With the next Digital Dealer Conference promising to be chock full of the latest in Digital and Social Marketing strategies, I can’t help but ponder the obvious. We are learning great new ways to drive traffic to our dealerships with the commitment that the buying experience will be extraordinary. And the good news is its working! For too many of us, the bad news is the same…..its working.

With the application of the best in market strategies we are now driving phone traffic in a 7 to 1 ratio over internet leads. Why can that be bad news?

Consider this:

In measuring millions of calls, on the average, nearly 1 in 4, yes almost 25% of our sales calls result in the caller not connecting with a sales consultant! On hold hang ups, and blind transfers to Voice Mail have become by far the biggest profit leak for many dealers.

The newest technologies are creating a bottle neck in the oldest technology in the dealership. In the struggle to control costs many dealers have created complicated Phone Trees and short staffed the reception process and the call handlers in our profit centers.

Of course, we need to stay focused on what happens when the call connects....train for the most effective appointment set processes and create a great experience, as promised in our marketing. But first we need to consider our "Callers Journey". Nearly 100% of our customers will start with us on the phone, and 100% will interact with us on the phone after becoming a customer. This journey will drive our retention and define our "personality". 

The expense of creating a great experience with 100% human contact at reception and the profit centers will have lasting R.O.I., and separate us from our competition.