Motor Retail Dealers – How Can You Boost Margins
With fewer used vehicles returning to the market, especially those three-to-five-year-old examples, is there a potentially untapped stock source you could benefit from?
Can you harness data you already have to buy & sell more profitably?
Research suggests that you are 30% more likely to sell to an existing customer. Also, referrals from them are a great way to get new customers because they are 20% more likely buy than cold leads. All successful businesses work hard on keeping existing customers happy, but you need to know who they are and how to contact them.
Cleanse your data and harness aftersales bookings
Maintaining accurate data is the firm foundation for the most productive interactions with customers & it’s important to remember customer details can change over time, do you keep an eye on this?
A survey in 2023 conducted an analysis of records held by automotive retailers across the UK finding that, on average, 27.7% of ‘keeper details’ are inaccurate.
If you cleanse & maintain accurate data, you can use it to underpin contact strategies that keep customers coming back to you, to keep your workshops & your sales pitches busy. You should be passing records between departments: sales into aftersales & workshop, plus vice versa. Crucially, all of this data can be used to convert aftersales customers into a buying mindset.
Why not systemise this?
Systemising & automation can relieve the burden of having accurate data to contact customers in a timely & personalised way on a large scale. For example, sending personalised maintenance reminders to customers at exactly the right time to maximise booking conversions.
Keeping Up
It is standard practice to encourage customers back to the workshop by issuing reminders about services & MOT tests.
Getting Ahead
You could use the data for direct marketing, for example to issue Stock Alerts highlighting available vehicles that might be of interest to customers.
This could be a good way to buy stock, for example: ‘we want your car (or van)’ campaigns, using timely texts to get customers to sell their vehicle back to you, whilst making a sale to them.
Could you reactivate lapsed customers by using data you have, for example: contacting specifically those who own vehicles subject to outstanding safety recalls who you haven’t seen for more than 24 months?
Conclusion
Sometimes taking a fresh approach could help you maximise workshop utilisation, buy cheaper used stock, increase the number of vehicles you sell, & your margins? A specialist marketing firm says you can reap these rewards by boosting current customers relations.
One thing is for sure: accurate data is your friend, & will maximise your potential return on investment. Why not start thinking tactically about your approach to securing the best share of quality used vehicles to fill your forecourt.
