All ADM Blog Posts Tagged 'customer' (720)

This question was posed by a great dealer friend of mine, Todd Caputo from Sun Chevrolet the other day. Are dealers spending so much money and time on technology, implementation and the management of all these tools that it is distracting them from the fundamentals of the business of selling cars at a profit and managing the customer…

At NADA many exhibitors hyped their digital retailing solutions to support online vehicle transactions. While no one has cracked the code for a complete, seamless online transaction, there are several great solutions that provide enough functionality to meet consumer demands. After all, consumers are…

For car dealers, the opportunity to create loyal customers might start with a sale, but true loyalty is created in the service department. According to a 2017 IHS Markit study, the average length of car ownership is nearly seven years. That's a long time to maintain a relationship with someone until the next sales cycle.

So, the focus must be…

Read the headlines and you see it everywhere: online used vehicle sales are booming.

Carvana is expanding into dozens of new markets and although it has yet to turn a profit, its vehicle unit sales more than doubled and gross profit nearly tripled in Q3 2018. The retailer just announced $2 billion in financing from Ally…

Some of the best garages are the ones that focus on customer service and employee development. There are other concerns that will crop up when it comes to managing your auto repair shop. Here are some of the methods that you can employ that will give you a leg up on your competition.

Establish Customer Friendly Hours

Having hours that…

It’s a well-known fact that people buy from people (or companies) they like. There are certainly many different ways to get customers to like your dealership, from providing a great customer experience to being active in your local community.

However, consumers are increasingly finicky when choosing where to buy or service their vehicle. In…

91% of service customers defect once they are out of warranty, and those are a dealership’s most profitable customers. What can your dealership do to help retain these valuable customers?

Tire sales can easily distinguish your dealership from its competition and decrease defection, but only if they are promoted and sold differently than how…

Customers don’t necessarily arrive at your dealership expecting a great experience. When it comes to service, many dread a higher-than-normal repair bill. They expect to hear additional maintenance is needed, but don’t want to spend a lot of time at the dealership and can get annoyed if made to wait longer than anticipated.

Whether this…

As more dealers turn to fixed ops to grow profits, it's important not to overlook the power of video. Video is a great tool for building customer trust because it allows you to address the perception that dealerships charge too much or try to sell customers unnecessary repairs.

An effective video marketing strategy for your service department…

As dealers face mounting pressure to exceed sales and service quotas for the year, the ability to find new customers is key to reaching goals. But conquesting is never easy, primarily because you have to rely on third-party data instead of the first-party customer data in your DMS.

Partnering with the right marketing vendor is the first step.…

It’s a common scenario: drivers eating, texting, talking on the phone, taking care of personal grooming, or even reading while on the road. Loosely termed “distracted driving,” it includes any activity drivers engage in when they’re behind the wheel, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

A recent AutoLoop study identified the most common of those activities among morning commuters while driving. With a remarkable 48% of…

After an unprecedented period of sales volume growth, the prediction for a flat Seasonally Adjusted Annual Rate (SAAR) in the coming years has significant implications for dealerships. As competition for new vehicles heats up, front-end margins will continue to decline, forcing more dealers to focus on back end…

In our industry, conversion rates are horrible. A great dealer “might” convert at a higher rate, but many are missing the boat on the majority of their website visitors. There are many reasons why this is true. However, the sad fact remains that it is.

Imagine making some simple tweaks to your website…

I think it’s fair to say that automotive technicians are getting harder to find. These days, less people are choosing a career in automotive repair, even though technicians make great money and many need little or no formal college education or previous experience. Look at independent repair facility employment ads and…

The good news? To date, automotive sales have remained stronger than many analysts originally predicted, with customers of all ages continuing to buy both new and pre-owned vehicles. Considering some of the earlier ominous forecasts, it’s no wonder numerous retailers are…

Have you ever noticed how the market values dealerships versus how it values Software as a Service (SaaS) businesses that derive income from the same automotive revenue stream? SaaS businesses such as CDK trade at mid-20x P/E ratios while dealers trade at 4-6x operating profit.

One major reason for this…

It hasn’t been that long ago that customers were only able to handle customer service issues in person or by phone. Now, of course, there are many options for customers including social media, chat or through reviews. What would you do if a customer were standing in front of you paying you a compliment? Hopefully, you…

Arguably, one of the most important marketing channels any dealership has is their website. Think about it. How much money do you spend simply to get customers there? When you combine all marketing efforts including, but not limited to, SEO, SEM, some third-party listing sites and…

Dealerships spend a lot of money on leads. The bigger the store, the more money spent. And, added to that expense are staffing costs and the time and effort involved in trying to engage with consumers who submit the leads.

In the car shopping process…