Less than 15 years ago, not a single dealership had a personal computer, digital camera, website, or email address, let alone a person who knew how to operate any of them. Today, most successful dealerships have an entire department dedicated to internet marketing.
For years, the automotive industry has dabbled in customer service and retention from the simple idea of business-reply postcards, to CSI surveys, to a part-time BDC. It is now time to stop dabbling and make customer retention and loyalty a full-time department. Your new retention manager (RM) will work with each department head to develop a retention plan that satisfies your entire business while also taking care of existing customers. Having one retention leader who works with all your department heads will provide economies of scale while also getting everyone on the same page. Sales and service should go hand-in-hand—you cannot have one without the other.
Dedicating a sole professional to the task of building customer loyalty will set your store apart from the rest. Having a RM on staff will demonstrate to your buying public that your dealership is serious about keeping its customers.
Allow your department heads to focus on what they do best—running their day-to-day operations. They should not pretend to be (nor should you expect them to be) marketing, advertising or retention specialists. Anytime you can get your employees to focus and become “specialists” rather than “generalists”, the results will be quickly evident in the form of increased productivity.
Recent NADA studies show that it takes three times more money to acquire a new customer, versus maintaining an existing one. Once you have a retention manager maintaining existing customers, does this mean you can cut your budget by 33 percent since your existing customers keep buying more parts service and new cars from you?
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