The Road to ROI with F&I

Nothing is more fulfilling to an auto dealer than seeing customers walk in and drive out with one of the cars on sale. Acquiring new customers takes effort, just as retaining existing ones. As an auto dealer, you know too well that maintaining the cycle is critical in the face of increasing competition. By retaining customers, dealerships can stay ahead and pull through tumultuous times.

Auto dealership owners need to focus on one key concern — providing excellent customer service that leads to retention. It is vital to do everything you can to transform first-time customers into lifelong clients.

Luckily, retaining a successful relationship with your current clients is easier and cheaper than obtaining new customers. Follow these top five strategies to improve your dealership's customer retention and boost sales.

If you want to meet your sales goals, you are going to need more customers. That may sound logical, but it's not necessarily the case. According to recent findings, the success rate of selling to an existing customer is 60-70%, while the success rate of selling to a new customer is only 5-20%.

Going digital in auto dealerships has become more of a priority with COVID-19 wreaking havoc on customer’s willingness to venture to a dealership and/or allowing customers on-site. As a result, having to offer retailing through online means is becoming a new norm.

Repeat business is the proverbial 'bird-in-hand.' Your current customers are fertile ground for cross-selling. It's your golden opportunity to wow them beyond belief. Take the initiative, know your customers and understand their needs. Do this and your long-standing customers will remain loyal and your successes will continue to grow. 

Dealers often focus their marketing efforts on finding new leads and bringing in first-time customers. While those strategies are important, the most successful dealer managers know that retaining their customers is also essential. We wanted to highlight a few best practices the most successful dealerships leverage to create the ultimate customer experience and increase retention.

Did you know that attracting a new customer is five times costlier than retaining an old one? Also, by increasing customer retention by only 5%, you can boost your profits by 25-95%. These statistics apply to all industries, including the automotive sector.

Dealerships are increasingly realizing that transactional, one-time business practices no longer work. They have to focus on strategies to not only attract but also retain customers. Customer retention has positive outcomes for dealerships, including reducing costs, enhancing customer lifetime value, increasing competitiveness, and boosting profitability. This article outlines four ways for dealerships to increase customer retention, and consequently harness its benefits.

Customer retention is vital to growing a dealership's business and profits. When a customer remains loyal throughout the life of a vehicle, it's a sign they trust a dealership.

Reopening your dealership after COVID-19 will not be quite as simple as returning to your normal business hours. Before reopening, establish a plan for continuing your online presence, redesigning your waiting room, and implementing new policies as needed to keep your customers safe in order to successfully reopen and stay open.  

Car dealerships are faced with disadvantages in today's fast-paced market.  The belief that car purchasing can be a painfully long process is based on many old traditions at car dealerships that persist today.  Faster sales can be accomplished by improving in three different areas.  Each of these areas is based on building strong relationships and effective communication strategies: