule service? Is it your dispatcher? What if you gave your dispatcher a nicer title? “Hi, Mrs. Jones, this is John, the Customer Service Manager. I’m calling to let you know the technician has been dispatched from his last call before yours and should be arriving in a half hour or so.” It’s something to think about.

EVERYONE LIKES COOKIES
When I was handed the invoice, I was also handed a cookie. The cookie was in a plastic, heat sealed package, tied with a ribbon. What was unusual was the cookie carried the car manufacturer’s logo. It was a very nice touch.

The cookie company put a sticker on the back of the packaging that contained nutritional information and their website (www.the-cookie-company.com). This is smart marketing all by itself.

I looked them up. The cookie was smaller than the ones shown on their website. My guess is the cookie cost a buck. That was one heckuva nice impression for a dollar.

MAKE YOUR INVOICES COMMUNICATE
When the service advisor – oops, the assistant service manager called to say my car was ready, he explained what was found and fixed. All I heard was that it was fixed. I was thinking that it was ready just in time for me to slug it out down LBJ freeway during rush hour. When I picked up the car, I was talking on my mobile phone. Only later did I wonder what was done. I pulled out the invoice and there was a short paragraph description.

Isn’t it time someone developed the software to print service invoices in the truck, complete with full descriptions by flat rate task number?

And while they’re at it, why not include the add-on special of the week.


Source: Comanche Marketing. Reprinted by permission.
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Copyright © 2004 Matt Michel