AutoFix AdvisorCast

Michael Doherty [00:00:00]:
This is the autofix Advisor Cast powered by worldpac. Hey, service Advisor nation. Hope you're doing well and hope everybody's feeling good and staying busy and all that great stuff. Today I wanted to talk about new clients. Obviously getting new clients through the doors can sometimes be hard, but once we do that, what are we doing to keep them coming back? And this primarily is a result of I think, you know, not forgetting about them obviously, but just, you know, we, after somebody leaves, you know, let's be honest, you know, we're, we're, we're now assisting the next client that needs our help and kind of going from there. But how can we do better retention and make their experience more memorable so that they want to come back? A little bit of information. Wrote some notes down on this one. But you know, again, you know, you worked hard to get the new customer in the door.

Michael Doherty [00:01:11]:
Could be a result of, you know, Google, could be your marketing that's working for you, a referral campaign that you're using, you know, word of mouth, stuff like that. But you know, the truth is, you know, one visit by them doesn't necessarily equate to loyalty, right? Most customers, you know, unless they had just a really outstanding experience, don't remember the name of the shop that they went to, you know, six months ago, right. For an oil service, an oil change, things of that nature, you know, unless they're like really an enthusiast, you know, just really aligned with their vehicle, things of that nature. But again, you know, people, you know, they're, they're back to, back to reality, right? Once, once they've had their visit at the shop, they're kind of doing their thing. And until that maintenance reminder comes on, until they happen to maybe fold up their sun visor and see that oil change sticker and next do service sticker. You know, sometimes when people take their vehicles to get a detail, those disappear too, right? I mean when someone's doing the inside windsh, the cling sticker, they might take that off and you know, throw it away. It's not malicious on their end but you know, it's just one of those things that stuff happens. And again, you know, right then and there, now you're out of their mind, you know, they've kind of forgot about you.

Michael Doherty [00:02:30]:
So, you know, what can we do to build loyalty? What can we do to get people coming back? Especially that were first time clients, you know, without being a nuisance, right? And for the first time clients, I think it's really important to discuss, you know, how you made Them feel, you know, again they're not really going to remember you six months after their first visit. So how can we again, you know, put ourselves out there? How can we be a reminder to them that we're here to help, you know, down the line and kind of build out a timeline of how we do that without being a nuisance to them?

Michael Doherty [00:03:07]:
Right.

Michael Doherty [00:03:07]:
It's kind of like spamming them, right. With email, right. Hey, your oil change is due or you know, etc, but in any event, or constantly, constantly spamming them with email. So I think the customer experience, especially the first time that they come into you, right. The key points are, you know, they're going to remember how they felt. They're going to remember was the transaction, was it easy, you know, did somebody follow up with them, you know, again, was it, was it made to be a memorable experience? Right. Or frictionless experience, if you would.

Michael Doherty [00:03:40]:
Right.

Michael Doherty [00:03:42]:
Personal connection. So on the personal connection side, you know, I talked about an episode or two back about using their name, which is really important, you know. Thanks for calling XYZ Automotive, this is John, how can I help you? And customer says their name, using their name throughout booking the appointment, use their name throughout, communicating with them while their vehicles there when they pick up. You know, people like hearing their name really important. But where most shops I think drop the ball are going to be the post service follow up. And that doesn't mean just one. Right. Again we have to come up with a strategy that's going to allow your shop to be still client facing, if you would like, still in front of them, even though you're really not in front of them, just a reminder to them without being a nuisance.

Michael Doherty [00:04:35]:
And you know, there was a little bit of information I want to provide on this, so did a little bit of research and it says that a 5% increase in customer retention can increase profits by 25 to 95%. You know, that was interesting. And again, profits for anybody that's listening doesn't necessarily mean that it's money going right in the owner's pockets. That profit is used to pay bills for the business. It's used to make the employees lives better.

Michael Doherty [00:05:12]:
Right.

Michael Doherty [00:05:12]:
Health insurance, 401k, full dental, vision paid time off, company outings, retreats, things of that nature. So I think customers too also, you know, over time have a misconception of, you know, really what, you know, that's expensive, you know, why is it so expensive? Or you know, you never really hear customers say wow, that's cheap. So especially in the last couple years, you Know things have just gotten exponentially more and you know, in any service industry, you know, food, service industry, healthcare industry, insurance industry, automotive industry, but again, you know, those profits, those profits that are being generated, you know, they're not staggering but again they're used to keep the lights on, they're used to keep the business going. It's not all money that's going to the owner's pockets and I know the owners set aside a percentage for them, of course, rightfully so they took the risk they deserve to, to, to keep some of the profits. But again it's used to, to help the employees and also the community. Believe it or not, there's a lot of shops that do community work but got off track a little bit there. But again, you know, 5% increase in customer retention can increase profits by 25 to 95%. I thought that was an interesting statistic.

Michael Doherty [00:06:33]:
But as far as staying at the top of the client's mind after they leave your service facility again without being a nuisance. Right. How do we come up with a strategy for that? What does that look like? So most shops have a CRM shop, genie, techmetric, I think they've integrated by now something of that nature where there's an automated reminder or an automated follow up that's sent out to the client via text, via email and I agree with that, that's a good way to start. However, after that first one is sent out automated I think if you keep sending out automations after that point then I've just got to say it. If I was a customer at that point I kind of feel like a number, I kind of feel like I'm just, you're on autopilot just trying to get my business, trying to get me to come back. There's no personal connection there because it's going to be the same follow up text or email that you're going to send out to everybody right after the first one and after the first one again or the first one automated, no worries because likely it's going to point you in the direction of were you satisfied with the work performed? Were you happy with the experience? Would you fill out a Google review for us? Right again that's all great but after that first automated follow up I really feel that again we're service advisors, we're building and maintaining client relationships that we've got to put the personal connection back into the mix after that first automated follow up and you know, you can set up, call it a retention calendar, I don't know, something like that. And you know, basically, you know, instead of saying, hey, you know, your next oil change is due, you know, hey, Mrs. Jones, we noticed that your last visit was five months ago.

Michael Doherty [00:08:27]:
Just a friendly heads up. Your vehicle may be due for a service soon. And we're, you know, reminder we're here to keep it running smoothly, you know, do you need help scheduling?

Michael Doherty [00:08:35]:
Right.

Michael Doherty [00:08:36]:
A little more of a personal touch there. And again, it could be a phone call. I used to leave voicemails if I can get somebody directly kind of doing a. We'll call it a 30, 60, 90 day follow up. It's not a bad word to use. You know, the word follow up sometimes associated with people that do sales again, is, you know, is a bad F word, follow up. I don't think it is. If it's used in the right way.

Michael Doherty [00:09:00]:
If I'm trying to sell you something, then yeah, if I'm genuinely calling to connect and remind you that, hey, we had a good connection last time you were here. You had a good experience. I just want to keep you in, you know, keep us in your mind that we're here to help. And if something comes up, you know, if you're planning on going on a trip this summer, if you need your tire pressures checked every two weeks, stop on by. We're here to help. Grab a coffee, come by the lounge, you know, we'll get it back there. We'll check your tire pressures for you. Like they don't, you know, you got to put it in their mind that there, you're not just there when the service light comes on or the maintenance light comes on for, you know, oil service, when the check engine light comes on, when the tire pressure light comes on.

Michael Doherty [00:09:44]:
I mean, you're there all the time. You're there to help them, obviously during business hours, but you know, it extends past that. And again, that personal connection, just putting yourself, giving them, giving them that peace of mind, giving them that ease. But again, build a retention calendar. And you know, again, the first, you know, after that first visit, you know, the first 24 hours, 48 hours, again, the automated response, you know, that goes out from your CRM. After that, you know, send them an email. Week four, right? Send them a service tip or maybe a seasonal maintenance reminder, right. Week eight, you know, hey, just checking in.

Michael Doherty [00:10:26]:
How's the car doing? How's the vehicle doing? And you know, week 12, you know, again start, you know, leading into, hey, there's, you know, just a reminder that, you know, you've got an upcoming appointment, right? In, in a week with Us or you know, and again, scheduling the next appointment before they leave, at least getting them on the calendar as a commitment. So again, you're working towards that retention, you're working towards keeping them keeping you in their mind. Right. And again, CRM, it can do all of that. But again, as the service advisor, building that personal connection and really continuing that so it's genuine throughout their next visit is really imperative, I think. So that's just, that's just my take on. Builds trust, it builds loyalty, it shows them that you're again, as advertised. Right.

Michael Doherty [00:11:29]:
They had a great experience. So just, you know, keep it going.

Michael Doherty [00:11:31]:
Right.

Michael Doherty [00:11:31]:
I don't, I've never had anybody call me back if I've left them a voicemail for like call it a follow up two months later, three months later, four months later. I've never had anybody call me back after I've left the voicemail. Just saying, hey, this is Michael from XYZ Automotive. I know we had you in a couple months ago, but hey, I just want to see how things are going with the vehicle. I know you had some underlying things that we didn't do at that time. We didn't get you back on the books for an appointment. Just wanted to reach out, see how things are going. Do you still have the car? Did you get something else? You know, give me a buzz and maybe they won't call back.

Michael Doherty [00:12:05]:
Maybe they will. But again, I've never had anybody call back and say, how dare you, you left me a voicemail. You know, it was annoying. You know, so again, just how can we do a better job of retention and getting them coming back without being, you know, again, overly a nuisance and reminding them of it. So that's just my take, that's just my thoughts. But I'd be interested to hear what other service advisors think on that topic. And you know, again, you know, it's, we're building and maintaining relationships. So that side of it, I feel is the maintaining.

Michael Doherty [00:12:42]:
Right, we're maintaining the relationship. We're putting, you know, we have to do a better job of, of remembering them. And again, that's why I mentioned, you know, the Google Calendar, it's great. Or create a Google Doc, you know, call it retention calendar and put the RO number on there from their first visit, put their name, put their phone number, you know, the date they came in and you know, again, just kind of track it. 30, 60, 90, 120, whatever it is. You know, a lot of these cars these days, we're not seeing them every 3,000 miles we're not seeing them every 6,000 miles. We're seeing them sometimes 10,000 miles, maybe twice a year. You know, especially with people working remote, working from home.

Michael Doherty [00:13:20]:
They don't drive as much these days. But again, doesn't mean that the car doesn't need things and it doesn't mean that you can't keep connected with your customer. You know, carve out time, make it happen. You know, I, I think too, there's a lot of people, there's that side that, you know, they want to see that you're trying to connect with them, that it wasn't just a one and done experience, you know, but again, you've got to be the one to initiate that, be genuine in doing it and it'll work out for you, I promise. Service Advisor Nation I really appreciate you tuning into another episode of the Auto Fix Advisor Cast. And again, hope everyone's doing well. We're getting into the warmer months. So not only your cars with your ac, right? You know, if you haven't had your home AC checked in a while.

Michael Doherty [00:14:08]:
Yeah, I'm talking about your house, not your car. You know, every couple of years, you know, get it, get a checkup on your ac, get the free on level checked and adjusted, get the filter swapped out. You know, especially if you're working remote, you don't want to be home and that AC goes out, it's not going to be comfortable. But I appreciate you. Thank you again and have a good one. All right, bye.

Michael Doherty [00:14:33]:
Hey, thanks for listening to the Autofix Advisor Cast. If you're ready to take your shop to the next level, check out our sponsor WorldPAC and the WorldPAC Training Institute. WTI. Big thanks to them for their sponsorship. Follow the podcast on social media for more insights and subscribe so you never miss an episode. Oh, and tell your friends we want to help the industry grow and help advisors love their jobs again. See you on the next Autofix advisorcast.