Customer communication continues to change as more consumers expect convenient and efficient ways to talk to auto dealerships.
We live in a world where instant communication is the norm. With text messaging, small businesses can start to provide a similar, unique, and seamless form of communication to their customers while building relationships.
On the flip side, we know getting started with texting may not seem easy, so here are some tips and tricks for dealership owners to get a stronger understanding of how, and when to use text messaging to win over more customers.
Today, we’re going to cover five communication strategies that will help your dealership gain new customers, retain customer loyalty, and create better relationships with your clients.
To learn more, keep reading!
1. Use Web Chat to help new customers
There are some ways you can communicate with customers to make the car buying process and dealership experience more enjoyable for them and make the selling process easier for your sales team and organization.
Web Chat makes it easy for customers to have conversations with sales staff because it's nothing like Live Chat. With Web chat, the prospect on your dealership's website simply leaves a name and number and the conversation is continued over text messaging.
Dealerships and auto shops can use Web Chat to quickly book appointments and answer questions with website visitors, and since the name and number are already with the dealership, continuing the conversation is easier than ever.
2. Schedule appointments with text messaging
How can you maintain the customers you already won? The answer can be simple: your service department becoming their #1 choice.
However, appointment scheduling can be a hassle. You're either stuck playing phone tag to catch the customer at the right time, or sending an email that goes straight to junk.
The customer experience in this situation is average at best, and there's too much friction to communicate with your team.
This is a great opportunity to go the extra mile to build that all-important customer loyalty.
Due to the nature of SMS, customers will instantly feel more connected to your business and staff.
The confirmation and reminder texts will be on the forefront of their phone, and the likelihood of a message being missed decreases exponentially while increasing customer satisfaction at the same time.
3. Build relationships the way THEY want
Being able to send a quick text to confirm appointments, follow up, and help answer any concerns a car buyer may have helps build better customer relationships.
It also creates a friendly and casual relationship between your sales staff and your prospects because it mimics the way they interact with friends and family in their day-to-day.
I mean - you would never email your friends to have a conversation!
Let customers know about important updates in an announcement text message.
Not only do text messages have a 99% open rate, but customers who get text message updates feel more like a VIP.
4. Use photos to assist service center inquiries
When it comes to auto repairs, customers may find it difficult to explain the issue they’ve come across. If they have any questions that require expertise before going to the store, customers can send pictures via text to help visualize the problem.
Pictures provide better context on what the issue is and how the auto shop can be of service to them.
Providing a texting platform helps mitigate confusion that could arise if they try to explain the same issue verbally, and helps staff find a solution and schedule them in for a service appointment much faster. Improving customer interactions continuously is key to becoming the customer's #1 choice.
5. Provide Maintenance Tips
It’s important to keep providing value to your customers. A great idea for dealerships and service centers is to send maintenance tips to their current customers.
Let them know that the team is still happy to help out by sending reminders and occasional tips on how they can care for their new vehicles to make them last longer. Customers will appreciate advice from the experts they’ve come to trust!
6. Get Customer Feedback
Collecting, analyzing, and applying customer feedback is key to improving your sales and marketing strategies, developing loyal customers, and informing your dealership’s future efforts.
By sending customers a quick text asking for a review (or even automating that process) you can get instant feedback, and positive reviews, to help you get more customers.
Bonus: Internal communication
Your departments shouldn’t be out to compete with each other for revenue opportunities, but rather should understand that there are ways they can work together to benefit the dealership.
Better communication between employees and departments will help your dealership operate more efficiently and provide a better experience for your customers.
Integrate an internal employee team chat system, this lets your employees communicate with everyone within the dealership. You can store information about a customer, and in the case that you’re not in when they visit again, another employee can quickly find everything they need.
We're here to help
Our goal is to help streamline the process for auto shops and dealerships to stay in touch with their customers and help alleviate any additional pains that come with changing times.
We truly understand the importance of staying in touch with customers and want to help businesses keep that relationship with their customers during this new year.
DemandHub offers several communication tools, including text messaging, Web Chat and Team Chat.
If you have any questions please contact us at support@demandhub.co or call us at +1 800-971-4547.
