Throughout history, humans have designed and created technology to make their lives easier. From the invention of the wheel itself to the eventual creation of the automobile, to today’s computer-integrated vehicles, we are more dependent on technology to improve our experiences than ever before.

But with that technology comes challenges. Most…

While traveling through Asia, Alexander the Great fell ill. Everyone was afraid to treat him, as they feared that, if they failed, they would be blamed for the King’s death. However, one physician was willing. While Alexander waited for the physician to prepare the medicine, he received a letter informing him that this physician was not to be trusted and…

Today's environment:

Sometimes when I look at an auto dealer website I sit back, scratch my head, and wonder if they have ever scheduled an appointment for dealer service on their website? Not to mention all the bots that pop, and all the flashing offers! It is the farthest from the basic tenets of what makes anything usable today on…

Auto dealerships and consumers now have additional layer of transparency to safeguard them from making uninformed acquisitions

Laguna Hills, CA, June 10, 2020 — Recall Masters, Inc., the nation’s leading provider of automotive recall solutions, today announced a partnership with VettX, an automotive industry software provider that enables auto dealerships to…

Service retention rates in dealerships have been steadily declining over the last three years, according to Affinitiv’s recent Automotive Loyalty Trends study, which analyzed data from more than 1,000 auto dealerships.

In domestic brand dealerships, service retention rates have dropped from 61.2% to 60.2%. At import brand dealerships,…

The problem of how to increase recall completion rates has been a thorn in the side of both manufacturers and dealers for quite some time. Despite numerous attempts from several sources, a majority of consumers fail to pay attention to any notification because they discard the mailers, discount the severity of the recall or simply don’t have the time needed…

Long Beach, CA —January 31, 2020 — myKaarma, the leading communications and payments software provider for automotive dealer service departments, today announced the launch of Service Cart. The mobile repair recommendation tool is designed to improve customer transparency and convenience by enabling instant approval and feedback from the customer. This results in higher retention, shorter authorization times, a significant…

Most auto dealerships do some, if not all of their service marketing with their manufacturer owner retention programs (ORPs). The purpose of ORPs is stated in the name: to build customer loyalty. But how well do these programs deliver on that promise?

The results from ORPs are all over the board. Some dealerships effectively use ORPs to…

In search of service revenue, dealerships turn to randomly scheduling service appointments regardless of shop capacity. Or they take everyone that drives up. This can easily overwhelm the service department. It leaves customers frustrated and causes a LOSS in service revenue from both new/drive-up customers and customers with appointments.

How…

Recall completion percentages have been increasing, but despite increased communication attempts, that increase is hitting a plateau.

A recent trend reveals that many vehicle owners are very interested in mobile services. Currently, the percentage of independent repair shops that offer mobile services dramatically outweighs franchised dealers.…

When people think of recalls, at least in our industry, most think about vehicles. For many consumers, merely contemplating spending their time at a dealership waiting for a recall to be repaired or losing the use of their car for some time, seems draining and inconvenient. But most consumers probably don’t consider the potential risks recalls can pose to…

If you ask a dealership GM or controller “What’s your marketing per vehicle retail (PVR)?” not only will you get a precise answer, but likely a dissertation on the drivers, trends and plans to optimize. That’s because auto retailers understand that marketing efficiency and effectiveness is the lifeblood of their new and used vehicle…

Customer experience and standing out from the competition by excelling at customer satisfaction is still very much a good business practice today. Time is valuable for today's busy consumers, and many dislike the vehicle service experience at dealerships because of long wait times.

Loaner cars and shuttles help, but they can end up making it…

While it’s nice to have room in your shop’s schedule to handle walk-ins and other unexpected work, a service lane no-show isn’t the ideal way to get that extra time. Rather, no-shows throw everyone off and can take quite a toll on both your shop’s workflow and your bottom line.

Here are two holistic approaches to reducing no-shows…

Would you like to hear a ridiculous, unbelievable ROI statement? Well, one luxury brand dealership integrated technician videos into its service processes and, in only seven days, made +$250K in customer pay recommended work revenue. In fact, 80% of all closed repair orders for the week had a technician video sent to the customer.

Why do…

In the automotive industry, the ability to earn a greater share of a customer’s spend is the key to driving higher customer lifetime value. To that end, many dealers utilize flawed retention strategies designed to achieve a minimum number of service visits rather than maximize the…

Federal law currently prohibits dealerships from selling any new vehicle with an open safety recall to consumers. And now, Democratic Senators Richard Blumenthal (Democrat - Connecticut) and Edward Markey (Democrat - Minnesota) have reintroduced legislation that also prohibits the sale of used cars with open safety recalls, according to…

Though every vehicle today comes with a recommended maintenance schedule from the manufacturer, many consumers don’t follow them. What’s worse, some may not even know they exist! We recently surveyed 1,000 auto dealer customers and found that younger generations are less likely to follow manufacturer recommendations than their older counterparts. While 61% of…

In a quick review of dealership’s websites, I find that many are almost entirely sales focused and tend to neglect the one department that brings the most significant percentage of profit… service. Go ahead. Take a look at a few dealership websites. Service tends to be the red-headed stepchild; often neglected and forgotten. Yet it accounts for 50% or more of…

According to an article in Automotive News, dealerships are in a new car sales slump and have to increasingly rely on used car sales and service revenue to drive profits. Industry experts recognize that used cars are typically more profitable to a dealership than…