When it comes to sales communications, standardizing them is critical for quality control and maximizing sales conversions. The results of studies by TAS Group and the Harvard Business Review have revealed that businesses that implement a sales process outperform businesses that do not. 70% of the companies that follow a structured sales process are high […]

Chargebacks due to fraudulent transactions cost the auto industry over 6 billion dollars* per year. Dealership fraud was at an all-time high even before COVID struck:     A hacking attack occurs every 39 seconds.*   In 2018 credit card fraud reached $6.8 billion in the US.*    New account fraud is up 13%.*   Account takeovers […]

Car dealerships have an employee retention problem. The employee turnover rate currently stands at 67%*, a number that has risen steadily for a decade. This trend presents a costly problem for dealerships, who lose millions of dollars when employees take their customers with them to the next dealership.

The COVID-19 (Coronavirus) pandemic has made widely felt impacts on the automobile industry, vehicle manufacturers are scrambling to mitigate the damage. With car sales declining, automakers are offering a variety of incentives including deferred payments, rebates and discounts.

These Practices Will Keep Your Business Strong During The Soft Economy Your dealership is not powerless in the wake of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. Yes, the economy is soft, but you can still generate service revenue and make car sales. The trick is to modernize your dealership, to take it beyond 2020. The pandemic may […]

People are extremely hesitant to part with their money during a time when many have been laid off and businesses are dealing with a soft market. However, they also need their cars and they need them to function. Therefore, your service department has a demand it can fulfill. The trick is getting customers to trust […]

The Coronavirus outbreak has given the United States economy a gut punch. Industries are reeling from mandated shutdowns and thousands of people have lost their jobs. Naturally, this has caused consumer spending in some sectors to grind to a halt.

Reducing in-person contact, or even eliminating it entirely, is no longer a luxury. In the Coronavirus era where social distancing has become the new norm, giving your service customers the option of contact-free appointments has become mandatory.

Social distancing is the new normal, but that does not mean your car sales need to suffer as a result. The Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has changed many aspects of the way people do business and auto dealerships are no exception. Customers want to know that you have put certain measures in place. For this reason, you […]

It can be extremely difficult to retain customers who have leased a vehicle from your dealership. In many cases, once the lease ends, they return the car and you never see them again. They take their business to a different dealer. You lose out on a lease renewal or vehicle sale and all of the […]

Your dealership has the chance to get a new lease or sell a new vehicle every time a customer pulls into your service bay. This situation offers you several different opportunities: Acquire new inventory that will sell at maximum profit Sell a vehicle to a customer more frequently Get a customer into a new lease […]

Implementing digital technology into your dealership’s car sales process is a highly effective way to connect with customers on a personal level and customize their experience. Your customers have come to expect this level of service in the interactions they have with brands. This includes automotive dealerships.

Acquiring inventory is a challenge that all auto dealerships face. Wholesale prices are high, while the supply of quality vehicles available for sale at auction is low. Do not forget about exorbitant auction fees. Then there is the issue and cost of transporting these vehicles to your sales lot. It is tricky to do so […]

Tracking down cars that meet the parameters of your vehicle buyback program can be challenging and time-consuming. However, it is necessary to ensure the program is profitable. Successfully pulling off this feat requires careful coordination between your sales and service departments, as well as tactfully approaching the customers whose vehicles you want to purchase. With […]

Selling a customer a new vehicle is just half of the battle. Losing customers to a competitor once they are ready to replace it is far too easy. Customer retention is one of the biggest struggles dealerships face. You will drastically increase your chances of selling your customers their next car if you stay in […]

There has been a steady increase over the past few decades in the number of United States residents who speak a language other than English. A 2010 United States Census brief revealed compelling statistics: The Latino population increased by 15.2 million between 2000 and 2010. Latinos accounted for more than half of the total United […]

Powerful & Advanced Fraud Protection FraudProtect™ from TEXT2DRIVE™ partnered with Kount, an award-winning company that uses the advanced fraud prevention approach, to offer your dealership a virtually complete defense against fraud. Kount was voted one of the top 10 financial fraud protection solutions of 2018 and 2019.  Advanced fraud protection examines 400+ data points and […]

Customers Spend $125* More When Videos Are Sent A robust audience of dealership personnel had everything to gain when they joined the TEXT2DRIVE™ video communication webinar that was held on November 14th, 2019. Using the video app, service technicians can easily record and send videos to customers in which they point out repairs that need […]

There are compelling reasons why text messaging has become one of the main ways that people communicate. It is fast, convenient and can be done anytime and in just about any setting.  Text messaging does not discriminate; people who are hearing or speech impaired or deaf can read and respond to a text without any […]

The makers of communication platforms love to claim their solutions are automated, but many lack true automation. In order to qualify as true automation, a solution must have the capability to operate or control a process by a highly automatic means. Intelligent automation, by its very nature, reduces the level of human intervention required. It […]

“Less is more” is a mantra many dealership service department managers have been forced to adopt as their mantra. You’ve likely been plagued by the following issues: increasing profit margins, understaffing, not enough hours in the day, recommended repair approvals that move at a snail’s pace, a lack of sufficient square footage in your repair shop […]

Are vehicle safety recalls a problem for your service department?  Wait, how is this possible? Between being mandated by law, issued by manufacturers and no additional cost to the consumer, safety recalls are a gold mine for any dealership. The problem is, this gold mine is largely untapped by the majority of service departments.

Service departments that lack a strategy focused on making sure parts do not sit unused on shelves can quickly end up with an obsolescence issue. When customers fail to come in for a scheduled repair for which a part was ordered, or a part gets ordered twice by mistake and the error is not caught […]

If you do not think that customer retention can make a significant impact on your service department revenue, consider the following: Acquiring a new customer costs more money than retaining an existing customer. It can cost a dealership up to 7x more to acquire a new customer than it does to retain a customer it […]

15.37%* Of Customers Who Received Reminders Had Service Performed In Less Than 30 Days Trying to keep track of multiple OEM schedules as they pertain to each customer’s vehicle perfectly illustrates the conundrum that many service departments find themselves facing.  Recommended maintenance is a solid potential source of revenue for dealerships, but traditionally, capitalizing on […]

Showing A Customer Necessary Repair Work Using Video, Suburban Volvo Obtained An Approval For $4,000 In Recommended Repairs Suburban Volvo discovered firsthand how powerful video can be when it comes to obtaining customer approval for recommended repairs. This is significant. Getting approval from customers for repairs recommended by your service staff can be tricky.

The average vehicle owner is not a mechanic. When it comes to recommended repairs, they need to be shown the issue in a clear and easily understood way. Customers will fully comprehend the necessity of the repair work when it is presented using tactics such as video and voiceover.

Dealerships Enjoy An Average 6.5% Show Rate Increase Due To Automated Service Appointment Reminders Despite hundreds of thousands of dollars in potential revenue to gain, far too many dealerships are missing the mark when it comes to winning over and retaining repeat business. The process starts with encouraging customers to use their service department and […]

When it comes to turning around recommended work that customers decline, there are many factors to consider. One of the most important is the possibility that the vehicle owner was never informed in the first place. This can happen for several reasons. For example, someone other than the vehicle owner may have picked it up […]

Previously Declined Service Reminders Increase Service Dept Revenue by $6,643 on Average 12.65% of customers contacted about declined recommended repairs open a repair order (RO) within 30 days at dealerships that use TEXT2DRIVE™. This response amounts to an additional $6,643 on average from January 2019 to February 2019 due to automated declined service reminders.

Dealerships that use TEXT2DRIVE sent customers a total of 4.7 million text messages – 76.4% of those messages Were automated – in March of 2019. Aside from the mechanisms of vehicles and the computers you use to conduct business, you may not consider technology a critical part of operations at your dealership.

Dealerships using TEXT2DRIVE sent customers a total of 4.7M text messages – 76% were automated! Maintaining clear, productive communication with customers is tricky. The busy lives of many people make it challenging to deal with snail mail, clean out their email inboxes and take phone calls. Getting customers to respond, even if they do any […]

How To Effectively Use Intelligent Automation Powered by Artificial Intelligence (AI) In Your Service Department Well-timed, non-intrusive communication with customers is essential for fueling the overall success of your service department. It is imperative to keep your service department at the  forefront of customers’ minds from the day they purchase a new or used vehicle […]

Clear communication is vital to the success of any business – and for automotive dealerships, it is the very lifeblood. Keeping customers informed about their repairs, eliciting responses from them when their vehicle is due for repair and keeping records of conversation are all critical indicators of success.  This might sound like a tall order […]

Using Video Increases Service Revenue, Boosts Sales & Improves Customer Service  A whopping 96% of Americans own cell phones, and of this vast group, 81% own smartphones. The majority of smartphone owners use their devices to engage in two activities: text messaging and watching videos.  It makes sense, then, that a full-featured communications platform that […]

Low customer satisfaction index (CSI) can cost dealerships millions of dollars in lost opportunities. Think of CSI scores as another form of reviews – only these “reviews” make even more of an impact because J.D. Power reports on them.

Consumers have many options when it comes to transportation these days. Uber and Lyft, taxis, public transportation, electric cars, the future adoption of self-driving cars and high gas prices have made it enormously tempting to ditch their vehicles altogether. This reality can make keeping up with vehicle sales seem nearly impossible at times. Factor in […]

There is one simple yet powerful step your sales staff can take to increase the number of vehicles they sell: text message shoppers videos of cars in which they have already expressed interest or that meet their preferences.

You have enough going on in your service department without wasting time on ineffective communication tactics that leave customers unhappy and put your staff behind schedule. At the same time, an adequate amount of communication is critical for keeping your customer satisfaction index (CSI) scores up. So, does this leave you stuck between a rock […]

Your service department could be making money on recommended work – if it was actually recommended to the customer. We said “IF.” One of the common reasons services show as being declined is, the customer did not know about it – either because the service advisor failed to tell them or because the wrong person […]

When it comes to selling cars, you can never get too much time. Every minute gained is time you can invest in pursuing qualified prospects and making another sale. Communicating with customers throughout the selling process and following up with them after a car sale is time-consuming, yet critical to the success of your dealership.

Did You Know Text Messaging Recall Notices To Customers Increase Service Revenue & Decrease Time Between Open Repair Orders? Well it is true! Safety recalls are one of the most significant sources of revenue for your service department – when they are completed. 80% of manufacturer mandated recalls are never actually serviced.

Dealerships are missing out on as much as $99 billion in annual service revenue due to lack of customer retention.  Only about 30% of consumers take their vehicles to dealerships for repairs, while about 50% of consumers get repairs done at independent repair outlets, tire stores and quick-lube shops. The remaining 20% use the services […]

When it comes to communicating with dealerships, these days customers want a hands-on digital customer service experience – but not necessarily in the sense you may think.

The best communications platform in the world will not work for your dealership if it is too complicated for some of your staff to learn or customers to respond. Time is money, and the more time they have to spend learning the system and asking questions about it, the more potential revenue goes down the […]

Keeping the lines of communication open with employees and customers at a busy automotive dealership is challenging when you have so many other areas to consider. While communication may seem like a minor issue, a gap in it can become extremely costly.

Sending videos of recommended repairs to customers using the new TEXT2DRIVE™ mobile app increases customer pay by $125 per repair order (RO). Average customer pay when videos are sent: $276.64 Average customer pay when videos are not sent: $151.84

They Strongly Suggested A Partnership With Text Messaging Software Companies To Use Their Proven Platforms To Increase CSI Responses, Strengthen Their Brand & Improve Retention

To serve as an effective communication platform that meets today’s consumer standards and the unique needs of automotive dealerships, a communication platform must integrate seamlessly with your dealership management system (DMS) and business development center (BDC). 

In a perfect world, original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and customers would never change the maintenance schedule on their vehicles. However, as you are well aware, this is not the case. And when the OEM alters their schedules for newer vehicles and technology, or customers change their appointment because they’re too busy, keeping up with it can quickly turn into […]

Better Communication, Better Training We know how it is. As a sales manager, it is your job to make sure your salespeople are doing their job properly and that new additions to the sales team are receiving the right level of training. Both are much easier said than done. 

Improved Access & Convenience Of Service Department Coupons Is A Revenue Generating Powerhouse! TEXT2DRIVE™ is a sales and marketing solution tailored to the needs of both dealerships and customers. The first of its kind in the automotive marketplace years ago, the tool facilitates seamless communication with customers, automating many tasks to free up your time […]

A short code is a five or six digit number (37483). A long code is a 10-digit telephone number (855-299-1099). But the difference isn’t just the length. There are various legal and technical differences in the way each number is used. There are also reasons why you should use one over the other. It depends […]

Improving Customer Satisfaction Through Text Messaging Can Better An Auto Manufacturer’s Brand Awareness & Sales While Auto Manufacturers (MFRs) rely on dealers to “rep” their products to consumers, they needn’t—and shouldn’t—take a back seat to managing the customer experience. The customer’s experience & satisfaction at the dealership directly affects the overall brand & sales of the […]

How Auto Dealers Can Avoid Potential High Fines From Text Message Marketing Lawsuits Texting is a unique and powerful marketing tool for your auto dealership. It is also subject to unique regulations which if violated can have powerful financial consequences. Not text messaging certain information can get you just in much trouble.

Text messaging is a time saver…one Volvo dealership reports that service advisors save as much as 40 hours a month using the TEXT2DRIVE™ messaging platform to notify customers of service intervals, repairs completion and follow-up in place of leaving a voicemail. What’s even better than saving time and money?

TCPA & FCC Regulations, Rules, Penalties And Examples Regarding TEXT MESSAGEs & Privacy  We all know it’s illegal in most states to text and drive. We also know that effective text messaging increases your sales and promotes customer loyalty. What many auto dealers may not know, however, is there are laws enforced by the Federal […]

There’s a little-known secret in the auto industry and that best kept secret is that recalls are a huge money maker for auto dealers. In fact, 80% of manufacturer’s safety recalls are never serviced. That’s a huge chunk of revenue being left on the table for auto dealers to take advantage of.

Technology is changing everything these days. It’s changing the way we communicate with each other, it’s changing the way we shop, and it’s definitely changing the way customers interact with their auto dealer’s service department.

Texting while driving isn’t very smart, but texting within your auto dealership is. If you’re an auto dealer or in auto sales this is a must read. The World Is Advancing, Don’t Get Left Behind Everyone assumes that the auto dealership is an old boys club, which hasn’t been impacted by technology, but this couldn’t […]

An Actual Case Study About Hebert’s Town & Country Improved Communication Is A Dealership’s Key To High CSI Scores! TEXT2DRIVE™ is a revolutionary text message marketing and sales tool developed specifically for dealerships. In many ways, it automates and significantly improves communication with your customers.

Recently, Dave Bushnell, Service Manager at Sandberg Volvo Cars in Lynnwood, Washington reported a dramatic increase in their dealership’s CSI (customer service index) score since switching to TEXT2DRIVETM. They came to us looking for the best way to communicate with their customers, but weren’t sure how to close the gap.

We’ve all heard it. “The Survey.” It’s that seemingly harmless questionnaire that can end up losing crucial sales or even bankrupt an auto manufacturer altogether if left unattended. Don’t take this as a scare tactic; take this as reality. Whether we agree with it or not, the Customer Satisfaction Index (CSI) is crucial for all […]