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The 800-Pound Gorilla of the Automobile Industry

I have become resigned to the fact that as car dealers, we are in denial. We have an 800-pound gorilla on our backs, and we do not really want to get it off that badly. Is this the Wall Street Consolidators? NO. All the big consolidators have this same problem.

And there are a quite a few names for this beast that eats our lunch on a daily basis…

Jiffy Lube.

Wal-Mart.

Pep Boys.

The corner shop.

Joe the Mechanic.

They are eating our lunch and cutting into our customer loyalty in a big way. And we are at a disadvantage because the factory keeps shoving customer satisfaction down our throats, when it’s really in our best interest as dealers to have customers that are loyal.

The difference is basic…If you are in a relationship, would you want someone who is satisfied or someone who is loyal? If they are loyal, you can always work on the satisfaction.

Here are the facts, and these are not numbers that were pulled out of a hat. We have 19% customer loyalty as a dealer body. That is the number given by NADA. The great part of this miniscule number is that over 70% of these loyal customers are repeat customers.

Doesn’t it make sense to try to improve this number? Many dealers do not know what this number is for their agency.

Let’s put this number in perspective. If you were a dentist and your office dipped below 81% in the loyalty category, you would be in big trouble! Yet we look at these numbers all the time and just accept them when we really know there is something fundamentally wrong.

If you consistently sold 200 units per month and had a 50% customer loyalty rate, how long would it be before you even had to advertise at all?

Yet we as dealers insist on advertising almost $600 per car (again, not my figure) so we can advertise to a stranger. And we do this very religiously! With some tweaking, wouldn’t it be possible to retain our customer base and really target who we want to come in our dealership and save money advertising? But can it be done?

The answer is a resounding Yes! We have an import dealer who has a loyalty percentage of 32% in his manufacturer’s zone. This dealer, our dealer, has an overall 54% loyalty factor, which is incredible! Plus, he is spending $80,000 less in advertising per month and still pulling his market share way above group! He did this with a Customer For Life approach.

Is this approach easy? NO, BUT it can happen relatively easy and in a quick manner with a committed dealer.

So, are you sick of trying to shake the 800-pound gorilla? The best fix is a customer loyalty program that makes it a pain for your customer to go anywhere but your dealership to buy anything. It is a program that truly connects your service department to your sales department. It will make your lost sales customers into loyal service customers and repeat buyers.

How is this done? Very well! Call 1-877-231-4506 for a free consultation. This year get that 800-pound gorilla off your back! You deserve it so you can make this the biggest year ever.