Why It is Important To Retain Old Customers
Customer retention accounts for a large portion of the dealership business. Car dealers must focus on retaining customers because acquisition marketing costs much more than maintaining existing customers. You’ll spend ten times more and, in some situations, as much as thirty times more on marketing to acquire a new customer. Consumers who return to your business are likelier to spend money at your dealership and recommend your services to their friends and family.
Keeping in touch with old customers is much easier than going after consumers who have never purchased anything at your dealership. You already have a relationship with past buyers and those who frequent your service center, which makes contacting them more likely to result in repeat sales. Sending service offers, special deals, and incentives will keep them returning to your car dealership.
Making Customers Love Your Dealership
Why spend more money on acquisition and conquest marketing when you can spend less on retention campaigns to bring people back to your dealership? The amount of time and resources you’ll use to find a single new customer could result in bringing back multiple car buyers who have visited your showroom in the past.
Customer service is critical to retaining business. You must keep your existing customers happy and treat them well when they visit your dealership. Marketing only acts as a reminder that you exist and keeps them updated on what your dealership offers. Your dealership’s staff’s day-to-day interactions with car buyers and vehicle service customers will make them love you.
Tips For Attracting Car Buyers
One of the biggest reasons car dealer advertising efforts fail is that dealership marketing teams make no effort to connect with their existing car-buying audience. Sending marketing messages that constantly contain the latest offers becomes stale, eventually leading to consumers removing themselves from the dealership’s marketing list or social media pages. Sometimes, they may also block your ads from appearing on their devices.
Make your marketing campaigns fun and informative so your audience looks forward to seeing the latest offers from your dealership. Once you have them in your showroom and they have spent money, ensure you provide a memorable after-the-sale experience by checking on them and offering them an incentive to return to your dealership between purchases.
Acquiring New Dealership Customers
Car shoppers expect transparency in today’s market. They hate doing business with car dealers who are not forthcoming about pricing. This is why companies like Carvana, Car Gurus and CarMax are doing so well. Consumers want to see the price of the vehicle, have easy access to financing and not spend countless hours sitting in a showroom haggling over the car-buying transaction.
The other thing dealerships need to remember when acquiring new customers is maintaining their reputation online. Car shoppers looking for a car dealer will look up reviews to decide whether they want to do business with your dealership. Your entire dealership team should try to provide the best service possible, even if it is a small sales transaction like changing the wipers on a vehicle, because it could make or break your established relationship with the consumer.