-Service Customer Retention (SCR) Strategy
Retention ratios are a very important part of what we do in the car business. When it comes to the Service Department we gauge our SCR (Service Customer Retention) scores on a few key areas. Many Manufacturers say that a customer is retained when they visit your service department 2 times within a 12-month span. In other words, Dealer Service Retention (SCR) measures the percentage of customers returning to the same dealer for service within 12 months of their most recent transaction. Not all manufacturers use this exact formula but this is a good example.

This metric represents a weighted average of dealer performance. They look at these 3 areas:

1.       Service Customer Retention
2.       Service Market Share
3.       Service Customer Retention Efficiency

-Service Customer Retention (SCR) is gauged by the number of vehicles serviced as a Customer Paid Repair Order (CPRO) in the last year that is within 1 year of the previous sales or service transaction divided by the total number of New and Certified Used Vehicles sold by your store in your PMA in the last 24 months plus the number of vehicles (up to 15 years old) with the Customer Paid R.O. from your dealership in the last 24 months. When a customer becomes a part of your SCR denominator you have a 12-month window in which to retain the.

Example:

Number of Vehicles Serviced
One Customer Paid Repair Order (CPRO) in the last year that is within 1 year of the previous sales or service transaction

100 (Vehicles)
SCR =  ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

55 (New) + 45 (Certified) + 35 (Vehicles 15 yrs old or younger)

Number of Vehicles Sold or Serviced

New vehicles and Certified vehicles sold by YOU in Your PMA in the last 24 months
Vehicles (up to 15yrs old) with Customer Paid Repair Order (CPRO) from YOUR dealership in the last 24 months

If a customer purchases a vehicle in January of 2017 and returns to service in June of 2017, that customer is retained and a new 12-month retention window of opportunity opens. If the same customer returns in July of 2018 they are no longer considered retained because they were outside of the 12-month window.  

-Service Market Share (SMS) shows how successful your dealership is at getting customers in your PMA to come into your dealership for a CPRO (Customer Paid R.O.) The number of vehicles with Unique Vin’s that reside in your PMA and visited your dealership with a Customer Paid R.O. (CPRO) in the last 12 months. If there are 6 eligible vehicles in your PMA and 3 come in for service your service market share is 50%. If a vehicle from a household outside your PMA comes in for service, that vehicle does not count against your score.

Example:

Number of Vehicles Serviced
One CPRO within 12 Months For a Unique VIN

3 (Vehicles)
SMS =  ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 50%

6 (Vehicles)

Number of Units in Operation (UIO)

7 Year UIO in Your PMA
(Regardless of Selling Dealer)

Service Customer Retention Efficiency (SCRE) shows how effective your dealerships customer retention is when compared with the regional average in your dealership market type. An SCRE less than 100% indicates a dealership with an SCR that is below the Regional average. An SCRE more than 100% indicates a dealership with an SCR that is above the Regional average.

Example:

Dealer’s SCR Score (56.48%)

SCRE =  ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 105%

Regional Average (53.65%)
Same dealership market type single/metro

-Now What?

Now that we know how to determine a retained customer, measure our Service Market Share percentage in our PMA and how to calculate our Service Customer Retention Efficiency, what is our action plan to make sure we aim to sustain and increase our retention? Are we just reactively setting appointments and taking walk in’s as they come to us and call us? Do we have a proactive solution for this? Now, you may have something in place already, however there may be something I put in here that may assist you in your current action plan. I trust this will help you! 

-Shortfall List

Your Manufacturer may have a list called the Shortfall List or something like that name. This is a list that has the names of the customers and the dates that they will fall out from the 12 month window of opportunity to retain them. If your Manufacturer does not have this list, you may be able to pull this list through filters in your DMS, CRM or Service marketing partner. 

When you have this list, it is important to make an outbound call effort to get them back in the door with a very aggressive savings opportunity. It’s important to create a red carpet experience for these guests. 

-Every 5k Maintenance Schedules

Create your CRM to automate “To Do’s” or action points to contact your customers every 5 months or 5,000 miles. This will help you proactively try and retain these customers throughout their life of ownership.

Here’s the Outbound Call Intervals Example:

5K - Tire Rotations, Multi Point Inspections and fluid refills                  

10K – Oil change (Synthetic), Tire Rotations, Multi Point Inspections and fluid refills                  

15K - Tire Rotations, Multi Point Inspections and fluid refills                  

20K - Oil change (Synthetic), Tire Rotations, Multi Point Inspections and fluid refills

25K - Tire Rotations, Multi Point Inspections and fluid refills                  

30K - Oil change (Synthetic), Tire Rotations, Multi Point Inspections and fluid refills

35K - Tire Rotations, Multi Point Inspections and fluid refills                  

40K - Oil change (Synthetic), Tire Rotations, Multi Point Inspections and fluid refills

45K - Tire Rotations, Multi Point Inspections and fluid refills                  

Also include other opportunities to follow up any missed appointments or missed opportunities while here.

No Shows – Call to reschedule.

Declined Op Codes – Offer discount 2 to 7 days after they visited and declined services.

Contact me to help you set up a plan and strategy to get your Service BDC moving in the right direction or if you don’t have a Service BDC, contact me to go over how to get yours set up. www.josephacala.com josephacalajr@gmail.com (848)-248-0730.