The competition for customers between automotive dealerships is fierce. Consumers are more involved than ever before in purchasing processes and are easily able to compare dealerships to find the best fit. With access to the internet for online research, recommendations, dealership comparison, and even vehicle purchases, customers can change dealerships easily, and dealers are feeling the pressure of learning how to keep customers returning to their store.

When a customer is buying a new or used vehicle, they are usually offered a vehicle service contract as an extra option for protection. About 60% of consumers don’t buy a service contract when they purchase their vehicle. This could be for many reasons – the vehicle may be under factory warranty, or the consumer may not fully understand what a service contract entails and whether the cost is worth it. Read on to learn about the benefits of a vehicle service contract and who consumers looking for this coverage should purchase from.

New technology in the automotive industry provides a variety of attractive options for consumers. From smart integrations to advanced safety features, customers are visiting dealerships to try out the newest models and learn about the benefits.

Many factors contribute to success, and among them is the delivery of exceptional customer service. The quality of service provided to vehicle buyers can make or break a dealership’s reputation and bottom line.

If you’re an agent working with automotive dealerships, you already know that ensuring customer satisfaction and retention while boosting revenue is a challenge that dealership principals face on a daily basis.

It can be difficult for dealerships to motivate their sales teams – vehicle sales are intensive, and employees can easily be drained. Sales managers need to understand that they must also focus on rewarding their employees in ways that go beyond their paychecks.

Everyone deserves to feel motivated by the work they do for their sales manager.

Creating lasting connections with customers offers many benefits, such as repeat business, a robust brand reputation, and customer loyalty to your dealership. In an industry with many routes for a customers to purchase and maintain their vehicles, trust in your dealership is a must.

According to a Zippia study, 65% of an average company’s business comes from existing customers. The study also reveals businesses can increase profits by 25-95% by increasing customer retention by only 5%.

Did you know that more than 10 million electric vehicles are on the road worldwide today? To put this into perspective, that figure was only 53,000 in 2012, representing a massive 18,000% growth in the EV market. As the EV market continues to thrive, exploring the benefits of vehicle service contract coverage, the costs associated with electric vehicle repairs, and the unique technical requirements of these environmentally friendly vehicles is essential.

Vehicle service contracts, commonly referred to as VSCs, are the piece of vehicle protection that most owners don’t realize they need. If you’re a dealer, you know that most customers decline immediately. You hear polite declines of “no thank you” or “I don’t need that.” They look at the initial cost of the contract instead of the overall big picture and how much they could save if the vehicle has mechanical issues down the road. 

A vehicle purchase is the first step in building a relationship between a dealership and a customer. However, when a customer drives off the lot, it becomes incrementally harder to recapture their business later in the lifecycle of vehicle ownership.
Post-sale marketing has unlimited potential for building positive and lasting relationships between your dealership and customers.