How can dealerships cash-in beyond just a one-time sale or service?

Traditional methods to sell a car has been working for many years. But in this time and age where customer needs and demands are ever changing, access to competitive digital retailers and supply-demand makes it challenging to keep up with the dynamic market.

When a customer walks into an auto dealer showroom/workshop, they are worth more than just a one-time sale/maintenance. Auto dealers need to look out for new and additional sales opportunities at their dealership to increase the sale value.

How can auto dealers sell additional product or service – to the right customer – at the right time?

Use a strategy that’s customer-centric

For a fantastic growth strategy make an offer that is apt. Here are some ways to achieve a bigger ticket value from a new vehicle customer –

• Push for an extended warranty
• Attractive accessories with latest technology
• Upgrades to interiors
• Extended service contracts at the time of purchase
• Financial insurance if a car is bought on a car-loan

Similarly at the workshop when a vehicle comes for service/recall campaign a service advisor can perform a vehicle health check (VHC) to help recommend repairs/upgrades which would benefit the customer in the future such as –

• Change of wiper blades before the rains sets
• Suggest change of tires due to wear and tear
• Replacement of battery as it has not been functioning to its optimum levels
• AC cleaning services
• Paint protection for new vehicles
• Sun control film for the summer season
• Renew existing service contract

?How can a DMS and analytics system complement each other?

The good news is that DMS systems from Keyloop such as “Autoline and Drive” have the capability to record all transactions corresponding to cross-sell and up-sell, which may subsequently be used to derive insightful information!

Our analytics team at NRoot Labs emphasize the importance of recording this data in the DMS based on which intelligent analytics can be built that recommend suggestive selling technique to the customers - the main benefits include increased sales revenue, VAS (Value added service) that improves customer experience, and increased customer lifetime value (CLTV).

Decision makers can view revenue split across various product groups and period to understand how their up-sell & cross-sell have made an impact. As a result, stakeholders at dealerships will have an advantage in formulating more fact-based strategies.

Studies have found that acquiring new customers is more expensive than keeping existing ones. A customer is more likely to spend more money and make additional purchases if you genuinely "lock" them in. Keeping this in mind, concentrating on existing customer is typically a simpler way to boost your revenue. So, if your sales team isn’t cross-selling, you’re just leaving money on the table!

Use an up-sell/cross-sell strategy your customer can not refuse, and the dealership can analyze and reuse!

?It is a win-win for both the dealership and the customer.

NRoot Labs is an end-to-end BI solutions provider transforming Data into Valuable Insights for Automotive Dealerships. To know more contact – [email protected]