Focus on Specific Needs During Economic Incertainty
How Service Departments Can Prevail in Today’s Economy
It’s no secret 2020 upset many aspects of our day to day lives, leaving a general sense of unease. Between threats of job loss, lockdowns, and the overall feeling of caution, it’s hard for retailers to get consumers out of a timid mindset, especially when it comes to their spending habits.
Many individuals who have lost their job are struggling financially, and expenses like car repairs are likely to move to the back of the queue when budgeting their finances. Others who have seen loved ones experience these hardships or have felt a general sense of uncertainty throughout the year are also likely looking to bolster their savings.
Even though car dealerships have been permitted to keep their service departments open, business has been anything but usual. Some customers may choose to forgo the premium service of the dealership for the cheaper repair garage across town. After all, there’s a known perception that dealership service is not as affordable, even when costs are comparable.
With that in mind, widespread uncertainty needs to be taken into consideration by service departments to continue to bring customers in for repairs and maintenance. The good news, however, is there are ways dealerships can adapt.
It’s no secret 2020 upset many aspects of our day to day lives, leaving a general sense of unease. Between threats of job loss, lockdowns, and the overall feeling of caution, it’s hard for retailers to get consumers out of a timid mindset, especially when it comes to their spending habits.
Many individuals who have lost their job are struggling financially, and expenses like car repairs are likely to move to the back of the queue when budgeting their finances. Others who have seen loved ones experience these hardships or have felt a general sense of uncertainty throughout the year are also likely looking to bolster their savings.
Even though car dealerships have been permitted to keep their service departments open, business has been anything but usual. Some customers may choose to forgo the premium service of the dealership for the cheaper repair garage across town. After all, there’s a known perception that dealership service is not as affordable, even when costs are comparable.
With that in mind, widespread uncertainty needs to be taken into consideration by service departments to continue to bring customers in for repairs and maintenance. The good news, however, is there are ways dealerships can adapt.
It’s no secret 2020 upset many aspects of our day to day lives, leaving a general sense of unease. Between threats of job loss, lockdowns, and the overall feeling of caution, it’s hard for retailers to get consumers out of a timid mindset, especially when it comes to their spending habits.
Many individuals who have lost their job are struggling financially, and expenses like car repairs are likely to move to the back of the queue when budgeting their finances. Others who have seen loved ones experience these hardships or have felt a general sense of uncertainty throughout the year are also likely looking to bolster their savings.
Even though car dealerships have been permitted to keep their service departments open, business has been anything but usual. Some customers may choose to forgo the premium service of the dealership for the cheaper repair garage across town. After all, there’s a known perception that dealership service is not as affordable, even when costs are comparable.
With that in mind, widespread uncertainty needs to be taken into consideration by service departments to continue to bring customers in for repairs and maintenance. The good news, however, is there are ways dealerships can adapt.
Communication methods like reminders use customised messaging to gain and retain customers through letters, postcards, and email. You can easily take data of recommended and not completed work and use these methods to personally follow up with customers and build trust, especially in times of unrest. Dealerships can highlight their differentiators with these reminders to instill value in the work they do when compared to independent repair garages. For example, newer vehicles can require specific technical knowledge some non-factory trained mechanics might not have, but your technicians are able and willing to complete the repair. Dealership technicians carry the highest level of expertise on the vehicles they’re servicing. They could even spare car owners from future costs by fixing problems accurately the first time. These reminders can also alert customers of discounts or lowered rates.
Dealerships need to provide customers the best value for their services compared to competitive garages. One way to achieve this is by leveraging technology to improve and streamline existing processes and workflows to create a better experience for both customers and employees. For example, you might eliminate the bottleneck in your service department at the cashier’s desk by implementing a simplified payment system. Not only does this cut down on accounting time and cost, but it allows for faster, more secure processing of customer payments.
Another area that some service departments struggle with is managing parts inventory. By using barcode tracking, inventory is updated automatically, and manual errors are significantly reduced. This means dealerships have properly stocked inventory based on customer demands so they are always ready to service the vehicles walking in the door.
Communication methods like reminders use customised messaging to gain and retain customers through letters, postcards, and email. You can easily take data of recommended and not completed work and use these methods to personally follow up with customers and build trust, especially in times of unrest. Dealerships can highlight their differentiators with these reminders to instill value in the work they do when compared to independent repair garages. For example, newer vehicles can require specific technical knowledge some non-factory trained mechanics might not have, but your technicians are able and willing to complete the repair. Dealership technicians carry the highest level of expertise on the vehicles they’re servicing. They could even spare car owners from future costs by fixing problems accurately the first time. These reminders can also alert customers of discounts or lowered rates.
Dealerships need to provide customers the best value for their services compared to competitive garages. One way to achieve this is by leveraging technology to improve and streamline existing processes and workflows to create a better experience for both customers and employees. For example, you might eliminate the bottleneck in your service department at the cashier’s desk by implementing a simplified payment system. Not only does this cut down on accounting time and cost, but it allows for faster, more secure processing of customer payments.
Another area that some service departments struggle with is managing parts inventory. By using barcode tracking, inventory is updated automatically, and manual errors are significantly reduced. This means dealerships have properly stocked inventory based on customer demands so they are always ready to service the vehicles walking in the door.
Communication methods like reminders use customised messaging to gain and retain customers through letters, postcards, and email. You can easily take data of recommended and not completed work and use these methods to personally follow up with customers and build trust, especially in times of unrest. Dealerships can highlight their differentiators with these reminders to instill value in the work they do when compared to independent repair garages. For example, newer vehicles can require specific technical knowledge some non-factory trained mechanics might not have, but your technicians are able and willing to complete the repair. Dealership technicians carry the highest level of expertise on the vehicles they’re servicing. They could even spare car owners from future costs by fixing problems accurately the first time. These reminders can also alert customers of discounts or lowered rates.
Dealerships need to provide customers the best value for their services compared to competitive garages. One way to achieve this is by leveraging technology to improve and streamline existing processes and workflows to create a better experience for both customers and employees. For example, you might eliminate the bottleneck in your service department at the cashier’s desk by implementing a simplified payment system. Not only does this cut down on accounting time and cost, but it allows for faster, more secure processing of customer payments.
Another area that some service departments struggle with is managing parts inventory. By using barcode tracking, inventory is updated automatically, and manual errors are significantly reduced. This means dealerships have properly stocked inventory based on customer demands so they are always ready to service the vehicles walking in the door.
