Building Loyalty with Your Customers
We all know that customer retention is a core piece of running a business. You may have heard the sage wisdom that earning a new customer costs five times the amount of keeping a loyal one. More important than cost, though, is customer lifetime value (CLV), or the future value of a new or returning customer. Customers who are loyal to your business, whether they are brand-new or have been buying from you for years, are a crucial commodity.
Loyal customers are your number-one marketing asset! A happy customer is practically a volunteer salesperson--they show off their new purchase and talk up your dealership to friends and acquaintances. To help you develop and retain more loyal customers, Dealer Spike offers insight into standing out from other dealerships to connect with more online leads and reaching out to customers at crucial times to keep their business.
Driving customer loyalty is not as simple as it has been in the past. Because the internet offers online shoppers nearly unlimited access to different brands, businesses must outdo one another to offer the best deal. While pricing certainly matters to your customers, they value the quality of your customer service even more.
Pre-Purchase Customer Service
Stand out from other dealerships by showing online leads that you’re in this for the long haul.
Offer your website visitors educational content. Consumers are much more likely to trust a brand that delivers educational material over direct sales pitches. Blogs and videos demonstrating how to shop for a unit, how to choose the right model, how to finance a purchase and more all show your potential customers that you aren’t out to make a quick buck--you want to provide long-term value.
Engage in social media. By maintaining an active presence on the popular social platforms, you’re building prominence for your brand and creating a more “human” voice that potential customers can connect with. Social media is becoming more and more popular for online shoppers, and younger generations in particular consider social media a primary source of research when shopping for a unit.
Post-Purchase Customer Service
Follow up with customers to ensure they are enjoying their purchase and keep your brand fresh in their minds.
When a customer entrusts you with their business, they are also entering your brand’s community. Be sure to make them feel welcome! Use the contact information they provide to send a post-purchase thank-you email, a “Please share your experience with us!” email or a phone call within a few days of their purchase. Add them to your newsletter or email chain to keep them informed of promotions and events taking place at your dealership.
Connect with your customers on social media by inviting them to “like” or follow your dealership’s social pages. With their permission, share a congratulatory post about their purchase, thanking them for their business. Stay active on your social platforms, and follow up within 24 hours on any comments on your posts or any direct messages to your dealership.
Does your dealership offer a loyalty program? Consumers are more likely to make future purchases at your business if they feel they are being rewarded for their money spent, even if the payoff is small, like a free t-shirt or oil change.
While pricing plays a significant role in the online shopping process, where consumers can cross-reference several dealerships for the best deal, shoppers' main concern is the quality of the product and buying experience. In addition to selling inventory that’s in high-quality condition, it’s vital to focus on customer service and build a personal connection with your customers. Dealer Spike interviewed a pool of OPE buyers on the factors that influenced their purchases and received a unanimous response that the relationship with the dealer--not the price, not the location--was the final decision-maker.
Customers see their connection with their dealership as a symbiotic relationship--each party needs the other to stay in business. Dedication to your social presence, loyalty programs and content creation will drive more customer interest, but the foundation of their decision to become a loyal buyer is how valued they feel when they interact with your dealership online or in-person.
If you’re wondering how you can get in front of more online shoppers and boost your customer service, contact Dealer Spike today to connect with our experts!