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2. Take a Data-Driven Approach to Working the Service Drive
Maximizing the profitability of your dealership's service drive is more
important than ever.
Not only is the average age of vehicles in operation rising – the
average age of light vehicles in operation rose to over 12 years in 2021,
according to IHS Markit research – ongoing inventory shortages are
pressing more customers to hold onto their vehicles even longer.
Not all service customers will be interested or well-qualified to
purchase, of course. This means that dealers need to mine their
upcoming service appointments for the best prospects and understand
where customers are in their buying journey.
3. Focus on Pre-Owned and CPO Opportunities
Increasingly scarce new vehicle inventories coupled with sky-
high sticker prices on which new vehicles are available has driven
demand for used vehicles significantly in 2021 – especially when
it came to certified pre-owned vehicles (CPO). According to
IHS Markit, CPO sales reached 1,218,255 units through July,
representing an 11% year-to-date year-over-year increase.
Pre-owned conquest auto sales are often heavily product-driven.
Because of this, dealers need to leverage insights from their CRM,
DMS and sales platform to identify prospective leads predicted to
be interested in vehicles already available in their inventory.
Dealership marketing tools powered by predictive analytics are
critical to this process because these tools simplify complicated
buyer journeys and engage pre-owned customers with relevant
offers that speak to their unique situation.
Mastermind data
finds customers who
service their vehicle
at the dealership
are about
2.5X
more likely
to purchase their
next vehicle at
that dealership
Your DMS only gives you a small piece of the puzzle. You need to leverage your CRM, maturity manager
and, ideally, a data mining solution to identify prime opportunities, such as customers who are likely out of
warranty or could benefit from a new product design.
Consider shifting a member or two of your BDC to serve as a service-to-sales liaison, engaging prospects
with personalized offers and transitioning customers from the service lane to the showroom. Some
dealers have taken a similar approach to mining upcoming service appointments for prime trade or
buy-back opportunities, empowering dealers to acquire in-demand trades and flip existing inventory
all from their service drive.
NADA
Pre-owned wholesale
vehicle prices hit a
new record high at the
end of Q3 in 2021, up
27% from the same
time last year.
Remember: As you conquest customers from the competition, you must also protect your current customer
base against competitors trying to do the same. Taking the same data-driven approach, ensure your team is
keeping consistent contact with customers to promote loyalty and prevent defection.
Interested in learning how Mastermind empowers dealers to conquest customers from the competition while
retaining their own? Contact us today.
