It has already been established that the most exciting time during the sales process is the delivery.  A perfect delivery can erase a debauched meet and greet, poor finance service, and the arduous negotiation over a couple of hundred dollars.  After spending hours with your customer, how do you want them to remember your dealership?

Your customer will remember your dealership every month they have to make their payment.  They will think of your dealership each time they pay for an oil change.  They will recall their experience with your dealership every time they pass the same make and model on the highway.  Your customers will even remember your dealership when they are ready to purchase their next vehicle. 

How your customer remembers their experience will determine whether or not they will make their next purchase from you or the dealership down the road.  This experience will define the message your customer bequeaths to all of their friends and family.  A dealerships reputation is established by the experience they create with their customers.

Most dealerships utilize the “three C’s” at the point of delivery.  See your car.  See your keys.  See you Later.  Why should your dealership be any different?  Right?  Let’s face it.  You have spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on advertising, sales staff, and operations.  Your dealership is beautiful both inside and out.  You have a great selection of vehicles.  So why does the delivery matter to you?  You have customers lining up at the door because your prices are the lowest around!  A great delivery experience will not benefit you today.  You have already made the sale.  All of your hard work to earn the business for that one customer has finally paid off.  What do you really think that customer is worth to you once you have sold them a vehicle?

Immediate Sales Opportunities 

Americans own 2.7 vehicles per household and replace one of those vehicles every two years.  Based on these numbers, the opportunities are enormous.  Your existing customer base is worth hundreds of thousands of dollars in residual revenue.  For example, if you averaged 200 cars sold per month each year for a period of 5 years you would have accumulated a customer base of 12,000.  Each household from these 12,000 customers has an additional 1.7 vehicles which equates to 20,400 additional sales opportunities or 4080 new sales per year.  To break it down further, those figures will show you that there are 340 new sales per month.  Of the 12,000 vehicles that you sold over the previous 5 years 60% of them are now 24-60 months old.  That would provide your dealership with 7,200 immediate sales opportunities.

Referrals

If each of your customers were a satisfied customer and remembered the positive experience you provided them during the delivery process, and they shared this experience with one other potential customer; the numbers grow exponentially.  If the average household has 2.7 vehicles and you sold 12,000 vehicles over 5 years (200 vehicles a month over 5 years) then your customer base would provide your dealership with 32,400 referral sales opportunities.  That would be an extra 6,480 potential customers per year or 540 additional potential customers per month.

In addition to an increase in sales your dealership will see higher CSI Scores, added fixed operations revenue, superior employee retention, and stronger dealership branding.

Your customers have the immediate opportunity to share their great experience with the world before they drive off in their new ride.  With Facebook, Yelp, Pinterest, Yahoo, Google, and more the dealership marketplace has expanded exponentially.  Your customers will share their experience.  What your customers are saying about you is controlled by the “show” you provide.  A satisfied customer represents generations of sales opportunities.

Is your customer follow-up program working?  Is it the same as every other dealership?  Creating loyalty from your customer is not an overnight development, but rather a sincere progression in building strong relationships.  A customer loyalty program is not one that is pieced together, but it is a way of doing business and will work only as good as it is put together.   Customers want to purchase from dealerships that truly care about their business.  Today’s consumer has more choices then they have ever had.  Make your dealership their choice for generations!

Good luck and we look forward to seeing you at the top!