In Part 2 of our blog series on how auto dealerships should run more Amazon, we explained how dealers can gain repeat customers by improving the customer’s experience within the service drive. This week will focus on simplifying service appointment scheduling.
Brand loyalty is a huge part of Amazon’s business model. Between 40 and 50 million people in the United States use Amazon Prime, and, as Morgan Stanley estimates, spend around $2,500 on Amazon annually. This makes brand loyalty a very lucrative consumer behavior that auto dealerships should strive to mimic.
Shouldn’t a dealership’s scheduling process be as easy as pushing a button?
Amazon has the Dash button, where customers push a button to reorder everyday essentials, making brand loyalty easier to attain. Shouldn’t a dealership’s scheduling process be as easy as pushing a button? Emails are the gateway to an easy scheduling process. They also keep customers aware of upcoming or recommended vehicle services.
Amazon users desire a quick and easy shopping experience. These same customers seek painless experiences when they need their vehicles serviced. Auto dealerships that possess the ability to make service or appointment scheduling as easy as Amazon will win customers’ loyalty. A modern dealer management system should have the capability to send automated emails to customers with vehicles that are due for service. These simple emails make scheduling service appointments quick and painless.
67% of shoppers do not finalize online dealership transactions. Of those, 97% of mobile car shoppers fail to finalize their online transactions. The main reasons are:
- The checkout process takes multiple clicks or the checkout button is hard to find
- Shoppers question the safety of their personal information online
- Shoppers are required to make an account before checking out
Taking these reasons into consideration, make sure that your car dealership’s service scheduling emails are optimized for mobile and build trust. While it’s impossible to keep your abandonment rate at 0%, how can those customers return if they leave the scheduling process?
When the reminder email is personalized with service discounts, the rate of success is much higher…
Emails reminding customers about upcoming vehicle service milestones help get customers back in the door. A simple email triggered by a vehicle’s estimated mileage for oil changes, air filter, coolant flushes and other OEM recommendations makes customers more willing to schedule services. When the reminder email is personalized with service discounts, the rate of success is much higher and creates brand loyalty.
Make sure your dealer management system (DMS) is up to date so that your auto dealership can truly emulate the way Amazon does business. When you focus on the customer experience you will win your share of fixed ops revenue.
To learn more about Dominion DMS and the new features we are adding, call 877.421.1040.
