Recall Management: New Ways to Sell on the Service Drive While Retaining Customer Centricity
Any action that brings customers a little relief goes a long way. Dealerships who put their customer’s experience at the center of the equation and treat them as their most valuable asset excel.
Sometimes the most important point to meet their most valuable asset is in the service drive, where they can respond to recalls and fix vehicle defects.
Expressing concern for customers’ safety due to a recall and scheduling a time to fix it is a prime example of customer-centricity in action. For Terry Miller, Vice President and GM of Gary Crossley Ford, Recall Management is just one part of an overall focus on customer centricity.
“It allows us to make a different kind of phone call to the customer. And we’re so dedicated to ensuring that our customers get a good experience at the dealership,” Miller says. “This is different from the sales message that people are used to getting. With Recall Management, we can call and invite them into the dealership to help them get their car repaired through the recall.”
The leading-edge service that produces excellent results is AutoAlert’s Recall Management Solution. The customer-centric process shows dealers which of their sold and service customers have daily open safety recalls. The team then connects with customers with a relevant, meaningful conversation via text, call, or email and offers to fix the issue.
“It’s giving us a good reason to call that customer and let them know that we’re concerned about their safety. Ultimately, we’re keeping that relationship intact”, says John Guido, Dealer Operator/Owner of Arlington Heights Ford.
Customer-centric conversations can continue with customers once they arrive at the dealership, such as describing other services available, offering an opportunity to trade keys with a newer model, and lowering their monthly payments. AutoAlert quickly indicates which customers are in-market and looking to buy. It even provides talk tracks and printable offers that the customer can take home to review.
3 Ways to Sell More Cars Using Recall Management
We’ll examine how AutoAlert dealerships use Recall Management to succeed in three pro tips for selling on the service drive.
1. Get Started on the Right Foot
Getting started on the right foot pertains to the dealership and the customer. A conversation that begins with helping the customer at no cost will be received positively.
Customer-centricity and relationship-building are natural components of Recall Management, but it doesn’t end there. The process also allows dealers to narrow their focus to customers more likely to continue doing business with them.
Instead of randomly calling an entire list of recall customers (some dealerships report 15,000+ recalls), dealers can focus on customers who live within a certain radius of the dealership. Customers that AutoAlert’s data mining analytics indicate are “in-market” allows them to focus on customers engaged with your dealership and potentially accept their upgrade offer.
It allows dealers to start talking about opportunities quickly and easily. That’s how “win-win” Recall Management is – the dealership and customer benefits are connected.
2. Continue the Personalized Conversation and Plant Seeds
Now that you have a customer coming into your service drive to get their recall completed, it’s important to nurture a long-term opportunity. This requires keeping your team on the same page with every customer’s journey so that each conversation makes the most sense and meets each customer’s unique, changing needs.
Along with resolving the recall, you can rely on AutoAlert’s proactive data for everything needed for each customer (whether they’ve purchased from you or not) to provide options for an upgrade. You’ll even be given which employee should handle each step with the customer to ensure a seamless, speedy experience.
“It’s fantastic and part of our weekly process at every single store when we’re managing the alerts within AutoAlert. We’re using the data to notify, alert our customers, and follow up with a phone call. It’s fantastic. It’s a win-win for everyone!” reports Bob Tasca, Vice President of Tasca Automotive Group
3. Become Top of Mind
When it comes to how your customers feel about having their recall corrected at no cost, there’s no question that it will be positive. People appreciate when you proactively help them, and they’ll remember it.
The next time they need to resolve a recall, complete maintenance work, or are ready for their next vehicle, they will think of your dealership first. They might even refer their family and friends!
Part of the Bigger Picture
It’s always the right time to build relationships with your customers. AutoAlert’s Recall Management gives dealerships an advantageous and easy way to do this.
Because the process is just one part of a customer-centric platform that ensures every touchpoint is personalized and timely, your team can be sensitive and sincere in their interactions with their customers.
Because vehicle recalls will always be a reality, there will always be a resource from which dealerships can draw and connect with customers. Recall Management has created a true touchpoint for dealerships. It’s a gesture of goodwill that lets customers know that somebody is looking out for them.
Want to learn more about AutoAlert’s Service Drive benefits? Click here to learn more about optimizing success with recalls!
