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Do You See what Your Customers See?

As we continue our conversation about Zero Moment of Truth, where customers research you and your products online, let’s not forget what the First Moment of Truth is: When people contact your dealership.   I want to focus on what happens when customers get on site and how what happens can affect the sale. To explain my point, at a recent workshop I posed this question to readers: What are some things that customers saw upon coming to ...

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Do You See what Your Customers See?

As we continue our conversation about Zero Moment of Truth, where customers research you and your products online, let’s not forget what the First Moment of Truth is: When people contact your dealership.   I want to focus on what happens when customers get on site and how what happens can affect the sale. To explain my point, at a recent workshop I posed this question to readers: What are some things that customers saw upon coming to a dealership that negatively affected their willingness to buy?   Each dealer had multiple stories, from customers having to walk through a messy...

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ROI Expectations for DMS Customer Base Repurchase Quote Marketing PDF Print E-mail
Written by Chip King   
Wednesday, 31 March 2010 13:32

We all know that your existing customer base is your best resource for future sales and that if a customer is happy with his current car, he will likely repurchase a newer model. What he wants are the facts, not a desperate plea.
 
Building an exact repurchase quote for every previous customer in your DMS that combines the details of their previous purchase with their current trade value, payoff, new vehicle price, plus current rebates and incentives, can produce a return on investment that far surpasses any of your other marketing efforts.
 
This is not an “equity letter” or “we desperately need your trade letter” type promotion, both of which fall far short of providing the details that instill customer confidence.
 
What I am talking about is an exact quote with only four caveats.
 
1.       Are they current on their payments?
2.       Is their credit rating still good?
3.       Is their estimated extrapolated service mileage close?
4.       Is their vehicle in good condition?
 
The key to this type of marketing is the trust factor gained when the marketing message provides exact details relevant to that customer’s previous purchase and the specific details of their repurchase options.
 
What kind of details does this include?
 
1.       The delivery date of the vehicle they currently own
2.       The name of their original salesperson
3.       Their current payment
4.       Their last service visit and their estimated mileage
5.       How many payments they have remaining
6.       The VIN no. of their current vehicle plus the year, make, and model
7.       Their new payment on a vehicle of the closest trim model to what they currently own
8.       The current factory rebates and incentives that apply to their new quote
 
It’s all about trust. Ongoing accurate information to your customers results in greater response and sales opportunities versus a single promotion or periodic offers.
 
The marketing program should combine a majority of the following communications with direct mail being the most essential.
 
1.       An initial direct mail piece that is informative and accurate and that they can expect to have delivered on a consistent basis
2.       An email announcing the same
3.       Consistent phone follow up from your BDC or ideally their original salesperson
4.       A website where customers can go and append the data that is incorrect in their offer
5.       Marketing to three segments: customers whose payments go down, customers whose payments go up slightly, cash to cash customers
 
Dealers that consistently apply these parameters can expect to achieve the following results:
 
1.       A monthly 1.17 percent sell through rate marketing to same customer base
Example: Marketing repurchase quotes to 3000 customers monthly will consistently produce 35 sales per month
2.       Tripled annual customer sales repeat rate
3.       Gross profits that average $400 higher by model
4.       Increased customer satisfaction scores
5.       Increased service revenues
 
Accurate information repeatedly communicated builds trust and results in increased sales far above traditional marketing. Given a choice, where should you spend your marketing funds?
 
Is it time for you to begin getting more out of your marketing efforts?
 
Chip King is the CEO of AutoExcavations a CRM company focused on marketing to Dealers, Direct Mail Companies and OEMs. He can be reached at 860-777-5471, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or www.autoexcavations.com
 
 
 
 


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